Rafer Guzman

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen look back at their memories of the high school prom and share their thoughts on proms on the screen — from John Hughes's "Pretty in Pink" to the new Disney teen flick, "Prom."

In this week’s podcast, Kristen and Rafer talk about the movies they’re most looking forward to seeing this summer. Warning: most of them are extremely stupid.

Here's a sampling: Woody Allen's new star-packed flick "Midnight in Paris"; "Larry Crowne," starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks; "Bad teacher with Cameron Diaz as a drunk irresponsible teacher and Justin Timberlake as the hot new sub; Alex Gibney's latest documentary, "Magic Trip"; "The Change Up," starring Ryan Reynolds; and "30 minutes or Less," about a pizza delivery guy-turned robber.

Rafer Guzman, Newsday film critic and co-host of the Movie Date podcast previews the weekend's new releases. There's the new animated birdbrained film "Rio" as well as the latest in modern slasher blockbuster series "Scream 4."

What's worse? Jokes about farts or boobs? Are there certain subjects that should be off limits for humor? And when does a movie cross the line from raunchy to completely tasteless? Rafer and Kristen debate these questions and share their opinions on the medieval raunch fest "Your Highness."

What should you see and what should you skip this weekend? Co-hosts of the Movie Date podcast, Kristen Meinzer and Rafer Guzman look at some of the weekend's anticipated films. In addition to being the co-hosts of the podcast, Kristen is a culture producer with the Takeaway and Rafer is a Film Critic for Newsday.

In honor of April Fool's Day, Rafer and Kristen decided to turn this week's Movie Date into a Movie Dare. Knowing that Kristen would never choose to see "Road House" on her own, Rafer dared her to see the Patrick Swayze classic. And knowing that Rafer had yet to enjoy the entire Mariah Carey oeuvre, Kristen dared him to see "Glitter." Was this the scariest dare ever?

This week's biggest film news was all about an actress who appeared in her first movie at the age of nine. Rafer and Kristen look back on the career of Elizabeth Taylor and share their favorite memories of the legendary star who died this week, aged 79.

Rafer and Kristen have a major disagreement about the drugs-make-you-smarter themed movie “Limitless.” They also look back on other movies – good and bad – in which drugs are a main character.

This week, Rafer and Kristen look at the newest imagining of Red Riding Hood and discuss their favorite fairy tales on film. Along the way, Rafer explains why fairy tales make men feel like objects and Kristen explains why she'd like them to be a little more like Sophie's Choice.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen look at the new Johnny Depp animated lizard cowboy vehicle, "Rango," and debate whether the film's grissly characters and graphic violence make it the best or worst children's movie ever.

Movie Date co-host and Newsday movie critic, Rafer Guzman gives us his take on the weekend's releases: the conspiracy theory romance “The Adjustment Bureau,” which stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt; the eighties-themed romantic comedy “Take Me Home Tonight,” which stars Topher Grace and Anna Faris; and the new animated feature “Rango,” in which Johnny Depp stars as a lizard cowboy. 

"The King's Speech" took home best picture and three other trophies last night at the 83rd Academy Awards. Meanwhile, "Inception" also won four awards, mostly in technical categories. Other memorable moments included an exasperated Melissa Leo dropping the "f-word" while accepting her Oscar for best supporting actress, and co-host James Franco appearing on stage in a dress.

If you missed last night's broadcast, don't fret. Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and co-host of The Takeaway Movie Date Podcast with Takeaway producer Kristen Meinzer, are here to help with their Oscar hangover cure: a hearty mix of the winners, losers, and surprises that will be heating up YouTube and the water cooler conversations today.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen share their Oscar predictions and preferences for the big five categories — supporting actress, supporting actor, lead actress, lead actor, and picture. They also throw in a wild card category that they both admit they know nothing about.

The Oscars are this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and all week long, we’ve been gearing up for the big night, interviewing nominees and blogging about the awards show. And even before their nominations were announced, we were sitting down with Melissa Leo, Colin Firth, and Danny Boyle. Today we'll make our final bets on the weekend's winners and losers.

Each week, Rafer and Kristen spar about the movies they think you should or shouldn't see. This week, they ponder whether the new paranormal teen romance film "I Am Number Four" is the new "Twilight" or just a substandard rip-off. And it's one of those rare times when they're actually in agreement.

This week, Kristen and Rafer talk about "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," and about whether or not either of them are Beliebers after seeing the new doc.

Most of us prefer to fast-forward through TV commercials in our everyday lives. But on Super Bowl Sunday, the ads are almost as hyped as the game itself.

Featuring celebrity endorsements, special effects, and the kind of humor that pushes the envelope, Super Bowl ads have the potential to become iconic, and our digital age, viral. Not surprisingly, this also means the price of a commercial is high. For this past weekend’s game, companies paid approximately three million dollars per thirty second spot. (Check out some of the ads after the jump.)

In honor the people in Egypt, Tunisia, and elsewhere who have been rising up, Kristen and Rafer share their favorite movies that celebrate the revolutionary spirit.

The biggest movie news of the week, and the second biggest movie news of the year, happened this week: The nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards. Kristen and Rafer size up the field of Oscar contenders, how "The King's Speech" became the favorite and why "True Grit" was redeemed. And Kristen laments the lack of diversity in this year's lineup.