It’s the week before Christmas, the busiest time in movie land, with over half a dozen movies opening in theaters throughout the week. The first batch of films, which hit theaters last night and today, include: "The Adventures of Tintin," "Albert Nobbs," and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer talk about the the big holiday releases.

Three big movies come out this weekend as we head into the holidays: "Sherlock Holmes," "Mission Impossible" and "Carnage," a black comedy directed by Roman Polanski. Co-hosts of the Movie Date Podcast Kristen Meinzer and Rafer Guzman review this week's big releases.

Every Friday, The Takeaway looks at the weekend's new releases. Opening this weekend: slacker comedy "The Sitter" with Jonah Hill; and "New Year's Eve" starring Sarah Jessica Parker among many others. Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and Takeaway producer Kristen Meinzer, co-hosts of The Takeaway Movie Date podcast, give their recommendations on this weekend's new movies.

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There are two kinds of people: those who love Christmas movies and those who hate them. Rafer and Kristen are each one of those kinds of people. Can you guess who is the Grinch and who is little Susan Walker? Either way, both have their holiday favorites — even if they don't all have to do with Christmas. Take a listen and add your own favorites in the comments! 

Who doesn't get chills when they hear the opening banjo riff to "Rainbow Connection"? That was the popular tune payed by a lovable Kermit the Frog in the original 'Muppet Movie' way back in 1979. This week, 'The Muppets' return to the screen after a long hiatus. When Muppet-master Jim Henson died in 1990, some thought these lovable puppets might be gone for good. But they got the whole band back together for a Muppets reunion, with help from Jason Segel and Amy Adams.

Takeaway 'Movie Date' podcasters Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer take a trip down memory lane and talk about what the new installment of the series brings to the table.

It's the day before Thanksgiving, one of the biggest movie release dates of the year. Among the major releases this year is Martin Scorsese's ode to movie history, "Hugo," and "My Week with Marilyn," starring Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh. And of course, "The Muppets" which has everyone as eager to talk about music as they are about movies.

Yes, it's finally here; the first part of the last installment of the "Twilight" movies. And it's got everything the others didn't: vampire marriage, sex, pregnancy, baby monsters. Kristen and Rafer talk about the latest (and possibly greatest?) movie that all the tweens are talking about. What do a couple of grown adults think? They kind of liked it! Find out why in this week's podcast.

This week's big releases include the animated family film "Happy Feet 2," "The Descendants," starring George Clooney, and the eagerly awaited fourth Twilight movie "Breaking Dawn." Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday,and Kristen Meinzer, Takeaway culture producer, are co-hosts of the Movie Date podcast. They give their thoughts on the new movies this week.

As Kristen says in this latest podcast, "It's Oscar season." And if there's a movie out that hopes to bring a few of those statues in, it's "J. Edgar." But does the Leonardo Dicaprio-starring film deliver the goods? Not quite. Listen to this week's Movie Date podcast to find out why Kristen and Rafer are looking forward to some of the other assumed contenders and perhaps trying to forget this one.

This week's new movie releases include "Jack and Jill," starring Adam Sandler as both the title characters, "J. Edgar," with Leonardo DiCaprio as the original head of the FBI, and a smaller film by Lars Von Trier and starring Kirsten Dunst, called "Melancholia." 

What does Brett Ratner's new movie "Tower Heist," have to do with Occupy Wall Street? You don't necessarily have to turn to Ben Stiller, Tea Leone, Casey Affleck, and Eddie Murphy; our intrepid movie-going podcasters have already watched the movie for you. But if you want to know whether the now-spurned Oscar producer's movie is any good, you'll have to listen! The two also discuss "Harold and Kumar: 3D Christmas," and some prescient Occupy Wall Street imagery. 

This week's big new releases at the multiplex are "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas in 3D," starring John Cho and Kal Pen; and "Tower Heist," starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Judd Hirsch, and Matthew Broderick. Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday,;and Kristen Meinzer, The Takeaway's culture producer, are co-hosts of The Takeaway’s Movie Date Podcast, and give their reviews of this week's new movies.

From "Hellraiser" to "Halloween," we are in the middle of scary movie season. To some that's a horror; to us, it's a delight. Movie Date podcast hosts Kristen Meinzer and Rafer Guzman gave us some of their favorite picks, and you did too. Combine those with the favorite options from our hosts, and you've got a set of truly hair-raising titles. Post your scream-inducing flicks here, if you dare. 

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It brought in the big bucks, but did "Paranormal Activity 3" actually scare our intrepid movie date podcasters? Well, the review is mixed. Neither really lost any sleep about it, even though Kristen has a long history of being kept up by scary ("The Shining") and non-scary ("The Hulk") movies and TV shows. Unsurprisingly, the podcast turns into a discussion of Kristen and Rafer's favorite scary movies as well as a review of the latest blockbuster. 

Forget about classics — what are the odds for success when you're remaking a film that was cheesy the first time around? Well, depending on who you talk to, cheesy movies can be a good thing, especially if they involve Kevin Bacon. That's why the new version of "Footloose" will be judged with scrutiny. Kristen and Rafer discuss how it stacks up, from the soundtrack to the dance moves. 

This weekend, two of the season's biggest star vehicles are opening in theaters. "The Ides of March," with George Clooney as a distinctly pre-2008 Obama-like candidate, and Ryan Gosling as an idealistic campaign staffer. "Real Steel" stars Hugh Jackman as a boxer eight years in the future, when robot boxing has replaced actual human boxing as America's favorite bloodsport.

What makes a great political movie? Suspense? A unique plot line? A surprising reveal? Or...Marisa Tomei? In this weeks' podcast, Rafer and Kristen happen to agree. On what? You'll have to listen to find out, as they discuss the latest political epic with a wide release — and Ryan Gosling's 18,000th movie this year, apparently.  

What's your number? No, not your phone number, but the number of sexual partners you've had. Awkward question right? It's also the basis and title for a new Anna Faris movie. But is "What's Your Number" a good idea for a movie? Kristen and Rafer agree on the final judgment, but if you want to know what it is, you'll have to take a listen to this week's movie date podcast. 

It’s Friday, when we talk about new movies here on The Takeaway. This week, we're talking about "50/50," a comedy about a young guy with cancer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, and "What's Your Number?," another comedy — this one centers on dating and relationships — with Anna Faris.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Kristen, Rafer, join a baseball-loving guest in discussing stats movie "Moneyball," starring Brad Pitt. Can a movie about baseball statistics be remotely interesting? Does Kristen's knowledge of the game run deeper than "Bad News Bears"? Does the movie, in the final judgment, satisfy people who aren't number crunchers? To get answers to these questions, you must listen!