The Strange Harbors Podcast Derek Wong, Amir Touray, Jeff Zhang

This week we are talking about Alex Garland’s new film, Civil War. A movie that attempts to sidestep politics to tell a story about wartime journalists, Garland’s latest is another stab at ambitious speculative fiction. We discuss its touted "apoliticism," its technical prowess, and its treatise on the state of journalism. Does it succeed, and more importantly, does it actually have anything to say? Tune in and find out.

This week, we review Dev Patel's debut as director and action star: Monkey Man. A passion project years in the making marred by delays and production troubles only to be saved last-minute by producer Jordan Peele, Patel's kinetic actioner has plenty to prove. Can it rise above its muddled storytelling to deliver its throat punches and kicks in the teeth? Tune in and find out.

Obvious nostalgia bait or the start of something special? This week we're discussing the Disney Plus revival of X-Men: The Animated Series. Bringing back the iconic series right where the original left off over 25 years ago, X-Men '97 reunites new and old talent for Marvel's first big push for mutants before the live action movie.

This week we review director Rose Glass' sophomore feature, Love Lies Bleeding. A lesbian crime thriller in the vein of The Wachowskis' Bound, the film stars Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, and Dave Franco. Does it live up to Glass' searing debut, 2019's Saint Maud? Tune in and find out.

We're a week late, but here's our coverage of the 96th annual Academy Awards in the year of Barbenheimer. As usual, we discuss snubs, surprises, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Who won? Who should've won? Once again, we give the rundown.

The long-awaited Dune: Part Two is finally here. Does director Denis Villeneuve land all the wondrous, brutalist tableaus thrown in the air over three years ago with Part One? Does he successfully merge dense, sci-fi imagemaking with Frank Herbert’s heady and prescient themes? We review Dune: Part Two.