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

This week, we review Luca Guadagnino's electrically charged tennis drama, Challengers. Joined by special guest Ashley Zhang, we discuss the trinity of great performances from Zendaya, Mike Faust, and Josh O'Connor, as well as sing our praises for a rare blockbuster-level crowdpleaser that’s still full of blood, vitality, and texture.

It's nun week as we head into a rare double feature episode, this time covering Michael Mohan's Immaculate and Arkasha Stevenson's The First Omen. Nunsploitation is back! Or is it? We tackle these twin movies with eerily similar subject matters and themes, both movies centered around young novitiates who uncover sinister conspiracies within their convents. It's a nun showdown. Which horror movie will come out on top? Listen to find out!

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.