The Strange Harbors Podcast

Action maestro John Woo is back with his first stateside movie in 20 years, Silent Night. A dialogue-free revenge flick soaked in blood, chrome, and improvised explosives, the film finds Joel Kinnaman on a one-man quest to take down those responsible for the death of his son. Is Woo back and better than ever? Or has he lost his touch. We discuss.

This week, Derek, Amir, and Jeff sit down with the latest Toho monster flick to wash up on American shores, Godzilla Minus One. A Japanese film that has taken the U.S. box office by storm, Minus One combines disaster movie spectacle with a surprisingly strong human element. We review the movie and discuss its anti-war messaging, its shockingly low budget, and our favorite Godzilla films.

A thorny balancing act of different tones that drills straight into sordid psychodrama and the elusive nature of performance, Todd Haynes’ May December is high wire cinema at its finest. We review the film and dive deep into the trinity of powerhouses that is Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Charles Melton.

This week, Derek, Amir, and Jeff review Nia DaCosta's The Marvels, the 33rd entry in a flagging Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the three leads of Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani, it's certainly aiming higher, further, and faster. But is it another Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Or is it another Quantumania? We discuss.

David Fincher returns with his take on the hitman yarn with The Killer. Starring Michael Fassbender as the titular assassin whose world is turned upside down after a botched job, Fincher's latest strips down the archetype to its nuts and bolts. Is it a minor entry in the perfectionist director's legendary oeuvre? Or are there hidden layers underneath its simple veneer? Tune in to our review of The...

Sofia Coppola aims her dreamlike sights at Elvis Presley with Priscilla, a not-quite biopic of its titular Queen of Rock and Roll. The perfect convergence of subject matter and a filmmaker’s particular wheelhouse, Coppola’s spotlight on the wife of Elvis Presley twists the director’s potent examinations of girlhood adolescence with the nightmare of being groomed by an American legend. A dark, pote...

This week, we take a look at Martin Scorsese's three-and-a-half-hour epic tragedy, Killers of the Flower Moon. A deliberate indictment of insidious American exceptionalism, the film explores an oft-overlooked atrocity from the country's ignoble past. Focusing on a real-life conspiracy of murder to rob the Indigenous Osage of Oklahoma of their wealth, Killers of the Flower Moon is another compellin...

Director Kevin Greutert returns to the franchise that birthed his feature-length career with Saw X, a precise and brutal affair that knows exactly what its audience wants. Tobin Bell returns as John Kramer and Shawnee Smith returns as Amanda Young in this punch-in-the-arm midquel, but is it enough to revitalize the series?

Star Wars: Rogue One director Gareth Edwards returns with his sprawling, sci-fi epic, The Creator. Breathing rarefied air as an original, non-IP, non-sequel, non-franchise movie, Edwards new vision finds itself sitting in an uphill, cinematic landscape. Does it deliver on its buzzed-about promise?

This week we are reviewing Hulu's buzzy alien abduction thriller, Bryan Duffield's No One Will Save You. With white-knuckle suspense and a stylish dialogue-free conceit, can the film sustain its bravura across 93 minutes? Tune in and find out what we thought.

Kenneth Branagh returns for a third installment of his Agatha Christie adaptations with A Haunting in Venice. Is the third time the charm for this lukewarm franchise of diminishing returns? Is Kenneth Branagh in his flop era, or is he finally cooking with gas? We investigate and review A Haunting in Venice.

This week, in lieu of covering a movie or show, we are delivering a primer on the concurrent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood. We talk about wage disparities, worsening working conditions, the inequities in residual payments from digital platform, and the blurring line between journalist and promoter.

With Labor Day, thus concludes our first Summer Box Office Wager, and the results are nothing short of...disastrous. Listen to how poorly we did predicting the Barbenheimer phenomenon, a recap of this summer's releases, as well as what we're looking forward to for the rest of the year.

This week on The Strange Harbors Podcast, we talk about the horror sensation of the year, Danny and Michael Phillipou's Talk to Me. When a group of friends get swept up in a viral trend of demonic possession, they become hooked on the new thrill — until one of them unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. Does Talk to Me live up to the hype? Tune in and find out.

Part two of our Barbenheimer extravaganza finds us in a world of dolls, fashion, and existential crises. With special guest Ashley Zhang, the show reviews Greta Gerwig's much-anticipated Barbie. We talk everything from Gerwig's much-lauded filmography to the state of IP-driven cinema. Is Barbie the high watermark? Or is it another shallow cash grab?

Theory vs. practice. Creation vs. destruction. Christopher Nolan’s paradoxically sprawling, intimate Oppenheimer is a deconstruction of the “great man” biopic. Navigating the vast gulf between science and empathy, Nolan’s latest delivers a harrowing drama about the moral cost of unleashing upon the world the most horrible weapon it has ever known. Is it Nolan's best? Find out if Jeff and Derek see...

Christopher McQuarrie returns to the Mission: Impossible franchise, along with the president of movies himself, Tom Cruise. The last movie star's crusade for analog supremacy finally becomes text as the IMF team battles a sinister AI. What death-defying stunts await in Dead Reckoning Part One? Tune in and find out as we barrel through the setpieces and the franchise itself.

This week, Derek and Amir review the fifth movie in the Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. A departure from previous installments, James Mangold takes the reins from Steven Spielberg. This time, we follow along as Indiana Jones must work alongside his goddaughter, played by the talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as they race against a nefarious foe in search of a legendary...

This week, Jeff and Derek review Celine Song's feature film debut, Past Lives. A quiet, restrained movie about roads not taken and choices we make, Past Lives follows Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends separated after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love and the choices that make a life...

The DC Extended Universe winds down with the long-gestating solo outing for its resident speedster: The Flash. Can the film overcome its controversial star and troubled production to deliver the definitive Barry Allen story? Will it crumble under the fan service of its relentless cameos, or will it score another win for multiverse storytelling? Tune in and find out our thoughts!

We're taking a break from new releases this week to celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of Jeff's favorite horror movies, the 2008 cult sleeper: Lake Mungo. A profoundly sad exploration of grief, guilt, and the secrets we keep from the ones we love most, Lake Mungo is a gut punch disguised as a ghost story mockumentary.

The highly anticipated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is finally here. With huge shoes to fill in a changing cinematic zeitgeist, does this Spider sequel live up to its acclaimed predecessor? We discuss the new film's groundbreaking artistry and keen deconstruction of wall crawler’s metafiction.

The Fast and the Furious franchise has never met a villain it couldn't reform, a dead fan favorite it couldn't resurrect. After blasting off into space in the last movie, does the series still have the sauce or has it jumped the shark? We review the latest adventure of Vin Diesel's ridiculous family, discuss its ham sandwich of a villain, and muse about all the surprising returns in the movie.

The start of a new Strange Harbors Podcast tradition begins here with our first annual summer box office wager. Jeff, Derek, and Amir write in their ballots for what they think will be the top ten biggest movies this summer. Can the Disney juggernaut be toppled? Will Top Gun mania boost Mission: Impossible? Is the Transformers series cooked? Come listen to our lively discussion on the biggest movi...

This week, we dive into horror maestro Ari Asters latest film, the wildly divisive Beau Is Afraid. Coined by the filmmaker as a Jewish Lord of the Rings about a man visiting his mother, Beau Is Afraid is the ultimate subversion of the mommy issues monomyth. We talk dream logic, the film's surprising humor, and the hero's journey. Is Ari Aster three for three? Tune in and find out!