The Strange Harbors Podcast
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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.
Starting a new tradition this year, this is our first annual "Most Anticipated Films" episode. We put forth our individual ballots for what we're most excited for, culminating in a list of 15 movies that are on our radars.
Our first television episode in a while and the first of 2024, we're reviewing the new Amazon Prime Video series from creators Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane: Mr. & Mrs. Smith. A reimagining of the 2005 hit movie (and a short-lived 1996 television show), the series follow John (Donald Glover) and Jane (Maya Erskine), two spies who agree to complete espionage missions under the cover of marriage. Is the new Mr. & Mrs. Smith another tepid remake, or does it forge a new - more interesting - path?
2023: a tumultuous, but also exciting year for cinema that saw the bottoms fall out of once unstoppable franchises and the rise of new and old masters. Characterized by surprise blockbusters, stinging excavations of the human condition, and a few bold oddities, this year was a cornucopia of great film. This is always our favorite episode to do every year, so tune in to our hot and cold takes as we count down our favorite movies of the year.
Our lead-up to The Best Films of 2023 episode continues as we cover Yorgos' Lanthimos' ribald, fisheye fantasy: Poor Things. Is it the Greek filmmaker's most accessible film? We talk Emma Stone, fearless performances, and the sweetly demented world constructed for this raunchy coming-of-age fable.
The feel good film that took holiday moviegoers by storm, Alexander Payne's The Holdovers follows a cranky history teacher at a remote prep school that is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go. We discuss the trifecta of affecting performances in Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and first-time performer Dominic Sessa, as well as all the awards they're picking up.
"Two objects cannot occupy the same point in space or the same moment in time.” Michael Mann’s Ferrari disguises the fissures of masculinity in the typical rhythms of biographical fare, but does it fit in with the famed director's late oeuvre of between-the-lines human feeling? We discuss the movie, Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, and its shocking racing scenes.
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 Killer.
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, potent B-side to last year's Elvis.
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 compelling chapter in Scorsese's late style. Does it stack up against his recent masterworks of Silence and The Irishman? Tune in to our review.
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 eye to eye.
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 group in search of a legendary artifact that could change the course of history.
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.
