My favorite horror movie, 2008’s Australian cult sleeper - Lake Mungo - is celebrating its 15th anniversary this week. Within the walls of a mockumentary, dread and sorrow percolate into a devastating crescendo as the Palmer family grapples with the specter of death, and there’s nothing quite like it. A terrifying haunted house yarn that belies its tragic, shattering underbelly, Lake Mungo is a masterwork of grainy apparitions, mounting unease, and quiet restraint. Minor spoilers ahead…

Colors! Personality! Stakes! James Gunn closes out the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy with the wildly vivid Vol. 3. Crafting an intimate farewell against the fabric of Marvel cosmic, Gunn brings something that rarely finds its way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe: finality. It’s one last hurrah as the Guardians race against the clock to save a grievously injured teammate, touring through James Gunn’s warped imagination in a surprisingly personal goodbye. Like many superhero movies, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is overlong and stuffed to the brim with talented-but-shortchanged actors, but it helps that this is the best looking Marvel movie of the last ten years. Minor spoilers ahead…

Another entry in this year’s Midnight Madness slate, Congolese filmmaker Jean Luc Herbulot’s Saloum is a confident genre mashup. Part Spaghetti Western, part crime thriller, part folk horror, the film packs a potent cocktail of tones within its brisk 84-minute runtime. With tinges of Robert Rodriguez and John Carpenter, coupled with a crackling performance from Yann Gael, Saloum is a lean, breakneck journey into the terrifying unknown and the wildest surprise at TIFF this year. Minor spoilers ahead…

English filmmaker Guy Ritchie goes back to basics with the ruthless and bloody Wrath of Man. Stripping the film of his typical panache save for a few hallmark favorites, including Jason Statham in premium ass-kicking mode, Ritchie delivers a no-frills tale of revenge that’s just a little less than the sum of its parts. Minor spoilers ahead…

Whether it’s the gala premieres or its NEXT and Midnight titles, there’s plenty of genre fare to go around at Sundance. I watched a ton of films at the festival this year, and even though I would like to, it’s impossible for me to write full-length reviews for everything. So, here’s a special edition of Strange Harbors Capsule Reviews, covering the wide range of this year’s genre films at Sundance. Minor spoilers ahead…

Writer and filmmaker Lee Isaac-Chung’s semi-autobiographical drama Minari, which follows a Korean American family adjusting to rural life in Arkansas, is the best film of the year. With equal parts melancholy, optimism, and tenderness. the film finds poetic balm within the chase for the American dream. Minor spoilers ahead…

Jason Blum’s renowned horror production company branches out with Welcome to the Blumhouse, a series of four films on Amazon Prime that straddle the line between genres. Gathering a diverse smattering of talent and storytelling, the collection runs the gamut of terror with domestic drama, tech parables, and traditional frights, but in the end, Welcome to the Blumhouse - with a single exception - tastes more like stale leftovers than a fresh meal. Minor spoilers ahead…

After a brief dabble in documentaries, director Judd Apatow returns to the world of narrative features with The King of Staten Island, his first since 2015’s Trainwreck. Closely following the Apatow playbook, the film looks to imbue yet another funnyperson with a dose of heart through ribald humor. A loosely autobiographical vehicle for its star Pete Davidson, The King of Staten Island has a surprising charm to it, but its uneven pacing and bloated running time hobble its good intentions. Minor spoilers ahead…

Introducing The Strange Harbors Podcast, a weekly discussion of film and television. With the future of HBO’s Watchmen in a state of uncertainty, we’ve decided to pivot to a more general discussion of cinema and pop culture. Join me, Derek Wong, and new host Amir Touray every week as we dive deep into big blockbusters, indie favorites, and under-seen hidden gems. Hopefully, the same insight and analysis we brought to Watchmen will translate over to your favorite films and television shows.