781: Your Permission to Speak Freely is Rescinded

Our Summer of Submarines floats on with “U-571”, a 21st centry-style action movie that manages to hit most of the squares on the submarine bingo card. McConaughey is a disgruntled XO! Depth charges terrify! A surprising twist if you didn’t think about the title! Turns out, submarine movies aren’t a genre—they’re a format that lets filmmakers explore genres. Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Casey Liss and Moisés Chiullán.

We dive beneath the sea again with “K-19: The Widowmaker,” in which Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson star as… wait a second… Soviet naval officers? It’s a film about a horrible nuclear accident assembled from pieces of other submarine movies, as well as possibly several “Star Trek” movies, and we can’t decide if the screenplay or the casting is more of a problem. But finally we’ll get to the bottom of the real question: if most of the crewmen aren’t married, can K-19 really be a widowmaker? Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Philip Michaels, Steven Schapansky, Brian Warren and Tony Sindelar.

The Summer of Submarines resurfaces with James Garner going on a secret mission to an enemy island in 1959’s “Up Periscope.” The Skipper is not a skipper, but he’s got some interesting romantic ideas. Some scenes are impressively bad from multiple angles. And we realize that we’re starting to get good at this submarine-movie business, maybe? Jason Snell with Philip Michaels, Shelly Brisbin, David J. Loehr and Erika Ensign.

We return to 1995 not to hack into the Net but to wander, Netless, around Vienna with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Palm readers! Street poets! Plays featuring cows! It’s “Before Sunrise,” a movie in which nothing happens… except maybe the most extraordinary thing in two people’s lives. Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, Erika Ensign, Annette Wierstra and Steven Schapansky.

Our Awards Book Club closes up shop for 2025 with a final set of rankings, the presentation of an award we made up, and an overview of all the Hugo-nominated short fiction. Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Scott McNulty, Aleen Simms and Heather Berberet.

We celebrate the tenth anniversary of our Summer Superhero Spectacular tournament with something slightly different: A draft of our favorite superhero movies. Jason Snell with Andy Ihnatko, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Annette Wierstra, Tony Sindelar, Moisés Chiullán and David J. Loehr.

2025 Awards Book Club nears the end with award nominees “Asunder,” “The Ministry of Time,” and “The Tainted Cup.” Plus: What else are we reading? Jason Snell with Scott McNulty, Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms and Heather Berberet.

We went to the theater to see James Gunn’s “Superman” (2025) and are back to report about the pleasant experience. Gunn sets a new direction for DC superheroes, and fans of Zack Snyder may want to look elsewhere. From Krypto the Superdog to a surprising squirrel save, from The Marvelous Miss Lane to that Elemento guy, we’ll break the whole thing down. Jason Snell with Tony Sindelar, Dan Moren, Shannon Sudderth, Chip Sudderth and Brian Warren.

We remain submerged for a very long time to watch a very long film, 1981’s “Das Boot.” This certifiable classic is certainly long and German, encompassing almost everything you might expect in the genre. There’s action, suspense, a lot of character moments, and long periods of tedium spent listening for bad sounds, punctuated by moments of terror as the boat goes to eleven (and beyond). Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Brian Warren, Casey Liss, Dan Moren and Philip Michaels.

The Summer of Submarines joins forces with Old Movie Club to take on 1958’s “Run Silent, Run Deep,” starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. It’s a tense thriller that has inspired sub and sci-fi movies for many decades. Erika’s gleeful reaction to the film’s abrupt ending may surprise you! Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Philip Michaels, Shelly Brisbin, Dan Moren and Casey Liss.