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.

"Before Sunrise" (1995)

Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, Erika Ensign, Annette Wierstra and Steven Schapansky

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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.

Awards Book Club final rankings and Hugo short fiction

Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Scott McNulty, Aleen Simms and Heather Berberet

Novella

Novelette

Short Story

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We celebrate the tenth anniversary of our Summer Superhero Spectacular tournament with something slightly different: A draft of our favorite superhero movies.

Superhero Movie Draft

Jason Snell with Andy Ihnatko, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Annette Wierstra, Tony Sindelar, Moisés Chiullán and David J. Loehr

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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?

2025 Awards Book Club, part 3

Jason Snell with Scott McNulty, Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms and Heather Berberet

What are we reading?

Aleen: Sounds Like Love and Saint Death’s Daughter

Erika: The Assassin’s Blade and Moonstorm

Heather: When Women Were Dragons and Atmosphere

Scott: Shroud

Jason: Shroud, and also the Barker & Llewellyn series

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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.

"Superman" (2025)

Jason Snell with Tony Sindelar, Dan Moren, Shannon Sudderth, Chip Sudderth and Brian Warren

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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).

"Das Boot" (1981)

Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Brian Warren, Casey Liss, Dan Moren and Philip Michaels

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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!

"Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958)

Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Philip Michaels, Shelly Brisbin, Dan Moren and Casey Liss

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The summer of submarines kicks off with 1995’s “Crimson Tide,” a taut character drama that pits a captain (Gene Hackman) against his XO (Denzel Washington) in a conflict that escalates as global tensions rise outside their nuclear submarine.

"Crimson Tide"

Jason Snell with Philip Michaels, Lisa Schmeiser, Dan Moren, Casey Liss and Erika Ensign

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With the guiding hand of Prof. Siracusa choosing the curriculum, we watch select animated shorts from the Netflix series “Love, Death + Robots.” John’s quest to find the perfect photorealistic CGI animation continues. Tony does his companions a solid if he’s ever killed on a moon. The others debate if they represent love, death, or robots. We try to reconnect with our inner pool-polishing robots. It’s a real team effort.

"Love, Death + Robots"

Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Annette Wierstra, Brian Hamilton and Tony Sindelar

Here’s the viewing list for the Love, Death & Robots episode of The Incomparable.

Plus one (optional) upsetting bonus episode:

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The second (and final?) season of the BBC/Disney+ collaboration era of “Doctor Who” is at an end, and so our crew of fans is here to pick up the pieces and ponder what went right and (unfortunately) what went wrong. Where does this franchise go from here?

"Doctor Who" season 2 wrap-up

Jason Snell with Steven Schapansky, Erika Ensign, Chip Sudderth, Annette Wierstra and Heather Berberet

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