Alex Garland

Cardy, Mat, and Emma are here to share their picks for some of the best games you can finish in 5 hours or less this week. A mix of well-known indies and hidden gems, maybe you'll find something new to play this weekend. Before that, though, there's time for some more thoughts about Alex Garland's Civil War and flower-puzzle game Botany Manor. Plus, a nail-biter of an Endless Search.

Sony Pictures has set the 28 Years Later release date for the upcoming zombie movie, which is the sequel to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.

Alex Garland’s A24 movie Civil War has kicked off a vast, circular online debate over the way Garland frames his story, with minimal background detail about what led to the titular civil war or what the country’s various factions stand for. The argument over how, whether, and to what degree the film represents the actual state of 2024 America has overshadowed a lot of the conversation Garland actually wanted viewers to have after watching his movie. And in particular, it overlooks some of the movie’s finer nuances — like the crucial moment that really defines Civil War’s story.

Jesse Plemons is a brilliant actor. He’s also one of our most memeable stars. It’s not that he’s super expressive — quite the opposite, in fact. He’s usually quite placid, and almost hesitant in his line deliveries. He takes his time. But, whether he’s playing a timid everyman in The Power of the Dog or season 2 of Fargo or a stout lawman in Judas and the Black Messiah orGame Night, there’s always something going on behind his narrowed, watchful eyes. His stillness, his pauses, and his plain, unvarnished way of speaking act as a gravitational force, drawing the camera and other actors into his orbit. He’s also, in a low-key way, extremely funny.

If you're looking for something new to watch this weekend, you're in luck: whether you're in the mood for a movie night or a new binge-watch, Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and more are stacked with new releases.

A24’s Civil War had a strong $25.7 million opening weekend, the best ever for an A24 picture, per Deadline. Those numbers topped the opening of political thrillers such as Zero Dark Thirty ($24.4M) and World Trade Center ($18.7M) and also marked a career-best for director Alex Garland.

Greetings, Polygon readers!

Alex Garland’s new movie is a fascinating little thing. comes to us from the director of Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men. He has had a strong career, and this movie marks one of A24’s first big-budget films. $50 million went to the production of their most expensive film to date, and it had a positive reception at its SXSW premiere. This dystopian thriller follows a group of photojournalists making their way through a wartorn American landscape to interview the President of the United States.

A version of this review ran in March 2024 in conjunction with the movie’s original coverage embargo. It has been updated and republished for the theatrical release.

Alex Garland keeps getting asked the same question about his new movie, Civil War. It’s an obvious question. Garland, known best for Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men, wrote and directed a movie set in near-future America, centering on a civil war that’s fractured the United States — and yet he reveals very little about how that war came about, or what the warring sides represent. Instead, he tells an almost clinically procedural action story about photojournalists crossing the country to cover that war, without ever digging into the details. Why make a seemingly apolitical movie about an American civil war in an era where so many pundits are worried that we’re on the brink of real civil war?

New movie Civil War may be an action-packed war film, but its star Kirsten Dunst thinks it shares a surprising similarity with a much quieter flick: Paris, Texas. 

It’s the noble job of science educators to bring the distant cosmos down to Earth, where it can ignite human fascination in more than an abstract way. But the total solar eclipse that will cast its shadow across thousands of miles of North America this Monday doesn’t need any help. Along the path of totality temperatures will drop, wildlife could become confused, and it may get dark enough to see other planets, in a kind of 360-degree sunset.

Greetings, Polygon readers! April is here, and you know what that means. That’s right: There’s a slew of exciting new films coming out in theaters this month, like the sci-fi drama The Beast starring Léa Seydoux, Alex Garland’s Civil War, Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, and more. All of those look great, but if you’re looking to enjoy a fantastic movie from the comfort of your home, there’s a wealth of great films to watch on streaming in April.

With production set to begin next month on Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 Years Later, it looks to have found one of its stars.

Kirsten Dunst may not have made an appearance in multiversal Marvel adventure Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the Mary Jane Watson actor says she would have – if only she'd been asked.

Alex Garland has confirmed his plans to retire just two weeks before his latest pic Civil War is set to hit the big screen.

Civil War director Alex Garland has opened up about the movie he took inspiration from writing a script for the upcoming movie 28 Years Later, the highly-anticipated threequel in the critically acclaimed franchise.

On the set of Ex Machina and Annihilation director Alex Garland's latest movie, authenticity was key. Civil War, an action-packed film that follows a near-future version of the US as it's torn apart by a tyrannical president, seceded states, and violence, used real tanks, real weapons, and real jets to bring its warfare to life.

In an era of divisive, high-stakes U.S. politics, it isn’t surprising to see so many people online responding to the entire concept of Alex Garland’s Civil War as if it’s inherently toxic. Set on and around the front lines of a near-future America broken into separatist factions, Garland’s latest (after the fairly baffling fable-esque Men) looks like a timely but opportunistic provocation, a movie that can’t help but feel either exploitative or far too close to home in a country whose name, the United States, sounds more ironic and laughable with every passing year.

Spider-Man star Kirsten Dunst reflected on uncomfortable experiences from her time on set. Now, more than two decades after filming, the actor is addressing those issues.

After just landing the role of the Human Torch in Marvel’s reboot of the Fantastic Four, Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn has lined up another exciting new movie. 

Twenty-two years after 28 Days Later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are reteaming with plans for a second sequel titled 28 Years Later.

A return to the zombie-infested world of 28 Days Later has long been rumored, but we finally have something concrete. A sequel is in the works with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, who directed and wrote the 2002 original movie respectively, working on the third film, 28 Years Later.

Ex Machina director Alex Garland looks like he will try to do the impossible when his new film Civil War hits theaters in 2024: depict a second civil war in the United States without directly engaging with the politics of why that war is taking place. It’s not hard to see why Garland might want to avoid thorny connections between the movie and the very real politicians and political groups openly calling for succession and open conflict in the United States. Maybe he believes there’s enough value in the arresting visuals of a modern America under siege.

Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding live-action movie adaptation is really happening, and now A24, the studio behind Everything Everywhere All at Once, Uncut Gems, and Hereditary, is involved. Kojima Productions and A24 announced their collaboration on Thursday, offering new details about their Death Stranding movie and further reinforcing that, yeah, this this is actually happening.

The next film from the director of Annihilation, Ex Machina, and Men looks like a bad time at the movies. Civil War is writer-director Alex Garland pivoting from the intimate, provocative horror of Men to explosive, politically charged dread. The first trailer of Civil War, released Wednesday by A24, hints at what the studio is calling “an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razors edge.”

A24 released the first poster for, an upcoming action film from writer-director Alex Garland. The poster features two gunmen pointing rifles while stationed on top of the torch of the Statue of Liberty. The first trailer will be released next week.

Driving survival game Pacific Drive will release on February 22, 2024, as announced in a new trailer during the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted.

In a world of sequels and franchises, there are still some movies that leave us wanting more. The internet is sharing which movies deserve sequels in a thread started on Twitter, and the answers are wide-ranging, from superhero horror flicks to laugh-out-loud comedies.