Each week on Polygon, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home. This week, Captain America: Brave New World, the Marvel superhero movie starring Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford, smashes its way onto Disney Plus after hitting video on demand in April. It’s a big week for animation, with the Oscar-nominated The Wild Robot and the Korean science fiction romance Lost in Starlight both releasing on Netflix, while DreamWorks’ adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s internationally bestselling Dog Man graphic novel series arrives on Peacock. New titles available to rent include the Chinese legal thriller The Prosecutor, and two tales of forbidden love: the Shakespearean musical Juliet & Romeo and The Grey director Joe Carnahan’s action flick Shadow Force. Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend! New on Netflix Lost in Starlight Genre: Science fiction romanceDirector: Han Ji-wonCast: Kim Tae-ri, Hong Kyung/Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Justin H. Min Set in 2050 Seoul, Netflix’s first Korean original animated film is a story of literally star-crossed lovers. An astronaut headed for Mars and a musician fall for each other and face the pain of separation. Trying to make a long-distance relationship work is especially difficult when you’re 139 million miles away from each other. A Widow’s Game Genre: Crime dramaDirector: Carlos SedesCast: Carmen Machi, Ivana Baquero, Tristán Ulloa Based on a true story, this Spanish film stars Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth) as Maje, the young widow of a man stabbed seven times and left in a parking lot in a seeming crime of passion. The investigation leads to Maje’s lovers, as the police try to figure out who’s really behind the crime. The Wild Robot Genre: Family science fictionRun time: 1h 42mDirector: Chris SandersCast: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor Based on Peter Brown’s middle-grade book, DreamWorks’ Academy Award-nominated film follows Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), a helpful robot who accidentally washes up on an island that’s only inhabited by animals. While she initially terrifies all the creatures there, she winds up befriending a fox (Pedro Pascal) who helps her raise a runty gosling (Kit Connor) and prepare him for his first migration. From our review:  From director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon), The Wild Robot is a tenderly crafted story that pushes computer animation in a beautiful new direction — and is exactly the sort of movie that the current animation landscape so desperately needs. New on Disney Plus Captain America: Brave New World Genre: Superhero actionRun time: 1h 58mDirector: Julius OnahCast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Harrison Ford Set after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World sees Sam Wilson — having fully embraced his role as the new Captain America — being called on to resolve an international incident in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on newly elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). With time running out and the walls closing in, will Sam be able to come out on top and rescue the world from the brink of devastation? Probably! From our review: As a Captain America movie, Brave New World is batting strongly below average. Its plot is at least mildly reminiscent of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it’s both fair and unfair to compare the two. Unfair in that Winter Soldier is still among the best-regarded MCU movies, while BNW is running uphill from table-setting a potential new Captain America franchise, dealing with post-production rewrites and reshoots, and the general malaise of the MCU’s post-Avengers: Endgame audience. But fair in that, like Winter Soldier, BNW was also clearly designed as a grounded thriller (by the sliding scale of “grounded” in the MCU) featuring global political stakes and a superpowered conspiracy at its heart. New on Hulu The Seed of the Sacred Fig Genre: Political dramaRun time: 2h 48mDirector: Mohammad RasoulofCast: Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Mahsa Rostami Writer and director Mohammad Rasoulof had to flee Iran after he was sentenced to eight years in prison ahead of the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Fig. The Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated film is a fictional story set against the backdrop of political protests, incorporating real footage of the 2022 and 2023 unrest that followed the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, who was fatally beaten by Iranian “morality police” under the accusation that she was wearing her hijab improperly. New on Peacock Dog Man Genre: Family comedyRun time: 1h 29mDirector: Peter HastingsCast: Peter Hastings, Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery Peter Hastings continues the Captain Underpants franchise with an adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s graphic novel series about a hero created when a police officer and his dog were stitched together into one individual after being wounded while failing to defuse a bomb. Pete Davidson plays Dog Man’s evil cat nemesis in the DreamWorks film, which uses CG animation styled to resemble craft materials. New on Starz Flight Risk Genre: ThrillerRun time: 1h 31mDirector: Mel GibsonCast: Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace, Michelle Dockery No one is quite who they seem in Mel Gibson’s claustrophobic thriller, where a U.S. Marshal (Michelle Dockery) hires a pilot (Mark Wahlberg) to get an informant from Alaska to New York so he can testify against the crime family he worked for. As they travel across the wilderness, the group fights for control of the increasingly tense and violent flight. New on Shudder and HIDIVE Vampire Hunter D Genre: Horror animeRun time: 1h 31mDirector: Toyoo AshidaCast: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizō Katō AMC Networks re-released a digitally remastered version of Toyoo Ashida’s classic anime film to celebrate its 40th anniversary in theaters in April, and is now offering it across both its anime and horror streaming services. Set in a far future where vampires rule the world, the action-packed film follows a mysterious vampire hunter hired to protect a woman from a vampire lord who wants her to be his next bride. New to digital Fight or Flight Genre: Action comedyRun time: 1h 42mDirector: James MadiganCast: Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff, Charithra Chandran Basically Bullet Train but in the air, Fight or Flight casts Black Hawk Down and Penny Dreadful star Josh Hartnett as a disgraced Secret Service agent given the chance to clear his name by catching an elusive hacker known as the Ghost, who’s boarded a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. Unfortunately, the plane is packed with assassins looking to kill the Ghost and anyone who gets in their way. Juliet & Romeo Genre: Musical romanceRun time: 2h 2mDirector: Timothy Scott BogartCast: Jamie Ward, Clara Rugaard, Rupert Everett West Side Story already did the decisive musical version of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, but this adaptation plays closer to the original text while adding a soundtrack full of original pop tunes to the tale of two feuding houses of Verona. Filmed on location in Italy, Juliet & Romeo’s high-profile supporting cast includes Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The White Lotus) as Lord Montague and Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) as Lady Capulet. The Prosecutor Genre: Legal thrillerRun time: 1h 57mDirector: Donnie YenCast: Donnie Yen, Cheung Chi Lam Julian, Michael Hui Ip Man’s Donnie Yen directs and stars in this Chinese legal thriller loosely based on a real 2016 drug trafficking case. Yen plays detective Fok Chi-ho, who loses faith in policing and decides the better way to ensure criminals face justice is as a public prosecutor. The Prosecutor might be mostly courtroom drama, but there’s still plenty of action, combining old-school martial arts techniques with modern film technology. Shadow Force Genre: Action thrillerRun time: 1h 43mDirector: Joe CarnahanCast: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark StrongEight years ago, Kyrah Owens (Kerry Washington of Scandal and Little Fires Everywhere) and Isaac Sarr (Omar Sy of Lupin and Jurassic World) joined a multinational special forces group dubbed Shadow Force, but they’ve left that life behind to raise their son. Their old boss (played by Mark Strong of Shazam! and Sherlock Holmes) doesn’t accept their resignation, and is trying to hunt them down.

In 2018 Korean animator and illustrator Han Ji-won created a commercial for jewelry brand Stonehenge that follows a girl who dreams of going to space, just like her astronaut grandmother. The brief, beautiful animation caught the attention of Korean production company Climax Studios, who saw potential for a much bigger story about the human connections astronauts carry with them into space.  Seven years later, the Netflix animated film Lost in Starlight expands that near-future world into a story of two star-crossed lovers who fall in love on the neon-lit rooftops of a futuristic Seoul only to be separated by 140 million miles when one of them embarks on an expedition to Mars.  “While I was developing the script [for Lost in Starlight], a lot of things changed,” writer-director Han says In fleshing out the story, she was inspired by the individuality of Miyazaki, the edgy sentimentality of Cowboy Bebop, and the near-future worldbuilding of Her. “But, still, there were the same keywords: space, female lead, music, childhood, and love.”  Lost in Starlight centers a slice-of-life love story between astro botanist Nan-young (voiced by The Handmaiden’s Kim Tae-ri in Korean and Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in English) and musician Jay (voiced by Weak Hero’s Hong Kyung in Korean, and Umbrella Academy’s Justin H. Min in English). For Nan-young, who hopes to find life on the planet, Mars is personal. Her mother was part of a doomed, 2026 mission to the Red Planet. Twenty-five years later, Nan-young dreams of continuing in her mother’s footsteps, and helping the Adonis amurensis flower thrive on the alien planet.  “My character is kind of stubborn at times,” says Ramakrishnan, with a laugh. “She’s a girl boss, but she needs to take a breath.” That breath comes in the form of a return to Seoul from Houston, following low psychological exam scores that have Nan-young bumped from an upcoming Martian expedition. The driven scientist doesn’t give up on her goal, continuing her development of a Life Form Detector to try to earn a spot on the trip, but she also finds time to devote to fixing her late mother’s busted record player. When Nan-young literally bumps into Jay with the 2023 Crozby in her arms, he becomes determined to fix it for her.  “I would describe Jay as someone who doesn’t really believe in himself,” Min says of the character who is working in a vintage electronics repair shop after turning away from his passion for composing and performing music. “I think he is more concerned about the practicalities of life and just kind of getting by. I think he has a lot of dreams, but he doesn’t quite know how to act on them and fulfill them.” While Jay may be hesitant in his music, he is determined when it comes to pursuing the brilliant Nan-young. By the time he has fixed her record player, the two have fallen for one another… but can their budding relationship survive the distance between Earth and Mars? Like the short animation it stems from, Lost in Starlight is far more interested in the emotional dimensions of space travel than the logistical ones. The Martian, this is not—nor does it want to be, instead curious about the work of human connection in a sometimes unforgiving but never hopeless universe. The film’s space-scapes are vividly animated, and especially powerful in the abstract. In one climactic, hallucinatory moment, Nan-young’s vision explodes with the yellow blossoms of the flower that connects her work to her mother’s, across time and mortality. She imagines the galaxy as a spinning record, the vinyl representing connections to her mother and to Jay, as well as the natural forces that move us all along.  The story is strongest, however, in its most mundane, Earth-bound moments, and in the ways Han’s animation is able to connect the familiar with the fantastic so seamlessly. Like anime auteurs Hideko Miyazai and Makoto Shinkai before her, Han is incredibly detailed in her realization of interior spaces, bringing a sense of realism to the animated format that casts the same warm, human touch to the mise-en-scene of a Martian research facility as it does Jay’s sunlit, stickered Euljiro apartment. In 2051 Seoul, massive holographic jellyfish float through the twilight sky, but Nan-young’s aging father still sticks struggling plants in an old mug emblazoned with a heart-shaped photo of his family from decades previous. And when Nan-young takes a self-driving car home after a long day, Han focuses not on the technology but our weary protagonist toeing off her work heels. This balance between the futuristic and the familiar is further buoyed by the film’s soundtrack, which features work from Korean artists such as CIFIKA, Meego, and Wave to Earth’s Kim Daniel. “I am a little bit greedy about having really good soundtracks,” says Han. “I wanted it to be futuristic but not apocalyptic, a little bit edgy but soft at the same time.” Han chose synth-pop as the main sound, pairing the electronic sounds of the genre with subdued, dreamy beats. Korean voice actors Kim and Hong contributed some of the lyrics for the tender, lulling songs Jay writes and performs in the film. Korean media has become known internationally for its love stories, most famously depicted in the K-drama format. While Lost in Starlight borrows some of the same narrative DNA that makes those romances tick, it represents something startlingly original within a Korean animation industry that has more often been known internationally for its outsourcing work and preschool TV programs than feature films for adults. “While we still have those companies in Korea doing a lot of outsourcing work, we also have new aspiring companies that come into the picture,” says Han of the state of the Korean animation industry.  Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Han, who became the youngest Korean animator to direct a theatrically released feature film in 2015 with anthology Clearer Than You Think, comes from an indie background, but worked with a commercial production company to make Lost in Starlight. “We have these great artists who have a lot of potential in terms of their creativity and storytelling, and then we have these companies who are now willing to do both the pre and main production works,” says Han. “I think we need a lot of love and interest and support from a lot of different players, and I hope that it could be consistent, so that we can keep on working on our projects. If that happens, then I think we’re going to bloom like flowers.” Lost in Starlight is available to stream on Netflix starting May 30.

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Clownfish Shrink Down Their Bodies to Survive Ocean Heat Waves, New Study Suggests The adaptation appears to help the fish cope with high temperatures, since individuals and breeding pairs that shrank improved their survival odds Clownfish seem to become shorter during heat waves, according to the new study. Morgan Bennett-Smith A new study reveals that clownfish use a surprising strategy to adapt their bodies to ocean heat waves: They shrink. “[Clownfish] have these amazing abilities that we still don’t know all that much about,” says study co-author Theresa Rueger, a tropical marine ecologist at Newcastle University in England, to the Washington Post’s Dino Grandoni. The findings offer some hope for fish in the face of climate change, she adds. “There’s potential that maybe some other species will adapt in a way that will allow them to hang on longer than we think.” Rueger and her team didn’t initially plan to study a heat wave. They were monitoring how freshwater runoff might affect breeding clownfish in Papua New Guinea’s Kimbe Bay, when temperatures dramatically rose and warmed the water to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit above average. But these conditions, they realized, offered a key opportunity for research. The scientists measured 134 clownfish in Kimbe Bay every month during the ocean heat wave, which spanned from February to August 2023. Astoundingly, 100 of those fish shrank. The researchers found that 71 percent of the dominant females and 79 percent of the breeding males reduced in size at least once over the study period. Their findings were published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday. At first, lead author Melissa Versteeg, a PhD researcher at England’s Newcastle University, thought she was making a mistake in her measurements. She kept trying again. And again. “She had several people measuring them at the same time to really make sure that we’re confident with the numbers,” Rueger says to Melissa Hobson at National Geographic. But after these repeated attempts, she concluded the measurements were correct. The fish that shrank increased their chances of surviving the heat wave by 78 percent, according to the study. Some of the clownfish even shrank in pairs, reducing their size alongside their breeding partner—a move that also boosted their chance of survival. The study marks the first time a coral reef-dwelling fish has been documented to shrink in response to environmental and social cues, according to a statement from Newcastle University. A pair of clownfish swims near an anemone. When the studied fish became smaller, females maintained a larger size than males. Morgan Bennett-Smith Clownfish aren’t the only animals shifting their size because of heat. Fish around the world are adapting to warmer temperatures by downsizing their bodies. “This is another tool in the toolbox that fish are going to use to deal with a changing world,” says Simon Thorrold, an ocean ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who was not involved in the new work, to Adithi Ramakrishnan at the Associated Press. But these clownfish stand out from the rest. “Until now, when talking about shrinking fish, nearly all studies do not mean that fish literally shrink but that they grow to smaller sizes,” explains Asta Audzijonyte, a senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania in Australia who was not involved in the work, to the Washington Post. “This study, in contrast, reports observations of [clownfish] actually shrinking by a few percent of their total length over the course of a month.” Previous research has found that other animals, like birds and rodents, appear to have gotten smaller because of climate change. And marine iguanas will shrink in response to warmer water temperatures during El Niño years. The researchers don’t yet know how the clownfish are pulling off their shrinking act. One hypothesis is that the fish are reabsorbing their own bone matter, reports the Associated Press. They’re also not sure why, exactly, changing size is so advantageous to the clownfish. But it could be that a smaller size makes it easier to maintain oxygen levels or get by with less food available. “If you’re small, you obviously need less food, and you’re also more efficient in foraging a lot of the time,” explains Rueger to National Geographic. Still, this adaptation method can only go so far. The heat wave exacerbated coral bleaching, which decreases available reef habitat, and subsequent heat waves ultimately killed many of the fish the researchers studied. “We’ve lost many of those fish,” Rueger says to the Washington Post. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

From blazing-fast SSDs to innovative PC cases, Corsair showed some fantastic offerings at the Computex event. Corsair Unveils PCI-E 5.0 SSDs, High-Performance RAM, Refreshed PSU Lineup, Hydro X Cooling Solutions, Cases, and New Peripherals Corsair had some really creative products for the consumer PC segment at Computex. The company not only showcased newer lineups for components and peripherals but also brought some convenient stuff that we hadn't ever seen before. 2 of 9 Starting with the PC components, Corsair introduced new PCI-E 5.0 and external SSDs. These include the MP600 Elite and MP600 PRO LPX for PS5, MP700 PRO and MP700 Elite for high-performance PCs, MP600 Mini and MP600 Micro for compact systems, and EX400U and EX100U external SSDs. 2 of 9 We also saw newer DDR5 memories in the Vengeance lineup alongside WS DDR5 RDIMM and SODIMM DDR5 for laptops. The Corsair memory lineup also received a refreshed Dominator Titanium series, new CUDIMM, and some RGB DDR5 memories. Corsair also showcased its Custom LAB DDR5 editions with gorgeous skins. 2 of 9 Corsair has also upgraded its PSU lineup by introducing the popular RM series, budget CX series, and high-performance HX series. These include 650W to 1500W power supply units for PC builds, and some of them are equipped with dual 12V-2x6 connectors for the latest high-end GPUs. 2 of 9 Coming to the PC cases, there are some really innovative options, like the FRAME 4500X, which comes with a panoramic front and side glass panel, high customizations, and dual 360mm radiator support; the AIR 5400 mid-tower chassis, which focuses on high airflow and has a triple chamber design, and the FRAME 50000 chassis that boasts a minimalistic design with spacious interior and huge vents for airflow. However, the Open Frame Concept was an excellent solution for building a quick test bench, which offers vertical and horizontal orientations, a removable PSU shroud, and a small footprint that does everything well without needing too much space. 2 of 9 The FRAME 40000 Prototype was one of the most notable innovations by Corsair, which brought swappable frame parts. The case introduces the "Powerboard" concept that replaces the regular motherboard plate inside the case and helps power the whole PC through multiple available connectors for all kinds of components. It's like an alternative to motherboards with connectors at the back, but you will have a lot of connectors to power fans and stuff, which can come in handy. 2 of 9 Corsair also introduced its new Hydro X lineup, featuring the XC7 RGB Elite and Elite LCD CPU blocks, XD6 RGB Elite and Elite LCD water reservoirs/pumps, and XG5 RGB SO-series GPU water block. It also introduced new 360mm Nautilus and 420mm Titan AIOs for high-performance cooling. 2 of 9 Coming to the peripherals section, Corsair unveiled the Web Hub and highly customizable MAKR 75 DIY keyboard for gamers. The headset lineup received several new Virtuoso series, VOID series, and HS series headsets for high-fidelity sound quality. Deal of the Day

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New Research Nimble-Minded Neanderthals May Have Used These Wooden Spears to Hunt 200,000 Years Ago New research shows that the weapons found in Germany are much younger than previously thought, suggesting they were made by skilled Neanderthal craftspeople The Schöningen spears on display in Germany Julian Stratenschulte / Picture Alliance via Getty Images In the 1990s, archaeologists working near the German town of Schöningen made a remarkable find: a set of well-preserved wooden spears crafted from spruce and pine, along with stone tools and the butchered remains of more than 50 horses. Researchers initially thought the Schöningen spears were around 400,000 years old and later revised that estimate to roughly 300,000 years old. They suspected the spears—which are among the oldest known complete hunting weapons—belonged to an early human ancestor called Homo heidelbergensis. Now, however, they’re revising the timeline once again: According to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances, the spears are around 200,000 years old—much younger than previously thought. The new date suggests the weapons may have belonged to Neanderthals, instead of H. heidelbergensis. This theory makes sense to some researchers because, around the same time, Neanderthals were starting to exhibit more complex behaviors, like making stone tools and deploying sophisticated hunting tactics. During this period, known as the Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals also began living longer, which suggests that they benefited from these lifestyle and behavior advancements. Based on the horse remains found at the site, it appears that hunters cleverly trapped them near the edge of a prehistoric lake. Researchers think the spears were carefully hand-made by skilled craftspeople. “They offer compelling evidence of sophisticated hunting strategies which would have required better cognitive abilities and the development of more complex communication, planning and social structures,” says lead author Jarod Hutson, an archaeologist at Germany’s Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie, in a statement. “The updated timeline for Schöningen now aligns it with a growing number of sites which together indicate a significant leap in early human hunting capabilities during this period.” If the spears were created and used by humans’ closest prehistoric relatives, this revelation would add to the growing body of evidence that “Neanderthal brain development and social structure were more advanced than previously believed,” writes Austin Harvey of All That’s Interesting. However, not everyone is confident of the new date—or the theory that the spears belonged to Neanderthals. “For the moment, I find the arguments interesting, but not absolutely convincing,” says Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany who wasn’t involved with the research, to the Associated Press’ Adithi Ramakrishnan. To determine the new timeline, researchers analyzed fossilized freshwater snail shells found in the same layer of dirt as the spears. They honed in on amino acids that were locked in the shells by tiny “trapdoors” called opercula. Because amino acids break down at predictable rates, researchers could use them to estimate the age of the fossils. This method is known as amino acid geochronology. It’s one of the tools researchers have at their disposal for dating artifacts, along with radiocarbon dating, which measures the amount of radioactive carbon-14 present in organic materials, and luminescence dating, which measures the last time sediments were exposed to sunlight. Even with such techniques, however, precisely estimating the age of artifacts can be challenging. Anything scientists can do to narrow down the timeframe helps make historic sites “more useful for answering archaeological questions about human evolution and cultural development,” says study co-author Kirsty Penkman, a geochemist at the University of York in England, to Science’s Andrew Curry. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.