Tag: 2026

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3 Stars

Toy Story 5 (2026)

A few months ago, I learned that my nephews, Link and Lenny, were not too excited about seeing the newest Toy Story film.

Thankfully, they knew they had no choice (because their mom has the final say), but I was still hurt to know my nephews did not have a strong desire to see the film. Obviously, they did not grow up with the films as my generation did, so they could not have had as much of a connection. Yet, even with one of the most recognizable cast of characters in cinematic history live-action or animated), the series is starting to show some wear and tear.

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4 1/2 Stars

Disclosure Day (2026)

With his latest feature, I found out (thanks to the marvel that is Letterboxd) that I have seen 30 films helmed by Steven Spielberg, tying for the most I’ve seen by anyone (tied with the only person I consider superior, Alfred Hitchcock).

Why bring this up? As arguably the most well-known filmmaker of the last half-century, one might think that we would see some familiarities in Spielberg’s work by now. When his most recent film, Disclosure Day, started up, I knew nothing outside of what everyone else did: that it had to do with Aliens. Imagine my surprise when the first thing we see is…well, not at all what I could have had on my radar (and certainly nothing I can remember seeing in a Spielberg film before). My guy still knows how to surprise.

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4 Stars

Power Ballad (2026)

After the backwash of films like Ray (2004) and Walk the Line (2005), the last two plus years of musical biopics have (for the most part) been quantity over quality.

In that time, there is director John Carney, who has specialized in dramas revolving around music. Nearly two decades since 2007’s Once, he has helmed Begin Again (2014), Sing Street (2016), and Flora and Son (2023). Now comes Power Ballad, proving he knows the idea of how to do quality over quantity (Flora and Son is probably his most forgettable, but that does not make it a bad flick).

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3 Stars

Mortal Kombat II (2026)

In today’s world of IP expectation overload (as of this writing, the trailer for Avengers: Doomsday is still not public), the reboot of Mortal Kombat has definitely gotten less fanfare in comparison, and I am glad for it.

While not as popular as the aforementioned MCU or the Star Wars universe, there are still plenty of fans for the MK verse (not sure if that is the proper term), including myself. Promise was shown after the 2021 reboot, leading to this sequel, which is everything a fan could truly hope for.

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3 1/2 Stars

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

When The Devil Wears Prada came out in 2006, I had just graduated from high school.

Looking back, the reason I never got around to seeing the film in the theater was a mixture of work (had to save up before college, obviously), still being under the spell of Roger Ebert (who did not like the original much), virtually no knowledge of fashion magazines, and other forgotten factors that led me to simply never seeing the films until…honestly, a few years ago. 

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3 1/2 Stars

You, Me, & Tuscany (2026)

At some point, Netflix has really cornered the market on rom coms (more quantity-wise, not entirely quality-wise).

With an infinite amount in their library, a fair amount of these Netflix original rom-coms also have to do with exotic travel (the most recent one I remember seeing was People We Meet on Vacation). Looking back, the last of this type I remember seeing in the theater (not including last year’s regrettable A Big Bold Beautiful Journey) was 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians. Sufficite to say, these varieties of rom com getaways are rare in the theater setting, which is why I was surprised to hear about You, Me, & Tuscany, a film coated with everything those predictable Netflix movies are known for,…but is that a bad thing?

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4 Stars

Project Hail Mary (2026)

I hold no secrets when I state that no other subject in school was more frustrating to me than science.

Whether it was my plant being the only one in class that didn’t grow, having two friends who were no help at all in dissecting a frog in middle school (looking at you, Scott and Steve), or just having too many bits of information going over my head without any chance to catch up, it was the subject that eluded me. This is all the more reason why it is rare for a film like Project Hail Mary to come along, as it is rare for a film to make me wish I were truly adept at science.

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3 Stars

GOAT (2026)

It has been three decades since the original Space Jam made a splash in my young life (and even more so in my little brother Jeff’s life). 

Nostalgia has blinded me from finding out if that film truly holds up or not (sorry to my nephews, but the same could not be said for the 2021 sequel), but it was, at the very least, a childhood milestone. Naturally, it made me interested in practicing basketball for a bit, yet my short height was holding me back (along with a childhood friend who, while talented, loved to showboat and win over me). Perhaps had GOAT come out in my childhood, things would be different.

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2 1/2 Stars

Chasing Summer (2026)

Within the last year or two, I was given (without much warning) the duty of helping to organize a 20th reunion for my High School graduating class (set for the fall of this year).

Honestly, it is somewhat low-key (we are all just meeting at a bar for now), but the interactions with my fellow grads of 2006 will indeed be a unique blend of fear and excitement (since I am one of those heading the whole thing, I doubt I can avoid people much when I am there). If it is anything like the reunions shown in Chasing Summer, it will be much more fear than excitement.

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