While watching Gabriela Osio Vandem and Jack Weisman’s Nuisance Bear, I found a strange parallel to Tiger King. Specifically in that series’ depiction of the often cruel ways that wild animals are exploited for our entertainment. There’s nothing as plainly evil here, but our casual apathy towards the existential plight of the polar bear species writ large is front and center. This manifests in different, often fascinating ways within Vandem and Weisman’s documentary, but it speaks to the larger theme of intrusion or invasion of the natural order of things.
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Abbi Jacobson, Beanie Feldstein, Pamela Adlon, Samira Wiley, Bowen Yang
Grade: A
If I had a nickel for every 2026 movie with voiceover work from Bryan Cranston and Julia-Louis Dreyfuss that made me cry, I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. The first movie was The Sheep Detectives, the surprisingly successful talking animals detective comedy in the vein of Knives Out. The other, and arguably superior film, is Tangles, a breathtaking animated family drama that delves into a tragedy that very few films attempt to cover.
Starring: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailin Salas, Tom Waits
Grade: A-
When walking into a new Martin McDonagh film, one can fairly expect to see some of the same hallmarks that have stuck with him throughout his celebrated filmography. Wild Horse Nine sees McDonagh staying within his lane, but it quickly becomes his most melancholic film to date, a poignant treatise on mortality and legacy, featuring the best performance of John Malkovich’s long career. How McDonagh can weave so many complex themes and disparate tones into a dark comedy about Americans meddling in foreign affairs goes to show why he’s one of the most celebrated auteurs working today.
On an August afternoon in 1972, several interconnected figures were invited to the home of Duke Ellington. This party wasn’t created to generate headlines – outside of the attendees, it’s likely that nobody actually knew it was happening – but it still stands as a historic event. Among the partygoers was experimental documentary filmmaker William Greaves, and the result of his filming of the gathering is Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a revelatory, joyous celebration of a critical period in Black history.
Starring: Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephan James, Matt Dillon, PJ Byrne, Jay Duplass, Tracy Letts, Robert Morgan
Grade: B
If there is any type of movie that is easy to greenlight in 2026, it’s those based on popular IP. From comic book movies to book adaptations, Hollywood has recently become a machine that pumps out projects based on material that people already like. Every once in a while, however, a movie like Obsession comes out and takes the world by storm and becomes a phenomenon. In 1976, that movie was Rocky: an inspiring, underdog sports drama that audiences fell in love with. 50 years later, I Play Rocky attempts to showcase what the Sylvester Stallone film did while still being the IP movie that Hollywood likes to release.
Teenage boyhood can be tough, especially in a world where it’s easy to cultivate an online persona that is disconnected from the one you embody in person. Nuclear Boy tackles that formative phase of life through a coming of age story that feels all too relevant to our times. Themes of masculinity and connection have been threaded through great movies such as 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause and 2018’s mid90s, but this film carves out its own space by grappling with how the rise of online culture alters the chemistry of our brains in a way we can’t always grasp.
The film hinges on the performance of Guus Blanken as Aike, a largely ignored teenager fascinated by chemical detonations who feels more comfortable streaming content for his online followers than engaging with the physical world around him. Blanken excels in his first feature role, serving as a stand-in for a generation of young boys who have found themselves isolated, but also feeling unique in his character’s interests and personality. Director Joren Molter finds a very creative way to tell his story, personifying what could have been an invisible internet audience and playing with the way Aike’s online and IRL experiences blur together. It’s all underlined by a subtle but chilling radiation metaphor and an unsettling score from composer Rutger Reinders that at times toes the line of horror. For those seeking to understand the pressures young people face in finding themselves, this is a must watch.
Writer and director Ballard C. Boyd’s first feature film, Jackrabbit, follows New York City millennials George and Avery (played by Kuhoo Verma and Taylor Ortega, respectively) as they traverse the city searching for their mutual friend Trish (Soojeong Son), who has come up missing. The catch is that George and Avery only just met and have yet to hit it off, so they must learn to navigate each other as they race against the clock to solve the case. Fans of female-led comedy-mysteries such as 2013’s The Heat may find some enjoyment with this film, but it’s unlikely to leave much of an impact.
Things kick off splendidly as the film leans into the comedic back-and-forth banter between the two leads. Verma in particular (who audiences may know from her excellent leading turn in 2021’s teen pregnancy comedy Plan B) shines as a quirky and sharp-tongued transplant to the city who is trying to make a name for herself in the field of journalism. About halfway through, the comedy takes a backseat to the mystery of it all, and the film begins to take itself a bit too seriously. The story beats as the investigation plays out become tedious, and every new twist and turn feels like an attempt to trick the audience instead of building to a conclusion that pays off in a significant way. Had Ballard fully committed to what could have been a wacky ride, Jackrabbit may have stood out as a more effective comedy romp.
I can’t imagine audiences not falling in love with Isle Child, a thoughtful, tender, and beautifully shot exploration of identity through the eyes of a Korean American teenager who was adopted as a toddler. Si Miller, played by Ethan Hwang, grows up in Boston largely unaware of his background and heritage. That all changes one day when a letter arrives in the mail informing him of his birth mother’s ill health. Suddenly, Si finds himself looking at nearly every experience he has through a new lens, and must reckon with who he truly is.
Hwang carries the film with a performance that is quiet, yet always alive and piercing through the screen. Writer-director Thomas Percy Kim’s dialogue for him is somewhat limited for a protagonist, but he doesn’t need it; his processing of a life he didn’t know he had is prominent in every frame. One of the highlights of the film is Si’s dynamic with Yang (played by The Long Walk’s Ben Wang), a Chinese American student who joins his baseball team. Their interactions are a big part of Si’s identity exploration, and the commentary on differences between distinct Asian cultures was well handled. There are a few meandering plot points in the middle of Isle Child concerning Si’s other teammates and girlfriend that don’t serve his journey as well as they could have. Ultimately, though, the film course corrects in the final act as Si is able to take an important step in connecting with his roots. While the film focuses on a very particular experience, the universal theme of discovering who you are will resonate with anyone.
Starring: Will Sharpe, Stephanie Hsu, Rio Vega, Lyna Khoudri, Paul Kircher, Birane Ba, Gauthier Battoue
Grade: B-
Animated film adaptations of graphic novels and manga present a unique challenge. Yes, the heavy work of the animation style and story structure has already been tackled, but it can be too easy for a filmmaker to lean on the source material. In Waves provides a textbook example of this phenomenon, as Phuong Mai Nguyen’s adaptation of AJ Dungo’s graphic novel features some of the year’s best animation, and the story hits all the right notes for a weepy teenage romance, but there are crucially missing elements that hold the film back. It’s crucial to understand, though, that Dungo based the graphic novel on his own experiences, which could explain some of the shortcomings.
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson, Cory Michael Smith, Debby Ryan, Karley Sciortino, Lamorne Morris, Anna Konkle
Grade: B+
“Not everyone’s next chapter has to look the same,” says Wendy (Dakota Fanning) upon learning that her best friend is pregnant, while simultaneously defending her uncertain lot in life. Throughout the events of The Sun Never Sets, those words will be tested for Wendy in unexpected ways as she volleys back and forth between relationship prospects. The result is an emotionally honest romance that leans into romantic drama’s conventions but keeps its characters front and center, thanks to the best performance of Dakota Fanning’s career.
Life is a highway, and writer-director Alexander Ullom’s It Ends – finally making its way to theaters nationwide this weekend – may be the most existential representation of the endless road of life in cinemas today. 2026 has been a banner year for horror that appeals to Gen Z from young directors, and while the film may initially seem targeted to the demographic because of the makeup of its cast, Ullom taps into fears felt by anyone who feels trapped by life’s mundanities. But those walking into the theater hoping to be as frightened as they were with films like Backrooms or Obsession will find themselves disappointed by the film’s bloodlessness.
Starring: Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rock, Shin-Hyun-been, Go Soo, Lee Junk-ok
Grade: C
A normal day at a shopping mall turns into chaos as a scientist launches a bioterrorist attack. Horror has seen its fair share of subgenres, and one of the big ones that is rarely done well is the zombie genre. We have our bright spots such as 28 Days Later – along with two of its sequels 28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (1978 and 2004), Shaun of the Dead, and Train to Busan. Ten years following the release of Train to Busan, South Korean filmmaker, Yeon Sang-ho, attempts to recreate what made that film a massive success that its 2020 sequel, Peninsula, could not for audiences with Colony.
