Hope (2026) Film Review

A mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote harbor town. The residents find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before.

Hope is directed by Na Hong-jin director of The Chaser (2008), The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Wailing (2016).

Hope is one of the strangest films I’ve seen so far this year, at first the film starts out slow that over the course of the film gets more and more insane and bizarre. The film reels you in with its small village mystery and then keeps you attached when it decides to go all out with the monster elements and the ultimately bizarre moments. Hope is going to be a bit more tricky to review, since I do not want to spoil anything, so I will just give a basic overview that won’t hurt your experience of the film.

The performances are quite shockingly great, particularly Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, even if there is little to no character writing here. We get a general idea of their characters and the film makes it work, it helps that the performances are a whole lot of fun that balance the film’s serious and more silly moments. The film captures the look of fear and flat out confusion in the characters faces, the slow movement in their walking is so well done especially during the film’s first act a scene that takes place in the village.

The cinematography is outstanding and really does a lot of the talking rather than the script, cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo does a fantastic job of making every single corner suspenseful. The earlier mentioned village scene is a prime example of this, Hwang Jung-min’s character Ko Bum-seok is armed with his gun not exactly knowing what is terrorizing the village, every single time he reaches a corner there is potential for this beast to strike. You feel that with the cinematography focusing so Ko Bum-seok as well as the area around him, the atmosphere truly grabs onto the viewer and never lets go, it’s truly one of the film’s many best moments that truly makes an excellent example of how cinematography and atmosphere can do most of the talking.

The film’s build up to the monsters is truly fantastic, while yes the film does have a slow start I do think that overall benefits the film. The film is able to bring in its suspenseful atmosphere, get the viewer caught up about this small village mystery before it evolves into something far greater. You also feel this sense of exploration as well, like you are exploring the film’s world along with the characters.

The CGI is admittedly incredibly silly however I do think that was the intention, the film is definitely self aware that it looks ridiculous and goes all in with ragdoll physics that feel straight out of the video game series Grand Theft Auto, plus the CGI is strangely charming and has this incredibly fun feel that really matches the tone the film is going for.

Finally there’s the action scenes, particularly the horseback and car scenes. Once again the attention to detail that comes from the cinematography is truly fantastic and really builds the suspense of the scenes, the focus and sharpness of these moments that truly bring everything together.

Overall Hope is an insane ride from beginning to end, it’s the sort of film that you must go in knowing as little as possible to really get the full experience.

Hope is currently in theaters.

9/10 A

The Sun Never Sets (2026) Film Review

A woman’s relationship with her older, divorced boyfriend hits a rough patch just as her ex reappears in her life, leading to complicated emotions and messy entanglements in the Alaskan wilderness.

The Sun Never Sets is directed by Joe Swanberg director of Marriage Material (2012), All The Light In The Sky (2012), Drinking Buddies (2013), Happy Christmas (2014), Win It All (2017), Build The Wall (2020) and many others.

Of the films I’ve seen from Joe Swanberg I believe without a doubt that The Sun Never Sets is hands down his best to date, perhaps it’s due to Swanberg making the film based on his own experiences with relationships which gives the film a much more personal feel. When you combine that with strong performances, the story being told in such a grounded way and the execution, you have yourself a genuinely well done film.

The performances all around are fantastic, Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson and Corey Michael Smith are all really excellent here and each contribute to the film and its themes. Jake Johnson brings this comfortable yet nuanced approach during the film’s dramatic moments and even balances the comedic ones masterfully. Corey Michael Smith brings this vulnerable and grounded energy to the film as well as the love triangle of the film.

Finally there is Dakota Fanning who quite honestly gives a career best performance that is compelling, raw, she does such a fantastic job of portraying this free spirited woman at romantic crossroads and she’s the emotional core of the film. Which Fanning makes use of by really going all out with her already beautiful performance. Fanning’s performance really spoke to me, I’m still not 100% sure why that is the case. Perhaps it’s due to the way Dakota Fanning’s character Wendy explores the world around her or the way she communicates with those around her.

The writing is truly well done, while there is not anything new being explored here. The way the film goes about exploring the love triangle is quite grounded, the film mainly explores the messiness of relationships and looking at old wounds. Old wounds particularly when it comes to relationships can be incredibly difficult, in this case once Wendy’s ex-boyfriend Chuck (played by Corey Michael Smith) remerges, this forces Wendy into this emotional limbo where past issues and present issues combine together. The way the film goes about executing this is quite well done and truly effective, especially due to Wendy’s character writing where we also start to feel what she is feeling.

The ending is quite fantastic and feels like a very natural choice, apparently Dakota Fanning is the one who pushed for the ending and I must say that it was a very smart move. The ending moves away from the typical tropes of the genre and instead has Wendy finding this quiet, uplifting moment of calmness after traveling through the film’s chaotic and messy love triangle.

Overall The Sun Never Sets is a beautifully done film that the more you really think about it the more you truly appreciate it. Between the excellent acting, directing and character writing, there is so much here to truly appreciate.

The Sun Never Sets is currently in theaters.

9/10 A

Finding Emily (2026) Film Review

When a lovesick musician is given the wrong number for his dream girl, he teams up with a driven psychology student to find her. Together, they spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.

Finding Emily is directed by Alicia MacDonald which is her directorial debut.

I have said before that I do not typically cry when watching romantic comedies, but something about Finding Emily really clicked for me and I’m still not 100% sure what exactly that was but It left me truly impressed. Perhaps it’s the beautiful performances, the direction or the strong balance of the film’s grounded and more crazier moments.

The performances from Angourie Rice and Spike Fearn are truly magnificent, the film’s best moments are when the two get to play off of each other in this natural and focused way that really brings the viewer along for the ride. You directly feel the two’s chemistry fly off the screen and invest the viewer, their personalities are wonderful and their characters Emily Raine (played by Rice) and Owen Brompton (played by Fearn) are charming and have this grounded nature to them. The supporting cast such as Cora Kirk, Kat Rooney, Nadia Parkes and many others are all great here and give memorable performances that contribute to the plot.

The writing is quite well done, not only does the film have its grounded moments which are mainly from the conversations between Rice and Fearn. But the film also has it’s more crazier moments that take some liberties of not being grounded but are still quite a lot of fun. The film understands that not every single moment needs to be grounded and that is perhaps it’s secret weapon, it has this beautiful balance of grounded and more crazier elements that mix surprisingly well together.

In a lot of ways Finding Emily does feel like a throwback to the 2000s romantic comedy era, one way being the soundtrack that really does capture the atmosphere and spirit of the film. It’s very clear that Alicia MacDonald really cares for the genre so she goes all in here and makes the best experience a fan of the genre could have.

Overall Finding Emily is genuinely fantastic, it’s a whole lot of fun with a strong story and cast. It’s one of the best films of the year and arguably one of the best romantic comedies of the 2020s so far.

Finding Emily is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Quick Review: The Last Kiss (2026)

After a tragic class trip, a teen gains the ability to see people’s deaths through kissing. She races against time to save her classmates from their foreseen demises related to the incident.

The Last Kiss is directed by Yoko Okumura director of Unseen (2023).

The Last Kiss is the definition of a surprise release, the trailer only came out 5 days ago (at the time this was written) and as you would expect it’s a straight to VOD release. What caught my attention was that McKenna Grace was in this movie and well…she sure is the best part of this movie.

McKenna Grace tries with what she can with such a shoddy script that fails to turn it’s interesting premise into something great, unfortunately her character Laurel is just not given enough depth for the viewer to latch onto. We know very little about her outside of when she kisses someone she can see their death, that’s all we really get unfortunately. The supporting characters are your very standard slasher horror movie characters who have very little personality, the cast does a fine job acting wise but nothing really great here.

The writing is what completely breaks this movie, the horror elements feel almost like an afterthought, the script fails to make its interesting premise into something investing that the viewer can get put into and explore the movie’s world. Quite honestly, the movie feels much more like a supernatural mystery tv pilot rather than a horror movie, there is also a bit of teen comedy thrown into the mix that just isn’t very funny at all.

Overall The Last Kiss is very forgettable, you could do a lot worse as the acting is not that bad and there are occasional moments of promise. But overall this feels like a huge missed opportunity with such an interesting premise.

The Last Kiss is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Obsession (2026) Film Review

After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.

Obsession is directed by Curry Barker director of Milk & Serial (2024).

Obsession undoubtedly one of if not THE biggest success stories of a film from 2026, I don’t think anyone involved with this film including Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston or anyone else expected the film to be as popular or massive as it went on to be. The film’s plot is straightforward, it’s a very classic “careful what you wish for” type of story but there’s a lot of elements here that really make this film stand out. When you combine the performances, the atmosphere and the filmmaking you truly get some incredibly thrilling results.

First and foremost the performances are all quite fantastic. Michael Johnston does a wonderful job at playing Bear a character who is charming at first but then quickly becomes selfish. Some of Johnston’s best moments as Bear is when he slowly realizes that the wish he’s made is backfiring onto him, being able to capture this character who is both slimy and now trying to fix everything that HE caused is truly effective. The supporting performances from Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless are both strong here, they offer some strong moments and help build the film’s world.

Without a doubt the strongest performance here is Inde Navarrette who plays Nikki. There are times here where her performance is truly jaw dropping and makes you ask “how on earth did she do that?” It’s a performance that Navarrette clearly put so much commitment into and really compliments the film’s atmosphere and world. Some of Navarrette’s best moments are when pre-wish Nikki tries to cry out for help, it’s incredibly devastating and Navarrette captures the pain and betrayal in her voice masterfully. The more wild and bizarre moments of Nikki are effective as well, between the body movements and the speech patterns it’s all there that truly delivers one of the best performances of the year and one of the best horror performances of the decade.

Obsession’s secret weapon is it’s atmosphere, as soon as the film starts you immediately feel like you have been taken into this dark void that is trying to trick the viewer into believing they are in a regular town. It’s the type of atmosphere that slowly but surely creeps up on the viewer as the film goes on, the few comedic moments are used sparingly throughout which actually helps bring this film’s characters and world more closely together.

The film’s technical elements are beautifully done, the score from Rock Burwell is haunting, beautiful and even tragic. The score manages to compliment each and every scene in well defined detail, it has this touch of sadness that can be felt throughout the experience. The cinematography from Taylor Clemons is truly wonderful, there’s a few shots here of Nikki being covered in shadows with only her eyes shining. These moments combined with the dialogue are truly hauntingly beautiful and have this extra punch to them.

Finally there is Curry Barker’s direction which is truly excellent. The direction here is incredibly confident and does not shy away from the film’s themes. The set up for each scene always has some sort of payoff, whether it’s the dialogue or the acting from everyone here. There is always at least something that’s going to catch your eye as you explore this film.

Overall Obsession is one of the best films of the year, this film automatically puts Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston and the rest of the cast and crew on the map and to see what they will do next.

Obsession is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Masters Of The Universe (2026) Film Review

Prince Adam discovers that the strange memories shaping his life are real when the lost Sword of Power resurfaces, forcing him to return to Eternia and challenge the tyrant who shattered his family and kingdom.

Masters Of The Universe is directed by Travis Knight director of Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Bumblebee (2018).

Masters Of The Universe is one of the biggest surprises of the year, it is quite refreshing to see a blockbuster based on an IP not take itself incredibly seriously. While there are some writing flaws, I do think the film succeeds at capturing its source material and is the closest we are ever going to get to a genuinely really good Masters Of The Universe movie.

For starters the cast is quite great, they all do a splendid job of capturing the spirit of their respective characters. Nicholas Galitzine was a lot of fun and genuinely great as Prince Adam/He-Man, if there is one thing I took away from this film it’s that it sold me on Galitzine as an actor. Galitzine is able to really go all in on the humor while complimenting the serious moments the atmosphere asks for, his chemistry with the rest of the cast is quite great and he is overall quite charming. I also really do love Galizine’s take on the whole “Hero’s Journey” element, you as the viewer genuinely root for him and feel like you are exploring the world with him.

Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-At-Arms and Camila Mendes as Teela are both quite great, while not getting a whole lot in the character writing department. They do have plenty of really strong moments that give their characters something to do, the two also work incredibly well with Galizine making the trio quite fun throughout the film. Alison Brie goes all in as Evil-Lyn, she nails Evil Lyn’s voice to the point where it’s truly mind blowing. She sounds exactly like her and has the same sort of mannerisms, some of the film’s best moments are whenever Brie is on screen. Again not a whole lot in the way of character writing, but still a quite impressive performance.

Jared Leto perhaps gives his best performance in years as Skeletor, not only does the performance capture the source material. But there is strong balance of humor and seriousness, it does help that the design of Skeletor is quite fantastic and makes him pop out a lot more. Some moments towards the end do get on the incredibly goofy side of things, however Leto’s delivery is able to match the atmosphere and make said goofy moments genuinely entertaining.

What mainly helps the film is it knows exactly what it is and does not pretend to be anything else, although the film does have serious moments. The film never reaches to the point where it is taking itself so seriously that it takes the viewer out of the film. The writing remains quite consistent throughout and even some of the jokes that don’t always land still have a bit of charm to them.

The costume design from Richard Sale is absolutely well done, from Man-At-Arms to Evil Lyn to He-Man and so on they are all so well done and capture the spirit of the source material so wonderfully. The attention to detail is front and center here with the costumes and pops out almost immediately as soon as the film begins, it remains that way throughout the experience and truly elevates the film.

Finally there is the score from Daniel Pemberton which is one of my favorite scores from a film so far this year. Right from the beginning we are treated to “Eternia” a song that pretty much sums up the energy, power and fun of the film, the score does so much of the talking throughout the film in this such coolish atmosphere that it brings along with it. The first scene of Adam turning into He-Man is one of the film’s best scenes, the song “The Power Of Grayskull” plays which is yet another example of just how excellent the score really is.

Overall, Masters Of The Universe is a fun and genuinely fantastic film that captures the spirit of the source material while adding its own style into the mix. Hands down one of the most surprising films of the year thus far.

Masters Of The Universe is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Onslaught (2026) Film Review

When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, an Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.

Onslaught is directed by Adam Wingard director of You’re Next (2011), The Guest (2014), Blair Witch (2016), Death Note (2017), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire (2024) and a few others.

Onslaught is quite a fun one even if it has a lot of issues, there is a lot to appreciate here and one moment in particular that is quite shocking. But the overall experience does feel a bit empty by the end with a lot of ideas that are just abandoned and the ending being very cobbled together.

Adria Arjona is what is mainly holding this movie together, she gives a strong enough performance with her character Celeste a mother who does anything to protect her daughter. Celeste is not the most deeply written protagonist, but there are some moments here that do help compliment her as a character. Reginald VelJohnson who plays Josiah an army veteran, isn’t bad here and his dialogue exchanges with Arjona are decently charming. Josiah just does not have a whole lot going for him in the character writing department.

Dan Stevens and Drew Starkey both give great performances but unfortunately their characters are not exactly that investing. Stevens is not in the film for very long, which I do understand that this is the classic “creation betrays its creator” type of story and it works well enough. But it is a bit of a shame to see Stevens go out so early. The film seems like it had a lot planned for Starkey’s character Cyrus but it never got around to him being incredibly involved, Cyrus is a fun character whenever he is on screen but the end result is very incomplete.

The film is quite brutal, there is quite a lot of gore and one scene in particular that feels all too real. The scene in question is quite shocking and genuinely disturbing, it succeeds at really showing the viewer how brutal the film’s antagonists really are. Which are these soldiers named The Butcher, The Cockroach and The Crybaby. None of them have any dialogue and only communicate through their body language and mainly hand signals. They are essentially just very standard slasher movie villains, but the atmosphere and the brutality of the three gives them these extra layers to stand out a bit more.

The main issue with Onslaught is the movie’s third act, while it is quite fun, gory and at times satisfying. There is a whole lot here that feels very incomplete, the story is very rushed and the final battle with The Butcher is cut incredibly short (after having a lot of build up throughout the movie.) Plus the opening credits of the movie with speeches from past U.S. presidents talking about the country being involved with wars never really goes anywhere.

Overall Onslaught is pretty bare bones and really does not have a whole lot going on here. It’s decently fun and the acting is quite good, but that’s really about where it ends.

Onslaught is currently in theaters.

5/10 C

Insidious: Out of the Further (2026) Film Review

Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in, discovers she can travel into The Further, where she possesses an ability to bring what lives there back to the real world.

Insidious: Out of the Further is directed by Jacob Chase director of The Four-Faced Liar (2010) and Come Play (2020). The film serves as the sixth installment in the Insidious franchise.

After the very different yet disappointing previous installment Insidious: The Red Door, Insidious: Out The Further drops the indie drama like elements from the last movie and fully goes in with the horror elements from the previous films. Which actually does end up leading into some sequences that are genuinely effective especially for a franchise studio horror film that’s on its sixth entry.

Most of the performances are fine enough but Amelia Eve and of course series veteran Lin Shaye are quite strong here. Amelia Eve plays Gemma Hall who’s this film’s main protagonist and she’s quite decent one, her backstory is explored just enough for the viewer to care about her as a character. The bond between Gemma and her daughter Maya is genuinely great and does make you care for their bond which especially comes into play later on. The exploration of generational trauma while not anything new is decently done and gives Gemma so pretty solid character writing. She does not want to repeat her mother’s mistakes, which this in turn makes the third act a lot more effective.

Lin Shaye returns as Elise Rainier and she’s still quite great, her entrance into the movie is admittedly very exciting even if it is trying to bait claps and cheers (I give the moment some leeway because I do think the movie is aware of it.) Her character is not that much different from the other films, but by this point you know what to expect from Elise as a character and she delivers all of that here.

What sets this movie apart from the sequels is mainly a few of the sequences, there’s two in particular that are quite effective. One is the dental scene (partly shown in the trailer) it’s shockingly nasty and completely grosses the viewer out. On its own, it might not be THAT shocking or gross. But for a mainstream studio horror movie the inclusion of it is quite interesting and can be appreciated for doing something completely unexpected. The other sequence is the pillow fort scene, a scene that effectively uses the camera (cinematographer Dave Garnett does a wonderful job) and captures this atmosphere where you feel like anything can appear from around the corner. It kind of plays into this whole “taking a fun activity you did as a kid and putting a creepy twist on it” sort of thing and it works quite effectively.

The rest of the movie is about what you expect from an Insidious film although I will say that The Further itself is explored quite well in this installment, you really do get this creepy atmosphere that does not always rely on jumpscares. There’s moments where the movie just lets the background and camera do all of the talking, there really is not anything groundbreaking going on here, but the movie does make The Further quite a fun and creepy experience to walk through.

Overall Insidious: Out of the Further is a lot of fun and a decent installment to the franchise, I would say it’s definitely one of the better sequels as it is able to differentiate itself just enough to give an interesting experience.

Insidious: Out of the Further is currently in theaters.

6/10 C+

Lightning Round Review: The Wrong Girls (2026)

Two aimless young women inadvertently gain telepathic abilities after ingesting an experimental drug, pitting them against dangerous rivals pursuing the same powerful substance

The Wrong Girls is directed by Dylan Meyer which is her directorial debut.

Not a whole lot to report on here, if you love stoner comedies that you absolutely dig this one. What mainly helps The Wrong Girls is Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat going all out with their performances.

The two are genuinely hilarious and have really strong comedic timing that can actually surprise the viewer at times, Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani voicing the two cats are also quite fantastic as well and add to the film’s humor quite well.

I think the best part here is the friendship between Frankie (played by Stewart) and Molly (played by Shawkat) and how natural it feels, this is the type of friendship that feels incredibly real and has this quite charming atmosphere attached to it. It brings the viewer along for the ride from beginning to end and truly never lets you go at all.

Some of the jokes can be a hit or miss and admittedly the plot does get a bit too bizarre for its own good, however it is still an incredibly fun time that is well worth the watch.

The Wrong Girls is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Quick Review: Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026)

When the mysterious behemoth known only as Bane frees Batman’s entire rogue’s gallery from Arkham Asylum, the Caped Crusader is pushed to his mental and physical breaking point.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is directed by Jeff Wamester director of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy (2024), Justice League: Warworld (2023), Legion of Super-Heroes (2023) and a few others.

Not a whole lot to say here, but I am quite shocked to see that one of these DC animated films turned out to be decent. Because as of late the quality has definitely dipped. What’s mainly helping Knightfall is the character writing, it’s not anything mind blowing and you could probably figure out where the ending goes. But between the characterization of Bruce, Bane, Azrael and many others there is quite a lot to enjoy here.

Bane is very menacing and is portrayed in both a brutal and calculated way, the sheer brutality and intellect to his character is present here and displays why the character is so interesting in the first place. The film also explores his origin story and upbringing in prison, what drove him to be the way he is and seeing this path of his being created in prison.

Bruce Wayne is well written here, we explore the trauma, tragedy and abandonment of his life that takes a heavy toll on him when it comes to his stability and his interactions with others who want to help. This is not anything particularly new when it comes to Bruce and Batman, but it is still quite interesting and brings a lot more to the table than a lot of other animated Batman films that strictly go all in on the action.

Azrael is the classic case of a character who’s dealing with his past and cannot quite control his powers, throughout the film we explore him as a character and at times almost feel like we are entering his mind. There’s actually a surprising amount of groundedness especially towards the film’s final act.

The animation is quite well done, it compliments Gotham City as a whole and captures the brutal and dark atmosphere that the film seems to be going for. The voice acting from Anson Mount, Michael Mando and Pablo Schreiber are quite strong and really go all in with the film’s world. They capture the many different sides of their characters and keep the viewer invested the whole way through.

Overall Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is quite solid and a strong start to the trilogy, it does have some pacing issues here and there. But the film mainly stays on track from beginning to end which gives the viewer a quite dark and mature look at Gotham.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B