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Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Spoilers- About That “Mysterious” Character And That Ending

August 3, 2026August 3, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

*Warning! This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day! If you haven’t seen the movie yet and/or don’t want anything spoiled, then you might want to click off the article right now! You have been warned!*

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has hit theaters everywhere and it’s expected to make money and a LOT of it, far surpassing initial box office projections and expecting to earn an bat*hit insane $900+ Million worldwide in it’s opening weekend ALONE! If those projected stats hold, that will make it the biggest opening weekend of the year, the biggest opening weekend of the decade, and the second biggest opening weekend of all time, only surpassed by Avengers: Endgame‘s $1.2+ Billion opening weekend in 2019. With what was looking like a very underwhelming summer movie season outside the animated movie involving toys taking on iPad screens, the 20 year-long sequel that could’ve just been a zoom call, and original horror flicks with a beer money level budget, Brand New Day and The Odyssey was able to get the summer box office the kick in the pants it DESPERATELY needed before the kids go back to school! Movies really are coming back, baby! I guess all it took was putting Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jon Bernthal in more things!

Even taking in Spidey’s insane popularity among worldwide audience, the fact that Brand New Day was able to make THIS level of money without needing the likes of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to drive audiences to the theaters is a special kind of impressive. Yes, I know the buzz killers out there will bring up inflation and the ACTUAL number of ticket prices but come on, regardless if this movie came out in 2026 or 2006, this is still an INCREDIBLY impressive opening weekend.

The main question is how did they do it? How did this movie have such mass appeal among fans and moviegoers? What is it about this particular movie that it was able to tip over the edge of not just potentially making more than the No Way Home but nearly guarantee to join the rare two billion dollar club with the likes of Avatar, Titanic, and Avengers: Endgame?!?!

Many will say it has to do with the movie delivering the exact kind of Spider-Man adventure that everyone was wanting after No Way Home! After going from a big bombastic multiverse style adventure which paid off the loose ends of not just Tom Holland’s own respective trilogy but also the likes of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, following that up four and a half years later with a smaller-scale, street level film that’s just about Peter Parker going through his personal needs as Spider-Man along with a couple of MCU friends along for the ride just felt like the perfect route to take! Credit should be fully given to Mr. Holland for that, who has claimed that he scour the internet after No Way Home to deliver the exact kind of Spider-Man film that the fans wanted.

But I think it also had to do with the right amount of twists and turns and surprises that are to be found here, all which work as not just fun fan service and crowd pleasing moments but also plays actual, legit importance of a role to the film’s overall themes and messages. You have the Punisher, the Incredible Hulk, and even Yelena, A.K.A. the new Black Widow, that are present and accounted for here. And of course, you also have the one mysterious character in the movie, played by Sadie Sink, who also just so happens to be *SPOILER ALERT* Jean Grey!

That’s right! After all that bizarre “mystery box” build-up in the marketing/PR press talk from Sony and Marvel, the worst kept secret in a mainstream movie since “Benedict Cumberbatch is totally NOT Khan!” from 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness and the worst kept secret in the superhero python since “Jason Todd is totally NOT the Arkham Knight!” from 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight is pretty much exactly what everyone thought it was going to be. Sadie Sink is now Jean Grey, the well-known red haired mutant from the X-Men, who is almost certain going to be playing a huge role in the MCU moving forward as Marvel Studios begins to re-introduce the X-Men and will probably make an appearance in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies, Doomsday and/or Secret Wars.

To be fair, if you consider the context of the film, you can understand why Sony and Marvel were so eager to keep Sadie Sink’s character a secret. Having an antagonist involve someone that has the powers to telepath, telekinesis, and possess themselves into someone’s else body no matter who it is does make for an intriguing mystery for our main character. Even if the audience member themselves can see it the reveal coming from a mile away as to who the character herself is, seeing how Peter discovers the identity of this new character does help see his character progress throughout the course of the film.

At the beginning, you see a Peter Parker who now believes that Peter Parker himself doesn’t matter anymore, only Spider-Man does. After Doctor Strange cast the spell that made everyone forget who he is and losing Aunt May, Peter only sees value in himself as Spider-Man, not as Peter Parker. As a result, he has kept himself in an incredibly sheltered life, making zero contact with any old friends and not even attempting to chase any potential life changing college degree. He’s only committed himself to be a full-time Spider-Man, being able to accomplish many tasks through his tenure as a “prime” web swinger, teaming up with NYPD detective Jean DeWolff, to take on the big known crooks in the city he’s sworn to protect. To put it simply, he has nothing left…..except Spider-Man.

However, this mindset starts to change once Peter comes in contract with not just his two best friends in MJ and Ned but also with Jean Grey. Much like Peter, Jean is also out on her own in the world, invading custody from Department of Damage Control (DODC) after they abducted her sister Sara. Instead of following the traditional comic book origin story with Jean unlocking special powers within herself after being involved in a car accident, she developed her powers alongside her sister, based on their mutant physiology rather than by a special radiation or serum.

Throughout the course of the film, Jean is using mind games on Peter, who tries to help the DODC to subdue her before she becomes a very serious threat to New York City. She dares to hope mind herself into those that are close to Peter, most notably MJ, where she is not only the first person to discover post-spell that Peter Parker is Spider-Man but that she is willing to use that knowledge to go after the people he loves and manipulate them.

It’s only after a long game of cat-and-mouse and a very entertaining fight sequence with the Incredible Hulk that we haven’t seen on screen in nearly a decade where Peter is finally able to subdue Jean and turn her in. Before losing consciousness, Jean mentions someone by the named Sara, who she has been aiming to find since she got taken by the DODC. Although the head of DODC, Bill Metgzer, claims that Sara was a recently deceased colleague Jean learned about while possessing his mind, we later find out that is a load of bollocks and that Sara is actually referring to Jean’s sister. And the one message that she was given in her head to remember her sister, is that of V-Max.

After we see Jean being interrogated by Metgzer at the DODC, we see that V-Max fading text appear once again. However, that text doesn’t actually represent where Sara is but what her last fading memory was before she died. Yep, the exact kind of interragtion that Jean herself is being through is the one that killed her sister!

Much like how Peter react after the Green Goblin killed Aunt May, Jean has gone full unhinged, wanted to tear apart Metgzer lime from lime. And much like with Peter in the film, the unlocked rage and trauma unlocks even stronger abilities in Jean, including more powerful telekinesis and a large-scaled psychic “bubble” effect that can freeze people’s minds across a wide variety of area, which in the film results in good chunk of NYC. Despite Sara being killed by the same experiments that the DODC is using on Jean, she can now those same experiments to return the favor to Metgzer.

As I mention in my review, this was the moment where the film become CLOSE to losing me. While Jean’s origin story is indeed tragic and makes her character sympathetic, this did NOT feel like the right place or film to introduce her character to. With a near 10 minute long stretch where we don’t even see Spider-Man, this is where the film felt like it was going to completely fall apart, proving the naysayers right that this film is just an advertisement for the MCU’s X-Men and nothing more. However, things take a different turn once we cut back to Peter here.

I should mention that throughout the film, Peter is the one person who is strong enough to resist Jean’s powers to enter his mind. Whether it’s because of Peter’s newly gained abilities or his strong “will”, he’s still himself when he comes in contact with Jean. But that confrontation is put to the test towards the climax, which see Peter making his way toward the DODC to stop Jean but has to come against a large group of ninjas, A.K.A. the Hand, in order to get to her. It’s at this moment where not only the film regains it’s footing but also ties everything together beautifully, proving that this is indeed Spider-Man’s movie first and everyone else’s second.

Throughout the whole film, we see Peter struggling to return to his former self as Peter Parker and not just as Spider-Man. The inhibitor that he gain from Bruce Banner has been keeping his new powers and his own mental state in check…..until this very moment. As the Hand starts to overwhelm to the point where he’s coughing up blood and Jean is on the verge of just not killing the man who murdered her sister but also getting fully inside Peter’s head, she proceeds to ask our hero one distinct question that perfectly describes the theme of the movie in a nutshell:

“Are you Peter Parker or are you Spider-Man?”

Peter willingly replies: “I’m both!”

It’s at that moment that Peter finally lets go, accepts his new abilities, and defeats the hand to get to Jean Grey. Not just because he’s Spider-Man but he’s also Peter Parker. He’s able to have full control of himself and NOT let what he has suffered throughout the course of the film get to him. This is Peter regaining his duology once again!

After resisting all movie long, Peter finally lets Jean into his mind, where she finds an old memory of Aunt May on the day that she discovers that he is Spider-Man. It’s a brilliant scene that shows May accepting her nephew for who he is and loved him for himself. Regardless if Peter is Spider-Man or not, Aunt May will always love her nephew. It’s with this moment that Jean understands what it’s like to experience loss, realizing she is not alone and discovers once again what it’s like to connect with someone.

But then, Frank Castle tries to take a shot a Jean Grey from outside but ends up getting Peter in the process, sustaining him with a near-fatal wound that has him on the near death bed. Jean is able to use her powers to help keep Peter alive, refusing to lose him just like she lost her sister. In the aftermath, Jean that has been consumed with guilt leaves the city on her own, the DODC is under investigation from the NYCP along with the disappearance of Metzer, and with the citizens of NYC right by his side, Peter realizes that he doesn’t need to be alone to be Spider-Man, he can be Peter Parker as well.

The final sequences contains Peter visiting his Aunt May’s grave once again to bring their arc to a full circle, a last-minute added scene with Peter reconnecting with Ned and doing their classic handshake together, giving Ned a hint that he might remember who Peter is, and a rather bizarre post credit scene where the spider tracker is tracking Spider-Man off of planet Earth, potentially hinting at Spider-Man’s role in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.

On paper, Spider-Man: Brand New Day seems like an act of desperation. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe far pass it’s hay days, you would think a Spider-Man movie that feels the need to shoehorn in a bunch of fan favorite Marvel characters such as the Punisher, Hulk, Yelena, and having to introduce Jean Grey to get folks excited for the X-Men coming would be as cynical and cash-grabbing as it gets. But, even when you argue their placement in terms of plot isn’t entirely necessary, they still connect well to Peter Parker and the film’s overall thematic arcs.

The Punisher serves to help Peter’s isolation with an isolation of his own, the Hulk serves to help Peter fight the inner demons that’s inside of him, MJ & Ned are there to show that Peter isn’t the only ones who feel like something is missing in their lives, Yelena is there because she also feels lonely and needs connection with someone else. And of course Jean Grey is there to serve as a mirror to Peter’s arc, as both “special” beings who have lost loved ones and are conflicted on how to handle the “special” powers within themselves.

I was worried when I heard that all these characters are going to be in it but this is perhaps the most natural uses of fan favorite characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Much like Andrew and Tobey in No Way Home, their presences only serve to GROW Tom’s Spider-Man and not shrink him in any way. The movie remembers to put Tom’s Spider-Man front and center. And even when there comes moments where it SEEMS like it is losing track of it’s lead protagonist, those moments always ends up coming right back to him when it is needed.

It might’ve took four films but Brand New Day feels like Tom Holland finally being able to carry the Spider-Man mantle on his own two feet with no assistance from the previous versions required. Even with the returning Marvel characters that are here and the newly introduced one that will certainly come back in other Marvel movies later on down the road, it doesn’t take away the fact that Tom Holland has now become his own definite Spider-Man, providing a different kind of special sauce that neither Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire had in their versions. I don’t mean this to downplay the previous Spider-Men but more to WELCOME them to the library as well.

I’m so happy Tom Holland fought for so long and hard to make Brand New Day the best Spider-Man movie he could possibly make. He no longer needs the training wheels, he can now push the lovely bike down the road and never look back! Go Spidey go!

Ranking Christopher Nolan’s Films (w/The Odyssey)

July 20, 2026July 20, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

This weekend saw the release of The Odyssey, the newest entry to come from the great mind of Christopher Nolan. Despite all the controversy and outrage over the internet, it looks as though it’s set to have a strong opening weekend in spite of it being three hours long and clearly NOT PG-13. As a result, time to rank every film in Christopher Nolan’s filmography thus far and see how it fares from worst to best.

It shouldn’t be unpopular to say that Christopher Nolan is one of the greatest filmmakers working today! He’s one of the few directors out there that everyone is aware of and his name attached to a film alone is enough to get people’s butts in theater seats. And coming in a post-covid and post-2023 strikers timeline and in the middle of summer filled with underperforming/underwhelming big movies, leave it to Nolan to be the one big name this weekend helping to turn the tide on the narrative that people don’t go to theaters anymore. I’m sure this isn’t what the Dark Knight himself had in mind when he made it his quest to save theaters back in 2020 with Tenet, but hey, I still think he consider it an absolute win regardless.

Keep in mind that for this list, there’s really only one of these movies that I’m not the biggest fan off. Just about every other one I either like or absolutely LOVE! Heck, over half of the movies on this list were some of my absolute favorite films in the year they came out with some of them being on my list of favorite films every year. That’s why this list was INCREDIBLY hard to make! Regardless, I’m up to the challenge and let’s rank the great work coming from the Nolan mind himself.

13.) Tenet

If there is one Christopher Nolan film that I would unfortunately have to declare to being a complete and total dud, it’s Tenet. While it’s well acted and looks amazing, this feels more like an intimation of a Christopher Nolan film than an actual Christopher Nolan film. The plot is a convoluted mess, the characters are completely one-note and half of the time nameless, the sound mixing is ungodly atrocious, and while it’s central time travel/espionage premise is a very interesting one, the execution of it could not have missed the mark as much as it did.. The fact you have a film where the main protagonist name is literally referred to as “The Protagonist” and you are expected to take it all seriously is literally all you need to know about the experience of watching Tenet. Little did we know that this would be the end of the road between the partnership of Nolan and Warner Bros, with the latter getting another chance of “saving” cinema but with a total different studio.

12.) Following

Here is the one that started it all. Christopher Nolan is able to make his first length directorial debut with Following, an INCREDIBLY low budget and small scale flick about a young writer who follows strangers for a living in the hopes of being able to write something interesting for his novels. For a film that basically involves it’s main character trying to find an identity, this is where Nolan enters the realm of cinema and secures an identity of it’s own. It’s beer money-level budget does hold it back from being a truly great film with the stellar production you would come to expect from Nolan and the 70 minute long running makes many elements feels rushed and sloppy. For a directorial film debut, you can certainly do much worse but can also do much better as well.

11.) Dunkirk

Nolan has always been a filmmaker that remained a loyalist on the experience of watching films in a theater. I don’t think there has been a film he has made to date that didn’t put as much emphasis on theater experience than with Dunkirk, a tense, tightly paced war epic about the battle that took place in the beaches of Dunkirk between Germany and France. While this definitely was an event worth seeing on the biggest screen in pure IMAX back in July 2017, it’s lack of compelling characters, questionable sound mixing, and a needlessly complicated narrative really hinders the rewatch value, making it fall short of being an all-time war movie classic. Plenty will argue that this is the intention on the part of Nolan but that still doesn’t make for a very engaging watch for me. If Tenet was an example of a Nolan film that had great ideas but bad execution, then Dunkirk is an example of a Nolan film with bad ideas but ultimately great execution. I guess if you have a massive 4K TV with a stellar sound system, you might get HALF of that theatrical experience that I got back in 2017. But take all of that away, all you get with Dunkirk is a basic war film that feels more like akin to your Ken Burns PBS documentary rather than it’s own film.

10.) Insomnia

The first film Nolan made that was disturbed by Warner Bros might just be his most overlooked feature to date, even if this is ranked in the lower half of Nolan’s filmography. We have a solid and engaging thriller about one man’s descent into madness and another man that is driven solely by madness. Al Pacino and Robin Williams turn in great performances and make for a perfect duology of the hero and villain of the picture. The film does a great job of showing the effect that constant daylight has on a character along with the passage of time that is scattered across the film. Tbh, the fact that this film is this low on the list says more about how good Nolan is at making films than the overall quality of Insomnia. It might be mid-tier on the Nolan scale but this is still a pretty good film all things considered.

9.) Interstellar

What might be Nolan’s most ambitious film and largest in scope to date, Interstellar makes for one of the most interesting and intriguing sci-fi films of the 21st century. The film goes into great lengths about mankind’s place in the universe and what we are willing to achieve for the survival of the human race. The effects are a feast for the eyes, it’s superbly acted, the emotional core between Cooper and his daughter is very well done, and the first two acts is able to execute it’s themes to near perfection, acting as an engaging race against time to preserve what’s left of humanity on Earth. Unfortunately, the third act then comes along where all logic gets thrown out of the window, a certain subplot that the film has been building to gets completely handwave, and everything is tied up into the cheapest little bow imaginable. There’s PLENTY to love about Interstellar and there are many moments where it becomes SO CLOSE to being up there with Nolan’s absolute best, but then the last 20 minutes happens that just doesn’t feel satisfying. Even if it’s not able to stick the landing as well as it could have, Interstellar makes for one engaging ride that is worth experiencing at least one time.

8.) Batman Begins

Batman Begins was an absolute revolutionary when it came out back in 2005. Not only did it revived the Batman franchise that seemed long dead for eight years, but it help set the foundation that properties surrounding superheroes and comic books can in fact be taken more seriously and still be really good. It gives us an incredibly engaging Bruce Wayne in Christian Bale’s iconic turn as this iconic character along with providing a satisfying origin story that stands as one of the best ever put to screen, being able to revolutionized superhero films for DC the way Richard Donner’s Superman and Michael Keaton’s Batman did back in the days. While it’s impact didn’t feel all the way felt until around the arrival of it’s sequel The Dark Knight three years later, this film’s importance to the Caped Crusader along with the sub-genre should not go unnoticed. Even before Marvel got their universe with Iron Man, it was this terrific first entry from Christopher Nolan that got the ball rolling with just how good a modern superhero movie can be. Only shaky camera action sequences and the second half not being quite as engaging as the first half prevents this from being even higher on the list!

7.) The Prestige

Fresh off a year after reviving the Batman franchise, here we have an absolute mind bender of a film with a strong emotional core, twists and turns that are not just surprising but makes complete sense, and a film that overall doesn’t have a clear protagonist or antagonist. The Prestige offers Nolan’s most packed film in terms of themes, craftsmanship and it’s twisty as hell narrative. With the way everything unfolds through the entire picture, the whole experience plays like a manifesto itself. Making you wonder if one day Christopher Nolan will acts as a professional magician himself once he retires from making films. Even if I feel like there’s one twist too many and the re-watches don’t quite match the experience of seeing everything unfold for the first time, The Prestige is still awesome and a film that should be talked about more when it comes to Nolan’s greatest achievements.

6.) The Dark Knight Rises

That’s right, I have The Dark Knight Rises THIS high on the list! Nolan’s final entry in his largely successful Dark Knight trilogy is his most daring movie of the lot. This is the one Batman film that actually dares to question the entire idea around the character of Batman: that perhaps Bruce Wayne becoming Batman was a mistake. Aided by a intimating villain in Tom Hardy’s Bane, a welcome supporting turn in Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman, fist bumping action sequences and a ending that brings the full themes of the trilogy together, The Dark Knight Rises made for an ending that is imperfect but yet FELT perfect at the exact same time. And especially in a age where superhero and movie franchises that constantly refuse to end, it’s certainly refreshing to have a series that was able to get a proper finale and stick to it, with NO sequel or follow-ups of any kind coming after it. While this is FAR from other flawless masterpieces that Nolan has created, I do think there is a strong argument that this is his most FLAWED masterpiece. In the sense, that despite all the glaring issues from a technical and script side of things along with some underwhelming death scenes, everything here just feels…..right. Even if this film does have it’s detractors, I’m still a believer in The Dark Knight Rises…even if you’re not.

5.) Memento

If you want to see a textbook example of how to make a film within a film, look no further than Memento. This is the kind of mind f**k that very few directors could pull off but Nolan is somehow able to do it and make it look complete easy. Guy Pearce is at his absolute best here as a man suffering from a rare memory loss and is trying to find the man who raped and killed his wife. The score is great, the mystery is able to build perfectly with each previous scene building perfectly to the next, and it’s just one of those rare films that will reward you every time you watch it regardless of what way you prefer to watch it. There’s not many films that constantly wants to keep me coming back for more after each viewing but Memento is one of those rare films. This is a film that might give you a headache when first watching it but it’s certainly the best headache you will ever have. Some might argue this is a bit too high on the list but this film just rules and deserves a spot in the top 5!

4.) Oppenheimer

With this being the first film that Nolan made with Universal Pictures after his departure from WB, Oppenheimer is yet another masterfully made and directed film by the great Christopher Nolan himself. It’s able to tell exactly the kind of sprawling epic story that it aspires to be by making sure to act as a character study first and a biopic second. Every single member of it’s highly recognizable cast is able to completely disappear into their roles and captured their performances perfectly, it does a good job of exploring the man of J. Robert Oppenheimer (played perfectly by Cillian Murphy) as not just “the destroyer of worlds” but as an impactful man himself, the three hour runtime is put to good use without feeling bloated in the slightest, and is able to deliver fully on the theater experience in ways that no other filmmaker could pull off. While may not quite be my very favorite from Nolan himself, this is certainly one of his most impressive works to date and one that I wouldn’t fault anyone who declares it as their new favorite.

3.) The Odyssey

The Odyssey is cinema at its absolute finest! The cast from top to bottom is absolutely outstanding, the unconventional storytelling of this adapted classic tale works without any hesitation whatsoever, the action and set pieces are extremely thrilling and make paying the extra few dollars for the “special” screenings all the more worth it, there’s not a single minute of it’s near three hour running time that feels wasted, and while I can’t say that I agree with every single creative choice that Nolan makes along the way, the way everything comes full circle by the very end makes any potential glaring issue up to that point feel like a complete dust in the wind. Regardless if this is the best Christopher Nolan film or not, I don’t there is a film in his filmography that showcases the grand mindset that this man has had as a filmmaker for the past 30+ years. By constantly trying to find ways to outdo himself and providing you with even grander adventures with grander scales than before, this is Nolan yet again achieving a new level of high quality and a new meaning of absolute cinema! I can’t possibly know how he plans to top himself next time out but man, I will be the first in line for whatever he’s got next!

2.) The Dark Knight

I know it’s become cliché to claim that The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies ever, but many people said that for a reason, it is just that damn good. It just works flawlessly at being an unique, distinct story about Batman being challenged mentally, emotionally, physically, thematically, and symbolically. Joker and Harvey Dent acts as perfect parallels to the hero that Bruce so desperately wants to be as Batman along with the villain that he fears that he will one day become. It’s a Batman movie that perfectly mirrors itself with out it tells this identical tale of crime, corruption, and vengeance in the most complex and fascinating way imaginable. There have definitely been PLENTY of superhero movies out that have come out since 2008 that people have liked/disliked more than others but I don’t think anyone can argue that there hasn’t been a superhero movie that has a much of an impact on the genre or cinema as a whole than The Dark Knight. From it’s mind blowing twists and turns to it’s rapid fire pace to gripping action sequences to it’s resonate themes to Heath Ledger’s amazing turn as Heath Ledger and to even Christian’s Bale Batman voice, The Dark Knight, even 18 years later, still stands strong! Even if it is quite an eye roller to keep glazing this film all these years later, it deserves ALL the glazing that it gets because it’s THAT f**king awesome!

1.) Inception

I always go back and forth on #1 and #2 depending on my mood but for right now, I’m gonna go with Inception. There is not one Christopher Nolan film that perfectly demonstrates the man had his finest in terms of craft, narrative, novelty, and ideas. This is easily one of the very best sci films every made and one of the rare films where it’s brilliant ideas is able to be brilliantly executed in every way. The creativity on display is astonishing, the premise involving Inception is put to perfect use and feels wholly original, the dream scenes and world building is some of the very best I’ve seen in any film, the action is top notch and thrilling, the effects are breathtaking, the characters are all compelling and engaging, every actor is perfect in their roles, the score is among the most mesmerizing I’ve ever in any film, and it has one of the most satisfying endings I’ve seen in any film that it NEVER fails to tear me up. This is one of the films where no matter how many times I watch it, I still get that same fresh, unique, and intriguing experience I got when I watched it in the cinema back in 2010. Inception is the best film by Christopher Nolan to date and is one I can recommend to anyone that is a lover of films and cinema.

Top 10 Best Movies of 2026 (So Far)

July 4, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

Hey, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying your 4th of July weekend! As we exit June and enter July, that means we are already halfway through 2026! Because of that, I might as well give you all my pick for the top 10 best movies of the year so far!

Keep in mind, I have not seen every single movie that has released in 2026 and there might just be a critically praised movie that you love that I have just not gotten around to yet. Also, these rankings are NOT set in stone and are subject to change as the year goes on. For all I know, my #10 on the list could possibly end up being my #1 favorite movie of the year.

Although there is still PLENTY of films to come out for the remainder of the year, these are the ten films that has affected me in the best ways for the first six months of 2026!

10.) Backrooms

While I’m not quite on the love boat with this one, I’m sure as hell on the respect boat. I love the original atmosphere and unique setting that Kane Parsons has created here, making the backrooms itself a fascinating place to explore whenever we are able to get to it. I did wish the overall narrative had more meat to it and Parsons didn’t have to keep coming up with contrived excuses for his characters to keep showing up to the backrooms. And I’m still scratching my head on the resolution to the whole thing. However, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve are great here and there are still plenty of seeds that have yet to be grown in the world that is Backrooms that I’m curious to visit yet again in the future. I can see this being a series of films that only gets better from here on out.

9.) The Sheep Detectives

Well, what do you know. Who would’ve guessed that a film about a literal talking sheep in live-action could end up being this heartwarming and cozy?! Even if it can be a bit too silly at times, The Sheep Detectives just tugs at your heartstrings in the best of ways and Hugh Jackman is as much as a welcome presence as he always has been on the big screen. If you are someone that adores the new Paddington movies, this might just well in your wheel house.

8.) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

It made have taken a second try but 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is able to deliver the complete full package I wanted from the previous 28 Years Later film from last year, while standing as perhaps the best installment in this franchise since the original. The acting is terrific, the horror and gore will disgust you in the most delightful ways imaginable, and it is still able to follow the franchise’s overall themes by continuing to offer fresh, new, and different perspectives about a world that has plunged into total chaos without taking you out of it or even inviting comparisons to the world that we are currently live in. I sure hope this is able to find it’s audience through digital and streaming because if not, then MAN are they missing out!

7.) Hoppers

Hoppers is a showcase of what happens with Pixar allows themselves to let loose and forge their own path to creativity. The film has it’s own distinct animation style that compliments the storytelling without it being too overbearing or “in your face”, the characters are all likeable with their own relatable goals that anyone can get behind, it’s easily among the funniest Pixar movie in years, and despite prior reports of Disney’s efforts to downplay the themes of environmentalism, it’s able to get that exact message across in as much of a profound way as Pixar was able to in 2008 with Wall-E. It may take it’s time in getting to that exact point in the ways that it was intend and does have one or two cringeworthy lines about how “aware” it is of it’s own premise but the pay-offs by the latter half of Hopper makes it the whole experience feel worth it! While there are those out there that claim Toy Story 5 or Minions & Monsters as their animated film of the year, I’m still sticking by this one.

6.) Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

After coming out of the closet making the criminally underrated A Cure For Wellness, Gore Verbinski is back to take a stance on the biggest global crisis at the moment, Artificial Intelligence. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die sees Sam Rockwell from the future to give us all a warning on how the robots and machines are taking over and it’s up to choices that we make now that can set the course to a much brighter path forward. The cast is greats, the visuals are aces, the ending is as poignant it comes, and it’s super refreshing for a movie to not have any subtly whatsoever to get it’s message across. Although Verbinski’s direction won’t be suitable for anyone, this is a solid watch.

5.) Send Help

Can we point out how much of a miracle that a film like Send Help exists? In an age of sequels, reboots, remakes, and legacy-quels conquering the film landscape and sucking up the remaining creative energy that Hollywood might still have, films like these are becoming more diamonds in the rough in the film industry. Thankfully, someone at 20th Century Fox or Disney was wise enough to give a blank check to the godfather of horror and superhero movies in Sam Raimi, his first original horror film since 2009’s Drag Me To Hell! Send Help is yet another worthy addition to Raimi’s Hall of Fame of Horror! It’s able to capitalize on it’s simple yet effective premise thanks to it’s two charismatic leads, it’s incredibly visionary direction, unapologetically excessive gore, and a script that will keep audiences on their toes the whole way through. Even if the ending leaves out a bit too many unanswered questions, it’s still an absolute blast of a motion picture that is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

4.) Disclosure Day

Despite it’s polarizing reception, Disclosure Day is a very entertaining and engaging ride that makes for another fine addition to the “NOT a Marvel/Star Wars/IP movie” collection of the 2026 summer movie season. The cast is terrific, Spielberg is clearly having a blast making a movie about aliens again, and the screenplay is able to have it’s cake-and-eat-it-too, operating as both a solid thriller and a layer filled character study that will have plenty of delightful “explain” videos made for it. Not every single question the audience have will be answered but the ones that does is given a proper answer while the ones it choses to leave in the balance might just be for the better. It may not be quite S-Tier Steven Spielberg but Disclosure Day is more than enough proof that the godfather of blockbuster cinema still got plenty in the tank left in him and should still be treated with grace and dignity with each new film he releases. Even if not everybody will buy what Disclosure Day has to say about humanity and how the truth can lead to unity, it is bittersweet to see Steven actually try and perhaps that is what matters more than anything.

3.) The Furious

Have you been wanting to see a spiritual successor to The Raid 2 for the past 12 years?! Have you been anxious to see a balls-to-the-wall non-stop action thrill ride in the 2020s that is NOT John Wick?! Did you want to see a movie that takes the same plot and premise surrounding stopping human traffickers as Supergirl (2026) but done right?! Well, look no further than The Furious! An action packed masterwork that has no agenda other than delivering on over-the-top fight scenes, performing some of the greatest stunts and practical set pieces you have seen in years, and give you simplistic characters with human goals that you want to root for! Sometimes, there is nothing better for a film than riding with pure simplicity, without a care in the world of what lengths and leaps of logic it is willing to go to deliver the goods. Regardless of what way you chose to watch it, please check out The Furious ASAP!

2.) Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary is an incredibly well made, extremely well acted, and very well paced sci-fi thriller that works not just as a faithful adaption of the critically acclaimed book from Andy Weir (The Martian) but it also stands strongly as it’s own cinematic experience and a thematically moving think tank surrounding art and science . There is not a single second that is boring or uninteresting, Ryan Gosling is pitch perfect in the lead role as Grace and has great chemistry with his so-called co-star, it has a perfectly controlled tone that knows when to be funny, serious, and moving when it’s absolutely required, and even if you can see the inspiration from your favorite sci-fi flick from the 2010s (Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, Arrival, Mr. Gosling’s own First Man! Take your pick!), it is able to have it’s own unique identity while telling a distinct story about the importance of loyalty, friendship, unity, and sacrifice. While it’s certainly not the most flawless film I’ve ever seen and I’m sure there will be nits to be picked from fans of the book, I can’t imagine Project Hail Mary being a better version of itself than what Mr. Lord and Mr. Miller was able to deliver here.

1.) Obsession

The most talked about film of 2026 is my absolute favorite thus far! I don’t think I’ve seen a film where the whole message of “Be careful what you wish for!” has been executed this well and scary! The directing by Curry Barker is top notch, the performances are all great, it has a nice blend of horror thrills and laughter that I don’t any other director would be able to combine brilliantly, and the ending still haunts me weeks after seeing the movie. It’s also makes for a perfect subversion to have the main protagonist practically being the villain of the film, being forced to face the consequences of the choice he made strictly for his own pleasure. Inde Navarrette deserves a damn Oscar for her performance and it’s yet another brilliant original horror film to go with all of the other brilliant horror films we have gotten so far this decade! If this is the future for not just original horror but original films in general, there might just be a light at the end of the tunnel for future cinema.

Happy 250th Day everybody! Enjoy with prosper!

Jackass: Best & Last (2026) Movie Review- Saving The Worst For Last

June 29, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

This is gonna be a review where the subtitle of the movie is gonna make it sound much worse than it actually is. If you are someone that goes into one of these movies looking for nothing but laughs, stunts, and your favorite MTV cast and crew putting each other up with extraordinary pain for sh*s and giggles, you will get plenty of that with Jackass: Best & Last. However, if you are someone that is looking for brand NEW stunts, brand NEW laughs, and brand NEW ways of your favorite MTV cast and crew putting up with extraordinary pain for sh*s and giggles, you will likely be disappointed here.

Jackass: Best & Last is not so much it’s own complete Jackass movie as much as it is a full presentation special for Paramount Plus with a bunch of deleted scenes from the other Jackass movies shoehorned in. Whether this became a theatrical release because Johnny Knoxville and company couldn’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to his franchise on a streaming service or to follow through on David Ellison’s ill-conceived promise of releasing 30 films a year once it snatches up Warner Bros Discovery is beyond me, but you will find yourself with just as much laughs and giggles looking up Jackass YouTube videos or watching any other Jackass film on Paramount Plus than you would watching Jackass: Best & Last in theaters.

I have no doubt Jackass means much to this cast and crew, especially if putting up with over 25 years of taking shots to the nuts and getting a million different concussions until you’re 50 is anything to go by (which, YES that infamous part of the Jackass Forever trailer DOES get brought back here). And to the film’s credit, the opening sequence with Johnny performing his very first stunt and the end credits that acts as a tribute to the history of Jackass is very well done, making for the only times where bringing back certain scenes from the other movies is justified (Other than that one bit taken out of Bad Grandpa of course! A.K.A. Easily the best of the Jackass franchise).

The rest of the film is either a compilation of cut out stunts from the other Jackass movies that never should’ve been cut out in the first place, member-barries that references other jokes and sequences in this franchise that you’ve already seen before, and new stunts and sequences that don’t feel as fresh because it involves our cast and crew who are clearly growing out their roles of taking so much hurt to their bodies. I certainly did get some laughs along the way but I could have easily gotten as much by just watching other Jackass videos or popping up any other Jackass movie.

I’m not gonna act like every Jackass movie is a masterpiece, except for Bad Grandpa (That is as much of a comedic masterpiece as it gets, but at least each one offers fresh perspectives while unlocking new, creative, and downright STUPID ways of making you belly chuckle and get tears out of you from laughter. Jackass: Best & Last seems to just exist to get one last nostalgic dollar out of you before Johnny, Steve-0, Chris, and Wee-Man become too crippled to even imaging doing dangerous stunts out of a wheel chair.

I get that these guys are getting old and have their limits now but if that was the case, this could’ve easily worked wonders as either a tv special on MTV and/or a streaming special for Paramount Plus. It would given these guys the right amount of length to do their stunts without going too overlong over it and would have easily killed it in the ratings. But because these flicks are as cheap as they come, squeezing in a few extra bucks wouldn’t hurt. Which, hey, in this day and age, I ain’t complaining about theaters getting more movies to play that people want to see but it certainly doesn’t help in the case of Jackass: Best & Last.

Although this is ultimate a negative review for me, I don’t have any strong emotions or ill will to Jackass that this mid final installment will have a lasting impact on me for the near future. Johnny and friends clearly have had the time of their lives putting through pain and scrutiny just for our own amusement. Even if that is incredibly dumb, I tip my caps to them for having the literal balls to go through all of that. However for me, when it comes to Jackass, I’ll just pop in Bad Grandpa and call it a day!

What The Success of Obsession and Backrooms REALLY Means!

June 2, 2026June 2, 2026 Adam1 Comment

The two films that everyone is talking about at the moment are Obsession and Backrooms! Two films that are not only very good horror film debuts from talented young blood that originated straight from YouTube but they also managed to steal the spotlight away from the latest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian & Grogu! As the newest addition to a galaxy far and away completely crashed and burn at the box office in just it’s second weekend in theaters, Obsession and Backrooms was able to perfectly pick up that slack, with the former gaining some of the best box office legs from any film in recent memory and the latter awarding A24 their biggest opening weekend in their history.

To say this has opened the eyes and ears of the film industry would be a massive understatement! The success of these two films are clearly proving several points all at the same time! Not only is it proving that successful original films are indeed alive and well with a clear audience desire for them but it’s also proves that Gen Z does indeed love going to the movie theaters and are basically the group that is gonna help keep the movie theater going experience alive for the foreseeable future. You just need the right kind of films that is able to perfectly capture the hearts of the right kind of audience and they will show up in drones! While there have been plenty of other examples in recent memory to back up those claims, the success of Obsession and Backrooms is something truly special!

However, there have been a few bold claims that many are saying after these two horror flicks were able to give The Mandalorian & Grogu a run for it’s money this weekend! Not only does this mean that Star Wars as a whole is officially dead but blockbuster flicks based on long-running established IPs are officially dead! Never mind the fact that The Devil Wears Prada 2 was able to secure double the grosses that the original made just a month ago! Never mind the fact that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is getting so close to a billion dollars that it can TASTE IT! Never mind the fact that the likes of Toy Story 5, Minions & Monsters, Moana (2026), Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Dune: Part Three, and Avengers: Doomsday are still having yet to come out for the rest of the year, short-budgeted horror films made by YouTubers is the ONLY future of filmmaking and Obsession and Backrooms is prove of that! I find that line of thinking to be incredibly flawed!

Don’t get me wrong, Obsession and Backrooms are both INCREDIBLE cinematic achievements for Curry Baker and Kane Parsons! I’m proud of the fact that these films are thriving whereas corporate slop like The Mandalorian & Grogu are being rejected! It’s prove that audiences do indeed have some bit of standards for the quality of today’s films that they chose to spend their hard earned money on, especially in our not practically great economy! But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, there is still a big place for big blockbuster films, it’s just that there is now a big place for original and thought provoking films as well!

Just imagine you are an owner of a movie theater right now! Would you be really applauding the fact that a big blockbuster film like The Mandalorian & Grogu is tanking hard at the box office all because previously lesser knowns films such as Obsession and Backrooms is killing it? Do you really want one big film to flop so hard that a couple of other smaller films can fill whatever sinking hole that other film caused? I’m pretty sure your answer is gonna be a clear no!

Movie theaters want and NEED both of these kind of films to succeed. They need the kind of films from beloved and established IPs to do absolute gangbusters at the box office AND they need the kind of lower budgeted and more independently made films released to help fill in that big hole in between each newly released big film that comes out to cover for any potential theatrical drought they might have. While I’m sure movie theater owners are more than happy that Obsession and Backrooms are selling tickets at a daily pace that I don’t anyone could possibly imagine, they would also prefer that The Mandalorian & Grogu would also be a big hit as well as a special icing on the cake.

The big question that everyone is asking after Obsession and Backrooms is what can Hollywood and movie studios learn from this? Should they take more changes with young and famous YouTubers and social media influencers and less on folks coming straight out of film school? Should they pump the brakes on corporate slop and remember to put quality over quantity with their biggest IPs? Should they just give up on big IPs such as Marvel and Star Wars all together because of their recent track record and invest more in originality of any kind? While those are the kind of questions that everyone is asking right now, I think one important one is being left out. That one question being: Why not leave room for more?

Why can’t we have huge blockbuster films that are huge events and potential billion dollar grossers every year AND also have impressive original films from young filmmakers that is also able to make bank at the box office each year? Shouldn’t we be encouraging BOTH of those kinds of films to exist side-by-side each other? It’s not like we have to live with one instead of the another, we can actually live in the best of both worlds for a change. There should be room for both big feature films AND little original films to shine! THAT is the kind of diversity and variety that the industry will need if they are to thrive in the future!

With more and more mergers coming into fruition, more independent films such as Obsession and Backrooms are needed now more than ever! After acquisitions such as Disney buying Fox and Paramount buying Warner Bros, it’s clear that studios are going to put the majority of their focus on pumping out big blockbusters films and less on smaller and more independent films. There will always be one or two of them that will be able to squeeze through the system but for the most part, you are likely to get more Minecraft movies than you would films like Sinners and One Battle After Another. Holes will need to be filled to plug in that gape for fresh and original films to still be able to shine, providing that variety of selected films made for theaters that major studios aren’t bothering to invest in anymore. That is where films like Obsession and Backrooms will be able to come in and why indie studios such as A24 and Focus Features exist.

I have nothing against main blockbuster films being released just as I have nothing against films like Obsession and Backrooms blossoming in theater screens before our very eyes. My question is: Why can’t we be championing both? We should be celebrating when good blockbuster films do well at the box office AND when good independent films do well at the box office as well. We don’t have to cancel one in favor of the other. And I’m sure movie theaters from all across the world would agree with what I just said.

After the success of Obsession and Backrooms and the underperformance of The Mandalorian & Grogu thus far, I do hope this isn’t so much a sign that audiences are tired of blockbuster films and hungry for strictly independent films but more that they are hungry for QUALITY and less on slop. While I know less than stellar films such as Lilo & Stitch (2025) and The Minecraft Movie were able to make big bucks at the box office with Minions & Monsters and Moana (2026) likely to join them next month, the fact that actual great recent films like Sinners, F1, Project Hail Mary, and now Obsessions and Backrooms were able to become the financial smash hits they did should be a statement that quality DOES matter for a film to be successful and not just brand recognition.

The biggest takeaway right now should be that audiences have a desire to see ANY kind of films in theaters that is guarantee to give them their full money’s worth. No matter if it’s a blockbuster or an independent film, audiences still want to go to movie theaters, studios just need to keep giving them a reason to do so. And the fact that it’s been confirmed that the past month has had the highest box office grosses for May since 2019 should speak volume to that!

Tune in next time after the studios learn the absolute WRONG lesson from everything I just said, while giving a blank check to MrBeast to direct whatever the hell he wants and Disney announces The Devil Wears Prada 3 and Toy Story 6 very soon!

Also, I might as well give my mini-reviews for both of these movies!

Obsession– Probably my favorite film of the year thus far! I don’t think I’ve seen a film where the whole message of “Be careful what you wish for!” has been executed this well and scary! The directing by Curry Barker is top notch, the performances are all great, it has a nice blend of horror thrills and laughter that I don’t any other director would be able to combine brilliantly, and the ending still haunts me weeks after seeing the movie. It’s also a nice little subversion to have the main protagonist practically being the villain of the film, being forced to face the consequences of the choice he made strictly for his own pleasure. Inde Navarrette deserves a damn Oscar for her performance and it’s yet another brilliant original horror film to go with all of the other brilliant horror films we have gotten so far this decade! Highly recommended! I give this a perfect four out of four stars!

Backrooms– I’m not quite sure I’m on the love boat with this one but I’m sure as hell on the respect boat. I love the original atmosphere and unique setting that Kane Parsons has created here, making the backrooms itself a fascinating place to explore whenever we are able to get to it. I did wish the overall narrative had more meat to it and Parsons didn’t have to keep coming up with contrived excuses for his characters to keep showing up to the backrooms. And I’m still scratching my head on the resolution to the whole thing. However, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve are great here and there are still plenty of seeds that have yet to be grown in the world that is Backrooms. I can see this being a series of films that only gets better from here on out. I give this a three out of four stars!

Michael (2026) Movie Review- Put Up (Song) Or Shut Up

April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

Welp, I don’t know if there’s any way I can do this review without getting cancelled by someone. This latest biopic from the most beloved/controversial musician of the past 50 years in Michael Jackson was always guaranteed to be a total success or failure in the eyes of many. For those that just wanted to be reminded of the good old days of little MJ and put themselves in the shoes of someone that was able to experience pure pop rock peak in the man’s prime, Michael (2026) will be seen as an absolute W! For those that were hopping it would dig a deeper dive into MJ’s personal life, hard hitting dilemmas, and even ask the million dollar question as to whether or not those allegations that hauntedly followed him throughout his career would be addressed, Michael (2026) will be seen as a massive L!

And I almost just want to stop the review right there! Similar to 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Michael (2026) is not interested in revealing things about Michael Jackson that you didn’t already know and would rather handwave any noticeable cracks on the man’s legacy in favor of delivering the cinematic equivalent of a greatest hits album, playing through the songs that everyone knows and loves while making everyone in the theaters feel like they were with the man’s musical journey all along. This is strictly the Michael Jackson you remember on the big stage and NOT the one off of it.

If all of that sounds okay for you, then you are going to dig this movie. If not, then you are better off watching Leaving Neverland, the biggest scam of a “hit piece” ever conceived outside of whatever the hell Fox News was saying about Fred Rogers back in the day. It’s not entirely free of criticism when judging by it’s own merits, with a rather underutilized supporting cast and the most abrupt ending from an entertainment medium since The Last of Us, but for what it’s worth, Michael (2026) is able to put up song and shut up about everything else to make for an enjoyable musical montage that is worth seeing in complete IMAX for anyone that is a fan!

Premise: The story of “King of Pop” Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson). From his childhood as the star of the Jackson 5, through times of abuse by his father Joe Jackson, to breaking away and making the hit album Thriller and claiming his independence as a solo artist.

There are PLENTY of ways you can look at Michael through some rather cynical lens. Even if you take away purposedly leaving out anything about the so-called allegations (which was originally planned until they decided to completely re-shot the ending, causing the film to be delayed from it’s initial October 2025 release date), this is a biopic you can easily mistake as being more in-line with a typical concert movie. Oh sure, you get your backstory about Michael’s troubles with his father and within his own family and how that contributed to this rise to stardom, as well as one big life-changing event that nearly took a hit on his legacy (Again, NO, it’s NOT the allegations!). However, as the very last sequence that got added in through re-shots showcases, this is all about Michael Jackson: The Musician and NOT Michael Jackson: The Person. This is a musical biopic that wants nothing more than to put up song and shut up with anything else.

The good news is that the music is still so damn good! Nearly every scene where Michael sings each one of his iconic songs is a joy to watch and a treat for the ears! The sound design is outstanding, Antoine Fuqua directs the hell out of every single musical sequence, the scenes specifically designed for IMAX makes the whole experience worth that price of admission alone, and it’s able to perfectly capture the atmosphere and pure aura of Michael Jackson in his prime! Even if Michael Jackson: The Person is barely presence on screen, Michael Jackson: The Musician still slaps just as hard all these years later.

The other good news is Jaafar Jackson is able to perfectly slip into his uncle’s shoes as the legend himself. He makes you buy that he is Michael Jackson about as well as anyone possibly could, being able to capture Michael’s mannerism and star power in ways that I don’t think anyone expected when he was casted. Even the dramatic scenes that might feel very surface level and emotionally cold to the cynical mindset, he’s able to add his own unique certain layer to it that feels in spirit with his uncle and in spirit of himself as his own actor. He’s able to perfectly convey the whole journey of every hoop and leap of faith that Michael Jackson had to go through to get to what he is known as today. Quite simply, if it wasn’t for Jaafar Jackson being so good in this role, this film would have failed big time.

It’s unfortunate how the rest of the cast gets quite the short stick. Outside of Colman Domingo’s terrific performance as Michael’s abusive father, Joseph, there’s not much material for the rest of the star studded cast to make an impression. The rest of Michael’s family feel like they are only there due to absolute obligation (outside of Michael’s sister Janet, who declined to be portrayed in the film) and the relationships that Michael has with his agency with the likes of Mike Myers, Miles Teller, and Laura Harrier feels like a complete afterthought. I understand some of that has to do with personal and legal reasons but the film could have done a much better job at representing them even with the limited material they are given to work with.

There’s also the way the film concludes. It’s no secret that the ending of the film had to be changed significantly. Not just to reshot the entire third act so it did NOT cover the allegations against Michael Jackson that had already been resolved and proven to be false but also find a way for the film to end on a complete note after scraping the initial plans to have the film be split into two. While the song they chose to end it with was perfect, it is rather anticlimactic to have the final word of dialogue shown being about how Michael Jackson’s story will continue. Whether that is referring to another film being made or Michael’s legacy continuing beyond his early days will be determine by the box office but man, it almost feels like things were just getting started and then the film just…..stops.

Michael (2026) will be seen as a success or failure depending on what you are going to this film looking for. Do you just wanna see a mild sneak preview of Michael’s beginning and having his nephew perform your favorite songs on the big screen? If you do, then you will be happy. Do you want to see an extensive look of what went on from behind the scenes of Michael’s life and how that contributed to his rise to fame outside of just songs? If you do, then you will be disappointed.

If I were to judge Michael (2026) based on the entertainment scale and the experience I had listening to his songs performed in pure IMAX. I say it’s a solid three out of four stars.

If I were to judge Michael (2026) on standing on it’s own as a biopic and extended look of perhaps the most famous pop singer of all time. I say it’s a in-the-middle two out of four stars.

I guess if I were to combine both ratings. It would average around to a two and a half out of four stars.

Make of all that what you will!

Other comments:

Sorry that this took me a while to upload! I was busy for the past week with attending a wedding and covering from a mild cold! I have plenty of more pieces in the works for next month and onwards! Be on the look out for all of those!

Top 10 Biggest 2026 Summer Movies- Box Office Predictions

April 19, 2026May 24, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

We are approaching May, which means we are officaly enterting the summer movie season! The time of the year where the big blockbusters of the year are front and center in movie theaters everywhere now that the kids are out of school! Because of that, it’s time to do a list of what I believe will be the top highest grossing films of the summer!

With Hollywood continuing to struggle in the movie theater business post-covid, only God knows how many more summer movie seasons await. Although, theaters have been picking up great momentum in the box office as of late with the likes of Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it’s unclear how long they will be able to carry that momentum throughout the rest of the year and even the future.

I think the 2026 summer movie season will give a big indication as to whether or not Hollywood is still recovering from the post-covid era of struggling to get people’s butts into theater seats or will this be the beginning of a resurrection for summer movies! We can only cross our fingers and hope for the best!

And considering I’ve been seeing multiple people put their own predictions of the top 10 biggest summer movies in terms of profit, why not throw my own hat in the ring and do my own list of this?! Keep in mind, these are the movies that I believe will be the highest grossing of the summer, not the ones that I desperately want to be at the very top. This list is not a matter of anticipation or movies I think will be objectively the best, this is a list of the movies that I believe will be the most to least successful in terms of the top 10 movies of the summer.

Also, this is a ranking based on box office numbers worldwide and NOT domestic. That list would be harder and more complicated for me to judge. This is how I feel the box office numbers will hold for summer movies WORLDWIDE from late April to mid August. Could I be dead wrong on every single one of these? Absolutely! But hey, it’s fun to be able to make predictions, right?!

And yes, I am throwing Michael in there. Even though it’s a movie that’s coming out in April, I think that gives up more “summer movie season kick off” vibes than The Devil Wears Prada 2. Just like how Infinity War and Endgame gave off more “summer movie season kick off” vibes….than whatever the heck released in the first week of May in 2018 and 2019!

Time to jump right in and put my predictions on what I believe will be the top 10 highest grossing films of the summer!

10.) Supergirl

Release Date: June 26th

Box Office Projection: $350+ Million

It’s very difficult to find any positive signs here. From it’s questionable release date to it’s lackluster trailers to it’s already nightmare PR, Supe’s cousin will have a hard time finding any sort of audience in the theaters come June. Even Jason Momoa won’t be the selling point that DC is hoping he will be. Unless the quality of the film ends up being nothing sort of stellar, with Elemental-like legs to help pull it through, I expect Supergirl to be one of the more heartbreaking bombs of the summer, falling into the same “female-led movies made for men” wheelhouse with 2024’s Furiosa and last summer’s Ballerina. Mr. Gunn and company better hope that Man of Tomorrow delivers next summer or else this new DC Universe might just be over before it even got a chance to settle in, (and that’s not even mentioning the GIANT elephant in the room that’s about to swallow Warner Bros Discovery up).

9.) The Mandalorian & Grogu

Release Date: May 22nd

Box Office Projection: $400+ Million

Who in their right minds thought that Star Wars’ first trip back to cinema since 2019 should involve an extension of a streaming series that ended three years ago and peaked in quality over five years ago?! With the near non-existence marketing and a very vague plot synopsis, The Mandalorian & Grogu looks more in-line with the The Clone Wars animated film from 2008 than any of the “official” Star Wars films (And that’s totally NOT because both films where originally meant to be several episodes of their own respective shows and JUST so happens to have Jabba the Hutt’s son in it). The good news is that it will have two weeks to itself, including Memorial Day weekend, before having to go up against any real competition, and if the budget is tight enough, it won’t need to make a fortunate to avoid a Solo: A Star Wars Story-level financial disaster. It looks harmless enough with the fan favorite characters from the Disney era in Mando and Grogu at the forefront, with the G.O.A.T. Sigourney Weaver thrown in there for good measure. If this doesn’t make any noise once June rolls around, it might be up to good old Ryan Gosling to salvage what’s left of the Star Wars IP come this time next year with Star Wars: Starfighter.

8.) Discourse Day

Release Date: June 12th

Box Office Projection: $475+ Million

This could easily come back to burn me later on down the road but every summer, there’s always tends to be one original film that’s able to break out at the box office in ways that nobody expected. Last year, that film was F1. This year, I can see Discourse Day being that film. Maybe it’s because it’s a Steven Spielberg film and the whole “Are aliens real or not?!” question that the film is asking has become strangely relevant in recent months (Thanks, Obama!), but I can see this shocking everyone in amazement to at least edge around the half billion dollar mark. This film’s potential level of grand success is all about the timing of it’s release and if the word-of-mouth is able to be on the level of Project Hail Mary. Films like Sinners, K-Pop Demon Hunters, and the two others I mentioned has shown that audiences are indeed hungry for more original stories/experiences on the big screen, the solid quality just needs to be there. And if the quality is there, don’t be surprised to see Discourse Day defying every expectation this summer.

7.) The Devil Wears Prada 2

Release Date: May 1st

Box Office Projection: $625+ Million

If there’s one thing we should all learn by now, it’s to NEVER underestimate the power of women. Films like Barbie, Wicked, and last winter’s The Housemaid has shown that the ladies will ALWAYS show up in drones to see films in theaters that are specifically made for them. The original Devil Wears Prada turns 20 years old this year and has gained a MASSIVE cult following throughout the past two decades. With the return of the OG cast of Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, it’s strong marketing, and massive trailer hype/viewership, I fully expect The Devil Wears Prada 2 to kick off May on a high note and be the big film to beat next month.

6.) The Odyssey

Release Date: July 17th

Box Office Projection: $750+ Million

To be sure, a film like this making at least 750 million dollar signs in this day and age should be seen as a MAJOR accomplishment! There is no other filmmaker working today other than Christopher Nolan that could generate this level of excitement with a project like this! However, I don’t see The Odyssey being on the same level as Oppenheimer (which made $975+ million in 2023), as it won’t have the “Barbenheimer” hype attached to it despite it tackling a more “universal” story. Not to mention, the potential loss of its IMAX screens after it’s first two weeks due to Spider-Man: Brand New Day could greatly affect repeated viewings for its theatrical release! Christopher Nolan is perhaps the one director working today to where his name attached to a film alone will guarantee box office success (Every film that Nolan has directed since 2008’s The Dark Knight has been able to achieve this mark, even Tenet in 2020, A.K.A. the covid year!) and The Odyssey should be no exception! However, the road to doing Oppenheimer level numbers will be much tougher for Mr. Nolan this time around!

5.) Moana (2026)

Release Date: July 10th

Box Office Projection: $800+ Million

Moana is undoubtedly one of the most popular Disney brands right now, with the original animated film being the most streamed movie ever on Disney Plus and its sequel making a billion dollars just over a year ago! What will likely hold this live-action remake back other than the crowded family summer movie season is its lack of nostalgia factor! Live-action remakes like The Lion King (2019) and Lilo & Stitch (2025) were able to be the billion dollar grossers they did BECAUSE of the nostalgia attached to those films, which gave kids enough time to grow up, become nostalgic for the original animated Disney classics, and have raised kids of their own to share the theatrical experience with! Moana (2026) will be coming out at a time where the original animated film won’t even be fully 10 years old yet (It released in November 2016 btw) and just a year and a half after its animated sequel came out! It will still be a big success since the Moana brand is still strong but the lack of the nostalgic hook will prevent this from making a billion dollars!

4.) Minions & Monsters

Release Date: July 1st

Box Office Projection: $850+ Million

Since 2010, Illumination Animation has been able to crack the code on how to make crowd pleasing animated flicks for young kids, forcing their parents to take them to the movie theaters every other summer to see the newest Despicable Me and Minions movie that comes out. In regards to the installments that have come from this franchise post-covid, Minions: The Rise of Guru was able to make $940+ million in 2022 and Despicable Me 4 made $971+ million in 2024! Due to a much more crowded summer than in 2022 and 2024, having to compete with other family flicks such as the one-two Mickey Mouse punch of Toy Story 5 and Moana (2026), I do expect Minions & Monsters to take a decline as well, in a similar way that last summer’s Jurassic World: Rebirth was a slight decline with the other Jurassic Park/World movies. Even if this one ends up being slightly inferior to it’s predecessors and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie isn’t the $1.5+ billion juggernaut I predicted (Silly me!), Illumination and Universal should be eating just fine with their animated feature films in 2026!

3.) Michael

Release Date: April 24th

Box Office Projection: $950+ Million

I don’t care if the pre-sales numbers have been iffy thus far and the behind-the-scenes drama will put a giant raincloud throughout the press release, THIS is one that I can see being a global phenomenon. Michael Jackson is no doubt the most popular musician of all time, gaining worldwide appeal from all across planet Earth. With the high trailer numbers and the multiple generations of fans that MJ has gained throughout the course of several decades, there should be no reason to doubt his annual biopic will be a huge theatrical success. If the legs are strong and it ends up pleasing the masses enough, I can see Michael topping Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest grossing musical biopic of all time. This seems like the kind of film that will get people who don’t go to theaters anymore off their couches, similar to the likes of Top Gun: Maverick and Barbenheimer. Even though this film will be released in April, this will likely be seen as the true kick-off to the summer movie season of 2026!

2.) Toy Story 5

Release Date: June 19th

Box Office Projection: $1.1+ Billion

Although I was harsher on this one in my initial box office predictions earlier this year, this has grown on me quite a bit in recent months. To compare the box office numbers of the last two Toy Story movies, Toy Story 4 made $1.073+ billion about nine years after Toy Story 3, which made around $1.066+ billion. That’s less than a seven million dollar increase between these two films despite being nearly a decade apart! However, with it’s iPad storyline being very timely and the trailers seeming to promise a more traditional Toy Story adventure than Toy Story 4 did, I can see Toy Story 5 surpassing the previous film just enough to take the crown as the big family film of the summer, even from Disney’s own Moana (2026). Even if the film stumbles in quality or ends up being a punching bag on the internet like Toy Story 4 became after it’s release, there will still be plenty of kids and families that will go see this film in theaters to make it at least flirt with the billion dollar mark!

1.) Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Release Date: July 31st

Box Office Projection: $1.3+ Billion

Even in an era where superhero fatigue is at an all-time high, Spider-Man will ALWAYS be a box office draw no matter what! Him and Batman have proven themselves to be perhaps the lone superhero IPs that can still draw box office hits in the most uncertain times of the genre, at least if the successes of 2021’s No Way Home ($1.9+ billion), 2022’s The Batman ($772+ million), and 2023’s Across the Spider-Verse ($690+ million) is anything to go by. And NO, this will NOT be a No Way Home box office juggernaut but that should be expected considering this will (likely) not have the nostalgia of the good old days with William Dafoe and Tobey Maguire attached to it. I expect similar numbers to Far From Home (which made $1.1+ billion high off the heels of Avengers: Endgame), if not a bit more. Between the additions of notable Marvel characters such as The Punisher, Hulk, and whoever the heck Sadie Sink is suppose to be playing along with there being a decent amount of time since the last Spider-Man movie came out to build hype (No Way Home turns HALF a decade old this year btw!), Brand New Day will stand proud as the #1 film of the 2026 summer movie season, proving Spidey can defy ANY realms of superhero and Marvel fatigue!

1.) Spider-Man: Brand New Day- $1.3+ Billion

2.) Toy Story 5- $1.1+ Billion

3.) Michael- $950+ Million

4.) Minions & Monsters- $850+ Million

5.) Moana (2026)- $800+ Million

6.) The Odyssey- $750+ Million

7.) The Devil Wears Prada 2- $625+ Million

8.) Disclosure Day- $475+ Million

9.) The Mandalorian & Grogu- $400+ Million

10.) Supergirl- $350+ Million

As for other movies that missed the list:

Masters of the Universe (2026)
- $325+ Million
  - I went back and forth between Supergirl and Masters of the Universe for the #10 spot but I went with Supergirl because I believe superheroes still have more appeal with Gen Z and Millennials than Masters of the Universe has with baby boomers. Even if the quality is on the level of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves like I expected to be given it’s Travis Knight taking the wheel here, He-Man just doesn’t seem like a popular brand in the year 2026. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film ends up losing Amazon quite a bit of money.

Mortal Kombat II
- $175+ Million
  - Even if the first film was a bomb in 2021 (when half of movie theaters around the world will still closed), Mortal Kombat II should do quite well, with it being giving a more proper theatrical release and the trailers promising to deliver the goods the fans wanted that they didn’t get from the first film. Even if it will do numbers closer to Five Nights At Freddy’s than Minecraft, Mario, or Sonic, I don’t think WB will be too upset with the box office results. I only wonder if it was wise to delayed the picture from it’s original fall release from last year.

Scary Movie (2026)
- $200+ Million
  - If Scary Movie is able to be on the same level of quality as last year’s The Naked Gun, then I can see the sixth entry riding the successful wave of Scream 7, opening the doors opening for more raw horror/politically incorrect comedies for the immediate future.

Evil Dead Burn
- $50+ Million
  - Evil Dead Burn will likely end up being as buried and forgotten as ME3AN 2.0 was last summer. Again, what is it with these horror films getting the most bizarre release dates imaginable?!

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie
- $150+ Million
  - This will prove that Paw Patrol is still….a thing that exists for kids. But, it’s also coming out at the tail end of summer and when kids start going back to school so….yeah.

Jackass: Best and Last
- $100+ Million
  - Johnny, please take us ALL home with Jackass: Best and Last! Just take us all home!

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) Movie Review- Twice The Blondes, Double The Fun

March 20, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

Sequels always have a daunting task! It has to offer everything that everyone loved about the original but deliver it in such a way that sets the second chapter apart from the first one! You have to give the audiences something familiar, throw in a few new elements for good measure, and cross that fine line between being the same but different without losing your balance. However, there are some sequels that benefit from staying right on that fine line with no means of trying to differentiate itself from the original or separating itself from it’s own formula, even if it does occasionally flirt with what it would do if it chose to cross that path. Since the new burger tasted so good the first time you had, why bother changing the ingredients when you have it a second time? And that is where sequels like Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come come in!

While it is no doubt more of the same and doesn’t even try to be as fresh as Radio Silence’s original magnum opus, it still contains most of the same old ingredients that audiences loved about the first movie with a few new elements sprinkled in that does enough to justify it’s existence. The cast is much bigger and adds more to the established lore of Ready or Not, there’s a much larger scope and more expansive setting to explore, there’s more bloody kills and guts spewing everywhere than before, and there’s even more beautiful blondes kicking butt this time around. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel nor is it trying to win over anybody that were not fans of the original. It just wants to have a gory, fun time and it certainly succeeds at that.

Premise: After surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace (Samara Weaving) discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game, and this time with her estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), by her side. To survive, Grace must keep Faith alive and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are also hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins will rule it all.

Throughout Ready Or Not 2, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olphin and Tyler Gillett make it clear that their #1 goal with Here I Come is to have more fun this time around rather than trying to play a brand new game from seven years earlier. Going bigger, not bolder. Expand the mythos, not deepen them. Be with the grain, not against it. Deliver on expectations, not subvert them. (We even get to see Samara Weaving wearing the exact same bloody wedding dress she had in the first movie!) While that is certainly well and good because the duo are well aware of their own interests as well as the audiences, you can’t help but be mildly frustrated at the intriguing subtext and ideas that the film chooses to handwave.

The film states that the rich families that Grace and Faith are fighting against are these insane religious supremacy overlords that are using their money, wealth, and power to control all the world’s resources. And if they are not successful in killing Grace, then they will lose all of that money, wealth, power, and control over everything. Yet aside from an occasional line or two, Here I Come never really dives deep into that, feeling like it only exists to give the rich families new motives for needing to kill Grace.

And that is where the shortcomings for Ready or Not 2 come into place. Even though it’s longer than the first film and has more locations and set pieces than before, it wants to add more subtext and character dilemma than before. However, because the pacing is so break-neck and Bettinelli-Olphin and Gillett are in such a hurry to get from one glorious kill to the next, these moments never have time to breathe.

There’s the goals of the rich elites to control everything but it never goes into why they want to achieve these goals other than Satan told them so. You got a rivalry set-up between Grace and her ex-husband’s previous finance that doesn’t go anywhere aside from an awesome climatic fight between the two. You also got a sister bondship which includes scenes, while good and well-acted, forces the pacing of the film to come to a screeching halt and suspense of disbelief needed for these moments while the two girls are fighting for their lives. There’s these doors opens for Here I Come to be bolder and risker than the original but it’s clear the film would rather just close it and stay in the house that it’s clearly comfortable in.

Thankfully, none of that detracts from the entertainment value here because all of the successful elements that made the original Ready or Not so fun are still good here. The kills are fun, the blood and gore are turned up to 11, the set pieces and chase sequences, while extremely over-the-top and nonsensical, make for some of the film’s exciting and delightfully amusing moments, and the supporting cast all make for fine additions to these series of films, with the main highlights of the rich families being Sarah Michelle Gellar as the well-intentioned but morally handcuffed rich daughter, Elijah Wood as the straight as an arrow lawyer, and also whoever the heck that guy who was playing the Nintendo Switch 2 (Seriously, what’s his name?! I can’t find him on Google or Wiki!).

The real glue that holds Here I Come together is Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton playing two long distanced sisters. Samara Weaving is able to kick just as much ass as she did the first time around (and does so in that same bloody dress) while being able to match every moment she can with her effortless charisma and mighty war scream (That NEVER get old!). Kathryn Newton, who has already proven herself to be a reliable Scream queen with Freaky and Abigail, has really sold chemistry with Weaving, really buying the core relationship between two sisters who thought they wanted nothing to do with each other but deep down they really do. Even if the more character driven moments between the two sisters did come at the expense of the film stopping dead in it’s tracks, the film wouldn’t have worked as well as it does if it weren’t for these two actresses trying to work out their problems with guns, swords, and pure wits.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is the textbook definition of a sequel that is basically, “What you see is what you get!” Do you want to see more heads and bodies exploding with creative and satisfying kills?! Do you want to see more gorgeous looking locations, well-suited costume designs, and a more expansive world to spend time in?! Do you want to just have fun for 105 minutes with two super hot blondes and the OG Buffy the Vampire Slayer?! If your answer is Yes to any of those, then I can’t see how you won’t enjoy another round with Radio Silence’s most unique original series to date.

As much as I can nitpick about the glossed over subtext and lore, that’s a small price to pay for everything else it does well. Is it more of the same? Sure? Does it taste just as good as the first time around even though you’ve already had it? Absolutely!

Project Hail Mary (2026) Early Movie Review- Operation Cinematic Triumph

March 17, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

You know how sometimes whenever a new movie comes out and the studio decides to NOT lift the review embargo until the exact day the movie comes out? That’s usually a sign that the studio has ZERO faith in the film they just poured millions of dollars into and hope they could swipe it underneath the rug from any kind of negative publicity in the hopes of making any sort or profit of said film before it hits digital and streaming. There might always be an exception (*cough* Oppenheimer) but whenever a studio usually does that, NINE times out of ten, they know they got a dud on their hands.

Project Hail Mary has been the exact opposite of that. Amazon has given the film PLENTY of attention and early press releases before it hit theaters everywhere this weekend. Only this time, it’s not just for film critics but for film audiences as well! There has not been one but TWO special screenings that has come from AmazonMGM, a studio which absolutely needs a hit after several underwhelming films (Mercy, Crime 101, and that one documentary that shall not be named) to start off 2026. Regardless if this is an act of faith or desperation, you can’t say anyone involved is afraid to show everyone what they got with this latest motion picture.

However, giving a film too much exposure can easily backfire. It can generate overhype and set the film with completely unrealistic expectations of it’s quality harder than any film that wins Best Picture at the Oscars ever could! Or there can be times where all that hype and buzz is absolutely worth it and the film just ends up being a perfectly executed version of the film that it inspires to be that there’s not much to complain about. And I can said with good pride that the film I’m just about to talk about is exactly the latter of what I’m talking about.

Project Hail Mary is an incredibly well made, extremely well acted, and very well paced sci-fi thriller that works (I imagine) not just as a faithful adaption of the critically acclaimed book from Andy Weir (The Martian) but it also stands strongly as it’s own cinematic experience and a thematically moving think tank surrounding art and science . There is not a single second that is boring or uninteresting, Ryan Gosling is pitch perfect in the lead role as Grace and has great chemistry with his so-called co-star (which I’m not going to spoil in case no one is aware of that character yet), it has a perfectly controlled tone that knows when to be funny, serious, and moving when it’s absolutely required, and even if you can see the inspiration from your favorite sci-fi flick from the 2010s (Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, Arrival, Mr. Gosling’s own First Man! Take your pick!), it is able to have it’s own unique identity while telling a distinct story about the importance of loyalty, friendship, unity, and sacrifice. While it’s certainly not the most flawless film I’ve ever seen and I’m sure there will be nits to be picked from fans of the book, I can’t imagine Project Hail Mary being a better version of itself than what Mr. Lord and Mr. Miller was able to deliver here.

Premise: Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory slowly returns, he soon discovers he must solve the riddle behind a mysterious substance that’s causing the sun to die out. As details of the mission unravel, he calls on his scientific training and sheer ingenuity — but he may not have to do it alone.

I will say straight off the bat that I have NOT read the book that this film is based on. I’m well aware that Andy Weir’s 2021 spiritually successor to The Martian is one of the more beloved books in recent worry, being a New York Times’ best-seller for 28 weeks in a row. However, I purposedly choose to hold off on reading the book BEFORE seeing the movie in order to not spoil the cinematic experience for myself! Even so, while I’m sure there were some changes had to have been made and plot elements that had to be reworked or cut out in order for it to qualify as a feature film, I really get the feeling that is indeed a very worthy adaption of it’s source material.

The main reason I believe that is because it’s clear how much pure confidence is on display from the cast and crew with the making of this film. You really get the sense that it’s trying to capture a special lightning in a bottle that you don’t get from films these days. They are trying to offer you an experience that you possibly couldn’t get from any other film besides this one, even including the other recent sci-fi flicks that it’s clearly inspired by. It’s trying to engage you in ways that you probably never expected, especially when you discover what the main driving force of the film is suppose to be. And it’s even trying to tell a tale about finding that spark of hope within yourself when it seems like no else can. Even if Grace himself is doubtful that he can complete his mission, the cast and crew have more than enough trust in themselves with Project Hail Mary.

As much as comparisons are going to be made with The Martian (and rightfully so…..in good ways), the main protagonist Ryland Grace is NOT Mark Watney! He’s not someone who has had major experience with space travel or being an astronaut. He’s just a simple teacher who is sent on a mission that can determine the fate of humanity and earth because he simply has nothing left to lose. Project Hail Mary isn’t strictly a story about a man working his way back home, it’s a story about a man working his way so that billions of other earthly live forms (and a very special friend) might have a chance of going back or staying home for the foreseeable future. Even if it’s not a full on direct sequel of The Martian, screenwriter Drew Goddard is able to properly expand the themes of Andy Weir’s work involving sci-fi and space operas once again in ways that will certainly put a smile on the author’s face.

Nothing in Project Hail Mary could have worked as well as it does without Ryan Gosling’s masterful performance as Grace! Much like the tone in the film, he is able to expressive himself exactly the way that the script demands for it whenever he is needed. He has great comedic timing, knows when to transition to being serious and emotional, makes every single dramatic and character beat feel earned, and makes for a overall engaging screen presence that is able to hide any sort of jarring shortcoming that the film might have. And yes, he does have absolutely perfect chemistry with that one special character that I will not mention because it’s a spoiler free review. But, all I will say is this…..Baby Yoda has some SERIOUS competition!

The other MVPs of the film goes to co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. This film makes for the duels’ first directorial feature credit since 2014’s 22 Jump Street. While it’s certainly crazy that it’s been 12 years since these guys have fully directed a film (It’s a shame that Solo: A Star Wars Story didn’t work out but the Spider-Verse films were co-written and produced by the duo, NOT directed!), they make their cinematic return feel worth it. Just like they did with films like The Lego Movie and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, they are able to take this odd and far-reach concept of a man trying to achieve the literal impossible while including it’s own unique brain in it’s head. They know how to get their universally relatable themes about the need for connection and working together in a time of crisis while not being afraid to be funny and moving along the way.

In terms of other technical and productive achievements, Project Hail Mary is the complete package. While there’s not a direct sequence that is as aspiring as the very best scenes from Gravity or Interstellar, this is a very beautiful looking motion picture, making the extra bucks for IMAX actually feel worth it. Any shot in space is a treat for the eyes and the transition from IMAX ratio to normal ratio is surprisingly never jarring. The cinematography by Greig Fraser is on-point, the score by Daniel Pemberton is able to be as equally mesmerizing as it is moving with some truly inspiring song choices, and even though this is a story which the events are told out of nowhere, the superb job from editor Joel Negron has every scene flow together very well and makes this daring narrative choice from Mr. Lord and Miller feel completely justified.

It may seems like I’m scratching underneath the surface with this review but that’s because there’s so much AURA here that I don’t want to spoil it for anyone that is curious to see Project Hail Mary this weekend. Not necessarily because there’s any game changing spoilers to be found (outside of the obvious elephant in the room) but because I want your experience to be as fresh and surprising as it was for me.

Project Hail Mary is sci-fi, adaptions, and cinema as it’s absolute best! It’s able to find the best of every possible world that it can and is able to stand strong on any merit that you chose to measure it with. I can nitpick about there being one or two many “funny” scenes and the way the film continuously teases what ending pathway it will chose to take by the end of Act Two and leading into Act Three is a tad jarring but when a film is this well put together, entertaining, and filled with so much optimism despite taking place in a literal dying Earth, how can you let ANY kind of flaw distract you from everything else?!

This will likely go down as one of the best films of the year, an early frontrunner for Best Picture at Next Year’s Academy Awards, and proof that cinema in Hollywood can evolve without the need of a Marvel superhero or a remake of an animated film from 30 years ago to carry theaters for the future. It’s become rarer every day to recommend a film that fully justifies the $15 to $20 ticket price but Project Hail Mary is exactly that!

You ever seen that meme that says “Never Kill Yourself”? I like to imagine the person that came up with that meme was describing the experience of watching Project Hail Mary!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna pre-order the novel now!

The Timothée Chalamet Controversy Is Dumb

March 14, 2026March 14, 2026 AdamLeave a comment

There is a lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now. The US is at war with Iran, gas prices and electricity bills are skyrocketing like crazy, AI is cutting people’s jobs at an alarming rate, Access Hollywood just got cancelled, the government is covering up creepy people right in front of your eyes thinking that nobody is noticing, and we are just one bubble burst away from a global recession like we’ve never seen before. However, instead of having a serious conversation on anyone one of these deadly serious topics (especially in regards to Access Hollywood being cancelled), we are throwing a fit over what Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet recently just said in regards to ballet and opera. Not only has this statement gone so haywire, it has caused so much controversy that it might just cost Mr. Chalamet an Academy Award for his star-turning role in Marty Supreme at the Oscars this Sunday. And let me tell you, this is all dumb as s**t!

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, Timothée Chalamet recently made a comment in regards to ballet and opera and how he believes that’s an art form that “no one cares about anymore”. A few weeks ago, he sat down in a interview with CNN and Variety with Matthew McConaughey (who he co-starred with in 2014’s Interstellar, the second major film he ever stared in). In that discussion about preserving cinema as an art form, Mr. Chalamet and McConaughey talked about the importance of keeping the theatrical experience alive, which the former has done with recent box office smash hits such as Wonka, Dune/Dune: Part Two, and Marty Supreme.

He was quoted saying, “I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive, we’ve gotta keep this genre alive,’ and another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.”

However, it’s the very next comment that Chalamet chose to follow up on that has got on everyone’s nerves. He then compared trying to save the theatrical experience of film and cinema to that of trying to save the theatrical experience of ballet and opera.

The Academy Award nominee went on to say, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’” he says with a laugh. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason.”

And that has caused everyone and their mother to initiate outrage culture like no other mainstream related thing in recent memory, at least since Mr. Tarantino decided to take shots at Paul Dino and Matthew Lillard for no reason (Seriously, WTF Quentin?!?! Shut up and make your final film already!).

Never mind the fact that he IMMEDIATELY followed up that comment with a jab at himself, knowing he spoke a bit too harshly there. Never mind the fact that Mr. Chalamet has come from a dance family (his mother and sister went to the School of American Ballet), grew up in Manhatten Plaza (a special residence for artists and dancers), and probably knows more about ballet and opera than over half the people on the internet. Never mind the fact about at least 75% of folks that are triggered by this can’t even recall the last time they have ever sat through a ballet or opera from beginning to end. Never mind the fact that there are MANY others issues going on right now in the entertainment industry and real world that are worth having serious discussions over. It’s this one distinct moment that has everyone stepping up to the plate in the hopes of hitting enough dingers to take down Timothée Chalamet’s time of fame and possibly his Oscar along with him. And I can’t not believe we are all making one big effing deal out of all of this!

I will say straight up front that I don’t love what Timothée said here. It’s not wise to take poke fun at another art form when the art form that you are a part of is currently struggling mightily with a future that is very clouded. While I do appreciate he took a jab at himself for making comments that he had to have known would get blown out WAY of proportions, it’s not smart to insert juicy, click-bating quotes like that in this day and age that we live in, especially when you are in the middle of Oscar season. However, I still can’t say he’s 100% in the wrong here.

Don’t get me wrong, I have NOTHING against ballet and opera! It makes for a very fine art form and for very fine entertainment when you need to take your mind off the rest of the world. And it’s not even that it’s on life support in the same way the film industry is. It’s just not as relevant to our mainstream culture has it once was. Before tomatoes get thrown at me, let me explain.

Outside of big film adaptions of theater such as Hamilton or In The Heights, can anyone tell me the last time that ballet and opera have existed in the same bubble as film and television? When was the last time that both of these particular art forms have existed side-by-side and was view directly under it’s own merits as oppose to each other? When was the last time that both of these art forms were held to the exact same standards about preserving their futures? And most importantly, when was the last time that one of these art forms was seen as more alive than other or even considered alive and well at all? I don’t think I know the answer to these questions and I don’t think YOU do either.

There is a lot of compare and contrasting about the niche appeal of ballet and opera and film and cinema. While we tend to see a popular clip or two of either one of these art forms in the realms of TikTok and Twitter along with plenty of well-informed insiders and elite perceptions of these two particular mediums, it’s very hard to tell how each one of these art forms can exist in it’s own vacuums now in the same way they were able to in the past. Ballet and opera and film and cinema need to thrive in ways that only they themselves can for these art forms to evolve and not in ways that can compliment one another. And I think Chalamet knows this.

As I mentioned before, Timothée comes from a dance family. He has a mother and sister that went to ballet school, he grew up in a plaza that is very complimentary of artists, talent, and dancers, and he probably has plenty of experience of his own in this particular art form. I am certain he knows the ins and outs of that industry and how different it is compared to the film industry. He knows how he can help one art form preserve in troubled times and not so much the other. Because of that, he is taking upon himself to help uplift the art form that only he can do and NOT the art form which he can’t.

Ballet and opera is thriving under it’s own sphere. And if Chalamet’s background is any indication, I’m pretty confident he believes so too. However, just like many traditional media forms over the past decade such as film, television, and radio, it is NOT what it used to be and Timothée has taken notice of it. Not in the sense that he’s trying to be rude but is trying to be brutally honest. And as we’ve seen from time to time, the truth can sting quite a bit, especially when we hear it out loud.

If you disagree with what Timothée Chalamet said, you are welcome to disagree! However, it is NOT worth the outrage that it has gather over the past couple of weeks. We have far bigger issues to deal with in terms of entertainment and quite frankly the world that we should be able to move on from what was a rather tone-deaf quote and put the focus on something that actually matters.

And if you really believe ballet and opera is thriving in ways that I or Mr. Chalamet can’t see, then feel free to spread the word on how amazing the art form is. Go to as many different showings as you can, tell your friends and family about it, spread the word on social media, and have this motivate you to make ballet and opera the best and most well-known art form that it can possibly be. Make every hater eat their words and make them look like the most foolish people ever!

That being said, this is NOT worth all the discourse it has gotten over one guy’s opinion of the state of ballet and opera. And as much as I loved Michael B Jordan in Sinners, if this really ends up costing Timothée the Academy Award on Sunday, then all actors might need to just not a say a single word during awards season. Because ANYTHING you say can be held against you in the court of the Academy! And unfortunately, you will NOT have the right to attorney in this case!

And here’s the full video of the interview: