00:00We're halfway through the year, for real this time, so that means a middle-of-the-year list of films
00:05I enjoyed so far.
00:06Criteria for this list is as follows.
00:081. Must have been released to a paying audience in 2026.
00:112. Films that had a festival run in 2025 count.
00:153. Films that were released in 2025 in other countries, but again an international release, like Exit 8, this year
00:20do not count.
00:21Now let's see what films I enjoyed this year so far.
00:27Back rooms.
00:28One of the biggest trends this year was a bunch of films directed by people who got their start on
00:31YouTube,
00:32and the first of many on this list was Kane Parton's Back Rooms.
00:35Expanding on his web series and based on the creepypasta, Back Rooms manages to craft both a scary experience,
00:41but also a great meditation on loss and obsession.
00:44Even if it did suffer from an abrupt ending, adding to that gorgeous production design and a good performance from
00:49Chiwetel Ejiofor,
00:50you've got yourself a winner.
00:54Disclosure Day.
00:552026 has so far been a great year for science fiction films, and Steven Spielberg's latest extraterrestrial escapade offers us
01:01an old-school conspiracy filler,
01:03showing that Spielberg still has it after 50 years in the business, and even an old style of film can
01:07still work now.
01:08I've seen some people treat the ending as a little bit saccharine, but I thought it worked well, and Emily
01:12Blunt gives a great performance here as well.
01:18While Pixar's latest adventure, Into the Toy Box, seems to be doing gangbusters, at the time of writing, Daniel Chong's
01:24Hoppers won me Elba Moore.
01:25With a madcap energy that makes it more Looney Tunes than Disney, Hoppers delivers a funny and relevant environmental tale
01:30with some great animation to boot,
01:31and some really appealing character designs.
01:37Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice.
01:39Gangsters and science fiction collide in this funny time travel movie.
01:42Vince Vaughn manages to pull off a great demo performance here in this film that manages to meet the conventions
01:46and needs of both genres,
01:48and for making them work in tandem without it being other stuff, along with its observations on friendship.
01:52The film is available on Hulu in America, and it's on Disney Plus in other territories.
02:00One of the biggest horror hits of the year, Obsession gave us a great modern day riff on the Monkees'
02:04poor premise,
02:05managing to both be funny in some parts, creepy in others, and downright scary in the rest of it.
02:10Add in Indie Navarrete, given one of the year's best performances, you've got a great film you'll be obsessing over.
02:18Pizza Movie.
02:18Pizza Movie was a fun and silly stoner movie.
02:21While it isn't reinventing the reel, the gags come in hard and fast as each one tops itself for how
02:25silly it can get.
02:26From head exploding bad trips to body swapping with a butterfly and more, it's good bro.
02:30Like Mick and Nick and Nick and Alice, this film is also available on Hulu in America, and on Disney
02:35Plus in other territories.
02:40Project Hail Mary.
02:41Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Andy Weir adaptation was an uplifting sci-fi yarn about how people from different backgrounds
02:46can work together for a common goal.
02:48Ryan Gosling is good as he always is, but the puppetry led by James Ortiz that steals the show,
02:52it's a great year for science fiction films so far.
02:57Send Help.
02:58Sam Raimi's over-the-top island horror is a hell of a time.
03:01Rachel McAdams gives a entertaining and fun performance, and Raimi shows that his horror skills he helmed from the evil
03:05dead have ever been blunted over the years.
03:10The Sheep Detectives.
03:12This was a light and fluffy murder mystery that managed to be both sweet and charming, but allows itself to
03:16tackle death and loss in an effective manner.
03:18The CGI on the Sheep is great, and there's an excellent cast deployed, both on camera and in the VO
03:22booth.
03:2628 years later, The Bone Temple.
03:28Nia LaCosta changes gears, taking over from Danny Boyle in the director's chair, and while it doesn't have the social
03:33commentary of the previous film,
03:34it makes up for it by going the Day of the Dead route by humanizing the zombies.
03:38There's also a viciousness to the film, helped by a chilling performance by Jack O'Connell, and Ralph Foynes puts
03:43in a career highlight here as well.
03:45The film also manages to tie up some plot threads from the first 28 years later film, but it does
03:49leave itself up for a sequel down the line if it ever comes out.
03:53So those were my favourite films of the year, and to recap, they were Backrooms, Disclosure Day, Hoppers, Mike and
03:58Nick and Nick and Alice, Obsession, Pizza Movie, Project Hail Mary, Send Help, The Sheep Detectives, and 28 years later,
04:04The Bone Temple.
04:05While you're here, check out my favourite TV shows of the year so far, and don't forget to like this
04:09video, share with your friends, and subscribe to get more like this.
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