Resident Evil (2026): As a long-time Resident Evil fan, I was very cautious going into Zach Cregger’s take on the franchise, because his approach is just tangential to what Resident Evil offers. We follow a Mr. Nobody, Bryan (Austin Abrams), whose night of courier-ing goes from bad to worse as he gets tasked to deliver something to a freshly infected Raccoon City. There are no characters from the games – if anything, the game is relegated to Easter eggs, while major visual and gore influences come from The Thing and Slither. But if you go into it without expecting too much Resident Evil, there’s a lot of fun to be had. And if you really are a Resident Evil fan and have sat through the plethora of sub-average films that the games have spawned, then just count your blessings that something even vaguely resembling the games is as successful as this. For more, read my full review. 7
I Want Your Sex (2026): I can’t believe Gregg Araki is almost 70. When I first heard about him in the early 00s, he was somehow still considered one of the promising up and comers in the biz. After a decade of TV work, he returns with IWYS, a movie starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman. Just think of it as a PG Pillion, which still makes for an R rated flick. Wilde plays Erika Tracey, a successful artist and gallery owner, while Hoffman is Elliot Bell, a drifting youngster who gets hired to work at the gallery and somehow becomes Erika’s (BDSM) muse. In spite of its contrived plot, the story has many fun and sassy moments, with both leads landing strong performances. It lacks the emotional punch of Pillion, but still works up a satisfying, if by the numbers, denouement (haha), while making some worthwhile comments on art, appearance and (intrinsic) value. 7
On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace (2017): Photographer Michael O’Neill (re)discovered yoga later in life and found it to be a true manifestation of purpose and serenity. This documentary uses his experience as a scaffold to delve into a beautiful exploration of the practice of yoga, shot with grace and sensibility. When it talks about the meaning of it all, when it looks at variations, there isn’t much to discover for anyone with some yoga nous, while the uninitiated might find it too cool-juice adjacent to enjoy. But there is poetry in some of its philosophical musings. I thought, for the most part, the documentary found a decent balance to portray yoga as both what it is and what it can be, at its best in the more meditative moments it embraces. 7
She Dances (2025): Steve Zahn fictionalizes the relationship with his daughter, Audrey Zahn, and creates a gentle, heartwarming story about a father-daughter bond. They both star in the story that is set around an ailing father, who is generally successful, but struggling to find peace of mind. When he is compelled to chaperone his daughter to a dancing competition, he finds connection anew and rediscovers a joy that had been lost on him. There isn’t really much else to it, but it is all executed with grace and by avoiding the sucrose failings of the genre. It’s all sweet, really. 7
The Dink (2026): Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen and Ed Harris star in this movie that wants you to believe pickleball is coming for a tennis court near you. Johnson plays Dusty “The Hammer” Boyd, a forty year old who still hasn’t quite coped with the idea that his tennis career didn’t happen. Working for his unloving father as a coach, fate has it in such a way that he has to pick up pickleball and finds his calling. It’s all mostly silly, about as silly as Ben Stiller’s part in this movie he co-produced, but I found it likable. More likable than Andy Roddick showing up for the grand finale, ugh! 6
