2026 is nearly halfway over, and with that comes time to look back on the year in cinema so far. In each of the last two years, I had actually already seen what would end up being my #1 film by the midway point (“Challengers” and “Sinners“), so time will tell if “28 Years Later; The Bone Temple” retains its spot atop my list (I doubt it, but you never know!). As is often the case, studios will be keeping a lot of their awards players for the back-half of the year, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t gotten a fair share of good films already. Here I’ll list what I’ve liked (or been let down by) in the first six months of 2026, as well as look ahead at what is to come.

Best Films

-28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

-Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie

-Obsession

-Pressure

-Project Hail Mary

“28 Years Later” was one of my favorite films last year, and I was looking forward to its follow-up, “The Bone Temple.” It was a little surprising they released it in January, just six months the first (well, third) film and in a month often associated with studio’s undesirables, but the film delivered. That, paired with the incredible run by Curry Barker’s “Obsession,” have shown that horror is what is hot right now, and I also was surprised by how much I enjoyed the comedy “Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie” and the WWII drama “Pressure.” Lord and Miller’s sci-fi epic “Project Hail Mary” was also a visual treat that I got lucky enough to see in 70mm IMAX.

Worst Films

-Balls Up

-Dolly

-Iron Lung

The worst thing a movie can be is boring, and all of these had me begging for the credits to come (in the case of “Dolly,” an ugly as sin horror film, I shamelessly scrolled on my phone during the second half, I simply did not care and was getting upset that it just kept going despite being just 83 minutes).

Biggest Surprises

-Crime 101

-Deep Water

-Faces of Death

-Is God Is

“Crime 101” is such a generic title that I expected it to be a generic film, so I was pleased when it was actually a pretty slick heist thriller. “Deep Water” from bombastic director Renny Harlin was a surprisingly tense time, and made for a fun Friday at the movies. I thought “Is God Is” looked like a bit of a mess (and the title is confusing), but it actually has good summer, Tarantino-esque vibes about it, and “Faces of Death” was a fun serial killer flick.

Biggest Disappointments

-Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

-Scary Movie

-Scream 7

I liked enough of Lee Cronin’s “Evil Dead Rise,” but his take on “The Mummy” was just a wannabe “Evil Dead” film and is more boring and stupid than it is creepy and fun. Both “Scary Movie” and “Scream 7” saw their original writers and cast return after absences, but each more played like proof their respective franchises were content playing the hits than trying anything fresh and satirizing recent trends in horror films.

Most Anticipated

-The Adventures of Cliff Booth

-Digger

-Dune: Part Three

-The Odyssey

-Werwulf

We could be looking at some all-timer stuff in the months to come. Two films, Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three,” will be released in 70mm IMAX to great anticipation. I’m also looking forward to Tom Cruise returning to dramatic films after his recent string of blockbusters in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Digger” and Brad Pitt reprising his “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” role in David Fincher’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” (which Quentin Tarantino wrote). And at Christmas we will get the gift of Robert Egger’s “Werwulf,” a historically-authentic horror film starring much of the “Nosferatu” cast. (Also, I know the internet has already turned against it, but I think “The Social Reckoning,” a “not” sequel to my beloved “Social Network” looks good, too!)

So there are some scattershot thoughts on the world of movies from the first six months of the year. The world may be a little chaotic at the moment, but so long as we have popcorn and the big screen, I’ll always hold out hope for another day. I’ll see you back here in December!