Project Hail Mary opens with Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) waking up alone on a spaceship following an induced coma. He has no memory of how he got on the ship or why he is in space. As he searches the ship, he finds that everyone else on the ship has died. As his memory returns, he uncovers that he is on a mission to find a way to stop a mysterious substance from killing…

  Growing up in the golden era of Pixar, a standard was set for what made a great Pixar movie. The movies had to feature unique characters and stunning animation. It balanced its tones perfectly, making fun movies and at times hilarious, while also being dramatic and at times intense. It had thematic and story elements that appealed to both kids and adults. A great Pixar movie wasn’t just a kid’s movie; it was a…

  Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is an epic sci-fi journey that expects its characters and the audience to hop on board to its absurdity after only the first few minutes. The film opens at Norm’s, a diner in present-day Los Angeles. It seems to be a busy, but normal evening at Norm’s, when a man claiming he is from the future (Sam Rockwell) busts through the front door, saying he needs volunteers to…

  The Midnight category is always one of my favorite categories at the Sundance Film Festival, as the category has turned out some historic films throughout the years, like The Blair Witch Project, Saw, Oldboy, and Hereditary, to name a few. But the 2026 lineup is one of the weakest I have seen in my sixteen years of attending the festival. The lineup was a mixed bag of films that had potential and fell short,…

  Wicker is a movie that features quirky characters, a unique setting, and fantastical elements, yet it is quietly an amazing film. It features spectacular production design and makeup, great performances from the entire ensemble, and a universal and heartwarming core theme. Based on the Ursula Wilis-Jones short story The Wicker Husband, Wicker stars Olivia Colman as the Fisherwoman, a woman who, as her name suggests, fishes and sells the fish to the local townspeople….

  The Musical is the cinematic version of “men would rather (insert activity) than go to therapy.” The “activity” is a middle school play, but it’s not a school play you’ve ever seen and probably never will. Any more information about the play would ruin the fun of Giselle Bonilla’s entertaining but uneven comedy. Tony Award-winning actor Will Brill stars as Doug, a middle school theater teacher and aspiring playwright who recently got dumped by…

  Every year at Sundance, there is a feature film that would have benefited more from being a short. The film has a great idea and starts strongly, but towards the end of the second act and almost the entire third act, it runs out of steam, and the once-great idea for a film sputters to the finish line. At the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, that film was Casper Kelly’s delirious midnight romp, Buddy. Kelly…

  The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a lean, slick, low-level crime film. It’s a straightforward, character-driven drama that takes us across New York City as an old-school man battles the new school. Harry (John Turturro) is the last of a dying breed: he’s a pickpocket in New York City. He picks people’s wallets, things hanging out of their bags, phones, whatever he sees fit. He carries around a wad of cash in…

  In 1972, filmmaker William Greaves gathered some of the key artists, musicians, librarians, poets, journalists, actors, photographers, teachers, and critics of the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s home for a party, which he filmed. The footage turned into Once Upon a Time in Harlem, one of the best documentaries of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and probably the year. Watching Once Upon a Time in Harlem is like being a plus-one at a party full…