My ranking of the Best Picture Oscar contenders of 2026:
1. Sinners
2. One Battle After Another *
3. Marty Supreme
4. Frankenstein
5. Train Dreams
6. The Secret Agent
7. Hamnet
8. Bugonia
9. Sentimental Value
10. F1
* Actual Winner
The 98th Academy Awards
Hoppers
HOPPERS
2026 | Dir. Daniel Chong | 105 Minutes
"It's hard to be mad when you feel like you're part of something big."
2026 | Dir. Daniel Chong | 105 Minutes
"It's hard to be mad when you feel like you're part of something big."
Since her youth, Mabel Tanaka has more compassion for animals than human beings. When an industrious mayor threatens to build a freeway over Mabel's beloved glade, the young woman takes matters into her own hands, using experimental technology to place her consciousness inside a beaver body and rallying the animal kingdom to take action leading to unforeseen consequences.
Pixar's wackiest comedy to date, Hoppers is a delightful sci-fi treat packed with an abundance of solid jokes. The heightened emotions of its perpetually exasperated animal-loving protagonist naturally lead to brash actions for maximum hijinks. Where the Pixar magic really shines is in the picture's central tenet of embracing inner peace through the practice of empathetic coexistence, delivering this concept in an accessible way to audiences of all ages without sacrificing depth or amusement.
Pixar is known for pushing the envelope for cinematic animation as an artistic medium, but objectively no scene in Hoppers goes above and beyond on a technical level. However, in terms of comedy, scene-for-scene it's genuinely one of the funniest films crafted by the studio. The over-the-top introductions of the monarchs of the animal kingdom as they arrive to a fateful council meeting is a series of absurd delights. A memorably madcap chase scene featuring the airborne deployment of an oceanic apex predator precariously carried by a flock of birds in hot pursuit of a sports car racing down a mountain road is arguably the most hilarious sequence in the Pixar entire filmography to date. The climax in which the animal kingdom dismantle a dam to stop a wildfire is awe-inspiring and emotionally satisfying. The shift in character design between how humans perceive the animals with simple beady-eyed expressions and how the animals perceive themselves with expressive detailed anthropomorphized faces is a clever aesthetic choice that lends itself to many humorous back-and-forth shots.
Piper Curda brings the perfect amount of feistiness as the environmental activist Mabel, even more comically frantic in robot beaver form. As the Mammal King George, Bobby Moynihan is a natural fit for the role of a laid-back animated beaver. The actors lending their voices to the central antagonists are also very funny, with Jon Hamm as the devious Mayor Jerry and Dave Franco as the mad Insect King. Though the apex predator's appearance is all too brief, Vanessa Bayer steals the show as the overly cheerful shark Diane. The strong supporting cast is rounded out by Eduardo Franco as the zoned out beaver Loaf, Melissa Villaseñor as the grumpy bear Ellen, Tom Law as the fun-loving Tom Lizard and Kathy Najimy, Aparna Nancherla, and Sam Richardson as the trio of scientists behind the Hoppers program.
Taking a relatively simple and fun story concept to its full potential, Hoppers is an exceptionally funny film. Beyond the plentiful laughs, the picture features an emotionally resonant story that promotes the importance of environmental preservation and empathy for all living things. While it may not be the most technically groundbreaking feature, its clever knockoff-Avatar premise and consistently hilarious animal characters make it one of the famed animation studio's strongest productions in recent years.
Pixar's wackiest comedy to date, Hoppers is a delightful sci-fi treat packed with an abundance of solid jokes. The heightened emotions of its perpetually exasperated animal-loving protagonist naturally lead to brash actions for maximum hijinks. Where the Pixar magic really shines is in the picture's central tenet of embracing inner peace through the practice of empathetic coexistence, delivering this concept in an accessible way to audiences of all ages without sacrificing depth or amusement.
Pixar is known for pushing the envelope for cinematic animation as an artistic medium, but objectively no scene in Hoppers goes above and beyond on a technical level. However, in terms of comedy, scene-for-scene it's genuinely one of the funniest films crafted by the studio. The over-the-top introductions of the monarchs of the animal kingdom as they arrive to a fateful council meeting is a series of absurd delights. A memorably madcap chase scene featuring the airborne deployment of an oceanic apex predator precariously carried by a flock of birds in hot pursuit of a sports car racing down a mountain road is arguably the most hilarious sequence in the Pixar entire filmography to date. The climax in which the animal kingdom dismantle a dam to stop a wildfire is awe-inspiring and emotionally satisfying. The shift in character design between how humans perceive the animals with simple beady-eyed expressions and how the animals perceive themselves with expressive detailed anthropomorphized faces is a clever aesthetic choice that lends itself to many humorous back-and-forth shots.
Piper Curda brings the perfect amount of feistiness as the environmental activist Mabel, even more comically frantic in robot beaver form. As the Mammal King George, Bobby Moynihan is a natural fit for the role of a laid-back animated beaver. The actors lending their voices to the central antagonists are also very funny, with Jon Hamm as the devious Mayor Jerry and Dave Franco as the mad Insect King. Though the apex predator's appearance is all too brief, Vanessa Bayer steals the show as the overly cheerful shark Diane. The strong supporting cast is rounded out by Eduardo Franco as the zoned out beaver Loaf, Melissa Villaseñor as the grumpy bear Ellen, Tom Law as the fun-loving Tom Lizard and Kathy Najimy, Aparna Nancherla, and Sam Richardson as the trio of scientists behind the Hoppers program.
Taking a relatively simple and fun story concept to its full potential, Hoppers is an exceptionally funny film. Beyond the plentiful laughs, the picture features an emotionally resonant story that promotes the importance of environmental preservation and empathy for all living things. While it may not be the most technically groundbreaking feature, its clever knockoff-Avatar premise and consistently hilarious animal characters make it one of the famed animation studio's strongest productions in recent years.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Shenanigans with a creepy face.
POST-CREDITS STINGER
Some of Mabel's new friends deliver some groceries.
Some of Mabel's new friends deliver some groceries.
A113
- On Dr. Sam's chalkboard full of ideas for new inventions, the idea at the very center is labeled "Idea #113"
PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- Dr. Sam's new invention ideas include direct references to Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Up, and Lightyear
- Dr. Sam's new invention ideas include direct references to Monsters, Inc., WALL-E, Up, and Lightyear
FRAGMENTS
- Mabel's crazed expressions very much remind me of the faces made by Hayao Miyazaki characters when they get worked up
- Granted her voice is pitched way up, Meryl Streep is unrecognizable to me as the Insect Queen
- Posthumously released after his passing, character actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. plays the Bird King
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS
2025 | Dir. Matt Shakman | 115 Minutes
"For you, I would move heaven and earth."
2025 | Dir. Matt Shakman | 115 Minutes
"For you, I would move heaven and earth."
Loved by all, the Fantastic Four have saved New York City and the Earth several times over. However, when faced with their biggest threat ever, public opinion quickly turns and tensions within the family rise as they choose not to sacrifice their newborn to protect the planet. At the eleventh hour, the heroes devise a plan to save the world once again without forsaking the newest member of their family.
After several stand-alone films of varying questionable quality, one of Marvel Comics' most storied and beloved superhero teams gets a proper Marvel Cinematic Universe introduction. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a lighthearted take on superheroes as public figures, brilliant scientists, and also as a caring family unit with genuine compassion for all. Immediately and convincingly selling the audience on the idea that the world loves the super-powered family, the feature wisely references their origin story in a breezy manner instead of fully rehashing it, fast-forwarding through their string of victories protecting their world against silly and outright bizarre villains of shapes and sizes while focusing the first act on their rather somewhat mundane day-to-day lives give or take a few bits of super-science. As the cosmic stakes for this particular story escalate, its primary conflict forces the heroes to make the impossible choice to sacrifice the newest member of their family or their entire planet and everyone under their protection. In an inspired and inspirational turn of events, the heroes opt for the solution that makes the most sense both logically and emotionally: play to their individual unique strengths to outsmart the problem and sacrifice no one, perfectly capturing what sets the titular Fantastic Four apart from other super teams.
The meticulous production design behind the alternate Earth-828 of First Steps is nothing short of superb, presenting a fully immersive fashionably retro 1960s New York City populated with sleek and imaginative technology. Michael Giacchino's film score is a perfect match the aesthetic of the picture, big and corny in the best very way. The effects are also generally very impressive, with fully computer-generated characters of Ben Grimm, the Silver Surfer, and Galactus standing out particularly in action sequences. The FTL chase scene leading the heroes and the Silver Surfer to a black hole is one of the most inventive superhero movie set pieces ever. However, CGI Baby Franklin Richards is without a doubt unsettlingly uncanny.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn share infectious chemistry playing this incarnation of the Fantastic Four. Imbuing Reed Richards with a specific unintentional aloofness, Pascal makes one understand how one can both love and hate the impossibly ingenious and deeply frustrating Mister Fantastic. Kirby brings a barely contained ferocity to Sue Storm, gradually unleashing it more and more as the plot unfolds. Moss-Bachrach's sensitive tough guy persona fits Ben Grimm perfectly. Somehow, Quinn is simply charming as cocky kid brother Johnny Storm without a shred of obnoxiousness. In the role of Silver Surfer Shalla-Bal, Julia Garner delivers her dialogue with enough gravitas to further accentuate the herald's striking appearance. Ralph Ineson is believably terrifying as absolutely memorable as Marvel's legendary destroyer of worlds Galactus. The supporting cast also features Mark Gatiss as the Ed Sullivan-esque television host Ted Gilbert, Sarah Niles as Future Foundation CEO Lynne Nichols, Paul Walter Hauser as the mostly harmless Mole Man Harvey Elder, and Natasha Lyonne as Ben Grimm's schoolteacher love interest Rachel Rozman
The Fantastic Four: First Steps does Marvel Comics' first and most famous family justice, delivering a thrilling space adventure with an appealing retro-future look. Entertaining, endearing, featuring wonderful ensemble cast and action sequences that are ambitious in scale and visually exciting, it's one of the most emotionally satisfying films from Marvel Studios. Notably, enjoying this picture requires no prior knowledge or investment in Marvel's sprawling shared cinematic universe.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Franklin Richards is visited by a stranger in a green hood holding an iron mask.
POST-CREDITS STINGER
H.E.R.B.I.E. watches intro to the in-universe The Fantastic Four Power Hour cartoon.
FRAGMENTS
- Very cute that the leads of the infamous unreleased 1994 The Fantastic Four make a cameo appearance together among the civilians expressing their appreciation
- Also cute that they recreated the cover of The Fantastic Four #1 in live-action
After several stand-alone films of varying questionable quality, one of Marvel Comics' most storied and beloved superhero teams gets a proper Marvel Cinematic Universe introduction. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a lighthearted take on superheroes as public figures, brilliant scientists, and also as a caring family unit with genuine compassion for all. Immediately and convincingly selling the audience on the idea that the world loves the super-powered family, the feature wisely references their origin story in a breezy manner instead of fully rehashing it, fast-forwarding through their string of victories protecting their world against silly and outright bizarre villains of shapes and sizes while focusing the first act on their rather somewhat mundane day-to-day lives give or take a few bits of super-science. As the cosmic stakes for this particular story escalate, its primary conflict forces the heroes to make the impossible choice to sacrifice the newest member of their family or their entire planet and everyone under their protection. In an inspired and inspirational turn of events, the heroes opt for the solution that makes the most sense both logically and emotionally: play to their individual unique strengths to outsmart the problem and sacrifice no one, perfectly capturing what sets the titular Fantastic Four apart from other super teams.
The meticulous production design behind the alternate Earth-828 of First Steps is nothing short of superb, presenting a fully immersive fashionably retro 1960s New York City populated with sleek and imaginative technology. Michael Giacchino's film score is a perfect match the aesthetic of the picture, big and corny in the best very way. The effects are also generally very impressive, with fully computer-generated characters of Ben Grimm, the Silver Surfer, and Galactus standing out particularly in action sequences. The FTL chase scene leading the heroes and the Silver Surfer to a black hole is one of the most inventive superhero movie set pieces ever. However, CGI Baby Franklin Richards is without a doubt unsettlingly uncanny.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn share infectious chemistry playing this incarnation of the Fantastic Four. Imbuing Reed Richards with a specific unintentional aloofness, Pascal makes one understand how one can both love and hate the impossibly ingenious and deeply frustrating Mister Fantastic. Kirby brings a barely contained ferocity to Sue Storm, gradually unleashing it more and more as the plot unfolds. Moss-Bachrach's sensitive tough guy persona fits Ben Grimm perfectly. Somehow, Quinn is simply charming as cocky kid brother Johnny Storm without a shred of obnoxiousness. In the role of Silver Surfer Shalla-Bal, Julia Garner delivers her dialogue with enough gravitas to further accentuate the herald's striking appearance. Ralph Ineson is believably terrifying as absolutely memorable as Marvel's legendary destroyer of worlds Galactus. The supporting cast also features Mark Gatiss as the Ed Sullivan-esque television host Ted Gilbert, Sarah Niles as Future Foundation CEO Lynne Nichols, Paul Walter Hauser as the mostly harmless Mole Man Harvey Elder, and Natasha Lyonne as Ben Grimm's schoolteacher love interest Rachel Rozman
The Fantastic Four: First Steps does Marvel Comics' first and most famous family justice, delivering a thrilling space adventure with an appealing retro-future look. Entertaining, endearing, featuring wonderful ensemble cast and action sequences that are ambitious in scale and visually exciting, it's one of the most emotionally satisfying films from Marvel Studios. Notably, enjoying this picture requires no prior knowledge or investment in Marvel's sprawling shared cinematic universe.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Franklin Richards is visited by a stranger in a green hood holding an iron mask.
POST-CREDITS STINGER
H.E.R.B.I.E. watches intro to the in-universe The Fantastic Four Power Hour cartoon.
FRAGMENTS
- Very cute that the leads of the infamous unreleased 1994 The Fantastic Four make a cameo appearance together among the civilians expressing their appreciation
- Also cute that they recreated the cover of The Fantastic Four #1 in live-action
- The curious absence of a representative from Latveria as such an big invitation to speculate about what has already happened between these variations of the Fantastic Four and Victor von Doom
- The revelation at the bottom of the end credits that the Earth-828 designation is based on Jack Kirby's birthday is simply lovely
Elio
ELIO
2025 | Dir. Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina | 99 Minutes
"'Unique' can sometimes feel like 'alone,' but you are not alone."
2025 | Dir. Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina | 99 Minutes
"'Unique' can sometimes feel like 'alone,' but you are not alone."
Losing his parents at a young age, Elio lives with his Air Force major aunt but he struggles to connect with her and with other people, his only wish is to be abducted by space aliens. Against all odds, Elio makes contact with extraterrestrial life but is mistaken for the leader of planet Earth, receiving an invitation to join an intergalactic assembly of peaceful lifeforms. As a condition of his membership, Elio takes on a mission to negotiate with a merciless warlord but in the process becomes best friends with the despot's gentle son.
Elio is a gorgeously animated and emotionally stirring picture with an amusing sci-fi premise layered on top of a story centered on a child struggling with loneliness and feeling unwanted. While the picture immediately establishes Elio's challenging relationship with his aunt and his inability to make friends with other children, interpersonal conflicts that are all too relatable, once the story leaves Earth the emotional hook never goes beyond only just serviceable, somewhat underdeveloped in favor of delivering a fun though rather rote mistaken identity plot. Fortunately, the friendship between Elio and his alien slug friend Glordon is convincingly earnest and sweet, and the third act features some thrilling high-flying action and touching payoffs for the character arcs of Elio, his Aunt Olga, and Glordon, considerably improving the quality of the film as a whole.
Pixar Animation Studios shows off their technical prowess in Elio by way of some impressively dynamic lighting effects featured throughout the entire film, starting with little Elio's exploration of a darkened museum outer space exhibit still under construction at the start of the picture and carrying through the various colorful settings of the Communiverse. The designs for the extraterrestrial lifeforms are incredibly varied and every single one is lots of fun. The ethereal film score by Rob Simonsen is all around excellent.
Yonas Kibreab carries the film with a natural performance in the lead role, consistently hilarious and often incredibly affecting to movingly convey Elio's sadness. Remy Edgerly is infectiously cheerful as the happy-go-lucky Glordon, sharing fantastic comedic chemistry with Yonas Kibreab's Elio. As the put-upon Aunt Olga, a rather manic Zoe Saldaña is very funny. Brad Garrett hams it up well as Glordon's ill-tempered warlord father.
Elio features the Pixar signature blend of heart and visual splendor that is sure to please children, adults, and inner children alike. However, while the story of a boy having a hard time finding his place in the universe is touching, it's nothing groundbreaking particularly by the storied animation studio's astronomical standards. In any case, as an average Pixar film that's finely crafted by any standard, it's a worthwhile uplifting experience that effortlessly tugs at heartstrings with plenty of humor and awe-inspiring imagery.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Elio and Bryce chat with Glordon by ham radio.
FRAGMENTS
- Less a post-credits stinger than a promo, a brief teaser for the next Pixar film Hoppers plays after the closing studio logos
- Intriguingly, the original teaser trailer for Elio shows a few significant differences in character roles and premise from the final film -- America Ferrera plays Olga in the teaser instead of Zoe Saldaña who was originally written to be Elio's mother
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Zoe Saldaña (Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
Thunderbolts*
THUNDERBOLTS*
2025 | Dir. Jake Schreier | 127 Minutes
"I can't think of a worse group of people trying to work together."
On the verge of ending her employment under the ruthless politician Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, former Black Widow Yelena Belova accepts one last mission. The assignment leads Yelena into a trap set by Val intended to liquidate all of her covert operatives in a ploy to destroy all evidence of her nefarious activities. The survivors of Val's scheme reluctantly band together to confront her only to come face to face with an unimaginably powerful new threat.
Primarily serving as a culmination of storylines established in Black Widow and on The Falcon and Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts* does what good Marvel Studios films do best: deliver interesting action-packed (and if we're lucky, thought-provoking) spectacle while doing right by their characters by continuing their story arcs in emotionally gratifying ways. Thanks to a frequently sincere screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, the collection of prickly hired guns at the heart of the picture come across as the biggest underdogs within their cinematic multiverse as they gradually become worthy of taking on the mantle of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in spirit if not in ability. It's rewarding to see the late Black Widow's endearingly dorky but seriously deadly kid sister stepping up to take on a leadership role, consistently offering empathy to the deeply troubled Bob as she learns to face her own demons after years of burying her pain in booze and wanton violence. Taking a massive creative swing for a superhero movie - arguably one that significantly pays off - it's only fitting that the finale is a psychological struggle rather than the standard massive battle.
Thunderbolts* features several inspired action sequences, made all the more entertaining by the prickly nature of Yelena, Ava, and Walker. The lethal meet-cute in the secret facility sports some excitingly dynamic fight choreography. The car chase in the desert is tense and genuinely funny with Bucky making an awesome dramatic entrance to top it off. Watching the team futilely attempt to subdue the super-powered Sentry is simply heartbreaking, though they more than redeem themselves demonstrating true heroism protecting the people of Manhattan from the devastation of the Void. The way the film depicts the Void as an emotional state, an entity, and a shadowy realm that traps individuals in the worst moments of their lives is clever if under-explained, but it works reasonably well as a storytelling device.
Reprising the role of Yelena, Florence Pugh absolutely carries this picture with a thoroughly engaging performance, bringing thrilling stunts, laughs, and heartache with aplomb. David Harbour lays on thick the Russian accent and broad comedy in his return as Yelena's super soldier surrogate dad Alexei, but he impressively dials back the silliness to really sell several poignant moments with Yelena. Making her second appearance as Ava Starr following 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hannah John-Kamen is captivating as a hyper-competent foil to Pugh's Yelena, though it would have been nice for her to have more screen time. Wyatt Russell's off-brand Captain America John Walker makes his silver screen debut bringing along all of the character's baggage from The Falcon and Winter Soldier, the rough-around-the-edges charisma inherited from his father Kurt serving him well, adding a considerable amount of likability to such an incredibly flawed character. As the most veteran superhero of the gang, Sebastian Stan's Bucky is excellent as the no-nonsense counterbalance to this group of dummies. Lewis Pullman is perfectly cast as the soft-spoken and unassuming Robert Reynolds, making his performance as the sinister Void even more terrifying. Playing a much bigger part than in her previous MCU appearances as smug master manipulator Val, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a lot of fun to watch, and certain plot developments allow her to show off her range as a performer. In addition, Geraldine Viswanathan is incredibly amusing Val's conflicted assistant Mel.
Thunderbolts* is as much about the formation of a world-saving team comprised of sad misfits as it is about the challenges of processing shame and past trauma. An all-around solid cast lead by Florence Pugh and some fascinating creative choices make it one of the more unique MCU films. Though considerably gruffer than the more well-established heroes of the Marvel canon, this picture makes a strong argument to root for this group of reprobates.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Seeing his team featured on boxes of Wheaties at the supermarket, Alexei fails to convince a shopper to buy a box.
POST-CREDITS STINGER
While Alexei proposes an unappealing solution to the gang's legal battle with Sam Wilson over the name of their team, the crew witnesses an extra-dimensional ship with the number "4" on its hull approach Earth.
FRAGMENTS
- This variant of the Marvel Studios logo as it and the fanfare are swallowed by the Void is a neat touch
- Cool redesign for Taskmaster, but Olga Kurylenko's Antonia Dreykov really gets the short shrift
- Very amusing to see Bunk and Frank Sobotka from The Wire (Wendell Edward Pierce and Chris Bauer) in an MCU film
- The oddest creative choice of the script to me is for the characters to associate the "Thunderbolts" team name to Yelena's childhood soccer team instead of regular MCU antagonist Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross as it is in the comics, but the ultimate reveal that the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title is in reference to the team's official branding as the New Avengers is simply masterful
- I very much love how the opening notes to Son Lux's theme music for Thunderbolts* mirror the opening notes of Alan Silvestri's iconic theme music for The Avengers
SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
007 CONNECTIONS
- David Harbour (Gregg Beam in Quantum of Solace)
- Olga Kurylenko (Camille Montes in Quantum of Solace)
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