Films of 2026: Q3

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The Lying Life of Adults is a good TV series for Elena Ferrante fans. I enjoyed Midnight Taxi, but you’d want to start with the more accessible Midnight Diner if you are new to this genre. And Penance offers a relatively subtle form of J-horror. I also enjoyed Youtube discussions of Lolita and My Brilliant Friend.

For nonfiction, I’d highly recommend Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found for anyone interested in either Vermeer’s painting or the origins of liberalism. Vermeer is the only great artist from the past to have been forgotten for hundreds of years. Michael Pollan’s A World Appears provides a fascinating journey through consciousness research, even if we never reach the desired destination—What is consciousness? I read two very good books on architecture, Julius Shulman: Modernism Rediscovered and Frank Lloyd Wright: The Houses. Both have excellent photographs. I generally read picture books during my morning coffee. I also enjoyed Murakami’s Underground and Pico Iyer’s Autumn Light.

A read a few novels including Blood Meridian, Woodcutters, Ferdydurke, Chasing Homer, and A Borrowed Man/Interlibrary Loan. A highlight was Little, Big—highly recommended for fans of fantasy literature.

2026: Q3 films

Newer films:

Father Mother Sister Brother (US) 3.6 Jim Jarmusch is such an astute observer of people that his films are engrossing despite the almost total lack of plot. As with Ozu, the drama is often more effective when it is merely implied, not overt.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (US) 3.6 With this film following on the heels of Backrooms and Obsession, it seems to be the year of Gen Z postmodern horror films.

Stranger Eyes (Taiwan, CC) 3.5 At the end of the film, you realize that the subject matter is not exactly what you might have been assuming.

Finding Emily (Britain) 3.5 The plot is predictable, but as always with romcoms it’s the details that matter. The fresh setting and a charming lead make it quite enjoyable.

The Invite (US) 3.5 Sort of like a Woody Allen film, but the middle third is funnier than anything Allen has done in a long time.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Hidden in Pieces (US) 3.3 A 22-minute concert film dedicated to David Lynch.

Romería (Spain) 3.3 The director is really good at showing family dynamics. There’s a good chance I’ll never make it to the Galicia region of Spain, but this film makes a nice substitute. As an aside, have you noticed how often writers refer to people from “Galicia”, and you are expected to know whether it’s Spain or Ukraine just by context?

The Odyssey (US) 3.3 For a while, I thought this film would be a major disappointment. In the end, however, Nolan gave us enough to redeem an overly long (3 hour) film. I have no problem with the fact that it’s a modern “woke” version of the epic, as every historical film is a reflection of the contemporary society and we live in a woke culture. But even though I was prepared for this, the 21st century dialogue can be a bit jarring for someone of my age.

It’s easy to see how the film could be improved. The somber tragic tone of the film drags over the three-hour length, until Homer’s plot supplies the necessary dramatic interest toward the end. Nolan should have deleted the first portrayal of the Trojan War (full of boring conventional Hollywood sword fighting) and relied solely of the second (more riveting) version.

I don’t understand why this film has received so much attention. There are no important stylistic innovations, and it’s neither particularly good nor bad. Perhaps because I’m 71 years old I no longer see the cultural zeitgeist that produces interest in some films and not others. ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄

The Samurai and the Prisoner (Japan) This film got excellent reviews, and I couldn’t find any noticeable flaws. But it just didn’t work for me. That’s partly because it’s quite long and plot-driven, and partly because the ideas didn’t particularly interest me. And the visual style is often a bit bland. Because I had trouble following the plot during the first half of the film, I’m not giving it a numerical ranking. I feel the problem is partly me, not the film. You need to be in the mood to work hard, to be receptive. And I saw it immediately after the film below:

I Want Your Sex (US) 3.2 You’d have to be a pretty bad director to make an edgy sex comedy that isn’t entertaining, and Araki is a talented director. On the other hand, it mostly takes the easy way out, finding humor in mocking the contemporary art scene, the excesses of wokism, and the timidity of GenZ. Amusing, but don’t take grandma with you (unless she was at Woodstock.)

Hope (Korea) 3.0 A 2 hour and 40-minute film needs some gravitas. There are some exciting actions sequences, but the film’s almost cartoonish implausibility makes it impossible to suspend one’s disbelief, making the action drag in the last hour. The film’s (liberal) heart is in the right place, but it’s a disappointment from the director of a far better film--The Wailing.

Older films:

Tokyo Story (Japan, 1953, CC) 4.0 “Isn’t life disappointing?” . . . “Yes, it is.” But at least there’s some consolation in Ozu’s films.

Ozu reminds me of Vermeer. Both artists produced seemingly quiet, modest works of art that achieve transcendence through means that are difficult to discern. Both artists seem like pacifists. Both seem like feminists (in the non-political sense.) Almost every Vermeer painting of the 1660s is a masterpiece, and the same is true of Ozu’s films of the 1950s. So why is Tokyo Story the one always cited by critics? Perhaps because it combines a powerful emotional punch with detached philosophical insights—as if looking at life from above. It moves imperceptibly from mundane day-to-day life to pure poetry, without the viewer understanding how the film is affecting them. The emotional effects are intensified by a sort of hyperreality—eschewing the slightest bit of melodrama. Ozu avoids any sort of easy platitudes about life.

Rated the 4th greatest film ever made in Sight and Sound—and even that’s probably too low.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (US, 1988, CC) 3.8 In an artistic sense, I’ve overrated this film. Philip Kaufman is a competent director, but nothing special. But this film meant a lot to me when I saw it back in 1988, and it holds up well today. Back in the 1980s, lots of young people (myself included) were really into Kundera novels. The film does a nice job of capturing the feel of the novel, and the actors and actresses are outstanding. It was interesting seeing how young Daniel Day-Lewis, Lena Olin, Juliette Binoche and Stellan Skarsgård wereat the time this film was made.In 1988, I thought it was the coolest and most erotic film that I’d ever seen. Not sure how modern audiences would view it. I gather the producers weren’t able to film in Prague at the time, as it was still one year before the Berlin Wall came down. In a number of ways, the film reminded me of the recent TV series based on the Orhan Pamuk novel entitled The Museum of Innocence.

Once and a while you see a film and fall in love with one of the actresses. In this one, there are two such actresses.

Here’s Pauline Kael:

I didn’t remember anything of the Milan Kundera novel. But as the movie started I knew just what was coming next and I loved seeing it happen -- it was like a dream that you long to return to, and lo! there it is.

I share her enthusiasm.

Jackie Brown (US, 1997) 3.8 This may not be Tarantino’s “best” film, but it’s the one that I most enjoy watching. Lots of great acting, with the chemistry between Pam Grier and Robert Forster being a highlight of Tarantino’s career.

I Am Cuba (Cuba/Russia, 1964, CC) 3.8 As with Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will and Frida Kahlo’s Portrait of Stalin, it is hard to evaluate works of art that are technically brilliant but also serve as propaganda for politically repulsive ideas. One silver lining is that the film was banned in the Soviet Union, presumably because by 1964 they were no longer interested in instilling revolutionary fervor in the population. So it can’t be all bad. Directed by the great Mikhail Kalatozov. Although I’m giving it the same rating as The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the reasons could not be more different.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (US, 2003, CC) 3.8 Despite being only 84 minutes, the film dragged a bit in the second half. So why the high rating? Put simply, Wes Anderson has a more appealing and innovative style than any other 21st century director. Most directors simply put TV shows on the big screen; Anderson actually understands the specific medium of cinema. A delight for the eyes.

Flow (Belgium, 2024, CC) 3.7 Beautiful animation and a nice story about animals surviving a flood.

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Japan, 1939, CC) 3.7 This Mizoguchi film has a plot that is reminiscent of the recent smash hit Kokuho, which also looked at the cost of seeking success in Kabuki.

Japón (Mexico, 2001, CC) 3.6 Reygadas’s first film seems clearly influenced by Kiarostami (particularly The Taste of Cherry.) This is certainly not a film most people would enjoy (it’s a film I respect more than I like), but the final scene showed that the director would be a force to be reckoned with.

To Live and Die in LA (US, 1985) 3.6 While this has all the strengths and weaknesses of a Friedkin’s film, the high points are enough to overlook its flaws (particularly the dumb plot.) I generally hate car chases, but Friedkin makes them so visceral that you suspend your disbelief. On the other hand, that 1980s music . . . yikes.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (US, 2004) 3.6 A classic example of a film that doesn’t quite work but is nonetheless better than anything made by the vast majority of directors. Talent goes a long way, and Wes Anderson is exceedingly talented. The final scene in the submarine redeemed some of the slow stretches in the middle of the film. This might sound petty, but I was extremely annoyed when Amazon Prime cut away from the film at the beginning of its final credits. For most films that would not matter, but in this case the credits were one of the best parts of the film.

12:08 East of Bucharest (Romania, 2007, CC) 3.6 The film deserves its high rating, but I increasingly find this sort of “conceptual” film a bit difficult to sit through. Fortunately, the humor finally caught fire during the TV show in the second half. Oddly, my favorite scene was the streetlights at the very end, which was quite beautiful and very different from the rest of the film.

The Vanishing (Dutch, 1988, CC) 3.6 When it first came out, this film seemed very original and intriguing. Unfortunately, films that are plot driven tend to be slightly less impressive the second time around. And I feel like other directors have borrowed the basic idea. Still a very good film.

America did a remake of this film--with a happy ending. Hollywood at its worst.

The Whole Town’s Talking (US, 1935, CC) 3.6 Not as funny as the best screwball comedies (Bringing Up Baby, The Lady Eve, Arsenic and Old Lace, etc.), but very skillfully directed by John Ford.

Kanal (Poland, 1957, CC) 3.5 Although this is a very good film, I cannot really recommend it unless you have a strong stomach for horrifying scenes of the Warsaw Uprising near the end of WWII. Impressive, but not a fun watch.

La Vie de Bohème (France, 1992) 3.5 Aki Kaurismäki specializes in tragicomedies where people at the bottom of society maintain a stoic resignation about their fate. Most of his films take place in his native Finland, but this one is in France.

Two Lovers (US, 2008, CC) 3.5 It’s nice to have a romantic drama with characters that don’t wear out their welcome. Antisemites occasionally complain that “the Jews control” this or that industry. I’m tempted to respond, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Artists do their best stuff when they work with what they know. There are lots of talented Jewish directors and hence there are lots of good films with Jewish themes.

(Just imagine how pathetic my field (monetary economics) would be without the contribution of Jewish economists.)

Before Sunrise (US, 1995, CC) 3.4 The second time around I didn’t like it quite as much, but that might just reflect my age. A good film for a young couple to discuss on a dinner date. In today’s NYT, Jessica Grose says the following:

They relate in spite of cultural differences (he is American, she is French, they both talk to Austrians) and gendered ones, too. As I was replaying the movie in my mind, I had a thought that made my stomach drop: My children may never get to experience this. By “this” I mean the uninterrupted attention, general serendipity and conversational vulnerability that I got to experience before smartphones.

Cruel Story of Youth (Japan, 1960, CC) 3.4 Oshima’s first major film is ostensibly a story about juvenile delinquency, but it’s actually about the expressive power of technicolor images on a widescreen. It’s odd that so many of the best color films were made almost immediately after color replaced black and white filmmaking. Why did they stop making this sort of film?

Working Girls (US, 1986, CC) 3.4 Initially, I assumed I was watching a documentary, as it deglamorizes work in a brothel. With the passage of 40 years since it was filmed, it also has the patina of age. That is, not only is it looking at a world that is unfamiliar to most of us, but it’s also looking at an era that has new receded far into the past.

Zabriskie Point (US, 1970, CC) 3.3 This rating doesn’t really capture the film, as I found the first portion to be quite disappointing. It seemed like another case of a director losing their touch when transported to another culture. But Antonioni has a great eye, and the final section was stunning. I don’t ever recall seeing a film that captured the look and feel of 1970 as well as this one.

As I’ve aged, the world has seemed to become a bit greyer. In a book on consciousness written by Michael Pollan I came across this observation:

Hurlburt pointed out that the ability to generate inner experiences depends on cognitive resources that decline with age. For example, he’s found that as people get older, their inner seeing tends to deteriorate, fading from full color imagery to black and white. He cites [William] James, who writes that “the older men are and the more effective as thinkers, the more, as a rule, they have lost their visualizing power. . . . The present writer observes it in his own person most distinctly.” Hurlburt thinks that all forms of inner experience may be subject to the same fading over time.

I can’t honestly recommend Zabriskie Point, as it’s Antonioni’s weakest film. But in the end, it worked for me. It brought back the sensation of life in 1970. That’s priceless.

High Art (US, 1998, CC) 3.3 A young film magazine editor falls in love with a somewhat older photographer. One of those films where basically every aspect of the filmmaking is of high quality, but nothing quite stands out as unique or innovative. Thus, it ends up being a bit forgettable. I suppose that in 1998 the lesbian relationship would have counted as innovative.

Some Came Running (US, 1958, CC) 3.3 As with most 50s melodramas, much of the dialogue is kind of dumb. But there’s a lot of interesting commentary on how 1950s society was stratified by income and education. Shirley MacLaine does some serious overacting, but she somehow makes it work. When you’re talented, you can break all the rules.

State of Grace (US, 1990, CC) 3.3 Family crime drama in the style of Scorsese but marred by a shlocky ending. Nonetheless, it does have good acting and is certainly worth watching for fans of films like Mean Streets.

Thirst (Sweden, 1949, CC) 3.3 You can see many of the ideas that Bergman would develop in later films, but this one just didn’t work for me.

Review (US, 2015, CC) 3.2 This film is only 4 minutes and 22 seconds long and consists entirely of a woman having a drink with friends and discussing a recent film that she watched. (I also saw three other experimental short films by the same director.)

I guessed the film in question after the very first sentence, where she described a car emerging from smoke. I suspect that’s because I’m an unusually visual filmgoer. In the late 1970s, I watched Strangers on a Train at the University of Chicago. After it ended, film critic Andrew Sarris asked the large audience what happened near the beginning of the film, after the feet of the two men brushed against each other. I recall being surprised that no one in the audience seemed to recall, so I finally spoke up, mentioning how the train switched track. I wonder if most viewers would see that as irrelevant information. On the other hand, I’m pretty bad at following movie plots.

Mr. Thank You (Japan, 1936, CC) 3.2 A pleasant road movie that takes place on a bus, but far below the level of It Happened One Night.

I Saw the TV Glow (US, 2024, CC) 3.1 Same director as the much better Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. The first half was intriguing, but then it sort of fell apart.

Arbitrage (US, 2012, CC) 3.1 Competent thriller, but a bit bland and unoriginal. The plot is reminiscent of Bonfire of the Vanities.

Married to the Mob (US, 1988, CC) 3.0 This film takes a while to catch fire, and initially I worried it was going to be another example of how older comedies often no longer seem funny. But the final portion was passable screwball comedy, just barely watchable.

Nowhere Boy (UK, 2009, CC) 3.0 As with the recent Dylan biopic, this film tends to ramp up the brooding, tortured poet aspect of Lennon’s personality, at the expense of his mix of whimsical and sarcastic humor.

Dangerous Game (US, 1993, CC) 3.0 Although it was panned by critics, the film is a mildly interesting look at high intensity filmmaking.

The Good Nurse (US, 2022) 3.0 Some very good acting, but not the sort of film I find at all interesting. Two hours I’ll never get back.

Violent Saturday (US, 1955, CC) 3.0 Typical 1950s widescreen technicolor melodrama grafted onto a bank heist film. Mildly entertaining in a campy sort of way.

Bigger Than Life (US, 1956, CC) 3.0 Some regard this Nicholas Ray directed film as one of the great movies of the 1950s, but despite some technically brilliant scenes it seemed to me more like a curiosity. Rarely has 1950s America looked so strange and outdated. That made the film interesting but also prevented me from being able to suspend my disbelief.

Synecdoche (US, 2008) 2.9 This film is bursting with ideas. Unfortunately, the ideas are not very compelling. Knowing the fate of Phillip Hoffman makes this already depressing film feel even more glum.

Zegen (Japan, 1987, CC) 2.9 Disappointing Imamura black comedy that satirizes Japan’s colonial aspirations. The satire is too heavy handed and repetitive.

God’s Crooked Lines (Spain, 2022) 2.9 The Spanish seem to enjoy plot twists, and as with Money Heist this film overdoes it. In most respects, this is not a bad film. But it’s far too long for such a weak payoff.

Art School Confidential (US, 2006, CC) 2.9 A few interesting parts, but it never came together as a coherent story. It’s hard to make a good film about artists.

Bad Influence (US, 1990, CC) 2.8 The plot of this noir has some similarities to Strangers on a Train. Unfortunately, whereas Robert Walker created a memorable character in the Hitchcock classic, Rob Lowe is just a pretty face—a completely forgettable villain. The plot becomes increasingly implausible as the film progresses.

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