Best Films of 2026 so far

It's July, already past the midway point of the year, when people start putting together best of lists. The movie theatre industry has seen a resurgence since the COVID pandemic, even if it’s in the crosshairs of streaming conglomerates that are trying to drive a wedge in the industry’s future. However, there is nothing like the movie theatre experience, from chains to the local independent movie house, there is simply something that you cannot get from the at home experience. This being said, I still love and cherish my Sony Bravia OLED for the films I watch at home, should I ever miss them in theatres. 2026 has been a great year for movies and a divisive year for socio-political issues, causing some to seep into the films and media. Here are some of the best films of 2026 so far. 

Project Hail Mary 

Dir: Phil Lord and Chris Miller 

Run Time: 156 Min 

If there was one film that demanded to be seen on the big screen this year it would be Project Hail Mary from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street), an adaptation of an Andy Wier novel. High School science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a space ship light years from home with no recollection of how he got there. Told in a non-linear editing fashion we find out alongside Grace that he was a high school science teacher in a previous life hired by a team of scientists to solve the issue of a substance that is causing the sun to die out. He is in fact on a suicide mission to save earth, really putting the “not” in astronaut, relying on his scientific knowledge and his unorthodox methods of making science fun and entertaining. However, he is not alone on his journey and soon makes a friend along the way named Rocky. Instead of the film being CGI overkill, which could have been a direction, the film works with production sets that are stellar down to the puppetry of Rocky from James Ortiz, who also voices Rocky. Even when Gosling is dialing it in in his own fashion, at an 11 on the Gosling scream register, he is grounded by the supporting performances of James Ortiz (Rocky) and Sandra Huller (Eva Stratt). One of my friends has seen this film about five times in theatres looking for the different formats it was presented in. I was able to see it in Screen X twice and once in a regular theatre. 

Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie 

Dir: Matt Johnson 

Run Time 100 Min 

This film still holds up as my favorite comedy film of the year and has set the bar high enough for other competition to enter. Having reviewed the film earlier for the CJLO online Magazine, maybe I can add something new from my original Letterboxd review. The film introduces some people who might be new to Toronto or might not be aware of the hijinks of Matt and Jay, providing various interactions with them. This is where I feel that the comedy is most effective on the unsuspecting audience, sort of in the vein of Just for Laugh Gags. In closing, Nirvana The Band The Show was one of my favorite pop culture media discoveries of the year and the film gives this iconic Canadian duo the perfect send off. You can’t be Jay without a bit of Matt in your life as much as the film wants to prove the counter. Need further reason to see the film? Just look at the accolades it recently received at the Canadian Screen Awards. 

The Drama 

Dir: Kristoffer Borgli 

Run Time : 106 Min

Do yourself a favor, and if you don’t know what the “tea” is in The Drama, refrain from looking it up and go in without any context. Unfortunately for me the “tea” was spilled, thanks to the internet, when I read about a lawsuit that was following the film with details about the plot twist. The film stars an engaged couple Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) who go to a taste testing menu alongside their friends, another couple. After a few bottles of wine Rachel (Alana Haim) says before her and Mike (Mamoudou Athie) got married they went around the table with another couple and said the worst thing they have ever done in their life. The titular “tea” of The Drama is spilled and everyone is quick to judge Emma. Charlie is having a difficult time grappling with the notion of who his future wife was in a past life so close to the wedding day that Emma and Charlie start to play out delusions inside their head. Where The Drama is effective is in the way the director Kristoffer Borgli implements editing to create the film's tonal dark-comedic moments and sound design to contextualize Emma’s world, even before we get to the controversial dinner. Much to be digested and discussed after the credits roll with this film and its social politics. 

Backrooms 

Dir: Kane Parsons 

Run Time 110 Mins

It has been a golden year for independent horror cinema success, with director Curry Barker’s Obsession, about a hopeless romantic who makes a “one wish willow” that his crush will notice him and gets more than he bargained for, with an incredible breakout performance from Inde Navarrette as Nikki. However, the best of the year for me has to go to Kane Parsons and his ability to bring the "creepypasta" internet-space Backrooms inhabits to the big screen. I feel that horror gets it right, and instead of using recycled ideas or concepts the film borrows from its own internet theology and integrates it well. The film is about Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – a failed architect that works in a furniture warehouse store – that seems to have his life “failing around him”, as he states to his therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve). One day Clark goes down to the basement of the store and finds the mysterious entry point to the backrooms, upon having issues with the breaker box. He enlists some of his store team to venture back with him to the backrooms but it doesn't go as planned, leaving Dr Mary Kline to try to find Clark, and eventually entering the backrooms herself. Great aesthetic choices were made for this film giving it a 90’s horror “found footage” essence. This is a film where the characters are trying to deal with their own horror instead of inflecting jump scares on the audience. Everything from the production, sound design, editing and the acting puts its unparalleled horror counterparts in their own graves. 

I Love Boosters 

Dir: Boots Riley 

Run Time: 114 Minutes 

An absurdist comedy that lives in its own world. No, I am not describing a new Wes Anderson film, but this under the radar gem from director Boots Riley (Sorry To Bother You). As best I can describe the world of I Love Boosters is as a colourful, playful and satirical take down of the fashion industry by the boosters (Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Page) whoo see themselves as modern day "Robin Hood" philanthropists in the fashion industry where they boost garments from high end stores, selling them at markdown value. This does not sit well with the store's executive (Demi Moore) who wants nothing more than to catch the boosters. There is also a satirical but critical commentary of the life of working in the stores with Will Porter who plays the store manager. The film then goes on to take a look at social media culture, class warfare and the unionization of the TEMU/Amazon industry that fuel online clothing shopping and distribution today. There may or may not be a vampire in the mix, and you must stay for the claymation. The film has a lot of ideas to unpack but I definitely love the rich, vibrant, colourfully playful world that Boots Riley has created with this film.

Tuner 

Dir: Daniel Roher 

Runtime: 107 Minutes 

A standout discovery at this year’s Sundance film festival Tuner sees Niki (Leo Woodall) as an apprentice piano tuner that has a gift for finding the right note, alongside his boss/mentor Harry (Dustin Hoffman). Even if this is a gift for him, he still suffers from a condition that requires him to wear headphones due to loud sound exposure which effects his hearing. Niki meets a piano protege Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu) who is studying to become a composer to the world renowned idol Marius Maissner (Jean Reno). By impressing Niki with his skills and sharing a similar gift the two strike up a relationship. When Harry becomes ill and the hospital bills pile up, in the American healthcare system Niki must find a way to make money. Given his meticulous skill as a blessing, he falls in with a group of people that apply his skills to cracking open the safes of the wealthy owners. What starts as a blessing, allowing him to see his life come together, becomes a curse when the underworld he has entered starts to unravel his life. A playful use of sound design and jazzy edits immerses the audience into Niki’s world.  

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 

Dir: Nia DaCosta 

Runtime: 109 Min

Want to do a horror series justice? Give it to director Nia DaCosta, who proved himself handling a brilliant adaptation of a horror classic with 2021’s Candyman. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple picks up the series as Spike (Alfie Williams) meets the Jimmy’s and their leader Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) who bears a resemblance to the disgraced British media personality Jimmy Savile. After dealing with zombie terrors and the death of his mother, you would think that Spike would find solace with the Jimmy’s as his protectors, but far from it. A more bleak and gruesome world with the Jimmy’s contrasts the light world of Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) as he tries to look for a cure for Samson’s (Chi Lewis-Parry) rage virus. Di Costa expands the post-apocalyptic world with a darker, more introspective tone. Rather than relying solely on relentless action and jump scares, the film explores how generations shaped by catastrophe cope with fear, isolation, and the lingering scars of survival. The film also explores the notion that there can be light in the darkness, with Dr Kelson’s memento mori in the previous film turning to finding a cure for the rage virus. 

Remi is the host of At The Movies along with regular co-host Danny Aubery every Tuesday morning from 9-10AM only on CJLO 1690 AM. They cover local film festivals, have interviews with directors and actors, and talk about new films or the classics. They also cover the iconic sounds of past and present film scores and soundtracks. Follow Remi on Letterboxd