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REVIEW: “Toy Story 5” (2026)

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(Source: IMDb ) As far as critics and cinephiles are concerned, very few movie trilogies pack as much of a cinematic and emotional punch as the first three Toy Story 's. In fact, many would say that the Pixar animated film series could’ve stopped there in 2010. Alas, here we are, sixteen years after that acclaimed and beloved third entry, following three theatrical shorts, two made-for-T.V. specials, an unexpected fourth movie, a series of mini-shorts for streaming, and now a fifth movie. It's a question of: Is this really necessary, or just the studio milking its most famous franchise for the sake of it, even though we've said goodbye to these characters twice already? Or will it surprise us like the previous movie did? (To be fair, a second trailer  had me convinced that it may not be as bad as we think it might be.)  First and foremost, I will agree with fans who believe that 2019’s Toy Story 4 doesn’t rank up there with its predecessors. But it’s still a terrific entry...
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REVIEW: “Disclosure Day” (2026)

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(Source: Instagram )   Steven Spielberg is no stranger to movies about aliens. Just look at Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial , each of which had wonder and mystery. Not to mention a sense of magic. His 2005 remake of War of the Worlds , on the flip side, had haunting visions and fears in a post-9/11 world. Not to mention ideas on how the world might end. His latest sci-fi mystery/thriller, Disclosure Day  (based on a story he wrote, and adapted for the screen by David Koepp), is his first in almost two decades to revisit probing questions on the existence of extraterrestrial life.  The plot throws us right into the middle of a conspiracy over government secrets about aliens, with a few planning to “disclose” said information via flash drives (this movie’s MacGuffin) to the whole world and to convince them, “We are not alone in the universe.” The edge-of-your-seat narrative is a tight, on-the-run experience, with brilliant acting from the...
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REVIEW: “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” (2025)

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(Source: IMDb )   In the growing plethora of TV shows that DreamWorks has created for Netflix , one of their most popular is centered around a young girl who magically transports into a dollhouse and interacts with the imaginative characters who live there. Echoing shows like  Blue’s Clues  and  Dora the Explorer ,  Gabby’s Dollhouse  has become an interactive experience for children for eight seasons. In 2025, the show  made the leap to the big screen , becoming DreamWorks’ first live-action/animated hybrid (second if you count the live-action  How to Train Your Dragon , released earlier that summer).  Let me just say, right off the bat, that this is not the kind of movie I would normally write about, let alone watch. For one thing, I’m not the target demographic. For another, the same: this is strictly for kids. That is, unless you want to see SNL veteran Kristen Wiig hamming it up as a fashion-obsessed villainess, or singing sensation Glo...
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REVIEW: “Scary Movie” (2026)

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(Source: IMDb )   It had been thirteen years since Hollywood made a parody of horror movies—namely the abysmal fifth installment of  Scary Movie . Similarly, it had been a quarter century since the Wayans Brothers were involved with the series (the last being Scary Movie 2 in 2001). Following a recent resurgence in the comedy genre (specifically, parodies and farces), the Wayans revisit the outrageous franchise they helped set in motion back in 2000 , this time for a sixth chapter. Like the 2022 and 2023 revivals of the  Scream  series,  Scary Movie  (a.k.a. "Scary Movie 6") is a self-described “reboot-equel” (don't ask), sending up everything from the 2018  Halloween  reboot to  Get Out ,  The Substance , and last year’s  Sinners  and  Weapons .  Original director Keenan Ivory Wayans is credited as a co-writer and co-producer (along with brothers Shawn and Marlon), while directing duties fall to Michael Tiddes...
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THRILLS AND CHILLS (DOUBLE FEATURE): “Obsession” (2026) / “Backrooms” (2026)

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(Sources: IMDb)  We’re not even halfway through the year quite yet and, already, 2026 has become another milestone for the horror genre. In this case, two former YouTube content creators are emerging as genre-defining filmmakers with some impressive, original and unnerving horror features. Both Curry Barker’s terrifying romantic chiller Obsession  and Kane Parson’s bleak and anxiety-inducing Backrooms  were shot on low budgets and are filled with 80s-inspired synthesizer scores. They’re also striking, brilliantly made, and well-written in their own ways.  Barker’s flick  (which he directed, wrote, and edited) centers on an awkward and shy young man (Michael Johnson) who buys a souvenir willow and wishes that the woman he secretly loves (Inde Navarrette) would love him back. It’s no spoiler that he gets his wish. But, like an ancient monkey’s paw, it comes at a terrible price, putting a new twist on the theme of “Be careful what you wish for.” Not to mention a da...
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