TV and Movies - First Half of 2026
June 16, 2026 - My Life
Last year, I broke this down by quarters so that I didn't have too huge a list. This year, I'm trying halves. Let's see how this goes.
The Movies of 2026 - Q1 and Q2
I've only got four noteworthy movies that I've seen in the past six months. There are plenty more, but I'm just omitting the ones about which I've got no real comment.
Project Hail Mary
It was nearly a year ago when I read the book, and it was the best book I'd read in years. Possibly a better book than The Martian, which was also a better book than it was a movie. As was the case with his previous book, Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary made an excellent film, and I liked Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace more than I'd liked Matt Damon as Mark Watney.
Adapting an entire novel into a two hour movie is tough, and rarely works well. But the adaptation on Project Hail Mary was good. And while I wish the trailers hadn't spoiled Rocky's existence, this spoiler effect is a fault common in nearly all modern movie trailers.
It's very possible that while I'll have forgotten by the end of 2026 that this film came out this year, it may be my favorite non-Marvel film of 2026.
Disclosure Day
As I write this, it's been three days since I've seen this film, so I've had some time to digest. It's a good science fiction film, and definitely has that Spielberg flavor, with dark vehicles full of government agents with dark intent, and plucky underdogs with ace-in-the-hole magical alien abilities they don't entirely understand.
I love Steven Spielberg's films. This isn't one of his best. Give me Super 8 (which was not Spielberg) over Disclosure Day any day of the week.
That said, I enjoyed the film, despite its egregious CG animals. When you consider the angle of empathy as an alien superpower, it's taking a tack that I don't think any other story has taken. I'm hoping that we still have more to come from Spielberg, but none of us are around forever, so I'll happily take every film I can get from him.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die
Madcap hilarity. The movie is willfully wacky, eerily uncanny, and hauntingly verisimilar. Sam Rockwell is always great, and he played the homeless-looking mad time traveller wonderfully. Other than him, Zazie Beetz and Michael Peña were the only actors I'd recognized - they're both great.
The unexpected normalcy of the film's second act and the off-the-rails abnormalcy of it's third act work well. And the unexpected foreshadowing of the final boss monster ends up being somehow simultaneously hilarious and terrifying, as if the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man were a genuine nightmare.
Apex
Although the premise is incredibly formulaic, I really enjoyed this made-for-TV movie, which stars Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton.
I've written before about Charlize Theron. I'll pretty much watch whatever she's in - she's one of my absolute favorite actors.
The plot of this movie was very much Deliverance meets every film you've ever seen where a bad guy kidnaps the girl and she fights back. But it worked, because the actors made it work. It was no The Old Guard, and no Atomic Blonde. But I enjoyed it.
The Television of 2026 - Q1 and Q2
I watched a lot of streaming shows which I can categorize only as television, and I'd like to mention many more than I have the fuel to go into detail on. So I'll do a speed run on a few before going into detail on just three.
Fallout is a show I'd loved at first. I played the first two isometric video games before Bethesda did the third, and I absolutely loved Fallout: Tactics. I played Fallout 3, and even tried Fallout: New Vegas, which I did not love, and did not finish. Walton Goggins is great as The Ghoul, and his makeup is outstanding. But by the time the show was into season two, I'd lost interest. I did eventually finish watching, but I'm no longer loving it.
The Diplomat has no right to be as good as it is. I do love Keri Russell, and Rory Kinnear is another standout for me - I've loved him since Years and Years. The international incident angle they're playing reminds me a bit of 24 without aping it too much. I'm actually looking forward to another season, although I'm hoping they'll wrap the whole thing up.
I'll be honest - I can't remember what season Invincible is even on. I watch all of it, and it's a great show. But when it looked like this was the last season, I was ready for that. Turns out that it wasn't the last season.
The Night Agent is a show I was surprised to like as much as I did. I watched the third season, but even though I enjoyed it, I know I'll have forgotten most of it by the time a fourth season comes out.
I'm just starting Star City, despite not being able to watch Apple TV using the account I pay monthly for. It's bleak. The show, I mean. Star City is bleak. I suppose that's what you expect when watching a show set in Soviet era Russia, written from an American perspective. But I'm continuing to watch because I love these creators, and I'm looking forward to the time when it intersects more fully with the story in For All Mankind.
For All Mankind, Season 5
My long-time favorite. They've announced that the upcoming sixth season will be the last, and I'm okay with that. The show is excellent, but it's time.
The latest season reminds me quite a bit of The Martian Revolution, and that is not at all a bad thing.
Wonder Man
A superhero show that is not a superhero show. Interesting concept. While not my favorite of the MCU shows - that of course is Hawkeye - I loved watching Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery's relationship develop. Trevor's antics are always a joy, and while they're not all as good as his Planet of the Apes speech in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Ben Kingsley has got a fantastic character.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has got a name I can't remember without looking it up, but I love pretty much anything he's in, and I've been a fan of his since seeing him in my all-time favorite TV show, HBO's Watchmen.
The Cameos from Joe Pantoliano and Josh Gad playing themselves were likewise a lot of fun.
There's been talk of a second season, and I've got to be honest - I'm not sure I'm into it.
Daredevil Born Again, Season 2
I've loved Charlie Cox's Daredevil since it first showed up on Netflix back in 2015. And I was thrilled to see him back in Daredevil: Born Again. I loved Daredevil season one, hated Daredevil season two, and the third season was the best portrayal of the characters ever. The first season of Born Again was great, but here we are in season two, and the show is dangerously close to jumping the shark.
Vincent D'Onofrio's portrayal of Kingpin has got to be one of the best comic-to-screen transitions ever, best exemplified in season three of the original series. His appearance in Hawkeye, while incredibly exciting at the time, was subpar, as was his appearance in the eminently forgettable Echo.
I'll certainly watch and enjoy a third season, but it's time for the series to wrap it up.