My Movie Picks and Pans for August 2026, Part 2: "Disclosure Day," "Backrooms" and "This Time Next Year"

[I review Steven Spielberg's latest, "Disclosure Day" as well as the horror film "Backrooms" and the British rom-com "This Time Next Year."]

Disclosure Day (2026)

Another reminder that we might not be alone.

Back in 1978, Ruth Montgomery warned in her book "Strangers Among Us," that aliens had invaded human bodies as "walk ins" and lived among us. A recent HBO miniseries "Bring Me the Beauties:The Model Cult" continues that story with a documentary about a 1980's group called Eternal Values run by charismatic socialite Frederick von Mieiers who claimed to be an extraterrestrial and recruited models to his cult (he only liked pretty people). And then there has always been the whole Roswell mystery - that the U.S. government had proof that aliens had landed on earth and the government was hiding it from the American public. Well, now Steven Spielberg weighs in with this story he came up with and directed (screenplay by David Koepp) and, from his interviews about this movie, he appears to be a believer - that we are not alone and the government has been hiding that from us.

And that's what this movie is all about.

Cybersecurity specialist Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) has stolen documents and an extraterrestrial device from his employer, a secretive U.S.government contractor known as the Wardex Corporation (Waived Reporting, Development, and Extraction) run by Noah Scanlan (Colin Firth) that proves that the whole Roswell incident is true and aliens have always been with us. And the Wardex people are not happy about what Kellner has done so he is on the run with his girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson, Bono's daughter).

Daniel is being helped by Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), who leads a team of former Wardex employees who want to disclose the evidence to the world that extraterrestrials are here.  But Wardex and the government are going to do everything they can to keep that from happening.

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, TV meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is living with her boyfriend, Jackson (Wyatt Russell, Goldie Hawn's and Kurt Russell's son), and wondering whether she should stay in Kansas City when a cardinal flies into her home. Somehow, that incident changes Margaret and gives her a pscyhic ability to intuit people's thoughts and speak in languages she has never learned. During a live weather broadcast, Margaret unexpectedly begins speaking in an unknown language. Footage of the broadcast goes viral and draws the attention of Wardex, which identifies the language as extraterrestrial. So now, under the direction of Scanlan, Wardex is after her too. And somehow Margaret knows she needs to find Daniel - well, I guess she knows because now she is psychic - so off she goes to find him with Wardex in the guise of FBI agents after her. Turns out Daniel and Margaret discover they have a bond from the past.

Steven Spielberg knows how to make riveting movies, but there is a moment when Daniel says, "I don't understand what's happening," and I felt that way myself for the first 90 minutes of this movie. But, I was still engaged. That says something about Spielberg's movie-making abilities. I just wish he didn't take so long to tell the story. At two and a half hours, it's too long. But at least I watched it at home with a glass of wine and could take an intermission. I have a big TV so I am not as inclined to venture out to the theatre anymore. Though I want to support the movie industry, I just don't enjoy the long movies that seem to be the thing these days nor do I miss people talking behind me and the crackling of candy wrappers.

Anyway, as for the alien question, I have always wondered if there really were aliens among us and the government had proof, why would the government want to keep this a secret? What would happen if we knew the truth? Spielberg attempts to tackle that question. He seems to be saying that if we believed in aliens we would see them as supreme beings and would stop believing in God and that would divide us all further. Not sure about that. But it's a question worth asking. 

But despite my confusion and several "Huh?" moments, the all-star cast and the special effects were amazing, especially a scene with a car being dragged by a speeding train. Despite its length, the film keeps moving, is action-packed and engaging.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a long but fun ride even if I didn't know what was going on half of the time. (For rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

Backrooms (2026)

A San Jose furniture store contains an entryway into another dimension...and it's not nice in there.

It's 1990 and failed architect Clark (Chiwetel Ejofor) now owns a struggling furniture store in San Jose, California. He dresses up like a pirate to promote his store on TV with the help of his assistant manager, Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and her boyfriend, Bobby (Finn Bennett).  Clark is a sad character as he struggles with his alcoholism and a dissolved marriage and blames his situation on everyone and everything else besides himself.  

Having taken up residence in the store, one night Clark notices the lights flickering mysteriously and his television functioning erratically and while checking the breaker box, Clark notices a glowing slit in a wall. Approaching it, he falls through and enters a huge backroom area filled with upended furniture, empty closets filled with empty hangers, narrow passages, an endless series of abandoned office spaces. Clark also realizes he is not alone as an unseen entity appears to chase him and he narrowly escapes back into his store. There is also someone watching him from behind the scenes.

Clark has been seeing therapist Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), who has her own issues, and when he tells Mary about the Backrooms, he is met with skepticism, so to get proof, Clark brings Kat and Bobby into the Backrooms to film their discoveries. Not good. Some bad things happen.

Later, Mary receives a cryptic message from Clark, who tells her that he is staying in the Backrooms and will not return.  Concerned about Clark, Mary visits the store and enters the Backrooms herself. Not good.  More bad things happen.

Ejofor and Reinsve are wonderfully believable as flawed characters struggling with their pasts, thrown into a kind of hell. It's like the halls of "Severance" but on acid. The film also reminded me of Jean-Paul Sartre's play "No Exit," set in a single room representing Hell. Is it hell?  Is it a nightmare?  Or is it madness?

Like "Obsession," this is a first feature film by a YouTuber, this time, Kane Parsons, whose YouTube series went viral and was picked up by A24, becoming the second highest-grossing horror film of 2026 and the fifth highest-grossing independent film of all time. The concept of Backrooms is an Internet urban legend from 2019.  Parsons wrote the screemplay along with Will Soodik and directed this highly creepy and disturbing horror film that will stay in the backrooms of your brain for awhile. Who knew huge empty well-lit rooms could be so scary?  Much of the movie is filmed from the characters' point of view as they explore the backrooms which adds to a "you are there" aspect, and in turn adds to the creepyness factor. But there are also some "WTH?" unexplained moments like, what the hell did the “Async Research Institute" with Phil (Mark Duplass) monitoring the Backrooms on cameras have to do with this and what the hell was that ending all about?

Rosy the Reviewer says...I mostly enjoyed this if I can say "enjoy" about a horror film. But if you like creepy, you will like this and you will never look at a furniture store the same way again.  (For rent or purchase on Amazon Prime or Apple+)

This Time Next Year (2024)

Quinn (Lucien Laviscount) and Minnie (Sophie Cookson) were born only two minutes apart on New Year's Day.  They meet by chance 30 years later.  Gee, do you think they will hook up?

Minnie Cooper (yes, she knows) hates her birthday.  They have all been bad birthdays and this year is no different. She just doesn't seem to have good luck.  She goes to a New Year's Eve party with her not-very-nice boyfriend, Greg (Will Hislop), gets mistaken for a server and get locked in the bathroom all night.  The next morning she is rescured by a handsome stranger, Quinn Hamilton.  

Turns out, they were both born within minutes of each other in the same London hospital but Quinn beat her to be the first baby born in 1990, thus his mother, Tara (Golda Rosheuvel), won the money awarded to the first baby, and worse, Tara stole the name Minnie's mother, Connie (Monica Dolan), was going to name her. Connie had shared with Tara that she was going to name her baby Quinn and that it was a lucky name. But Tara beat her to it, naming her baby Quinn and winning the huge cash prize for giving birth to the first baby of the year. And thus started a series of unlucky events for Minnie and Connie's huge resentment toward Tara.

Minnie runs a food truck and has had an unlucky life but she is a kind person working with seniors. Quinn, on the other hand, is a wealthy businessman who has lived a charmed life, but he is a kind person too. One can't help but wonder if Quinn was indeed a lucky name that Minnie missed out on. 

In true rom-com fashion, the two meet cute, really like each other, then a misunderstanding occurs and then they don't like each other, yada, yada, yada.  We know how it's going to go but the Brits do a good job with romantic comedies.  Their rom-coms tend to be more original, not following the Hallmark formula as much, and include fun, quirky characters, and yes, poignancy.  I mean, does "Love Actually" ring a bell?  Or "Notting Hill?"  And... actually...director Nick Moore has been working in this rom-com genre for awhile having edited both "Love Actually" and "Notting Hill."

And...actually... this film, written by Sophie Cousens (based on her book by the same name) is just as good as those. 

Cookson and Laviscount are attractive lovers who exude warmth and who together bring out the best in each other. And there is a sweet subplot involving Monica and Tara. It all unfolds with beautiful London as a backdrop. It is one of the best rom-coms I have seen this year and I am picky about my ron-coms.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this is how you do a rom-com that's worth watching - characters with some depth and some issues to resolve; unlikely friendships, quirky characters and a good message. And it doesn't hurt that the leading man is super attractive. If you like rom-coms, you don't want to miss this one! (streaming on Amazon Prime)

 

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

My Movie Picks and Pans for August 2026: A Comedy, a Rom-Com and a Documentary!

[I review Kevin Hart's new movie on Netflix "72 Hours," as well as the rom-com "You, Me & Tuscany," and the documentary "A Toxic Love Story."]

72 Hours (2026)

A 40-year-old finds himself accidentally invited to a three-day Bachelor Party with a bunch of 20-somethings. He goes. Chaos ensues.

I have always been a Kevin Hart fan, and the premise of this movie sounded funny, like a new version of "The Hangover," and I was in need of a good comedy.  Yes, it was a knock-off of "The Hangover," but sadly not funny nor a good comedy.

Joe Nixon (Hart) is a 40-something advertising executive in New York City who accidentally gets added to a group-chat of twenty-somethings mistakenly inviting him to an upcoming bachelor party in Miami. It just so happens that Joe is smarting from not getting the promotion he was expecting because he wasn't able to promote his company's vodka product effectively to young people. There was an insinuation that he is too old. So he gets the idea that if he goes to this bachelor party with these twenty-seomthings, he can get some valuable information that will help him promote the product to the younger generation and thus get his promotion. But he also kind of wants to get his youth back. 

So even though these kids are strangers, Joe takes them up on the invitation and decides to impress them by paying for a lavish Air BNB and basically footing the bill for everything.  When Joe arrives, the guys - Nick (Marcello Hernandez), Mason (Mason Gooding), Freshman (Kam Patterson) and Hunter (Ben Marshall) - are surprised Joe is "so old," so now Joe has to show them he can party as hard as they do, leading him to drugs and drinks and general chaos, including gangsters after them. Meanwhile, Hunter is nursing a broken heart, Nick is relentlessly picking on Mason about getting married and Freshman is clueless. 

Written by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Kevin Burrows, and Matt Mider and directed by Tim Story, old age and raunchy jokes abound along with projectile vomiting, a plethora of F-bombs and some helicopter penises (don't ask). Oh, and did I mention there were also whale penises and gangsters? Yawn.  You would think with four writers on board, something would have worked but not fun or funny.

And Hernandez, Patterson and Marshall are writers and performers on "Saturday Night Live," so you would think that this movie would at least be as funny as SNL, but nope. The concept was funny, the execution not. Teyana Taylor makes an appearance as Joe's girlfriend but doesn't have much to do, and Kevin plays his usual perplexed, put-upon and overwhelmed persona but it's not enough. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin.  You are a talentedly unpredictable and funny guy.  What are you doing in this predictable, unfunny movie? If this was meant to boost your career, it didn't work. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...watching this movie, I had to ask myself - When did comedies stop being funny?  I haven't seen a funny comedy in a long, long time.  And this is one of them.  If you watch it, remember, I warned you. But maybe, like Joe, I was just the wrong demographic for this party. (Netflix) 

 You, Me & Tuscany (2026)

A aspiring American chef squats in an empty Italian villa pretending to be the owner's fiance, not realizing what she has gotten herself into.

Anna Montgomery (Halle Bailey) is a young wannabe chef who put her dreams on hold after the death of her mother. Now she works as a house sitter and has the bad habit of pretending to be the owner of the house, helping herself to their clothes and other accoutrements. However, when she is caught in the act, she loses a big client.  

Drowning her sorrows in a bar, Anna meets Matteo Costa (Lorenzo de Moor), a handsome Italian real estate guy, who regales her with tales of his home in a charming village in Tuscany.  He invites her back to his room but he falls asleep before anything happens.  The next morning he is gone but leaves her a note apologizing for leaving but encouraging her to follow her dreams. Well, that's all it takes.  Off Anna goes to Tuscany and, finding accommodations in Matteo's village all booked because of a festival, Anna also gets the bright idea to stay in Matteo's empty villa. She finds the hidden housekeys, lets herself in and plans to do what she always does - pretend she lives there.  But then Matteo's mother, Gabriella (Isabella Ferrari) and his grandmother Alessia (Stefania Casini), show up.  What should she do?  Why, let's dig an even bigger hole and pretend to be engaged to Matteo.

The charade continues even after meeting Matteo's cousin, Michael (Rege-Jean Page), and finding a mutual attraction. And wouldn't you know, Matteo's father, Vincenzo (Paolo Sassanelli), owns a restaurant and Anna gets to help Matteo's father in his restaurant. Could it get any better?

But then, Matteo shows up.

Halle Bailey is a lovely young actress (her starring debut was in 2023's "The Little Mermaid"), but her gifts are not enough to save this very silly and unoriginal rom-com. Rom-com and Hallmark movie cliches abound. I know rom-coms can be silly but also charming, and, yes, even original. I enjoy them for the charming and original part. Sadly, this one lacks the charm, is not original and is actually kind of dumb.  

And if you have been wondering where hearthrob Rege-Jean Page has gone after steaming up "Bridgerton" as the Duke of Hastings for the first season ("Bridgerton" was never the same after he left), here he is. And yes, he takes his shirt off.  But even with that, all I can say is, Rege-Jean, get thee back to "Bridgerton!" Or at least to a project worthy of your talent and, yes, handsomeness. Written by Ryan and Kirsten Engle and directed by Kat Coiro, this is an unworthy piece of fluff and even the beautiful Tuscan landscape can't save it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you can totally suspend disbelief...and I mean totally...and you miss Page, you might enjoy this but at least wait until it streams for free (update: now streaming on Peacock). I certainly wish, I not only hadn't paid to rent it, but that I hadn't spent an hour and 45 minutes watching it. (Peacock and for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime )

 

A Toxic Love Story (2026)

A newly married U.S. Marshall and his wife start receiving threatening emails supposedly from his ex-girlfriend...but are they really from her?

Angela Connell and U.S. Marshall, Ian Diaz, are newly married.  But before that, Angela had a sketchy past trying to pass herself off as an attorney and cancer victim.  But now the two are happily married but appear to be targeted by Ian's ex-girlfriend, Michelle Hadley, who they say is harassing them with emails wishing them dead using a "Lilithistruth" persona (Lilith was supposedly Adam’s first wife and when banished from Eden became a revenge-seeking demon - not good). And in Lilith fashion, she is also placing ads on Craigslist under Angela's name saying she has a rape fantasy so men with that same fantasy will come over to her house and rape her. Cops are called, restraining orders are in place but the harassment continues. Then Angela reports that a man has appeared at her home and attempted to rape her.

There are many twists and turns in this real life horror story, with interviews and police body cam footage documenting this story directed by Alexandra Lacey, who beautifully structures and paces the film to keep you absorbed to the very surprising ending.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like twisty-turny true crime documentaries, you will like this one. (Netflix)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

"The Odyssey" (2026)

Homer's ancient Greek epic poem brought to the screen.

(Since it looks like "The Odyssey" is going to be the big epic blockbuster of the year, I thought it deserved to have my review stand alone on its own blog page, so you only need to read one this time)!

This almost three-hour film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and produced with his wife Emma Thomas is an adaptation of Homer's epic Greek poem, with Nolan taking some liberties in the storytelling, but the film is indeed an epic. Filming took place from February to August 2025 at locations all over the world (Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara and Malta) and stars an epic cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, John Leguizamo, and Charlize Theron. With an estimated budget of $250 million, it is among the most expensive films of Nolan's career (and you know, he also did "Oppenheimer," "Inception," "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk," among others), and the first feature film ever to be shot entirely on IMAX 70 mm cameras. It has already grossed over $346 million and won critical acclaim for Nolan and the actors.

In the film, Odysseus (Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, has been away from Ithaca for 20 years after fighting in the Trojan War.  He tried to get home to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Hathaway), but he and his men didn't have it easy.  They met many obstacles along the way including a cyclops, man-eating giants, sirens, the witch, Circe (Morton), who turned the men into pigs for a bit and topped off with a side-trip into Hades.  Odysseus eventually ends up in Ogygia with the nymph, Calypso (Theron), who is infaturated with him and keeps him high and forgetful on lotus flowers so he has no memory of his life in Ithaca.

Meanwhile, Penelope faithfully awaits Odysseus but her castle is awash in suitors who, assuming Odysseus is dead, are hanging out, eating her food and aggressively courting her, especially nobleman Antinous (Pattinson), who wants to claim the throne from Odysseus and Penelope's son, Telemachus (Holland). Only Penelope, Telemachus, and half-blind servant, Eumaeus (Leguizamo), still believe Odysseus will return and the film has an epic, if a bit overlong, conclusion.

Lots more happens, because, after all, this movie is an almost three hour long epic, and I would say this is probably the apex of Nolan's directorial career and has Oscar written all over it. The production values and visual effects were amazing, especially the scenes with the Trojan Horse, and the actors were all first-rate, with shout outs to Samantha Morton and John Leguizamo. Leguizamo has been making a name for himself as a dramatic actor these days.  Who knew?

But the highest acting praise goes to Matt Damon, who is in practically every scene and gives it his all. This is his year, and he is at the height of his acting powers.  He was wonderful and was the dramatic glue that held the story together. I believed he was Odysseus and I rooted for him to get home to Penelope. 

But despite my appreciation for the actors and what it took to bring this story to the screen and the underlying themes that war is very bad and we should treat each other as we want to be treated, this was just not my kind of film.  It was too long (Nolan likes long films), and there were too many men running around in armor killing each other. And despite my love of all things Greek and Roman mythology when I was in middle school, I found the cutting back and forth from present to past and past to present hard to follow at times, especially when they were in short spurts, and likewise, it was sometimes difficult figuring out who was who and how they fit into the story.  I think I might have enjoyed it more if I had seen it in IMAX but that wasn't possible since there are only 25 true IMAX theatres in the entire U.S.(though there are lesser versions out there - IMAX with laser and digital IMAX).  So I question making a film in IMAX when few people will be able to see it in its full glory.

But overall, I am glad I saw it in the theatre, because this seems to be the must-see movie of the year. Everyone has either already seen it or plans to, and I want to be in the know when it wins all of the awards. Don't you? 

Rosy the Reviewer says...ring, ring.  Christopher Nolan?  Oscar calling.  Ring, ring.  Matt Damon?  Oscar calling.  (In theatres)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

My Movie Picks & Pans for July 2026, Part 2: "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "Remarkably Bright Creatures" and "Obsession"

[I review "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "Remarkably Bright Creatures," and "Obsession"]

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

 

Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and Amanda Priestley (Meryl Streep) are together again at Runway Magazine 20 years later, but this time the magazine and Amanda are in trouble.  What to do?

Two decades after leaving her position as an assistant at the fashion magazine, Runway, Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Hathaway) has become a respected reporter in New York City. However, when she finds herself abruptly laid off, Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the owner of Runway's parent company, Elias-Clarke, hires Andy as the features editor.  However, he doesn't tell Miranda Priestley (Streep), Andy's old boss who just happens to still be at Runway, much to her annoyance. Miranda is in her usual bad mood especially because she is under fire for publishing a story about a brand that uses sweatshop labor. Also Miranda is struggling to navigate modern fashion media and HR complaints have toned down her tyrannical office behavior. 

Miranda's right-hand man, Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci), is also still at the magazine and explains to Andy that nobody reads print magazines anymore and AI is cramping their style. They have been forced to embrace media to maintain profits and relationships with advertisers. One key advertiser is Dior, which employs Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), Andy's former Runway co-worker. 

Andy improves her standing at Runway by getting a coveted interview with Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu), the reclusive divorcée of a Silicon Valley billionaire and Irv promises to make Miranda global head of content at Elias-Clarke, but before he can do that he dies from a heart attack at his 75th birthday party. His son, Jay (B.J. Novak), takes over Elias-Clarke, but is not inclined to keep Runway so he puts Miranda's promotion on hold and begins cost-cutting. 

Will Runway be saved? Do we care?

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the powers that be got together 20 years after the first "Devil Wears Prada" movie and decided they needed to bring these characters back.  Like I said, i don't believe in sequels unless it's "The Godfather Part II." I don't like having to say, "It wasn't as good as the first one." I like to remember the first film and not mess up that memory with a lesser version.  

And, sorry, this one wasn't as good as the first one, but despite that fact, and that I have a thing against sequels, this one can stand alone. Hubby had never seen the first one and was able to enjoy these latest shenanigans without asking me what was going on. And Anne Hathaway is looking better than ever. Curiously, Emily Blunt didn't really look like herself which made me wonder what that means.  Mmmm (if you know what I mean). And she really didn't have that much to do.  Neither did Stanley Tucci, though he plays his usual droll self, but who wouldn't want to watch Meryl Streep chew the scenery?  She is the Queen of all things acting, and she shows another side of the usually imperious Miranda. 

Directed by David Frankel and written by Aline Brosh McKenna in an adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s bestseller, it was fun seeing Milan, the fashions and all of the famous people in the modeling world show up. There is even a performance by Lady Gaga. The actors were great, and I give the film props for highlighting how bad things are for print media and journalism in general these days.  I have always been a huge fan of magazines and lament their going the way of the albatross.

Rosy the Reviewer says...did we need this sequel?  Not really, but if you missed these characters and love fashion, this can be a fun diversion. (For rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ on July 29)

Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)

Lonely widow, Tova, forms an unlikely bond with a young stranger and makes a life-changing discovery.

Tova Sullivan (Sally Field) is an elderly widow who works as a night janitor at an aquarium in the fictional town of Sowell Bay, Washington (and as happens often when depicting Washington State, the movie was actually filmed in Vancouver, B.C. and environs).

After the death of her son Erik years earlier, and more recently, her husband, Tova has become more withdrawn from her everyday life, including her friend group she dubs the "Knitwits" who spend more time gossiping than knitting. She tells them she doesn't like gossip, but at work, she lets it all hang out sharing her frirends' gossip with Marcellus, an elderly but wise octopus who longs to escape from the aquarium. Marcellus (the voice of Alfred Molina) shares his view of life and humans throughout the film and very much wants to help Tova.

One day, Marcellus attempts an escape but is discovered by Tova, who finds him by tracking a slippery path on the floor. After attempting to return him to his aquarium, she slips, injuring her ankle, requiring her to take time off to heal. Tova is also planning to sell her house and move to a senior community. 

Around the same time, Cameron Cassmore (Lewis Pullman, son of actor, Bill), an aspiring musician and a member of a band called "Moth Sausage," ends up in town after experiencing motor trouble. Broke, he seeks temporary work to pay for the repairs to the van his recently deceased mother Daphne left him. Cameron had found a ring with the letters EELS in her van supposedly belonging to his real father along with a picture with the name Simon Brinks (Chris William Martin).  So Cameron wants to find Brinks and collect all of that child support that he feels his dad owed his mother.

Cameron is hired to replace Tova at the aquarium while she recuperates. Unable to stay away, she happens upon Cameron at work and gets on his case for what she perceives as his slacker attitude. She shows Cameron the value of taking pride in his work and shares her relationship with Marcellus, creating a bond between her and Cameron. Tova also discovers that Marcellus doesn't have long to live.  

How these characters, both human and non-human, come together is at the core of this heart-warming story written by Olivia Newman and John Whittington and directed by Newman (based on the book by Shelby Von Pelt).

I was never a huge fan of Sally Field, but I have to say she was absolutely amazing in this film, and I am thinking we are going to have to hear her say "You like me, you really like me" again when she wins an Oscar for this performance.  And I won't mind because she would deserve it.

But Marcellus, who narrates the film, is also the star. He laments that  "Humans, for the most part, are dull and blundering, but occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures." And Marcellus is an amazing creature who gives this film an originality it might not have had without him.  And since octopuses are  "remarkably bright creatures," I can't see how people can eat them. Ever since I saw the award-winning documentary "My Octopus Teacher," I couldn't imagine eating octopus.

Rosy the Reviewer says...highly sentimental and I saw the ending coming a mile away, but at the same time, the locations are breathtaking, and the film cast a spell, drew me in for an enjoyable film experience. (Netflix)

Obsession (2025)

This film is a perfect example of the platitude - "Be careful what you wish for."

Baron "Bear" Bailey (Michael Johnston) has romantic feelings for his friend Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette), but she sees them both as just friends. They work at a music store with friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless). Bear visits a crystal shop and is drawn to buy a "One Wish Willow," a novelty toy that claims to grant one wish per person when broken in half. After dropping Nikki off at her house, Bear breaks the One Wish Willow, wishing that Nikki loved him more than anyone in the world and, wouldn't you know, Nikki suddenly reappears and asks to stay at Bear's house where she confesses her mutual feelings and the two begin dating.  

All is well for awhile and then...remember what I said about being careful what you wish for?  And let me remind you of the title of this film. All kinds of crazy stuff happens as Nikki's behavior becomes more and more erratic and Bear wonders how he can reverse the spell.  Maybe he doesn't really want Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world.

This very low-budget supernatural horror film starring virtual unknowns was shot in Los Angeles for only $750,000. It was written, directed and edited by Curry Barker (no relation to Clive) and premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where it was critically acclaimed. Focus Features acquired the distribution rights for $14–$15 million, the highest price commanded by a genre film in TIFF history, and Jason Blum came on board as an executive producer under Blumhouse Productions.  And it has been a huge critical and commercial success making $427 million worldwide, setting multiple box-office records as the seventh highest grossing film of 2026. 

So you don't want to miss out! There are strong acting performances, especially from Navarrette and the production values are great.  You would never know this was a low-low budget film. But be warned.  There are some highly disturbing moments.

Rosy the Reviewer says...I was obsessed! (for rent or purchase on Apple+ and Amazon Prime and now streaming on Peacock)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

My Movie Picks & Pans for July 2026: "Project Hail Mary," "Voicemails for Isabelle" and "The Sheep Detectives"

[I review "Project Hail Mary," "Voicemails for Isabelle" and "The Sheep Detectives"]

Project Hail Mary (2026)

A science teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship not knowing who he is or where he is. But then he remembers and also discovers an unexpected friendship.

On Earth, the sun is losing power which could kill one third of the earth's population in 30 years. But Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller), an official from the European Space Agency, is on it. She is the leader of a secret project to save humanity and she finds her way to Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a middle school science teacher who previously submitted a paper detailing “Astrophage,” or single-cell organisms feeding on electromagnetic radiation... and if you understand that, you are better than I. 

Dr. Grace soon finds himself on the spaceship Hail Mary, on his way to try to stop the spread of the organisms before Earth is slowly destroyed, and it is basically a suicide mission, hence the spaceship's name. It's an eleven year ride and no return ticket. When Grace wakes up with full mountain man hair and beard, he realizes he is left with dead crew members and little memory of his immediate past.  But then he is contacted by an alien ship and meets a stone-like creature he names “Rocky” who is also alone on the same mission. And thus begins a buddy movie. I just wish it hadn't taken so long for Rocky to appear.

The story, written by Drew Goddard (based on the novel by Andy Weir) and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is told through a series of flashbacks as Grace regains his memory, and we understand his relationship with Eva and how he ended up on this spaceship, though I am still not certain I understand. There is a question asked over and over in the film, "Why is a science teacher in space?" and I kept asking myself the same thing. Why him?  I know he wrote that paper, but he was a middle school science teacher, for god's sake. 

I might have gotten into this more if it wasn't for the fact that it took forever to get going.  I mean, Grace didn't meet Rocky until almost an hour into the film, and did I say that the film is almost three hours? I have a thing about movies being longer than 2 hours, and it's mostly Gosling alone on the spaceship and, much as I like him as an actor, I am not sure I like him that much all by himself for two hours talking to a headless rocklike creature, the product of puppetry and CGI. I could have lopped off at least 30 minutes of this film, and I  think it would have worked better.

And did he save the world?  By the time the movie came to an end, I didn't really care anymore.

And by the way, it was not lost on me that before I ever saw the film, much of the press was more about Ryan Gosling's cardigan than the film itself with people wondering where they could buy it or knitting one for themselves! So much for people being into the movie.

Rosy the Reviewer says...there is lots of science if you like that kind of thing, and for the rest of us, moments of fun, sentimentality and emotion, but all in all, and I know this might be an unpopular opinion, this just didn't do it for me. It was too long and too indulgent (for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime). 

Voicemails for Isabelle (2026)

When Jill's sister dies, Jill tries to stay close by continuing to call her sister's phone and leaving voice mails not realizing that a real estate agent now has her sister's phone number and is listening to Jill's voicemails.

Jill (Zoey Deutch) and her sister, Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), also known as Izzy, who has cystic fibrosis, grew up very close in Austin, Texas. Now Jill is an aspiring baker living in San Francisco but the young women stay close through calls and voice mails. Jill works under a demanding and abusive chef (Nick Offerman), so she regularly vents and relates her life to her sister.  But then Isabelle abruptly dies and Jill has difficulty accepting that, so to help her deal with her grief, she continues to leave voicemails forIsabelle, unaware that Isabelle's phone number has been reassigned to Austin-based real estate agent Wes (Nick Robinson), a guy whose ethics are sometimes in question.

At first, Wes is confused about receiving Jill's voice mails but eventually realizes that Isabelle is dead, but he can't stop listening and becomes invested in Jill's life, hearing about her dates with her co-worker Arthur (Lucas Gage) and dating podcaster Tyler (Toby Sandeman), and her desire to become a baker. So Wes convinces his boss to send him on a work trip to San Francisco but his real mission it to meet Jill.  They do meet but, of course, Wes doesn't tell Jill that he knows all about her because he has been listening to her voice mails.

In typical rom-com fashion, love ensues, then trouble ensues when Jill discovers that Wes has been listening to her voicemails to Isabelle and then...well, if you are a rom-com fan, you know where this will eventually go. But it's an enjoyable and poignant journey getting there.  

However, I have to say.  You know how sometimes you call a friend and want to leave a voicemail and you get a message that you can't leave a message because your friend's inbox is full because they haven't cleared it out?  I couldn't help but think...if Isabelle is dead, she can't clean out her inbox so at some point, wouldn't you think Jill would wonder about that? 

But that's just me and how my mind works, and if Jill had realized that and stopped leaving voicemails, then we wouldn't have this movie written and directed by Leah McKendrick, which was a sweet little journey with attractive lovers, an original romantic concept, beautiful San Francisco views with some "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" vibes thrown in and, though it's an exploration of grief, it's also often funny.  Something for everyone here.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a very cute and satisfying romantic diversion (Netflix).

The Sheep Detectives (2026)

A flock a sheep try to solve a murder.  Yes, you heard me.

In the English village of Denbrook, shepherd George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) spends his time reading murder mysteries to his flock of sheep. You heard me. He is very close to his sheep and all of them have names. He doesn't like other humans that much and enjoys the company of his sheep.  Turns out, unknown to Geroge, the sheep can understand him, and they love listening to the stories and actually discuss who they think the murderer is in the mysteries they are hearing.

And it's a good thing the sheep have been paying attention to those murder mysteries, because one morning, George is discovered dead outside his trailer. Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), the town's only police officer, concludes that George was poisoned.

In true Agatha Christie style, the usual suspects are rounded up for the reading of George's will, which turns out to be a new one. Tim is there along with George's solicitor Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson), the Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), the appropriately named butcher Ham Gilyard (Conleth Hill), innkeeper Beth Pennock (Hong Chau), neighboring shepherd Caleb Merrow (Tosin Cole) and Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine), a reporter who just happens to be in town for the local festival. It comes to light that George had a twin son and daughter who were sent away for adoption after their mother died in childbirth. The daughter, Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon), also just happens to be in attendance.  She had reconnected with George and had just arrived from the United States to visit him for the first time. The twin son, Peter Van Vuuren, who lives in South Africa, is also there but only by phone. They all learn that George was secretly a millionaire after selling the patent for a medicine he had invented and the new will names Rebecca as the beneficiary instead of the animals rights charity that had been in the first will.

All of them had issues with George or something to gain if he died.  So who had the means, motive, and opportunity to kill George?

The sheep immediately realize that Tim is a bungling detective, so they decide to solve the mystery on their own, led by crime aficionado ewe Lily (voice of Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the ram Mopple (voice of Chris O'Dowd), along with Cloud (voice of Regina Hall) and the loner Sebastian (voice of Bryan Cranson) whom George rescued from a carnival. Other sheep voices include Brett Goldstein playing the twins Reggie and Ronnie; Patrick Stewart as Sir Richfield; Bella Ramsay as Zora; and Rhys Darby as Wool-Eyes. George hadn't read them all of those murder mysteries for nothing. They are on the case.

Speaking of Sebastian, turns out he was a "winter lamb," considered an outcast among sheep.  If you are a sheep, you are supposed to be born in the spring.  Spring good, winter bad.  There is also a little lamb in the flock who was born in winter, who had been rejected by the flock. And, boy, did that little guy get to me.

The anthropomorphic sheep are voiced by an all-star cast and, with the help of AI, are amazing and fun to watch, and yes, poignant.  This film, based on the book "Three Bags Full" by Leonie Swan (screenplay by Craig Maizin) and directed by Kyle Balda, reminded me of the 1995 movie "Babe," though the production values here are much more sophisticated. Speaking of production, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the directors of "Project Hail Mary (see review above)" are two of the producers of the film. 

I had been looking forward to this movie because I thought the concept was a fun one, and I was looking forward to Hugh Jackman interracting with the sheep, but that was not to be as he was killed off early on, so I was a bit disappointed in that, as well as the sometimes overly broad humor, silliness and sentimentality, but overall, it was a fun family movie.

Rosy the Reviewer says...so, yes, the humor is broad and the film is at times very silly and overly sentimental, but...okay, I loved those darn sheep, especially that little "winter lamb," and it got me. There were some tears at the end. (Amazon Prime).

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!