This is a list and review of the seven movies that I have seen that were released in 2026. Keep in mind, there are plenty of movies I haven’t seen this year, especially in the horror category. I should have watched the new Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian, and Grogu, mainly because I am a long-time fan of the franchise and I practically grew up with it. However, the reviews of how inoffensive it is made me uninterested in seeing it. This list is currently up to June 25, 2026, and I will update it with every movie I see past this. If I enjoy writing this, I will try to watch more movies next year while I’m in college. Enjoy and don’t get too angry at my opinions.
9. Michael
I don’t like this movie. This will be the only film that I don’t review fairly, and I will be very biased against it. The amount of pure infuriation I got from this film’s response is beyond my writing ability. First of all, this is not a real biopic. The plot revolves around Michael Jackson being an amazing specimen, and everyone around him antagonizing him, like his father, who was apparently the villain of his whole life. According to this film, Michael was a saint and did no wrong. Unless he actually was Gandhi when he was alive, is this an accurate depiction of a real human being?
This movie is virtually a music video. Most of the audience praises this movie because “The music is great!” Yeah, it’s no secret that Michael Jackson has a good discography. Why spend twenty dollars at a movie theater to watch what could’ve been three YouTube searches? The only thing worth complimenting in this bastardization of art is the actor’s portrayal of his uncle. It’s an accurate imitation, but the script forces him to play Michael as a perpetually innocent child, which feels a little much. Overall, the performance isn’t the main complaint.
This movie is a product of the Jackson Estate, meant to milk as much of his fandom’s money as possible into their already endless wallets. They saw the success of Bohemian Rhapsody and other musical biopics and saw an opportunity to praise their golden child while boosting his public image by selling to naive consumers. Somehow, they gained the support of a new Gen Z group that accepts this blind ignorance being enforced and boycotts any documentary impartially made to illustrate Michael’s infamy. The movie itself has very mediocre enjoyment, and the plot is decent enough, but what it stands for easily puts it at the bottom of my list. Of course, they are making a sequel, clearly because they saw this as an Avengers-level sell, and I’m willing to bet they won’t mention most of his controversies from later in his life. This film worries me for the state of cinema.
Final Count: 3/10
8. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
It is insane that the kids’ movie, said to be “Worse than AI” or “The YouTube shorts of cinema,” is somehow more enjoyable than the Michael Jackson biopic. I will start by saying that, although I have not played the Mario Galaxy game, I am a casual Mario and Nintendo fan. I can imagine any regular movie critic would’ve struggled through this experience of a movie. This movie is bad, but there are some redeeming factors. For one, the animation is beautiful and captivating for regular viewers and Nintendo fans. In my opinion, it beats out the first movie in visual appeal. The colors are bright and bold with backgrounds that resemble the Mario franchise’s vibrant sets.
With that out of the way, this movie can get infuriating. The plot moves as if you are scrolling through clips of an action-packed movie before realizing you are actually watching the full movie. It trades big themes and character dynamics for incredibly fast-paced scenes stitched together with the thinnest idea of a plot. First, you’re in a desert adventure and meet Yoshi, and then, with very little explanation, you’re put on another adventure that involves going from world to world with no time to rest or even think about what’s going on. The villain, Bowser, tricks you into thinking he’s going through an arc before he and his son ultimately team up and just become generic villains with very little substance. By the end of this movie, I felt like I had just rushed through a ton of side-quests and gotten lost on the actual main story.
If you were to ignore all of this, the movie does have some enjoyment value, especially in my theater experience. Every couple of minutes, there was a cameo or an easter egg for Nintendo fans to enjoy. My friends and I had fun pointing aggressively at every little appearance of a familiar character, and I can imagine it was enjoyable for other Nintendo fans. However, these cameos had very little meaning to the actual story, which is a tragedy because they took up most of the runtime. They introduced Fox McCloud from Star Fox, as if they were setting him up as an important character for the franchise, potentially teasing a spin-off. But this studio obviously isn’t going to risk making a Star Fox movie; mainstream audiences don’t even know who this character is. Therefore, it was just another one of their countless meaningless cameo moments meant to create enjoyment for their mess of a film artificially. I would say Illumination needs to change its methods, but they clearly are blinded by the hundreds of millions of dollars they keep receiving from their mediocre work.
Final Count: 5.5/10
7. Minions & Monsters
When I first walked into the theater for Minions & Monsters, I expected the absolute worst. I am used to being deeply critical of Illumination and their pattern of throwing mediocre, theme-park cash grabs at kids and Facebook moms just to sell plush toys. However, as I noted in my full review, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This film completely subverted my expectations by abandoning the lazy, commercialized formula of the previous sequels and delivering something with genuine artistic ambition.
Unexpectedly, the movie is a total love letter to filmmaking, storytelling, and 1920s Hollywood culture. Following a minion named James who sets out to create his own film, it is packed with sharp historical references that will make any cinephile grin. It certainly isn’t flawless—the plot suffers from a strange structure, spending a massive hour on a historical origin sequence that ultimately leaves the main monster conflict feeling incredibly rushed at the end. Yet, the animation is an amazing spectacle, and the script successfully balances genuine payoffs with laugh-out-loud, Looney Tunes-esque comedy.
Ultimately, this is by far the best Minions movie and easily takes second place in the overall franchise. It keeps a smile on your face for the entire runtime, even if the whole 1920s setting was clearly engineered to give the little guys an ironclad alibi for the 1940s. If you want my specific breakdowns of the character arcs, the Jesse Eisenberg subplot, and the pacing, you can check out my comprehensive, spoiler-free post on the site. I gave the movie this ranking because it is by far better than Illumination’s other film this year, Mario Galaxy, but it definitely doesn’t stand its ground against the real great movies of this year.
Final Count: 6.5/10
6. Toy Story 5
This is an interesting movie for me. When it was announced they were making yet another Toy Story movie, I had never rolled my eyes harder. The third movie was a masterpiece of a conclusion, and the fourth felt like a stretch, but it was tolerable. The presence of a fifth movie represented Pixar’s strange idea that only sequels will make money, and to capitalize on this, they keep extending this popular franchise as much as physically possible. When the plot was revealed, the conflict of technology and iPad kids felt brainless, relying on an obvious message. That being said, it wasn’t that bad.
The premise was actually entertaining. I expected it to be mostly about Bonnie being addicted to her tablet and the toys trying to win her attention. While it touched on that, it mostly was about technology’s ability to help kids socialize. This resulted in some very touching scenes where she was struggling to make friends with other people her age. They introduced new characters, like the Conan O’Brien toy, that were fun and brought energy. The side plot about the castaway Buzz Lightyears was cool but also felt like merchandise pandering and filler. An interesting aspect was that they brought back Woody after he left in the last movie, but sidelined him to make Jessie the main character. Her story was the best part, and it had a moment that made my sister cry.
This film proved to be entertaining, and I might even say it is worth its existence. The animation was stellar, just like you’d expect from modern Pixar. What holds it back from being higher up on this list is the greed behind its creation and the strange inclusions that felt unnecessary. Other than that, I enjoyed it, and I wouldn’t be too upset when the inevitable sixth movie gets announced, assuming that the voice actors won’t be too old to comply. At the end of the day, the strong story and character work are just good enough to help me look past Pixar’s corporate greed and the inescapable Taylor Swift track tacked onto it.
Final Count: 7/10
- I will continue this list tomorrow.
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