movies and TV of 2026 (so far!!)

This Spring and Summer have been all about media as a whole. I’ve been watching a bunch of anime and tv shows and movies, and am STILL playing Yakuza 0. Side note, every time I think “welp, I should go do the final mission”, I get looped into something else, like doing another boss, or something stupid, like gambling LOL.

But for things I’ve watched this year so far, it’s been a lot!! I wanted to do a recap of everything to remind myself how nice it is to not be glued to my phone, and instead watch something that’s more mentally stimulating. There’ve been things that I really enjoyed and things that I was so-so about, but I’m happy for each show and movie that I’ve gotten to see so far. 😊

· Assassination Classroom – great show, despite the fanservice-y pandering. Had a really great ending, total tear-jerker, and maybe overstayed its welcome, but I was happy to have some more time with all of the characters.

· Cherry Magic – MAN the kids today don’t know how good they have it with yaoi. A cute anime with some miscommunication, but mostly loving, honest, happy relationships???? Could never happen in the 2000s. The children of the future will never have to only rely on Gravitation for standards of yaoi in the future… Nature is healing 💖

· Mieruko-chan – would be so good if not for the fanservice… for a high school student. So frustrating, because it would be an awesome show otherwise.

· An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess – I’m a sucker for the otome game villainess trope! I thought this one was really cute and well done.

· Ascendance of a Bookworm – really cute series so far, and I love the spin on the stereotypical male power fantasy isekai! It’s got a great plot, and I’ve enjoyed watching the characters grow, learn lessons, and start to change the world around them thanks to the MC’s knowledge of our world. However… there’s something weird about the series, and how people have accused nice male characters of having an interest in the MC, Myne. Who is like, 6. And that little girls are aspiring to become concubines to escape poverty. I get that it’s not uncommon for an older time period, but this is an isekai into a fantasy world. Why would you CHOOSE to include this kind of behavior in a fantasy world, where you get to make up anything and everything in it? What purpose does it serve… besides being creepy? It’s gross. But that’s the main problem I have with it.

· From Bureaucrat to Villainess – this isekai otome villainess anime was fun!! I’m hoping they make more seasons, because I love to see this sweet salaryman capture everyone’s hearts with his dad charms. 😊

· Mob Psycho and Apothecary Diaries – watched them again… for the millionth time LOL

· High Potential – fun, spunky, and a HUGE inspiration for my outfits – I want to dress like the main character SO BAD, she looks cool as fuck. That’s like, my dream style (minus the heels – not because I don’t like them, just because I know that I realistically couldn’t walk in them lol). I love a little lighthearted crime drama! I’m all caught up now, waiting for new episodes.

· Heated Rivalry – YAHHHHHHHHHHHH YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY LOVED IT SHOWER SCENE, HOSPITAL SCENE, KISS ON THE ICE, THE CABINNNNNNNNN

· Pluribus – Slow burn, but I really enjoyed it! Each episode had me going back and forth between liking Carol and being annoyed by her cynicism. I’m excited for the new season, and to see how she takes out this virus (although the scenes with the guy from Paraguay were BRUTALLLL)

· Dexter – FINALLY FINISHED. All 8 seasons!! It was so good, though the writing definitely got worse as time went on. I wished he would just go to Argentina with Hannah at the end… so frustrating. We’re going to watch the other seasons, but not quite yet. Right now? It’s SOPRANOS SEASON LET’S GOOOOOOOO GABAGOOOOOOOOOOL

· The Pitt – I’m halfway through the second season now, and MAN is it good. Dr. Robby is such a good man and a good doctor, and Santos has really grown on me too. Every other episode makes me cry though, which like. Please stop making me feel things, show. 😢(Edit: finished it, SO GOOD, can’t wait for the next season!!!!!!)

· Corporate Retreat – This was so fucking funny, omfg. I don’t know how they did it, but they found yet another PERFECT GUY to do this! I got a little choked up at the end, when he was trying to appeal to the guy as a father to prevent the contract from being signed… unintentionally heartfelt and the perfect climax for the show!

· Project Hail Mary 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼 ROCKYYYYYYYYYYY 💖 Only unrealistic part was anyone believing that Ryan Gosling could be a failgirl MC. He’s too good for that. It made me want to read the book though, so that’ll definitely be on my TBR list!

· Send Help – Y’know. Controversial opinion. This was a happy story, and like… girlboss energy. Was the MC psychotic? Yeah. Did she get the revenge we all deserve on a shitty boss? YUP. YES SHE DIDDDDDDDDD #FEMINISM

· Primer – Definitely needed the Youtube explanation afterwards, but what an incredible movie. The time fuckery was done so well, and I applaud anyone who was able to get it on the first watch-through (“try not to mind explode challenge, level impossible” type shit).

· Austin Powers (all 3) – Oh my God. I used to love the game Gex as a kid, the PS1 game. Do you know what that game is based off of, that I never realized, because I was never allowed to watch these movies? AUSTIN POWERS. Infuriating. My world is changed.

· Dust Bunny – I loved this movie!! I love whimsical, happy ending kind of movies, and this checks all of the boxes. Love a little twisted fairy tale, love Mads Mikkelsen, and LOVE the set design in this movie.

· Normal – it was okay. Action movie with some humor. Nothing to write home about, except for the super unrealistic gun sounds. It was at the point where I even asked Ian if THAT was the sound a particular gun made, and he was like “no, definitely not” LOL.

· They Cloned Tyrone – GREAT movie, fantastic costume and set design, and I love a plot that gets a little weird!! Could not have seen the trajectory of the story coming from a mile away. Love being surprised by movies 😊

· Zootopia 2 – it was cute. That’s about it. The first one was better, significantly so. It feels like this one was sterile and boring compared to the first one.

· The Furious – this was fun! The cinematography and CHOREOGRAPHY were awesome, but the audio was really jarring, and took me out of a lot of the scenes. The dubbing was rough, but even beyond dialogue, the sounds were too punchy for what was happening, even for small things like the rustling of a shirt. The audio made this one so-so for me, but I do really like fun action-y fighting movies, so it’s still a positive in my book.

· The Shape of Water – what a lovely movie!!! Whimsical and fantastical, but with a little darkness to it, and a lovely soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat. I really want to believe that she gets her happy ending with her creature, and was just coming home to the sea, where she belonged all along.

· Team America: World Police – Ian references this one all the time, so I’m happy that I got to watch it! It was the kind of movie where you’re like “oh my GOD that’s horrible” and also laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

· Scary Movie (2026) – It was certainly a movie lol. 80% not funny, but the parts that WERE funny got genuine laughs out of Ian and I!

· Hot Fuzz – 2nd time watching this one, and it’s STILL just as funny as the first time! Love Simon Pegg.

· Casino Royale – My first Bond movie!! I wanted to watch it after playing First Light, and I really liked it, though Ian said it wasn’t even CLOSE to the best Bond movie, Skyfall. But I felt I had to watch one of the older ones to appreciate the big one that everyone loves, you know?

· Weird Al – this was fun, though I definitely went into it thinking it would be a genuine documentary (which it was NOT lmao). Daniel Radcliffe is on a generational run doing all these fun projects!! I saw that he’s also going to be narrating Kyle Gordon’s new album, which I’m excited to listen to, as a lover of comedy music.

· Shrek 2 – watched this with Becca and her best friend Taylor!! I had a hankering to watch it, so I’m excited that we could all watch together, since it’s one of Taylor’s favorites. Fun fact – did you know that Tom Waits wrote the song “Little Drop of Poison” FOR THE MOVIE???? Nuts!!!!

· Backrooms – I liked this! Not my favorite movie of the year or anything, but the ending scenes with the Captain were CREEPY, and I think the atmosphere was perfect. I saw that they were planning a sequel, which I think will be much needed! There’s so much lore to explore, and we only got a small taste of it with this movie. I’m a big fan of quite a few different Youtube analog horror series, and I heard that the success of this movie has producers looking for other opportunities… LIKE THE MANDELA CATALOGUE. I would LOOOOOOOOVE for that to happen, for that series, The Walten Files, Gemini Home Entertainment… the options are endless!

· The Odyssey - Overall, I enjoyed watching this. It was, at its core, a Nolan film - it was grandiose, touched on all of the usual Nolan themes (like time, ego, the legacy we leave behind us when we die, etc.), and didn't really focus on any of the female characters. As was to be expected, disappointingly. There were some things I really liked (showcasing the horrible things that were done in Troy, leading to the realization about Zeus' law, the music, cinematography, and practical effects), and some things that had me literally scowling in the theater ("OuR aGe Of BrOnZe Is CoLlApSiNg", the fact that Athena gets barely any real screentime), but I'm happy I got to see it, especially in 70mm IMAX! Shout out to the Chattanooga Aquarium for their IMAX theater :)

And that’s what I’ve got so far!! I'm really excited to see some of the upcoming movies I've seen trailers for (Primetime, Coyote vs. Acme, Wicker, Digger, a BUNCH of horror movies) and to keep watching The Sopranos. Who knows, maybe we'll end up finishing it by the end of the year! I'm also thinking of watching Twin Peaks again on my own time when the fall hits, since that's the PERFECT spooky fall show. :)

Watching these movies has been a really nice reprieve from working on our new house, and it helps me get my brain out of being either locked in on physical movements (scraping popcorn ceilings, sanding floors, etc.) or stuck scrolling endlessly because my body is too tired to do anything else lol. Maybe I'll put out a watchlist for the fall - we'll see!!

-C 💖

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