Thickets of stems 

This list was made with the intention of celebrating the craft. I love seeing more women of colour on this list than before and more newcomers on the scene as well!

Ben Affleck leads The Way Back, a seemingly cathartic film for him after the actor’s recent bouts with alcoholism and rehab. He plays Jack, a man fighting his own battles who happens upon coaching a boys’ basketball team, the same team he once played for back in high school.

Rare in the days of franchise sequels and indie horror films that dominate the screen in 2026, Netflix’s latest original release, Remarkably Bright Creatures, is a feel-good family movie that leaves nothing to be desired except tissues. Starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman as two cleaners at a small-town aquarium, Remarkably Bright Creatures reminds viewers that humans are social animals whose strength comes not from our intelligence or our opposable thumbs, but from each other.

Emily and Stephanie are back... just add gin and drama.

“Trust your gut" is one of the most common pieces of advice you’ll receive during your lifetime. And as a person inclined to trust my intuition above all else, it’s the most common advice I find myself giving in real life and in my online socialising. But what happens when your gut is trying to warn you that something is seriously wrong without you being able to identify what triggered it in the first place? How can you act on a feeling or make it go away when you don’t have a clue about what could be wrong? How can you trust your intuition when you don’t know what makes it act out in the first place?

Overall, “Dark Fate” is a run-of-the-mill flick. Together, Reyes and Davis have excellent chemistry, but their characters’ story is nothing new, lacking surprise and deep emotion. During the middle points, the film drags considerably, and when the action hits, it feels consistently tight, eliminating the rhythm and fluidity of conflicts.