Finally, Some Attention to a Few 2026 Releases
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative. However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, though better options may be coming soon. (Note: Anything in bold blue [or near purple] is a link to something in the above title or the review.)
My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”
(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)
However, if you’d like to know more about rationale of my ratings visit this explanatory site.
As you might have noticed, Film Reviews from Two Guys in the Dark has been dark for the last couple of weeks as your erstwhile critic’s been attending to a host of other tasks that needed immediate response; they aren’t fully done yet, but I do have some time this week to attend—at least in brief fashion—to a few of the cinematic events I’ve recently watched while addressing those other chores. In doing so, I’m celebrating that these reviews (short as they may be) are movies that have been released in 2026 so I’m at last dealing with product from our current year now that I’ve put 2025 and its Oscar results behind me; I’m also pleased to note an independent offering from Kevin Stevenson, which he alerted me to, following my previous favorable review of his Girl Upstairs in 2024 (Two Guys are open to promoting lesser-known releases when we can, glad to do it again with Kevin to promote his filmic talent). I just hope I can maintain this focus on 2026 releases based on what little I’ve seen of interest (to me) now available on streaming; we’ll see soon what might evolve.
SHORT TAKES
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $ (as well as recognizing those readers like me who just aren’t that tech-savvy). To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid these all-important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters with colors plus arrows:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
Dead Man's Wire (Gus Van Sant) rated R 105 min.
Here’s the trailer:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size;
activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)
This is a docudrama based on events in Indianapolis in February 1977 (see this site for actual details [4:06 video]) when Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) goes to the Meridian Mortgage company for his appointment with owner M.L. Hall (Al Pacino) with complaints about their procedures leaving him in a financial bind; however, Hall’s on vacation in Florida so Tony takes his son, Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery), hostage, affixing a shotgun to the back of his neck with wire so that any attempt at sudden rescue will result in the man’s death. Tony adds to his crimes by commandeering a police car to transport himself and his captive back to Tony’s apartment where he binds Richard and the gun to the kitchen table, then phones in his demands which include an apology from the senior Hall. By this time newspeople have arrived at the otherwise-vacated apartment building as Tony calls popular DJ Fred Temple (Colman Domingo) to explain how his frustrations have led to these drastic actions. ⇒Tony finally thinks he’s gotten the concessions he wants, only to be arrested, refuses to admit insanity, spends 10 years in a mental institution.⇐ (more plot details can be found here.)
Dead Man’s Wire opened in domestic (U.S.-Canada) theaters on January 9, 2026, has taken in $2.2 million so far ($2.6 worldwide), is most likely now best available through streaming where it rents from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV for $5.99. The CCAL’s a bit split on whether you should do that with Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews at 92%, but Metacritic average score's at 68%. In a way, once you know what’s happened so long ago you could just be satisfied with reading summary news reports of the weird events, yet Van Sant does make it effectively tense/watchable, so I’ll say it seems well worth your time to consider taking a look. While you’re debating on the viewing choice, take a listen to my usual review-ending device of a Musical Metaphor, this time one snatched from the soundtrack, the Yes song "I've Seen All Good People" (on 1971’s The Yes Album) as Tony sees himself as a hero for the downtrodden, part of the “good people … so satisfied, I’m on my way … [with the attitude of] “Just remember that the goal / Is for us all to capture all we want, anywhere,” yet he needs to heed the warning of “Don’t surround yourself with yourself.” Tony’s stubborn sense of self-worth just brought him more difficulties, turning such a sad situation into a much sadder result.
Here’s the trailer:
This one seems to me to be When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989) at a travel agency because it’s about 2 young adults from Linfield, OH who first meet at Boston College, then agree to go together on an annual, spontaneous, platonic 1-week summer vacation somewhere no matter who else they’re involved with, whatever else they’re doing (so we get to see a bit of New Orleans and other locations). The woman, Poppy (Emily Bader), is a NYC-based travel writer so some of her expenses can be business write-offs; the man, Alex (Tom Blyth), is a teacher who ends up back in Linfield. 2 years ago they were in Tuscany with their significant others, got into a spat, Alex proposed to Sarah (Sarah Catherine Hook), they married but divorced with Alex admitting he was too hung up on Poppy. ⇒In the present, they meet again in Barcelona for Alex’s brother David’s (Miles Heizer) wedding, finally admit their mutual love but Poppy needs time to figure out what to do (Should I cue Linda Ronstadt’s “Different Drum” with The Stone Poneys? Nah, if you really want to hear it, go look it up on YouTube.) so he storms off. Later, she quits her job, moves to Linfield, reconnects with Alex. A year later (surprise!) they’re living together in NYC.⇐ (for more plot details go here) This is all pleasant enough but quite predictable, though the travel locations are nice to see. The CCAL’s marginally impressed with RT positives at 76%, MC average score at 50%; if you’re in the mood for such, you’ll need to turn to Netflix where it’s free to subscribers. If you’d rather just hear my Musical Metaphor, it’s once again taken from the movie’s soundtrack, Chris Norman & Suzi Quantro’s "Stumblin' In" (1978 album If You Knew Suzi …) in light of Poppy and Alex’s stumbling-along relationship: “Our love is a flame, burning within / Now and then firelight will catch us stumblin’ in.” You may be better off, though, with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in … Sally, yet even as that story has lots of enjoyable moments (Especially “I’ll have what she’s having.”) I do think Reiner and screenwriter Nora Ephron were borrowing too much from Woody Allen back then.
Here’s the trailer:
Part of the Supernatural Horror subgenre of “Creepy Cinema” which traces its heritage back at least to The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973), … Urn’s successfully unnerving, not graphically gruesome. Sharon (Hannah Mandel) and Niv (Andrew Chen) return to their apartment after her mother’s funeral, bringing the urn of Mom’s ashes, which she treats respectfully until strange sounds/events cause her to think Mom’s haunting them (it gets dangerous when gas spews from the kitchen stove). Then, the building super, Thomas (Chris Spinelli), says their dwelling’s previous tenant, Patty, disappeared, adding his assumption she was murdered. Sharon has bad dreams, acts strange thinking she’s taken over by Mom’s spirit, yet when Niv and close friend Ashley (Coral Cataldo) bring in Madame Elena (Deborah Benson Wald) for a “cleansing” we find the occupier is actually Patty. While the fright level steadily builds with Sharon’s responses and mysterious music (enhanced by most action being within the confines of the apartment) ⇒the tension intensifies when Thomas again joins Niv and Ashley, with Sharon/Patty making it clear he killed Patty, then chopped up her body. Gas is used again to knock everybody out except Sharon/Patty who uses a knife to kill Thomas, then leads the others to the countryside where Patty’s skull is unearthed, Thomas’ body is dumped there, Niv scatters Mom’s ashes, Patty leaves, Sharon regains her own consciousness.⇐
The plot’s more obvious toward the end, but overall the disturbing mood’s properly done. However, you'll have to trust me on pursuing … Urn as the Critical Community’s mostly silent: RT has 1 review, Mikal CG of Film Threat gives it 6.5 of 10; at IMDb Jim McLennan offers a C+. You can see it on a TV with your Roku box (or whatever) to go to tubi; it’s free but you must endure commercial interruptions (clusters of 5, 7, 6, 7) which add roughly 20 min. to your viewing time (or go to this site to get to a tubi link on your computer). As for a Musical Metaphor, I took the easy route in the 2 reviews above by pulling something used briefly in their soundtracks, but for … Urn I finally came to Pink Floyd’s "Brain Damage" (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973) both because this video uses imagery of political figures some would call “lunatics,” just as someone who doesn’t realize all we know of Sharon might say that about her and especially for these lyrics: “You lock the door and throw away the key / And there’s someone in my head, but it’s not me” as Patty manifests herself, overtaking Sharon. Creepy, true, but well-done overall if you’re OK with indulging in this sort of fare.
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