All The Movies To Cap Off 2026 With
Way back in the Covid era in 2020 in this section of the magazine I spoke about a little movie coming out called Dune.
Dune: Part Three
Way back in the Covid era in 2020 in this section of the magazine I spoke about a little movie coming out called Dune.
“The legendary Frank Herbert novel has had a chequered history with cinema, with the only good adaptation to date being a documentary about a failed attempt at making a Dune film. That doesn’t bode well, but if anyone can do this epic justice it’s Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve.”
It turns out he could. Back in 2024 I said about Dune: Part Two, “What Villeneuve brings to the table is a delicate touch with an eye for grand spectacle and visuals, when he shot the first film it wasn’t clear whether the sequel would be greenlit, but after its huge critical reception he secured the funds to hit us with the final half of the film. Thank God for that.”
Part Three is set nearly two decades after Paul Atreides seized control of the Imperium. Now a ruthless Emperor, Paul must face the consequences of his reign as old allies return, terrifying new threats emerge, and betrayal lurks in every shadow.
Villeneuve is a master of his craft and is quickly rising through the ranks of the sci-fi greats. I remember seeing Arrival in cinemas and as I walked out I saw another reviewer weeping during the credits. Dune: Part Three is the culmination of everything the first two films have set up. These movies are BIG. Do yourself a favour and see it on an appropriately sized screen.
Spice, Not Even Once
While taking Melange can be a trendy and cool way to see your own future, enable space travel and give you blue eyes, prolonged use can have adverse results. Just say no.
Werwulf
Werwulf is written and directed by Robert Eggers, the man behind The Lighthouse, The Northman, and the latest Nosferatu movie. It’s clear he’s into very specific things: folklore, films that feel like they’re from a different time, and getting us as much Willem Dafoe screentime as possible. Dafoe has a face that is perfect for any role in any horrorish title.
“Willem understands ‘the joke of life’, and his characters in my films always enjoy what they are doing. Even if it’s dark,” Eggers told Polygon. “And you can’t beat that face – especially for a period film.”
Werwulf (which my writing tool is dedicated to automatically changing the spelling on as soon as I look away) stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the harrowed shapechanger, and is supported by a completely unrecognisable Lily-Rose Depp as a peasant wife, who also starred in Eggers’ Nosferatu with Dafoe.
The film has been described as “[Eggers’] most visceral and haunting experience yet… a harrowing tale of devotion, damnation and the devil within.”
Eggers keeps things spooky by making his references for the film as old as possible. In the process he dispelled the commonly held belief that the link between werewolves and full moons was invented by film, finding stories about it that predate cinema.
“For me, going back to the old folklore is a way in, because you’re going to find different stuff – the tropes aren’t the same tropes that are so tired that they’ve become clichés. So that in and of itself gives it some freshness.”
“This is a slow-burn horror that’s about the tension and the anticipation and the mystery and the darkness, and… we don’t want to give it away.” Eggers told Empire. “But… this film is immersive, and needs to be experienced full-immersion, on the big screen. If you’re not smelling all the shit and mud in the street, then you’re not experiencing this movie properly.”
Rayy Gunn
No, this isn’t about an Australian dancing badly at the Olympics. This is the adult-aimed animated feature Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) has been trying to get off the ground for over 30 years.
It’s a sci-fi noir film featuring Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson, because you always need a dame. Bird had to turn down directing Incredibles 3 (the first two of which he wrote and directed) to get this baby off the ground. Best way to describe it is a hard-boiled detective flick that’s not afraid to have some fun and a couple of aliens. “The elevator pitch I came up with is The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers,” Bird says. “I like both of those genres, and blending them together seemed fun, and a chance to play with a lot of very cinematic elements and extreme characters.”
Ray Gunn is getting a limited theatrical release on 70mm on 4 December.
Blade Runner 2099
The idea of Blade Runner making a small screen debut fills me with trepidation. It’s an iconic world supported by a book, two movies and a bunch of short films to support that second film. We could debate back and forth whether the second movie holds up to the first, but since this is my column, I’m just going to go ahead and say it holds up on its own merits. The idea that a streaming service is about to milk it for all it’s worth is terrifying. Fortunately it’s being done with a surprising amount of respect. A respectful milking. Blade Runner 2099 is going to be a limited series of 8 episodes released on Prime Video starring Hunter Schafer, a human pretending to be a replicant, and Michelle Yeoh, a replicant blade runner nearing the end of her life cycle. At this point in Blade Runner’s history humans have become second-class citizens, while replicants are the power brokers. ChatGPT must be the mayor. There won’t be more seasons; it’s entirely self-contained. Thank goodness.
The show was first announced by Ridley Scott back in 2021 alongside a series bible, but hit roadblocks during the Writers Guild strike which pushed back production. Silka Luisa serves as showrunner and executive producer along with Ridley Scott.
Godzilla Minus Zero
Sequel to the critically acclaimed Godzilla Minus One, this latest entry has been much hyped and already well received. The first film is perhaps the only Godzilla film I’ve ever enjoyed and was good enough to receive the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Takashi Yamazaki returns as writer, director, and visual effects guy.
After dealing with the dual disasters of getting nuked and then Kaiju’d in quick succession the movie picks up with Japan in 1949 where it’s still piecing itself together.
Unfortunately the newest threat King Ghidorah (the three-headed dragon thing) has arrived to stomp on everything. Fortunately the final scene of the last film pays off and Godzilla is back to rumble again.
The Uprising
Written and directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Captain Phillips), his latest subject matter is the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England starring Andrew Garfield as an unlikely ploughman leader of the movement. The protests kicked off after a fourpence increase on taxes, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and led to a local invasion of London to put pressure on the then 14-year-old Richard II. The movie goes very epic and fantastical in its presentation of post-Black Death England, but it’s also muddy and gruesome. Eat the Rich movies are starting to become a bit of a fad, with How to Rob a Bank releasing around now as well, but at least we get a bit of a history lesson with this one. A middling film overall, but I’m a sucker for everything Greengrass does.
Ink
I didn’t particularly think I needed a story about Larry Lamb and Rupert Murdoch getting The Sun started in my life. And neither did Director Danny Boyle. “I didn’t think anybody would see this film. It’s a passion project. This one we couldn’t raise enough money for. StudioCanal, God bless them, did give us money. Nobody else would.”
Once again the guy I keep thinking is Guy Ritchie brings his flair to something unexpected finding some of the most divisive subject matter to work with. Guy Pearce plays the up-and-coming Murdoch, otherwise known as the current master of global news. He’s supported by Jack O’Connell, who plays the infamous editor Larry Lamb. Under Lamb’s editorship, The Sun became the highest-selling newspaper in just seven years. He came up with incredible avant-garde ideas like “would people buy more of this if we put topless women in it?”
In so doing they completely reinvented the news, for better and worse. Maybe just worse? You could track clickbait back to tabloids if you wanted.
“I’m stronger when I work on material that I feel is a battle to get made,” Boyle says, speaking to IndieWire. “I like to sell something to people. You want people to see it like you see it. It’s mad, really.”
The film is explosive, and incredibly stylish. But just because it’s a biography doesn’t mean you can’t be a wee bit over the top with it. It’s The Sun way. It leans on tabloid aesthetics by occasionally employing iPhones to film, as is the case in the mini Matrix-style pan they did in the trailer using 20 iPhones on a rig.
It’s doing a limited theatrical release before dumping onto Netflix.