Next Best Picture

Giovanni Lago Next Best Picture Oct 30, 2026 5/10 Overall, audiences can still be swept up by "Ramayana," even if it feels so stuffed at times that it might’ve needed a "Game of Thrones"-level television adaptation to flesh out its narrative fully. Go to Full Review Ramayana (2026) - - - -

Sara Clements Next Best Picture Oct 30, 2026 7/10 It makes you feel deeply for the Blades as a real team, one whose bonds hold even when the adults around them, and the system itself, keep trying to break them apart. Go to Full Review Smudge the Blades (2026) - - - -

Tom O'Brien Next Best Picture Oct 26, 2026 8/10 Director Pegah Ahangarani uses footage and artifacts from her life to deftly weave her family's story into the larger picture of the political upheaval in Iran across the past four decades. Go to Full Review Rehearsals for a Revolution (2026) 100% - -

Sara Clements Next Best Picture Oct 23, 2026 7/10 Woll’s Meg anchors a smart, moody investigation where the writing ties her fractured relationship with her father to why she does what she does, and the practical effects are welcomed. Go to Full Review The Cycle (2026) 95% - -

Matt Neglia Next Best Picture Oct 23, 2026 5/10 Told with respect for those who gave their lives for this country, it can’t help but feel derivative of greater works that have come before it despite engaging performances from Skarsgård, Nicholson, and Francis. Go to Full Review The Mosquito Bowl (2026) 37% - -

Nadia Dalimonte Next Best Picture Oct 23, 2026 10/10 The film radiates hope amid economic and social disparity, as you root for the Dashwoods to thrive and feel independent and loved. It’s an astonishing film you can revisit at different stages of life and still feel inspired each time. Go to Full Review Sense and Sensibility (1995) 97% 90%

Cody Dericks Next Best Picture Oct 22, 2026 8/10 A bittersweet dream of a movie, perfectly made for cinephiles. Go to Full Review The Last Picture Shows (2026) 100% - -

Giovanni Lago Next Best Picture Oct 21, 2026 5/10 Still, its body-horror sheen is just a cheap coating on another anti-hero narrative that devolves into the typical comic book film we’ve seen countless times before. Go to Full Review Clayface (2026) 77% - -

Cody Dericks Next Best Picture Oct 21, 2026 7/10 If for no other reason, Dot-Marie Jones’s fantastic performance makes "Breeder" a must-see for anyone who loves seeing an actor truly and uncompromisingly go for it. Go to Full Review Breeder (2026) 87% - -

Giovanni Lago Next Best Picture Oct 20, 2026 4/10 Waititi somehow gets lost in Ishiguro’s simplistic messaging in a wannabe heartwarming tale that is exhausting to experience, especially toward its sobering conclusion, which abandons the manufactured liveness that came before. Go to Full Review Klara and the Sun (2026) 26% - -

Cody Dericks Next Best Picture Oct 15, 2026 6/10 Shapiro makes for a compelling icon of survival, and the film is undeniably at its best when she’s the solitary figure carrying the story. Go to Full Review Hallowarrior (2026) 89% - -

Dan Bayer Next Best Picture Oct 15, 2026 6/10 t’s easily the best fighting game adaptation yet. Not the highest bar to clear, but "Street Fighter" gets the job done. Go to Full Review Street Fighter (2026) 41% - -

Giovanni Lago Next Best Picture Oct 14, 2026 6/10 The film wears its heart on its sleeve and, at times, tests the audience’s patience, but "Whalefall" has enough to draw viewers into a mostly enjoyable and thrilling experience. Go to Full Review Whalefall (2026) 74% - -

Matt Neglia Next Best Picture Oct 11, 2026 9/10 It is the finest animated film of the year and the crown jewel in LAIKA’s remarkable, ever-growing legacy. Go to Full Review Wildwood (2026) 99% - -

Giovanni Lago Next Best Picture Oct 10, 2026 8/10 Its strong animation, likable characters, and nods to classic genre tropes will hopefully be the building blocks that get the next generation of cinephiles creeping down "Noir Alley" on TCM. For that alone, "Ray Gunn" is an achievement. Go to Full Review Ray Gunn (2026) 94% - -

Amy Kim Next Best Picture Oct 9, 2026 8/10 Ten years after "13th," DuVernay has crafted another staggering documentary that links American history to the present in a truly eye-opening fashion. Go to Full Review 14th (2026) 82% - -

Tom O'Brien Next Best Picture Oct 9, 2026 8/10 Stever never forgets that Olya & Oleh’s story, as dramatic as it may be, is one of many stories facing the Ukrainian people, and she communicates that visually by boldly placing consequential moments from their journey in the background of shots. Go to Full Review I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming (2026) - - - -

Cody Dericks Next Best Picture Oct 9, 2026 4/10 "V/H/S/Mixtape" represents a low point for the soft reboot of the franchise that’s been a Halloween mainstay for the past five autumns. Go to Full Review V/H/S/MIXTAPE (2026) 50% - -

Dan Bayer Next Best Picture Oct 9, 2026 4/10 Younger audiences sneaking in or watching at a slumber party may jump here or there, but audiences who have seen their fair share of horror movies won’t be inviting "Other Mommy" into their hearts any time soon. Go to Full Review Other Mommy (2026) 19% - -

Tom O'Brien Next Best Picture Oct 8, 2026 7/10 In Mexico’s macho culture, it’s refreshing to see the film’s female characters see through the men’s studied masculinity and respond not with angry vitriol but with bemused amusement. What fools these mortals be. Go to Full Review Everything Else Is Noise (2026) 100% - -