Trailer title card — PHOTO: Netflix (Still image from trailers).
Directed by Tommy Wirkola — Screenplay by Tommy Wirkola.
Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, best known for the Christmas action-comedy film starring David Harbour titled Violent Nights, is the writer-director behind this week’s big Netflix film release, Thrash. Thrash is a survival thriller with a, as you might expect given Wirkola’s involvement, tongue-in-cheek comedic approach. It is a film about shark-infested waters in a flooded American town that has been hit by intense waves as a result of an intense hurricane.
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Scream; Abigail) — Screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come kicks off right where the popular first film left off. Grace (played by Samara Weaving) has just survived a crazy ordeal moments after getting married. Her new family — the Le Domas’, who were secretly satanists — tried to kill her before sunrise, as they believed they would all die if they didn’t. Grace, now in a bloodied wedding dress, survived the night, while her in-laws and her new husband all exploded at dawn for not fulfilling their satanic bargain. But things aren’t over for our bloodsoaked heroine. When she meets up with her sister Faith (played by Kathryn Newton), with whom she hasn’t spoken in years, at a hospital, they’re both incapacitated and taken to the manor of a wealthy and influential family known as the Danforths. The Danforths are one of multiple families with a seat on a council of elite families, who all owe their successes to their supernatural satanic lord known as Le Bail. Because Grace survived the night, the families must compete in another game of diabolical hide-and-seek to determine who will have the ‘high seat’ on the council and, essentially, control the world. To survive, Grace, now alongside her sister, must again overcome the odds and hold out until dawn.
Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in Krstoffer Borgli’s THE DRAMA — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli — Screenplay by Kristoffer Borgli.
The Drama is one of the most heavily anticipated wedding films in recent years. But it isn’t just any wedding film; it is also the third feature film from Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, best known for his sophomore effort (and English-language debut), Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage, about a university professor who, much to his surprise, starts popping up in people’s dreams around the world. His latest film has a similarly fascinating premise, but one that is much more grounded in reality. The Drama is an American-set dark, cringe rom-com with psychological elements about relationships, performativity, outrage, and the skeletons in our closets. It has all the makings of what could very well end up being one of the most hotly debated and divisive films of the year, partly due to the way it touches on difficult and very dark subject matter. On first viewing, I found it to be an intriguing conversation starter that also manages to be a thoroughly entertaining film, perhaps especially because of one of the particularly well-tuned central performances, but also because of key and clever visual and textual storytelling decisions.
(L-R) Eiza Gonzalez, James Marsden, and Vince Vaughn (x2) in Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios (Still image from trailers).
Directed by BenDavid Grabinski — Screenplay by BenDavis Grabinski.
BenDavid Grabinski’s Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice takes place in a somewhat goofy version of an organized crime world, wherein we meet Quick-Draw Mike (played by James Marsden), who has fallen in love with Alice (played by Eiza Gonzalez). Alice, however, is married to another member of the crime world, Nick (played by Vince Vaughn), who, unbeknownst to Mike, has framed Mike as a so-called rat. Things take a strange turn when Mike agrees to help Nick complete a job. The thing is, Nick needs Mike to chloroform someone who just so happens to look exactly like Nick. Why? Well, one of the two Nicks has used a time machine to stop his past self from making the worst mistake of his life.
Ryan Gosling in PROJECT HAIL MARY — PHOTO: AMAZON MGM STUDIOS (Still image from trailers).
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street; The LEGO Movie) — Screenplay by Drew Goddard (The Martian).
Based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary follows Dr. Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling), a former molecular biologist and middle school teacher, who wakes up on a spacecraft several light-years away from Earth with no memory of how he got there. As Grace’s memory slowly comes back to him, he investigates the spacecraft and finds that he is the sole survivor of a three-person crew sent out to find out how we can stop an extinction-level event from further harming Earth. A microorganism known as Astrophage, which is exponentially increasing its size, appears to be dimming our Sun and several stars in our solar neighborhood. The crew, including Grace, was sent out to figure out why Tau Ceti is the only unaffected star in the vicinity. Unsure about how to carry out his mission, Grace eventually comes into contact with an alien entity, which he dubs ‘Rocky,’ and its own glorious spacecraft. When Grace finds a way to communicate with Rocky, named so because of his ‘pile of rocks’-like body, Grace figures out that they’re there for the same reason. So, he now must figure out how to save lives at home and light-years away from our solar system.
On Sunday night, Conan O’Brien hosted the 98th Academy Awards — Hollywood’s biggest night. It was time to celebrate the great movie year that 2025 had turned out to be, and, though there were many great, deserving films, much of the online discussion surrounding the event was about building it up as a battle between Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Fortunately, one film didn’t steamroll the other, as they together accounted for 10 wins of the night’s 24 categories, and both films picked up a handful of wins. It ended up as a celebration of Warner Bros.’ slate, as One Battle After Another, Sinners, and also Zach Cregger’s Weapons took home 11 awards, including in 7 of the 8 above-the-line categories. When the show came to a close, it was One Battle After Another that won Best Picture, but thankfully, both PTA and Coogler went home as winners.
It’s time for the 98th Academy Awards. Here comes the Oscars! This awards season has felt incredibly long. Certain above-the-line categories have zig-zagged over and over again, thus leaving us in a pretty exciting situation where only 1 acting category seems locked. Best Picture is a two-horse race between Sinners and One Battle After Another, and these two Warner Bros. crowdpleasing juggernauts are both deserving of the top prize. As is always the case, I am now ready with my predictions for each and every category, and I’ll also add some comments, personal preferences, and potential alternate winners. However, unlike for members of the Academy, AMPAS doesn’t make sure that I, or any viewer around the world for that matter, am ensured an opportunity to see every nominated film; I do have some blind spots. Thus, if there are categories where there are so many blind spots that I don’t think it’s fair to personally choose one over the others, I simply won’t put a personal preference but solely make a prediction.
Neve Campbell hiding from the Ghostface killer in SCREAM 7 — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).
Directed by Kevin Williamson — Screenplay by Kevin Williamson and Guy Busick.
When Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (often referred to as Radio Silence) took over the reins to this long-beloved slasher franchise from the late, great master of horror Wes Craven — starting with 2022’s Scream legacy sequel — they did a good job of steering the film series in the right direction by creating two films (also including Scream VI) that successfully introduced a new core group of characters, inserted the effective meta-genre commenary that Craven’s films were known for, and earned strong box office returns and critical reception. That goodwill was dealt a significant blow when, after Radio Silence had already exited the seventh film in the series due to scheduling conflicts, the rebooted series’ lead, Melissa Barrera, was, shockingly, fired for pro-Palestinian posts on social media. Following this, co-lead Jenna Ortega announced that she would not return for the seventh film, and director Christopher Landon left the project (and was replaced by original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson). Recently, boycotts have been announced, and protests have been organized. The very public behind-the-scenes drama has led to a troubled production, and, among the fanbase, there were concerns that this seventh entry would suffer for it. After having seen the film, I can say that, well, ultimately, it’s not just drama behind the camera that’s holding Scream 7 back.
Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).
Yesterday, on February 5th, 2026, the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA / @IFSCritics on Twitter), of which I am a voting member, announced their full list of winners for the ongoing 2025-2026 awards season. Like any other film critics’ association, their awards celebrate the best films of the past year. IFSCA currently has 111 members from around the world, including, but not limited to, the US, the UK, Spain, Italy, and, of course(since I am a member), Denmark. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners set a new record with 23 IFSCA nominations, and, as you’ll see, it also tied the record for most wins with wins in 8 separate categories. Below you can read the full list of winners, runners-up, and nominees.
Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle in 20th Century Studios’ SEND HELP — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios (Still image from trailers).
Directed by Sam Raimi — Screenplay by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon.
As I like to remind my readers, my dad had an open mind when it came to what movies my sister and I were ready to watch at a young age. So, as it turned out, when I was a kid, one of my favorite movie characters was Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films (I even dressed up as Ash for Halloween recently). Of those Evil Dead films, Army of Darkness, especially, holds a special place in my heart. As Sam Raimi then transitioned from indie horror to superhero spectacle (with several studio films in between) with his Spider-Man films, which were released as I was growing up, Sam Raimi quickly became one of my favorite filmmakers. Therefore, I was especially excited when I found out that Raimi was going to have an R-Rated original horror-comedy come out in early 2026. Send Help, in which Rachel McAdams re-teams with her Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director, is that film, and it is so exciting to be able to say that Raimi’s film not only works but is a strong reminder of what made so many of us fall for his brand of cinema in the first place.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 