Project Hail Mary
Critics have hailed this sci-fi adventure as a much-needed dose of cinematic optimism, a bravura showcase for Ryan Gosling, and a visual-effects triumph. It also introduces us to Rocky, a lovable alien voiced and puppeteered by James Ortiz — and good luck not falling for him.

Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a middle-school teacher and brilliant former molecular biologist sent on an interstellar mission to save humanity from a cosmic threat. It’s an inspiring story, and an easy one to get swept up in.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller craft a space odyssey so tactile you’ll feel you could reach out and touch every surface. At a time when blockbuster spectacle can feel synthetic, their blend of digital and practical effects is utterly convincing.

Based on Andy Weir’s bestselling novel, Project Hail Mary combines big scientific ideas with the warmth, humour, and optimism that made The Martian (another Andy Weir book adaptation) such a phenomenon. Its spectacular set pieces land just as well as its quieter emotional beats, and the result is funny, thrilling, and devastating — often all at once.

The Sheep Detectives
Who would’ve thought one of 2026’s best mystery films would star a flock of talking sheep? The Sheep Detectives is a sweet surprise, featuring a razor-sharp script by Craig Mazin, best known as the creator of Chernobyl, and a star-studded cast of all-timers.

Hugh Jackman plays George, a devoted shepherd in the small town of Denbrook — until he’s found poisoned. With the local police no help at all, his beloved flock takes matters into their own hooves. There’s Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a sharp-witted ewe determined to crack the case; Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), a former prizefighting ram George once rescued; Cloud (Regina Hall), a fluffy sheep with a big ego; and Sir Ritchfield (Patrick Stewart), a wise elderly ram.

It may look like a cosy family film, but its twisty mystery and heartfelt storytelling make it a delightful watch for all ages.

Crime 101
US Route 101 stretches more than 2,400 km down the Pacific Coast, from Washington to California. It’s also the getaway road of choice for jewel thief Mike (Chris Hemsworth) — and the trail that weary LAPD detective Lou (Mark Ruffalo) has been following. For his next score, Mike recruits disgruntled insurance broker Sharon (Halle Berry) to help pull off a high-stakes diamond heist at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Meanwhile, Mike’s fence, Money (Nick Nolte), sends loose cannon Ormon (Barry Keoghan) to tail Mike and muscle in on the heist.

Based on Don Winslow’s novella, Crime 101 is written and directed by Bart Layton, who also helmed the heist film American Animals. Comparisons with Michael Mann’s 1995 crime epic Heat, also set in Los Angeles, are inevitable. Like Robert De Niro’s perfectionist thief, Hemsworth’s lonely, disciplined, and impeccably dressed Mike falls for an attractive stranger, Maya (Monica Barbaro). And like Al Pacino’s obsessive cop, Ruffalo’s tired, frustrated, and dishevelled Lou is separating from his wife.

Still, critics agree the cast makes the familiar feel fresh. The Irish Times says Keoghan “eats the role alive” as the volatile Ormon, while the Daily Beast declares that Berry “steals this insane new crime caper”.

The Furious
Widowed, mute handyman Wang Wei (Xie Miao) is a man on a mission: to rescue his daughter, Rainy (Yang Enyou), from child traffickers in Southeast Asia. When the local police captain turns a blind eye, Wei wages a one-man war to get her back. Joining the fight is Navin (Joe Taslim), who is pummelling his way through the same gang in search of his missing wife.

Pitched as Taken meets The Raid, this Hong Kong action film boasts a who’s who of Asia’s finest fighters. Xie previously played Jet Li’s on-screen son in The New Legend of Shaolin and My Father Is a Hero, while Taslim is best known as Li Yong in Warrior and the stone-cold Sub-Zero in the Mortal Kombat films. Look out, too, for Yayan Ruhian (Mad Dog in The Raid) and Brian Le, one half of prolific martial arts duo the Le brothers, among the army of henchmen.

Kenji Tanigaki, action director of Rurouni Kenshin, helms this movie, and he has swapped out quick and frantic cuts for longer takes, allowing the brutal fight sequences to play out seamlessly. The result is a spectacular martial arts movie filled with balletic set pieces — what some critics call “one of the best action films of the decade”.

The Drama
Cold feet before a wedding are perfectly normal. In the black comedy, The Drama, however, pre-wedding nerves turn into something far stranger.

Charlie and Emma (Robert Pattinson and Zendaya) seem to have it all: they’re deeply in love, happily engaged, and counting down the days to their wedding. But as the big day approaches, simmering disagreements bubble up — and then comes a revelation that changes everything. The less said about it, the better: half the fun lies in discovering the twists for yourself.

Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) brings his signature blend of dark humour and awkward tension, making The Drama anything but a conventional relationship story.

It can be uncomfortable to watch at times, but Zendaya and Pattinson make it impossible to look away. Both deliver terrific performances that show exactly why they’re two of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Backrooms
One of 2026’s biggest horror hits came from Kane Parsons, who was just 20 when his feature debut hit cinemas. The creator of the viral web series Backrooms adapted his own creation with A24 — and the result is the studio’s highest-grossing film to date.

Struggling furniture business owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers a portal behind his store that leads to a dimension of endless corridors. The rooms look like ordinary offices or homes, yet there’s something unsettling and alien about these liminal spaces.

Clark and his employees venture deeper and learn more about the uncanny premises, and eventually ropes in his concerned therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve). However, his obsession with the place invites danger that no one is prepared for.

Backrooms was a smash hit not just for its short films’ popularity — which has accumulated hundreds of millions of views since 2022 — but for its unsettling and subversive scares, where empty hallways can incite more fear than a masked killer. And you don’t need to know anything about the web series beforehand to enjoy the film’s deliciously deformed pleasures.

Toy Story 5
Pixar’s fifth Toy Story movie is the first to ask a very modern question: does the iPad generation even play with toys any more?

When we last left them, Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and the rest of the gang were safe with Bonnie, while Woody (Tom Hanks) had gone off with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) to help lost toys find new kids. Then Bonnie brings home Lilypad (Greta Lee), a whip-smart tablet that can do just about anything, and alarm bells start ringing. Not only is Lilypad hogging Bonnie’s attention, but she’s convinced she knows what’s best for her owner — and that doesn’t include playtime with toys.

The Toy Story films have always been led by Woody and Buzz, but this time it’s Jessie who takes centre stage. Her heartbreaking backstory of abandonment in Toy Story 2 makes her the perfect guide for her friends in a strange new world.

By switching protagonists and shifting perspectives, Toy Story 5 breathes new life into the franchise. Far from coasting on nostalgia, it tells a story that feels modern and urgent, weighing up the pros and cons of digital entertainment.

The Odyssey
Few films this year were as hotly anticipated as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, based on Homer’s epic poem from more than 2,700 years ago. Matt Damon is Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, lost at sea for years and presumed dead by his people. After leading his men to victory in the Trojan War, he must battle monsters, storms, and gods — from the Cyclops to Poseidon — to get home. Back in Ithaca, his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), struggle to hold off the suitors circling his empty throne. Shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, The Odyssey feels so expansive you could almost live in Nolan’s ancient Greece. At nearly three hours long, it’s best watched just as Nolan intended: with no distractions.