Welcome to the first Viewing Recap post of 2026!
The first month of 2026 has come and gone, though unlike previous months, I feel like January seemed to have passed rather slowly. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard about what’s happening in my home state of Minnesota 😔 Well, I’ve pretty much talked about it here in this post, so I’d rather not reiterate it again, other than to say that I sure hope the worst is behind us and there are brighter (and safer) days ahead.
You’d notice that there are a lot more feel-good movies I saw last month, for obvious reasons. I even watched a Hallmark movie (The Royal We), despite generally being averse to them, but I’m glad I picked a fun one that I quite enjoy. I recommend it if you’re looking for a cute rom-com around Valentine’s weekend.
JANUARY VIEWINGS ON LETTERBOXD
(In the order of my rating)
FULL REVIEWS
Father Mother Sister Brother
Greenland 2: Migration:
The Choral
The Rip
Little Amélie
REVIEWS COMING SOON:
Have Fun Good Luck Don’t Die
Lies We Tell
MINI REVIEWS
The Wrecking Crew
(Prime Video)
Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa make for an interesting duo, though not exactly the best comic pairing in an action movie. I like that the cast is racially diverse, providing a true representation of Hawaii, where the film is set. Many of the actors, including Momoa and Jacob Batalon from the Spider-Man movies, are Hawaii natives. It’s fun seeing Frankie Adams from my fave sci-fi series, The Expanse, but I wish she had a bigger role here.
Morena Baccarin plays another wife character after seeing her in Greenland 2, but at least she gets to do some badass driving action here. Danish actor Claes Bang is an inspired choice as the gangster villain here, and he meets his end in a way that lives up to his surname, ha! I’d say he’d make a good Bond villain as he’s got a strong screen presence and a menacing quality.
The setting in Hawaii is stunning, alas, the story is wholly unoriginal and packed with action-comedy clichés. The chase scenes are reminiscent of the Fast and Furious movies, with amped up violence and profanities.
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Secret Mall Apartment
(Netflix)
Back in 2003, eight artist friends from Rhode Island set up a hidden apartment in a bustling mall and lived there for four years, capturing every moment on film. It was way more than just a prank; this secret apartment turned into a significant place for everyone involved. What a captivating story. I’m really glad this group of friends recorded most of their journey (using a cheap Pentax Optio camera), from discovering that concealed area in the massive mall to lugging big furniture from the Salvation Army up a narrow staircase, and even constructing a wall with 2 tons of cinder blocks. Now that’s some incredible teamwork and creativity!
Directed by Jeremy Workman, with Jesse Eisenberg serving as one of the executive producers, it’s such an inspiring, albeit bizarre, human story. It also highlights the haves and the have-nots in Providence. Some of the people who lived in this secret apartment, including its leader, Michael Townsend, lost their homes in an artist commune because of gentrification. Townsend himself is the quintessential artist who uses his tape-artistry talents to benefit the community, such as creating murals around NYC using tape to honor the victims of 9/11.
The film can be a bit dizzying at times, as they used the low-res, shaky-cam footage the group originally shot, but it remains engaging throughout its 90-minute running time. I love the camaraderie of the group, and you can’t help but be inspired by these artists’ inventiveness and commitment to the project. Of course, there’s an underlying sense of mischief combined with rebellion against corporate greed. It’s art as a form of resistance, which is always a fascinating topic.
52 Films By Women – 2026 Challenge
I am once again participating in this challenge. Per Women In Film (WIF) organization, the basic rules are simple: watch 52 films directed by women within one year and share what you watched on social media, using the hashtag #52FilmsByWomen to spread the word, and get more people talking about the women filmmakers that don’t always get attention.
I started the year strong with SEVEN new-to-me films #directedbywomen, woo hoo!! All of them were narrative features, including the Oscar-nominated animated feature Little Amélie. I’m hoping that I could beat the 2025 tally of 62, so wish me luck!!
Anyhoo, I ranked the movies on Letterboxd; you can follow my #52FilmsByWomen list as I will be updating it regularly.
TV WATCHES
Stay tuned for my reviews of
The Copenhagen Test (Peacock) and Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (Netflix)
JANUARY MOVIE(S) OF THE MONTH
I can’t pick between these two, as both are excellent, though they couldn’t be more different in terms of genre, style, and tone. Both are directed by women, woot! You can check out my review of Little Amélie, and stay tuned for my review of the Gothic psychological drama Lies We Tell.
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
The only first-timer I saw was The Lion King from 2019 which I thought was mid. My nephew liked it. I didn’t watch a lot of films this month. Mostly re-watches.
I tried to watch that Lion King but I don’t care for the photorealistically animated style; I just think it’s a bit creepy. I mean, the animated version is phenomenal and so rewatchable, so I’d rather watch that again.
I prefer the animated version as well. I’m so not into these live-action remakes of Disney classics. It’s just lazy and unnecessary.
Yeah, I wish Disney would quit doing that and invest in more original stories instead.
Colorful January Roundup! Hot start to 2026— and new reviews inbound🥂👏
Yeah, I’d say my viewings are pretty colorful, ahah… thrilled that I got to see so many films by women last month!
Great posts as always. January was definitely an interesting month for movies. Personally speaking, I saw a lot of great Oscar-nominated movies this month that I loved. I was catching up on a lot of award films released in 2025. My personal favourite film was “Sentimental Value”. I rarely ever cry watching movies but this had me in tears. It’s definitely one of my favourite films of 2025 and I am rooting for it to win at the Oscars. Overall, I felt that it was a pretty great month for movies. I am absolutely looking forward to seeing what 2026 has to offer.
Here’s my personal thoughts on “Sentimental Value”:
Which Oscar-nominated movies did you see? I thought you saw Sentimental Value a while back right? I know we’re in agreement about that movie, I too cried watching that. I sure hope Stellan Skarsgård nabs that Oscar!
Thanks for the feedback. I saw a couple of the movies nominated for Oscars this year. The two movies that I saw were Train Dreams and Marty Supreme. I enjoyed both for different reasons but did prefer Train Dreams. I felt it was a deeply profound depiction of loss. While I liked Marty Supreme, I kind of found it overrated. Still, both are worthy contenders at the Oscars.
I agree with you about Stellan Skarsgard. He was phenomenal in Sentimental Value and I’m rooting for him to win his first Oscar.
Here’s my personal thoughts on “Train Dreams”:
Hey, glad you saw Train Dreams and Marty Supreme. I know you were excited for the latter, but it looks like you and I are in agreement that Marty Supreme is way overrated. I really don’t think Josh Safdie deserves to be nominated for Best Director; it should’ve been Guillermo del Toro for Frankenstein or Clint Bentley for Train Dreams.
Great review, btw. I agree it’s packed with breathtaking visuals, captivating storytelling, and phenomenal acting. Too bad Edgerton missed out on Best Actor Oscar nomination, but lots of competition this year!
Thanks for the feedback. I agree about Marty Supreme. While I did enjoy the movie quite a bit, I do feel that it’s gotten more recognition than it deserves. Safdie definitely didn’t fully deserve his nomination. I felt Del Toro would be have been a better choice for director. He did an extraordinary job of directing Frankenstein.
Train Dreams is one of the most quietly powerful films of the year. Edgerton was snubbed for his work but I can see why. It’s a subtle performance in a quiet film. It was also a really competitive year for best actor. I’m looking forward to seeing the Oscars next month. This year has a lot of great movies I am rooting for to win.
Yes, this past January was a very looooog one compare to year’s past. I don’t see things getting any better because that Orange Slob still wants more violence and there are still thugs with mask roaming around the city. Until those a-holes are gone, I don’t feel safe here. I know this kind of things will happen here in this State and the rest of country since covid hit in 2020. With all the attacks against Asians back during Covid time, instead of lowering the temperature and tell people to stop the violence, that Orange Slob kept cheering on the violence. I hate him so much and anyone who voted for this! Okay, rants over. Lol.
I watched The Wrecking Crew over the weekend too. It’s a typical buddy cop action, they checked all of the buddy cop cliches. But the movie looked terrible though. With a setting in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the cinematography should’ve been much better. Some DP still like to make their movie look dark and ugly and this movie looked ugly to me. The other new movies I saw were The Rip and The Bone Temple, the latter is my movie of the month.
As usual, I watched a bunch of TV series. Finally caught up with Peaky Blinders, so I’m ready for the movie version next month. I started watching Hijack season 2, I stopped after episode 3. Nothing interesting was happening an I got bored with it. Then finished The Night Manger 2, it’s very good but it ended with a huge cliffhanger! I hope they’ll come out with season 3 ASAP!
Hey Ted, yeah I feel the same way about not feeling safe… I think many people who voted for the orange slob, some of whom are even immigrants, have been regretting their mistake. I feel like we’ve hit rock bottom… which hopefully means there’s only one way but up, fingers crossed!!
I hear ya about the cinematography of Wrecking Crew, it looks like there’s a dull overlay or something, though it still makes me wanna move to Hawaii given everything that’s happening here.
Hey, would you do a write-up on the Peaky Blinders series and why you’re excited for the film version? No rush, of course; I just think it’d be a fun post as lots of people love that show.
I’m waiting for all the episodes to drop before watching The Night Manager 2, I’ve been bingeing Wonder Man; what a quirky but fun show! It’s unlike anything Marvel’s ever done and I think lots of aspiring actors can relate to that.
I can’t forgive anyone who voted for that Orange Man Thing, especially the non-whites and immigrant folks. How can you vote for a man who has constantly insulted your background and has shown several times that he is a racist POS. They somehow believed he can fix the economy while ignoring the fact that most of his businesses went broke. I’m so angry! Lol.
I’ll write up the review of Peaky Blinders this weekend while it’s still fresh on my mind. Otherwise, I’ll forget about it. Then you can publish it before the movie comes out!
The final episode of season 2 The Night Manager aired on Sunday night, so you can binge them all now. I was curious about Wonder Man but I’m so done with anything Marvel related. I actually watched Fantastic Four last month and fell asleep. It looked great but it was so boring!
Little Amelie was so sweet! I spent a lot of January watching short films and Indie Spirit nominees.
I haven’t caught up with Indie Spirit Awards, but glad to see Train Dreams nominated, as well as Keke Palmer for One of Them Days and Tessa Thompson for Hedda.
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What a great recap of the fab movie and TV watching month you’ve had, Ruth.
I’m chomping at the bit to see Secret Mall Apartment!
I have started watching Seven Dials. I enjoyed the episode I watched, but for some reason haven’t been driven back to it. I will check out the next episode.
Congrats on your terrific 7 film start to WIF! Yay!!!
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Thank you, Resa!! You’ll enjoy Secret Mall Apartment! What a story and you gotta love their creativity and use of art as resistance.
Seven Dials could’ve been amazing and it’s got a great cast… but it was meh.
I’m thrilled that I got such a strong start for my WIF challenge… it’s been a slow one this month, only one so far, but I have at least 3 more on my list to watch this month.
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I’m half way through Mall Apartment. N had to go to his studio, so we will finish up when he gets home. I’m loving it!
I wonder if it will be up for an Emmy nom- best docu?
Yes, 7 vials of boring.
Hey, have you seen “Naked Illusion” – Bob Mackie docu?
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