Filmspotting

Adam and Josh take stock of the movie year with their Top 5 Films of 2026 (So Far), making picks that reflect the strength of of the year’s genre offerings, comedies, and intimate dramas. Plus: Massacre Theatre, and Best of ‘26 poll results.
This episode is presented by⁠ Regal Unlimited⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code FILMSPOT26 to take 15% off.
(Timecodes/chapters may not be precise with ads.)
Intro (00:00:00-00:03:03)
Top 5 of 2026 (00:03:04-00:32:36)
Filmspotting Family: ‘20s/’30s Madness (00:32:37-00:40:52)
Poll: Best of ‘26 (So Far) (00:40:53-00:49:36)
Top 5 of 2026, cont. (00:49:37-01:17:26)
RIP Sam Neill / Massacre Theatre (01:17:27-01:26:54)
Credits / Releases (01:26:55-01:28:56)
Links:
Alison Willmore on Blue Heron | Vulture
https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-masterful-blue-heron-uses-cinema-as-a-sance.html
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A good chunk of Supergirl’s DNA can be traced back to True Grit by way of the comics miniseries the film is adapting, which is why we paired it with Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2010 version of that story. But as our discussion of Craig Gillespie’s new entry in James Gunn’s revamped DC Universe details, Supergirl often feels less indebted to its space-western source material than to several other superhero films that preceded it, including some of Gunn’s. That makes it tough to balance a film we all consider okay-at-best against a stone-cold Coens classic, but we attempt to anyway in Connections as we consider these two films’ shared interest in vengeance, western tropes, and really, really bad guys with murky motivations. Then in Your Next Picture Show, we honorTrue Grit’s star-making performance with a recommendation for another Hailee Steinfeld film that’s a favorite of this podcast, The Edge of Seventeen.
Please share your thoughts about True Grit, Supergirl, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and The Coen Brothers’ (yes, again) O Brother, Where Art Thou?
This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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For this week's Archive episode, we go back to 2014 for the Top 5 Movie Tattoos (That We'd Get). The "we" being Adam and Josh. 16 years later... no tats yet. But they're sticking by (most) of their picks.
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Matt and Jordan deep-dive into the free, ad-supported streaming platform Tubi. They evaluate the platform across five distinct categories: library; playback/interface; reliability; originals; and price. Plus, recommended titles to watch on Tubi, and a recommendations for a listener who is looking for a hangout comedy like semi-obscure 2005 comedy. And Producer Sam hosts this week’s game: Tubi or Not Tubi.
The State of Streaming: Tubi (00:00:00–00:49:36)
Rec Seg: Watch on Tubi (00:49:37–01:01:23)
Listener Request Recs: Hangout Comedies (01:01:24–01:17:23)
Game: Tubi or Not Tubi (01:17:24–01:38:35)
New to Streaming / Credits (01:38:36–01:45:49)
Show Notes
Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠
Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠
Alissa Quart’s “Hyperlink Cinema” in Film Forum
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/549355e2e4b0a309c8cef596/t/556ca8c0e4b0ca905b2d74ef/1433184448821/QuartonHyperlink%281%29.pdf
Hyperlink Cinema, a Letterboxd List
https://letterboxd.com/sc_elly/list/hyperlink-films/
Handmade Films, a Letterboxd List
https://letterboxd.com/studio/handmade-films/
Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com
Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social
Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social
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Welcome to The Movie Racket, a new Filmspotting production hosted by Michael Phillips.
Each week, we’ll test a so-called "law" of cinema — a bit of received wisdom about how movies work, or don’t. For our debut episode, actor Michael Shannon joins the show to examine a provocative claim from François Truffaut: that every film about war ends up being pro-war.
Is it true that a movie about combat, survival, and heroism can never escape the pull of spectacle and the way cinema inevitably renders violence compelling? Shannon reflects on that inherent tension and revisits his experience working on Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, a film that presents this question of representation head-on.
So: was Truffaut right? Or does cinema allow for something more complicated than a binary verdict? Join the conversation at movieracket@filmspotting.net.
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