MATAPANKI (2026) Fantasia 2026

This is my capsule review of MATAPANKI when it played at Slamdance earlier this year

A young man drinks a drink and gets superpowers which creates all sorts of problems. Live action black and white cartoon, this is a kind of living comic book. Its a feature film that riffs on both comic conventions and social ideas  with mixed reasults. While by no means bad the film can be very hit or miss. Its a film you will most certainly enjoy but which you will end up liking for its big swing at trying something new as oppossed to hitting it out of the park.

The Liars (Los Mentirosos) (2026)

When his brother gets into trouble on a trip to the city, a young boy tries to find an adult to pretend to be their dad in order to rescue him and prevent them from getting into trouble.

This award winning film is a wonderful. This is a small gem of a film that will get under your skin and make you feel things. Perfectly acted and beautifully shot the film is as good as a film as you'll see all year.

Track this film down.

Ariela Rubin on ANTIHEROINE (2026) Sundance 2026

 

I’ve been a Hole fan since junior high, so I was very excited to find out there was a documentary that was made about lead singer of Hole, Courtney Love. I actually bought a ticket to the premiere so I wouldn’t miss out on seeing it. (Premieres are very hard, if not impossible, to get into at Sundance)

Antiheroine was made by James Hall and Edward Lovelace. Courtney Love allowed them into her home in London, where she spoke candidly, shared old journal entries, and invited them into the recording studio. (Yes! She is working on new music!)

The documentary chronicles Courtney’s life. From her childhood (her father gave her LSD when she was just 4), to the making of Hole, to her life with Kurt Cobain, to becoming a movie star, and finally to the present day. 

This film made me laugh, sing along, and cry. I hope this film helps reshape many people’s opinions of her.

The only bummer was that I was really hoping Courtney would be at the premiere, and sadly she wasn’t. 

Ariela Rubin on I Want Your Sex (2026) Sundance 2026

 

Young twenty something dorky Elliot gets a job working for artist Erika. She very quickly talks Elliot into having sex with her, and the two begin a sub/dom sexual relationship. Unsurprisingly, considering this is a boss/employee dynamic, and one in which Elliot is completely infatuated with Erika (I can’t blame him, Olivia Wilde is hypnotizing in the role), things spiral quickly.

This film is completely absurd, ridiculous and chaotic, but it’s also so much fun. I laughed a lot, and it’s also very colorful/vibrant which I enjoyed. I loved Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Daveed Diggs, Chase Sui Wonders, and Mason Gooding. All their characters were so much fun to watch. 

Everyone at Sundance seemed obsessed with director, Gregg Araki. I’ll admit, I wasn’t familiar with him, but am now curious to check out his other films.

While, I wouldn’t say I loved this movie, I definitely had a lot of fun watching it. 

Ariel Rubin on Nuisance Bear (2026) Sundance 2026

 

Nuisance Bear is a documentary set in Churchill, Manitoba—known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World.

The film explores the destruction of the natural environment, how polar bears impact the town, as well as the ways Indigenous lives are forced to change as the town becomes gentrified. 

As climate change delays the freezing of the ice, polar bears are left without access to food, and so they venture into town in search of food, which brings them into constant conflict with humans.

The documentary is narrated by Mike, an Inuit, who speaks about how the presence of polar bears has disrupted daily life. He also expresses frustration over hunting restrictions, explaining that polar bears can now only be hunted a limited number of times per year. (I was surprised and upset to learn that polar bear hunting is still legal.)

The film follows the polar bear patrol, showing the measures they take to keep bears out of town: setting off fireworks, using traps, and, in one case, tranquilizing a bear, putting a tracker in him, putting dye on his fur, and relocating him via helicopter farther away. These scenes show how tense the coexistence between humans and bears has become.

What I found interesting was the audience reaction. At my screening, people seemed to be rooting for the polar bears. (People cheered at one point when a polar bear outsmarted humans) Yet the film itself felt more focused on the Inuit perspective, and how the bears are “nuisances”. In fact while the world says the polar bear population is decreasing, Mike says that isn’t the case. I’m not sure which direction the director was hoping people to go in, or if they were simply showing both sides without judgement.(Although the movie is called “Nuisance Bear” after all)

Visually, the documentary is stunning. The close up shots of the polar bears, as well as the videos taken from above (perhaps via drone) are beautiful. They really showed the beauty of the animals. However, it was hard for me to really love a documentary that seemed to showcase the burden polar bears are causing.

Ariela Rubin on THE WEIGHT(2026) at Sundance 2026

The Weight is a new movie starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe that takes place in Oregon in 1933. Samuel (Hawke) is trying to make ends meet, taking odd jobs here and there, but comes home one day to find an eviction notice and all his things in the hallway. While searching for a new place to live, he gets into a fight with some guys who turn out to be cops, and is arrested. He's taken away from his daughter (the cutest girl!), but not before promising her that he will come back for her. He is then sent to work in a work camp in the middle of nowhere.  Clancy (Crowe) is the boss at the work camp, and he notices that Samuel is smart and hardworking. He offers him a deal- help smuggle gold out of a mine before the government gets to it, and in return, Clancy will write him a letter for early release, giving Samuel the chance to reunite with his daughter before she's up for adoption. Easy peasy, right?

Samuel has to choose three fellow prisoners to go with him, and they are escorted by two men with guns to make sure they stay on track, and with orders to kill them if any gold goes missing. Off they set out through the unknown wilderness. What could go wrong?

There was never a dull moment, especially during the intense scene of them throwing gold across and crossing a rickety bridge, or when two of the characters get trapped in the water. I was expecting a bit more suspense and tension, but I still found the film engaging and very enjoyable. While it isn’t my usual type of movie, I was glued to the screen throughout. I thought Ethan Hawke did an amazing job in this one.

I also really liked the soundtrack!

Ariela Rubin on HOLD ON TO ME (2026) Sundance 2026

Hold Onto Me is the first movie I’ve seen that was filmed in Cyprus. The film is spoken in Greek, and tells the story of an 11 year old named Iris, who sees her father for the first time in 7 years. He’s back for his own father’s funeral. 

She is instantly curious and drawn to him. Wanting to get to know him, she keeps popping up wherever he is. At first, he is annoyed, but slowly he allows her to join him on his adventures.

The father spends time selling his own father’s belongings, and uses Iris to help him. There are also men he appears to owe money to, suggesting he is either in trouble or involved in something illegal, though this subplot is never fully clarified.

Iris is mesmerized by her father. You can see the way she looks at him. She completely adores him, even though he hasn’t been in the picture for 7 years. This absence is never addressed in conversation, she never asks about it, and it is unfortunately never explained. 

While I really enjoyed the film, I wish we had learned more about what was going on in the father’s mind. I would have liked that to be explored further. I was also surprised when the movie ended. It felt abrupt. I wanted more.

Unfortunately, I had to run to another movie right after, or I would have loved to have been able to stay for the Q&A to learn more about this film. 

Ariela Rubin on Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (2026) Sundance 2026

If there’s a movie with Zoey Deutch, you know I’m going to see it(love her!!), so I was excited to find out she was in a new one premiering at Sundance.

What is a “celebrity sex pass” one might ask? It’s when you’re in a relationship, but get to pick one celebrity you’d want to sleep with if you ever had the chance. In this movie, Gail’s fiancé takes this literally and actually uses his “celebrity pass.” Gail then sets off to LA with her friend to get revenge and use her own sex pass.

This movie was just so much fun!! I loved all the different friends Gail makes along the way. While some parts were a little too ridiculous, I laughed a lot and think I was smiling the whole time.

Don’t look up the cast beforehand! There are so many unexpected cameos.

With so many heavy movies and heavy things going on in the world, this movie was needed. 

Ariela Rubin on UNION COUNTY (2026) Sundance 2026

Union County is a slow, quiet movie about Cody, played by William Coulter, and his brother Jack, who are in a drug recovery program mandated by the courts in Ohio.

The film follows Cody’s daily life, the ups and downs, and the battle of staying sober.

While the movie was slow paced, I never felt bored. It also has a runtime of 97 minutes, which is perfect.

The story might not be that unique, but what sets the film apart is that they used the real people from the drug recovery program, and their lines were unscripted. They also used the real counselor, Annette, who was amazing! and the real judge. That made the film feel more authentic. 

Overall, it was a moving movie and definitely worth a watch. 

Ariela Rubin on Carousel (2026) Sundance 2026

Carousel was the first movie I saw at the Sundance Film Festival, and I was looking forward to it. I like the cast: Jenny Slate, Chris Pine, Katey Sagal, Sam Waterston, so I was drawn to the story: a divorced dad rekindles a relationship with his ex-sweetheart, while caring for his anxious daughter. However, the film ended up being disappointing.

At only 103 minutes, it felt long. The daughter’s mental health issues were shown briefly, but never fully explored, which was probably the most frustrating part. Pine’s character is overprotective, panicking if his daughter gets a cut (he’s a doctor), but then is oddly passive when it comes to addressing her outbursts(or getting her any sort of help).

I did feel chemistry between Pine and Slate, but it never felt like we truly got to know them. Overall, this was a slow paced, dull movie.

Ariela Rubin on Bedford Park (2026) Sundance 2026

Audrey is a physical therapist who gets fired from her job and moves back in with her parents to help her mom after she gets hurt in a car accident.

Eli is responsible for the accident and upon first meeting him he’s quite rude. When Audrey finds herself in a vulnerable situation, we start to see Eli’s gentler side. An unlikely slow burn friendship begins.

They both come from difficult childhoods. Audrey has an alcoholic dad, and Eli is adopted. They are both feeling a bit lost in life.

This was another film I went into without knowing much about it, and so far it’s one of my favorites from Sundance. I really liked both characters. I loved the small surprise at the end, though I do have mixed feelings about the ending.

Definitely worth a watch.

Birdie (2026) Sundance 2026

This film quietly punches you in the gut. The film is the story of refugees fleeing from the Nigerian Civil War and simply waiting in America.

Almost nothing happens. Actually, every seismic change comes as the result of something said or in a passing reference. It’s a film that doesn’t spell it out but lets us experience life as lived.  It’s a film that rightly needs to be moving at the speed of life.  At first, I wasn’t certain. At first, I thought this was going to be a nice artistic short, however by the mid-point I was rocked. I was trying to figure out how this would work as a feature because this could be a killer feature.  By the time the end came I was moved.

As I write this, I am no longer certain the film needs to be expanded, why mess with perfection, and I am hopeful since the first film I see for Sundance points the way for the festival. If all the other films I see are half this good, it will be a great year.

Ariela Rubin on Wicker(2026) Sundance 2026

Wicker takes place in a village during medieval times. Olivia Coleman plays a single fisherwoman who’s made fun of by the townspeople.

One day at a wedding, instead of a bouquet being thrown, an egg filled with dye is passed around. It accidentally falls at her feet, releasing purple smoke and implying she will be the next person in town to get married. Everyone snickers at the idea.

She decides to take matters into her own hands and asks the basket maker, played by Peter Dinklage, to make her a husband, and so he does. 

This begins an unconventional love story. I went into this knowing nothing about it, and I think that’s the best way to experience it. I will say the movie is very bizarre, but you just have to go with it. It’s a story about love, loneliness, town gossip, and jealousy.

One unique aspect is that no character has a name, they’re only referred to by their job, or by their spouse’s job. Olivia Colman is “the fisherwoman.”  She has no other name. The same goes for all the other characters.

I laughed outloud so much, and I really loved this film. This was my 6th film of the Sundance Film Festival, and so far by far my favorite.

Aanikoobijigan[ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] (2026) Sundance 2026

This is a look at the Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation & Repatriation Alliance (MACPRA), which is working to get the remains of Indigenious people who have been dug up and disinterred over the last two hundred years and placed into museums and universities by scientists.

This is a good look at how we are moving to return the dead back to their place of burial. It's a film that forces us to look at how we view the dead of various cultures, including our own. I say that because at the heart of the matter is the question is how would be feel if some other group of people came and dug up our loved ones. When you place ourselves in the position of the people trying to get their loved ones back, we see that they are right.

The title is a reference to how all parts of the past present and future are now. There is no end and no beginning which is why the return of the remains are so vital. The film's exploration of the beliefs of the Indigenious people is an important part of the film and it breaks down centuries of misunderstanding about what they hold sacred.

I liked this film a great deal.

Recommended.

Taga (2026) Sundance 2026

Vivi, a Filipina American, goes to the Phillipines in order to connect with her family's root. She falls in with some eco-volunteers who end up waking up a demon.

Is this film supposed to be serious or a send up? I don't know.

The horror aspects of this film are incredible, and better than most recent horror films I've seen over the last few years. I absolutely love the demonic creature. If this had been a straight horror film this would have been a masterpiece.

The problem is that I don't know what the eco-volunteers , as written, are doing in this film.  The whole lot of them are twits and deserve to die... but in another movie because their badly written cliched interactions kill the film.

I absolutely loved the opening sequence in this film. The monster coming to the door pretending to be a loved one was awesome, but then things shifted once we got to the Western twits and the film fell apart.

While I really can't recomend TAGA , I will say that those who want to see a really cool monster and who want to see some good work by a director who may have a long career directing horror films and thrillers, give this a shot.

Crisis Actor (2026) SUndance 2026

An actor fired from their day job joins a support group and tries to come to terms with her need for drama.

I don't know if this film fully works. A great deal happens in the films 13 minutes, however at the same time it moves so fast that it feels like the filmmakers wanted to make a short version of a feature film. I say this because watching the film I kept wanting to stop the film nd let sections play out longer. Scenes feel shortened down to the absolute bare minimum. I kept feeling that there was more to be said and that if the sequence went on it would be better.  Certainly it would have allowed the main character to be a person and not a cartoon.

Worth a look because what's here is good, but it will make you wish it was a feature.

Prime (2026) Sundance 2026

This is a disturbing film with a sting in the tail about a woman who suffered a trauma and retreats to a remote farming collective run by a cult like leader.

I don't know how much I can say about this film because while the majority of the film is a disorienting and at times disturbing look at a broken woman trying to find a place of safety, the film kind of changes in it's final moments into something else. How I felt about the film is all tied up in the denouncement, which changed my thoughts on the film and made me take a step back from embracing it. It's not so much what happens, I've seen variations on that theme before, its that there is a shift in tone that deflated my feelings. Don't get me wrong the film up to that point is fine, it just stumbles at the end.

Worth a look.

Pika! (The Itch) 2025) Sundance 2026

A man wakes up with an itch and has a hellish adventure trying to get something to make the itching stop.

This is a profounding disturbing film that  may break you. I can't say why, but it just goes to places that are absurd and bothersome. I mean that in the best sort of way... and as a dire warning for people fwho don't want things to be abnormal. If you don't want things where the world is fundamentally broken stay away.

That said this a beautifuly made film on every level. Designed to make you laugh while it is ripping off your flesh to get under it PIKA  is a film that will be a darling for those who love these sort of things. 

I am sorry for speaking obtusely but either you don't want to know because you want to discover the film on your own or you don't want to know because you really don't want to know.

Recommended for anyone who likes this sort of thing.

Together Forever (2026) Sundance 2026

A mormon couple on their wedding night try to get together forever.

I don't know what I think of TOGETHER FOREVER and it's not so easy to explain why without explaining what happens in the film. Then again it's clear from the start that while the couple clearly love each other their interests are kind of different. I've seen a number of siumilar films over the years, but in this case I'm not certain what the filmmakers are want to say. Is this an honest love story or is this just a goof or a poke in the eye at authority?

Its not a bad film, I just don't know what I think of it because I don't know if the filmmakers know what they were going for.

Birds of War (2026) Sundance 2026

Truth depends on what propaganda you let in your home

The first film to make my best of 2026 list is BIRDS OF WAR. Sure, it’s early but greatness can’t be discounted as being too early in the process.

The film is the story of Janay Boulos who is from Lebanon. Living in London she works for the BBC.  While handling contacts in Syria she makes contact with Abd Alkader Habak, a Syrian journalist recording the war as it was happening on the ground. Because Syria did not want journalists in the country people like Habak were the only way reporting could get out. Over the course of years, the pair bond and fall in love.

This is magnificent. I don’t know what to say.

The story of the pair is told via texts, calls, reporting and current day documentary footage. It’s a film that takes us into their lives, their countries and their hearts and we are better for it.

I was deeply moved and several time I found myself misty, not because of some bit emotionally manipulated moment but because something simple had been said in passing and the now was bridged to then.

I ultimately have no notes.  While I would want to critique bits of the film for my own stupid reasons, I am smart enough to know that this isn’t my story but theirs and I have no right to quibble.  That said when you do see this film, and you should, you need to give yourself over to it and let it play out. Boulos and Habak do not cook the books and how things go is how things went so it may take a moment for you to click into the flow of life.

The first great film I saw in 2026, BIRDS OF WAR is a must see.

I am working on an interview with the diectors/subjects.