Star Fox (2026)

With the Star Fox series having been dormant since the release of Star Fox Zero on the Wii U in 2016, it seemed to have been relegated to be one of Nintendo’s forgotten IPs. The surprise appearance of Fox McCloud in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, however, raised hopes of finally getting another entry in the franchise, which would come in the form of Star Fox (2026) as a Switch 2 exclusive.

This got my hopes up before Nintendo actually delivered.

My relationship with this particular game is interesting. Like many others, when the Switch 2 was announced, I was initially turned off from it by the prospect of the Game Key Card system, as well as Nintendo trying to see what they can get away with by asking $80 for a new copy of launch title Mario Kart World on the outset. Star Fox (2026) wasn’t enough to sway me since it was yet another remake of Star Fox 64, itself a retelling of the original Star Fox game (I am one of those fans who never saw the problem with Adventures and Assault deviating from that game’s formula), but I did consider getting a copy anyway just to show support. However, when Sony announced their plans to cease physical game production, with signs of Microsoft heading down the same path, I ended up buying a Switch 2 under the idea that it might be the last bastion of physical gaming, and used a gift card to help pay for a copy of Star Fox (2026) to go with it.

Using this game as a way to break in the new system, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, mainly the new additions it brought to the game it was a remake of. Despite this, I’m also glad I didn’t end up paying full price for the game due to its short playtime despite having a lot of replayability.

Wildwood

 

After Laika’s fifth feature Missing Link failed to make me want to see it in a theater, their latest project Wildwood, based on the 2011 novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, captured my interest right away with its tone and visuals. Reading about its 16-year development cycle got me even more interested with how ambitious the project turned out to be, and seeing the animation quality of Missing Link made me wonder how they would be able to top that. Seeing Wildwood on the big screen, I was floored by the visuals and storytelling in comparison to the studio’s previous works and I wouldn’t disagree with the notion that it’s Laika’s magnum opus.

Missing Link

 

As a fan of stop-motion animation studio Laika, I was initially excited about their then-upcoming fifth feature, Missing Link, during the initial teasing from the studio, only to be turned off from seeing it in the theater because of how different the trailers made it look from their previous works. In the years since, however, I became increasingly curious about giving it a fair chance to complete my experience with their output, more so in the run-up to their latest film, Wildwood. After finally giving Missing Link its due, I ended up liking it far better than I thought I would, but still thought it fell short from Laika’s first four films in terms of storytelling.

Good Boy (2025 Leonberg Film)

Among the horror films released in 2025, Good Boy (not to be confused with the 2025 thriller also known as Heel) made a surprising splash due to its unique concept of a horror film taking place from the perspective of a dog. This premise, alongside hearing about how good the dog Indy’s performance is, was also enough to pique my own interest, but for one reason or another, I wasn’t able to watch it until recently, when I discovered it was available to stream on Hulu through my Disney+ subscription. Despite its flaws, I thought it overall lived up to the hype, especially Indy’s award-winning performance.

Stubs - The Mummy's Hand

The Mummy’s Hand (1940) starring Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford, Cecil Kellaway Directed by Christy Cabanne. Screenplay by Griffin Jay, Maxwell Shane. Produced by Ben Pivar Run time: 67 minutes. Black and White. USA Horror

When is a film the second in a series, but not a sequel and doesn’t tell a story related to the original? See The Mummy’s Hand, released by Universal in 1940, eight years after the original. Following the success of Son of Frankenstein, which revived the Frankenstein franchise, and The Invisible Man Returns, which revived that franchise, the studio decided to try that with The Mummy. Only this time there was no Boris Karloff, and no James Whale involved.

Rather, the film was produced by Ben Pivar, who director Reginald LeBorg described as the epitome artless, noncreative studio executive who was often crude and occasionally seemed illiterate. The director, Christy Cabanne, a former silent film actor, had a reputation for efficiency and for being able to make films very quickly.

Budgeted at $80,000, the film started filming in late May 1940. Cost cutting measures included using stock shots taken from The Mummy, leftover sets from James Whale's film Green Hell, and musical scores almost entirely lifted from Son of Frankenstein. Production continued into mid-June, which led to overtime hours for everyone. According to Peggy Moran, the female lead, she had to be on set at 6am to do hair and makeup and filming began at 8am and would occasionally work as late as 4am the next day. Over budget by $4000, editing was done by the end of June. The film opened on September 20, 1940.

Stubs - The Invisible Man Returns

The Invisible Man Returns (1940) starring Vincent Price, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nan Grey. Directed by Joe May. Screenplay by Curt Siodmak and Lester Cole. Suggested by the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells (London, 1897). Associate Producer: Ken Goldsmith. Run time: 82 minutes. Black and White. USA. Horror.

As an actor, Vincent Price is best remembered for his roles in horror films. One of his earliest roles in such a film came in The Invisible Man Returns, a sequel to The Invisible Man, which had come out seven years prior.

Following the commercial success of Son of Frankenstein, Universal Studios announced the development of The Invisible Man Returns in March 1939. The film went through a few screenwriters, including W.P. Lipscomb, and directors, including Rowland V. Lee, before choosing Lester K. Cole and Curt Siodmak to write the script and Joe May to direct.

The production, which got underway on October 19, 1939, was apparently plagued from the start. By the second week, it was already behind schedule. The $243,750 budget and the 27-day planned production days were not adequate for the special effects. Production ended on November 11 and was followed by three to four days of post-production work needed to be done for the special effects. The film would be released on January 12, 1940.

Street Fighter (1994)

Just as there a seemingly endless number of Street Fighter game variants, the fighting game series is no stranger to outside media, with one of the most notorious being the 1994 Street Fighter film that was part of the initial wave of theatrical film adaptations of popular video game franchises (in this case, specifically adapting Street Fighter II). Much of its notoriety can be attributed to its production, in which Capcom was very hands-on and numerous behind-the-scenes issues plagued its development, resulting in a more atypical Street Fighter story. As someone who has had some familiarity with the Street Fighter series, mostly through Street Fighter IV and some amount of Street Fighter V, I had been curious to see what this film was like for myself and finally found an opportunity to do so in anticipation of the upcoming 2026 film. While it was lambasted at the time of its release, it has since been reevaluated as an enjoyable movie on its own, and I found myself falling more into the latter camp.