My Latest Oscar Predictions Post-'The Odyssey'; Plus, the Top 10 Films, TV Shows, and Performances of 2026

Happy Wednesday, folks! And apologies for the delayed posting this week…

A few months ago, I saw Meredith Berg’s scrappy sci-fi short Tether on the big screen, and I’m happy to say that following an award-winning run on the festival circuit, the indie labor of love is now streaming on YouTube via the fine folks at Dust. If you’re just so important and busy that you don’t have time to watch a cool short, then you can check out a trailer for the short right here along with some behind-the-scenes footage.

I saw that short film at The Culver Theater, which used to be known as ArcLight Culver City. So it was apropos to learn this week that the ArcLight Hollywood is finally, after six years of collecting dust, coming back — sort of.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has struck a deal with the lease owner, and the Sony-owned Alamo Drafthouse theater chain will take over the 14-screen theater known as the ArcLight Hollywood. As for the Cinerama Dome, it will retain its name, and it will operate differently than the adjoining structure — namely, no food service. That’s what happens when you reach Hollywood Landmark status. That’s when you know you’ve made it as a public movie theater.

The lights are already twinkling on Sunset Blvd… I just hope Sony leaves up the posters for Ben Affleck’s 2020 drama The Way Back, in which he plays an alcoholic basketball coach. Those should be a permanent part of the lobby, just as a gag. I also hope that the Alamo Drafthouse serves nachos at ArcLight Hollywood (I’ll always call it that, like I still call X ‘Twitter'), as the lack of nachos was always a drawback at that theater.

Drive along Sunset long enough, and you’ll no doubt see billboards for The Shards, the new FX series from Ryan Murphy and acclaimed author Bret Easton Ellis, who is played by rising star Igby Rigney. I binge-watched the show this weekend, but sadly, it remains under embargo for a couple more weeks. I’ll have more to say about it next month…

Speaking of FX, I was truly bummed that the network “released the cast” of The Beauty last week, which is industry speak for, “they canceled the show.” I was a big fan of The Beauty — I’ve even been reading the Image comics — and I can exclusively reveal that had Season 2 moved forward as originally planned, EP Ryan Murphy planned to reach out to noted looksmaxxer Clavicular to appear on the show, though it’s unclear whether he would’ve appeared as himself or played an actual character.

Clavicular, for his part, told The InSneider that he has never even heard of The Beauty… which is perhaps why the show was canceled. Very few folks besides yours truly were watching it. But fear not, for I’m sure that ‘Clav’ will make his acting debut soon enough — those cheekbones demand it!

In recent days, I also watched Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea, which is a fairly riveting Netflix documentary about a cruise ship that hit a rock and began to sink. I highly recommend this one — Netflix has been on a roll with docs lately, and I’ll be recommending another one tomorrow — but Shipwrecked ends on a truly bizarre note.

A couple has just finished relaying the harrowing story of how they saved their baby girl, and then there’s an awkward sex joke, and it cuts to credits. There’s no final tribute or text about the lives that were lost. It’s this super serious moment that is marred by the director’s decision to end on a light note, and I can’t stress enough how poor a decision this proves to be. Sadly, I had to dock the film half a star just for that, but I still recommend it.

I also recommend the new Netflix documentary A Toxic Love Story, which is batshit crazy, even by Netflix documentary standards. I loved it, and implore you to put your blind faith in me and watch it without reading anything about it. It’s bonkers. Trust me.

On Monday night, I saw Potsy Ponciroli’s formally audacious action movie Motor City, which likely has less than 50 words of dialogue. It’s a bold experiment featuring a well-cast Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, and Ben Foster, who is pure gold and begging to be cast as a villain in a major franchise. The soundtrack is excellent, and the action is pretty badass, too. So, if you’ve already seen The Odyssey, or you get shut out of your preferred showtime in IMAX 70mm, you should definitely check out Motor City this weekend. It rocks!

And finally, I want to recommend Anya Taylor-Joy’s new Apple TV series Lucky, which co-stars Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, Drew Starkey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, William Fichtner, Eric Lange, and Clifton Collins Jr. Uhh… that’s a banger of a cast. The propulsive seven-episode series finds natural-born hustler Lucky (Taylor-Joy) as she tries to track down her man (Starkey) and their money while on the run from his mother (Bening) and the feds (Ellis-Taylor).

Apple has been killing it lately, and I haven’t even had time to watch Widow’s Bay yet. But between Season 2 of Your Friends & Neighbors, the series remake of Cape Fear, Tatiana Maslany’s titillating crime series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, and now Lucky, it’s clear that Apple TV is on quite the winning streak. Kudos to the streamer.

And to Disneyland on that Incredicoaster, which I had the pleasure of riding for the first time on Thursday. ‘Twas a lot of fun.

Today, I’ve got my latest Oscar predictions post-The Odyssey, as well as my Top 10 favorite films, TV shows, movie trailers, and performances from the first half of 2026. Premium subscribers can continue reading for more. Prepare thyselves for lists galore!

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