The Unfettered Critic – August 2026

THE TERM “prognostication” refers to predicting, forecasting, or prophesizing events in the future.

Well, we don’t do that. We suck at that.

But just for you, Dear Readers (because we have to blame somebody), we’ve invested hours burrowing through Hollywood’s dusky Marketing Underworld looking for movies that studios hope will attract us this fall. Will any be worth watching? Or will we wind up wishing we’d never mentioned them? Ready?

By Any Means—Actors Mark Wahlberg, David Strathairn, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman) tell the “true story” of a mafia hitman hired by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI to find the murderers of civil rights leaders in 1966. Early marketing uses words like “incredible” and “notorious.” We suggest the word “maybe.” (September 4)

How To Rob a Bank—When a crew of robbers brags about their heists on social media, an FBI agent recruits a media-savvy engineer to find their identities. Meanwhile, the crooks plan their most ambitious heist. The cast includes David Leitch (John Wick), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men), Zoe Kravits, John C. Reilly, Kelly McCormick, Pete Davidson, and Christian Slater. (September 4)

Mayday—Hoping for a gender-bending, action-packed buddy comedy? A hotshot Navy pilot (Ryan Reynolds) embarks on a “top-secret” mission behind Russian lines, where he meets an ex-KGB agent (Kenneth Branagh) who just happens to adore American culture. Do they form an unexpected bond? Does a bear wear Prada in the woods? (September 4)

Jimmy—Based on the life of Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart, this biopic tracks the Academy Award winner from the twenty missions he flew as a U.S. Army Air Corps combat pilot to his memorable role as George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. With New Zealand actor KJ Apa (Riverdale) as Stewart, Jason Alexander as Louis B. Mayer, and additional stars playing characters like Frank Capra, Hedda Hopper, Lionel Barrymore, and Ginger Rogers, we think this might be worth watching. (November 6)

Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass—Yes, that cartoon cat and mouse. The fun-sounding plotline animating us has the pair accidentally activating a mysterious compass, sending them into an alternate universe. A more curious plotline is the real life drama that reduced this two-year old Chinese production by 106 minutes. Really. Warner Bros cut nearly two hours of the original to create a 99-minute version for American release. Sigh. (September 9)

The Angel and the Badman—You might recognize the title: it was the 1947 movie that gave John Wayne his first substantial role. Wayne’s wounded badman stumbles into a ranch where a Quaker woman (Gail Russell) saves his life and his soul. This year the character gets to do it again, this time portrayed by Zachary Levi (Shazam). Although the screenplay is by a team we don’t know, the producer and director are names we don’t know, and the female leads are names we don’t know, we gotta admit that… well, we just don’t know. But with Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive) as a determined sheriff, and our never-ending hope for a return of “worthy westerns,” we’re pulling on our boots for this. (October 9)

The Social Reckoning—Aaron Sorkin won an Academy Award for writing 2010’s The Social Network, a clever tale about the birth of Facebook. This year Sorkin is taking the director’s chair for this sequel, introducing whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison, Anora) as she spills Meta’s secrets to The Wall Street Journal in 2021. Missing from the production: Jesse Eisenberg, who chose not to reprise his career-making role as Mark Zuckerberg. The role ultimately went to Jeremy Strong (Succession). (October 9)

One more: Digger, a satirical black comedy starring Tom Cruise. That’s all anyone should need to know: Tom Cruise. (October 2)

Enjoy the popcorn.