I’m of the belief that every movie year is a good movie year so long as you do the work to actually watch movies. And no, you can’t just sit at home and consume streaming slop as the your barometer. You do have to seek out the good, mostly in theaters, limited release, or a smaller streamer you may not be subscribed to yet. They are out there, and you if you find it they will come. With so many movies to watch at any given time and a really strong start to 2026, it’s hard to individually review each and every one of them, even ones I really enjoyed or wanted to talk more about. Since I can’t review everything, here’s a quick capsule review list of a few films you may have missed that I recommend checking out.
Pretty Lethal – Amazon Prime
Not the best of its kind but 100% as advertised, Pretty Lethal is a fun, violent, campy romp that gets straight to the point and wastes no time. It’s a film that only does exactly what you ask it do, which is give you catty ballerinas trapped in a Russian Mob hotel and must use their dance skills for fighting. That’s it. Pretty Lethal doesn’t even bother trying to do more with its simple premise, which is both a strength and a weakness. As a strength, you get what you pay for, and if ballerinas with razorblades in their toe shoes slicing bad guys throats is where you want to put your hard earned money, it’s an incredibly safe bet. Director Vicky Jewson isn’t quite as imaginative as she could be with her premise hook, but Pretty Lethal does just enough to satisfy viewers just looking for popcorn entertainment with limited staying power.
It’s a weakness because it’s feels limited, held back by its cliches rather than going all in on quirky, ripe for bloody action premise. Pretty Lethal also doesn’t spend a whole lot of time getting to know our ballerina protagonists, and that stripped own, archetype characterizations hold it back from being able to really root for them. Of course, you DO root for them, but that’s more through the sheer work of the performers than what’s actually written on the page. Avantika is particularly great, a scene stealer across the board with her sharp ditsy shtick. She’s so funny here, and Pretty Lethal could probably use more of her. All in all, the film is a decent way to spend a Friday night, safely indoors with a nice bowl of ice cream enjoying some kick ass girl power.
Rating: 6 out of 10
GOAT – In Theaters and VOD
A Steph Curry biopic disguised as an animated sports comedy, GOAT is undeniably sweet and solidly crafted family film. It too is cliche ridden, packed to brim with every single sports trope in the book. but GOAT is fully aware of this and does right by them. Tropes and cliches are perfectly acceptable so long as the execution is there – they exist because they work – and GOAT largely succeeds using all of them. Will the goat is an easy to love underdog (undergoat? I don’t know the right terminology for this made up world) who dreams of playing for his hometown Roar Ball team. Small animals can’t play the sport, but Will overcomes the odds and earns his shot to prove to the world that just because you’re small doesn’t mean you can’t dream big.
Basically, Steph Curry’s life in an animated nutshell. He’s too small for professional basketball but has a killer outside shot and through hard work and teamwork he leads his team to victory and become a – wait for it – GOAT. Listen, we had Space Jam as a kid and as much as I like throwing my nostalgia goggles on, it’s objectively bad. GOAT is a much better version of the next great kids movie, one that represents the younger generation and delivers colorful characters with black representation that is sure to win them over and be a longstanding favorite. The animation is stunning and vibrant, and while there are some pacing and editing issues the visual style moves seamlessly across its lush landscapes and clever court renderings. I had a really good time with GOAT, and if you’ve been looking for a movie to watch with your kids, this is one I would definitely recommend.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Send Help – VOD
I’m late to the party and while Send Help isn’t technically a March release, it’s one I would be remised in mentioning having finally had the chance to watch it. Send Help is classic Sam Raimi, a return to form and removed from the shackles of the Marvel machine. These are the kinds of movies he should be making all the time; mean spirited, morally bereft characters with over the top violence and blood soaked, well, everything. Send Help has it all, and you can feel Raimi relishing his work with each bucket of blood he finds a way to pour out. It’s always a treat to watch a director operate with a real joy, and Send Help was clearly as fun to make as it is to watch. Even with something as simple as two people stranded on a deserted island and constantly shifting power dynamics, Send Help packs plenty of surprises and some twists and turns that most won’t see coming. And even if you do, it’s rewarding to be right.
Send Help is classic Sam Raimi
It’s powered by Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, who both make an absolute meal out of their characters. O’Brien is on the rise with his versatility and McAdams rarely misses even if the movie itself does. So the two of them together are a knockout. Send Help smartly gives them so much to do and plenty to play around with, and both are completely committed to Raimi’s twisted vision. We don’t need to get too hyperbolic and start calling it the best horror film of the year. Hell, it’s not even close to Raimi’s best. But it IS a welcomed returned to the things he does best, and with two stars giving their all and clearly having a great time, Send Help is a surefire blast.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Ready or Not Here I Come – In Theaters
It pains me to say this as Ready or Not is one of my favorite horror/comedies of the decade and Radio Silence have proven themselves to excellent horror directors. But Ready or Not Here I Come, the anticipated sequel no one really asked for is more of a dud than a return to glory. It’s not bad perse, but it’s also not good, landing right smack in the middle of unnecessary sequels that have too many ideas in a desperate attempt to expand the world laid out by its predecessor. And Here I Come does have a lot of really good world expanding ideas. A bigger and badder game, a council of other families vying for world domination, the literal lawyer of Satan with a gigantic book of bylaws, Sarah Michelle Gellar with a stake, and David Cronenberg in front of the camera. Add in the return of Samara Weaving – a performer who has become the proverbial genre queen – and you should have a perfect winner on your hands.
Unfortunately, Radio Silence gets lost in their own weeds
Unfortunately, Radio Silence gets lost in their own weeds, adding too much to Here I Come to overshadow any of its good ideas with repetitive ones and some really shoddy pacing that removes its propulsive energy and lacks the ingenuity of the first one. Follow ups to lightning a bottle first are always challenging, but Ready or Not Here I Come should really be getting far more right than it actually does in execution. It left me wanting and confused by some of its choices, and there’s only so many times you can make someone explode before it becomes dull and uninspired. There’s still plenty to enjoy, and I did end up having a good time. But Ready or Not Here I Come is a base hit this time around instead of a homerun. Also, not for nothing but it is quite literally the EXACT same movie as They Will Kill You. I’m talking My Cousin Vinny “I- DENT-ical” same and I’d argue that the latter is the better version.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Forbidden Fruits – In Theaters
We talk a lot about vibes, and nothing is more of a vibes pick thanForbidden Fruits. For my part, I vibed with everything this moving was doing from start to finish. It’s a hang out movie, a thriller, a mystery, and a coming of age all rolled into one set in a mall. It draws from a number of inspirations, and is kind of like Mean Girls meets The Craft with a hint of Jawbreakers with a sprinkle of Practical Magic all from a Diablo Cody-esque script that literally creates its own language from its dialogue. Forbidden Fruits is the kind of movie that you could just watch unfold forever. A world you really never get tired of existing in even as each character you meet isn’t a good girl. There’s no real protagonist here, as they all have their own secrets and backstabbing plots and catty confrontations, but writer/director Meredith Alloway understands how to make even most vile people fun to watch and uses it to her advantage.
The lead cast is excellent
The lead cast is excellent, but it’s Lily Reinhart who turns in an all timer elite performance. Forbidden Fruits unleashes her full display of talent onto the witchy world, and she is simply electric. Acting against type and showing new comedic chops to her game, Victoria Pedretti breaks out big in Forbidden Fruits, basically channeling the Amanda Seyfried energy from Mean Girls but putting her own spin on it. The other two women – Alexandra Shipp and Lola Tung – are both good too, but it’s really Pedretti and Reinhart who nearly run away with it all. I genuinely loved everything Forbidden Fruits attempts to do. While some tonal imbalances slightly hold it back from moving with ease from scene to scene, the film really hums if you’re dialed into its wavelength.
Beneath it’s charming goofiness and tongue in cheek camp, it actually has some insightful commentary on the ups and downs of friends groups and female dynamics. Covens, retail, Marilyn Monroe confessionals, oozing sex appeal, immaculate wardrobes and cats – what’s not to like here? Anyone who tells you Forbidden Fruits is among the worst films of the year so far simply doesn’t watch enough movies. It’s my favorite of the bunch, bound to become a cult classic hit in the years to come.
Rating: 8.5 out 10
What were some of your favorite movies you watched in March?
