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New Releases
Last month, I began to enjoy films again and I’m now excited to watch as many as I can for the rest of the year. In recent years, I’ve struggled to watch as much because of other commitments. Now though, I want to focus more intentionally on this blog and reviewing films. This will be the first month where I watch films for the entirety. I can’t wait to see what my May film watchlist has to offer.
May holds a range of exciting new films from across genres, including Mark Jenkin’s new release, Rose of Nevada (2026). Mark Jenkin’s debut feature film, Bait (2019) changed the way I think about film. In fact, it was the reason I made content five or six years ago before I disappeared. I live in northern England and as a child, our holidays were on the east coast so I’ve seen the damage overtourism can do. People take second holiday homes, buy caravans on the coast and generally outprice people who were born in our favourite seaside destinations. The exploration of this insidious process in Cornwall is explored in Bait so rigorously and unflinchingly that I promised to myself I’d watch everything Mark Jenkin releases in the future.
Rose of Nevada is a ghost ship story with two members of a ship’s crew appearing to travel back in time. This foray into science fiction tells us that Mark Jenkin can put his hand to any genre and us, the viewers, will be better off for it.
I watch several streamers on Twitch who have played the game version of Exit 8 (2025) and I’ve been enthralled by it each time. The concept of the liminal space, especially the ‘backrooms’ is increasingly intriguing as it removes the familiarity of a place just enough while retaining some sense of nostalgia or déjà vu. This combination generally makes for a terrifying experience and the clips I’ve seen so far do not disappoint. Even the man we watch trying to escape is unnamed, adding a further layer of anonymity and sense of abandonment.
Horror is not always my favourite genre these days, although historically I’ve been a huge fan. However, my May film watchlist seems to be promising for the horror releases, Hokum (2026) included. This one is about a novelist who opts to stay in a remote inn, and hears stories about a witch who may or may not be haunting the honeymoon suite. I’m always cautious about films featuring witches, especially ones directed by men because I find they can veer into misogynistic territory but I’m hoping this one doesn’t disappoint.
Finally, we have A24’s latest release, The Drama (2026), starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as a couple about to get married. However, one confession changes things and leads them to question whether or not the fateful ‘I do’ is for them. I recently watched Something Very Bad is Going To Happen (2026) and this concept of deciding whether or not you really know someone enough to marry them is fascinating, especially when there is some type of confession involved.
Backlist Titles
Since I’ve been getting back into reviewing films, I’ve been scouring ‘best films of all time’ lists and a director who kept popping up was Wong Kar-wai. With several popular films, I was spoilt for choice when making my selection but to begin with, it was the premise of In the Mood for Love (2000) that intrigued me the most. In this film, two people realise their partners are cheating on them and become closer to each other without wanting to make the same choices.
Having recently watched Past Lives (2023), I’m eager to delve into more films with relationship dynamics across more than two people. Just in case I wasn’t already convinced that I’m going to enjoy this one, I checked Letterboxd and was stunned by the sheer number of five star reviews. Usually films are at least a little more divided on there but this is one most seem to agree is almost flawless.
Before I go to the cinema to watch Rose of Nevada, I’d like to watch Mark Jenkin’s previous film Enys Men (2022) for the first time. During my hiatus, I didn’t watch as many films as I normally would and this is one that slipped past me. It’s about a wildlife volunteer who descends into madness while on an island off the British coast. Mark Jenkin does tension incredibly well so I can only imagine he will fit right into the horror genre.
Next, I wanted to choose a film that has provided inspiration to other filmmakers and the one I went with is Black Girl (1966). This film, directed by Ousmane Sembène, is cited as inspiration and chosen by many people entering the Criterion closet. I enjoy watching films from across the world and Senegal isn’t a country I’ve yet visited through the medium so I’m eager to do so.
Black Girl is about a Senegalese woman who faces discrimination when she moves to France seeking a better life. In 2023, I read a book called Standing Heavy (2014) by GauZ’ which follows two Ivoirian men who try to work and live in France as undocumented workers, facing various trials. This theme of moving somewhere to get a better life but being faced with discrimination continues to be relevant and I’ve read that Black Girl is one of the best representations of this in the media.
Finally, I chose the film that has been on my Letterboxd watchlist for the longest. Well, actually, it’s the second longest because the longest was Parasite (2019) and I would like to wait and get the Bong Joon-ho boxset which includes this and others of his films I’m excited to get to. The Farewell (2019) follows a Chinese-American woman who returns to China to see her terminally ill grandmother. As well as relationship dynamics, I’ve been enjoying seeing family dynamics on screen and I think this will force me through one hundred emotions in its one hundred minute runtime.
It’s likely (I hope), that I’ll watch a lot more films than those featured in this May film watchlist but these are the ones I’ll be prioritising in the upcoming days. If you have any recommendations for me, please leave a comment and thank you for reading.
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