REEL IMPRESSIONS - September 2026

Welcome to the next volume of 'Reel Impressions', for those curious what my opinions are on recent movies or television series that I have laid my eyes on and if they are worthy of your time.  This is my top recommendations for the month of September:

Lioness (Paramount+): Taylor Sheridan's third season of the covert military drama is firing on all cylinders out-of-the-gate as narratively we bounce back-and-forth in time to see the events which led to and then the catalyst to Joe's (Avatar's Zoe Saldana) kidnapping from her team, and their subsequent hunt to track her down before she can spill the highly-classified secrets of the Lioness program to her captors.  

Lioness is continuing to prove why this might be the best show Sheridan has ever produced with life-and-death high-stakes constantly in play and an ensemble cast that is impeccable in all the roles.  It's gritty, raw, amazingly written and massively palpable with the drama and the emotion to make this a must-see week-to-week as we breathlessly anticipate Joe's ultimate fate for the showing moving forward.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽📽/of 5

Lanterns (Crave/HBO):  Although not much of anything so far to come out of James Gunn's revamped DCU superhero world has been all that impressive recently (i.e. Superman, Creature Commandos, Supergirl), the exception might actually be this very grounded and interesting approach to tell the mythology of the Green Lanterns and introduce two of the most iconic members of that galactic force; Hal Jordan (Bloodline's Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Rebel Ridge's Aaron Pierce).

Lanterns takes a very 'True Detective'-type of narrative, spanning across multiple decade timelines to explore Hal and John's unique relationship, the state of alien affairs on Earth and leading to a murder-mystery plot point to drive to the focus of the story.  This is a far cry from the cringy, CGI-heavy 2011 film that starred Ryan Reynolds as Hal and with writer Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers, Lost, Watchmen) behind the scripts, this story is not only well layered but has solid performances and character embodiment.  

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽/of 5

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony/Marvel Pictures):  The 4th film in the web-slinger's solo MCU outings does some very smart moves in order to cement it as one of the best blockbuster comic-book movie experiences to be seen in awhile at the theaters.  New director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings) picks up the climatic storytelling threads of the events of 2021's 'No Way Home' and uses them to really tell a more grounded, emotionally-focused story for Peter Parker living in a world that doesn't remember his existence.

With inventive filmmaking techniques to compliment the action sequences plus really good performances by Tom Holland and all of his supporting cast (including real-life wife Zendaya, Stranger Thing's Sadie Sink as the complicated mind-controlling villain, Jon Bernthal as The Punisher and Mark Ruffalo returning finally on screen as a savage version of The Hulk), Brand New Day is rock-solid superhero entertainment with intelligence, heart and all the feels for fans.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽/of 5