REEL IMPRESSIONS - July/August 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 months of July/August:

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

House Of The Dragon (Crave/HBO):  The third season of Game Of Thrones' spin-off show depicting the infamous 'Dance Of The Dragons' warfare-era in Westeros comes out guns blazing from episode 1 and never looks back as the conflict between Rahenyra and her half-brother Aegon II for the Iron Throne reaches a fever pitch of character deaths, betrayals, battles and as much air-flying, dragon firing action as you can imagine.  

Hats off to the production team this time around, as the full-scale of GOT design is definitely on display visually with some beautiful camera work, editing, visual effects, locations and costume.  It's clear why HBO held back on ending the previous season with the impending battle at sea and chose to use the that finale as a set-up instead (as their increased production budget clearly is needed for this year).

If there is a chink in the armor, it could be noted that the writing behind certain characters might be lacking a little in logic (and to some degree, perhaps too far a departure from the source material), but the franchise continues to flex its fantasy-entrancing muscle as to why it remains must-see television week-after-week.  

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽/of 5