Five Films to Catch at LALIFF 2026
For its 25th year, LALIFF 2026 is pulling out all the stops, bringing in JLo and showing films covering a wide range of themes and tones.
What We Are Watching
Indie “Café Chairel” Gives My Mexican Hometown the Movie Treatment
Seeing my hometown of Tampico, México on screen in “Cafe Chairel” healed a little piece of me. It’s the comfort movie I didn’t know I needed.
I (Sort of) Lived “People We Meet on Vacation”
I fell in love with my best friend in middle school. And just like “Poppy in People We Meet on Vacation,” I found myself running away.
“Club Kid” Wows at Cannes With Queer Authenticity
Club Kid is a triumph. And Diego Calva? He’s just getting started. Thankfully, A24 scooped up the rights, so we’ll all be seeing it soon.
“Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” Finds Dark Comedy in Online Scams
More than a thriller, “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” dives into our modern experiences of loneliness, online connection, and sex work.
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” Should Focus More on the Art
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” is braver in its premise than in its follow-through, glossing over too much of its heroine’s creative process.
Diego Luna’s “Ceniza en la Boca” (Ashes) Takes Immigrant Struggles to Cannes
As director, Diego Luna premieres his “Ceniza en la Boca” (Ashes), a film about what migration costs and who pays the hidden bill, at Cannes.
Netflix’s Hulk Hogan Doc Gives Us the Myth, Not the Man
As a disillusioned Hulkamaniac, I was hoping for more answers in Netflix’s “Hulk Hogan: Real American.”
The Love Story on Prime Video’s “Invincible” Is Sexist – and That’s Scary
Eve’s path in “Invisible” terrifies me – I don’t want to believe that love, for a woman, means the gradual obliteration of my identity.
“Envidiosa” Ends by Nudging Vicky to Grow Some More
Ending on its own terms after four seasons, Netflix’s “Envidiosa” reminds us that personal transformation is possible, but not magical.