Sometimes it's not that serious

 

In early 2025, I watched one episode of Attack on Titan and declared that I was not emotionally stable enough to watch any more at the time. Below are several movies that I am always emotionally stable enough for. 

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Voicemails for Isabelle (2026) - directed by Leah McKendrick

 

The best thing about Voicemails for Isabelle is the depiction of sisterly love and grief. The second best thing is Zoey Deutch’s green North Face!! Best product placement 💚 I watched this while wearing my green North Face, so I really saw myself in her.

This movie is basically exactly what I expect and exactly what I want from Netflix romcoms. Very easy and (mostly) inoffensive watch. Maybe (probably) the whole situation could’ve been handled in a less creepy way, but then we wouldn’t have a movie, would we? Yes, it’s dumb. No, I don’t care.

 

Watched: August 30, 2026

Rating: ★★★ / 5  

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It's funny starting this post with a movie that's about losing a sister. Obviously that's a devastating thing to go through, and I would probably not choose to watch this movie if I had just lost my own sister (knocking on so much wood right now). It was emotional, it was sometimes touching, I shed a single tear. But it was low stakes enough that I didn't feel like world was crashing down around me. 

 

The romance was fun! In the grand scheme of Netflix rom-coms this movie is not even close to the worst of them. The banter between the main characters was cute, and overall I enjoyed despite the questionable premise (girl sends voicemails to dead sister, man with dead sister's phone numbers listens to all these private voicemails and travels across the country to find girl).

Cannibalism is not legal in Idaho. I did the research. 

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Best of the Best (2026) - directed by Lena Khan

 

Suchh a caricature, but I’m not California enough or performer enough to tell you if it’s accurate. I didn’t fully buy into the friendship or the conflict, but did enjoy and would watch again tomorrow if I was asked to.

Dances were whatever, but some of the song choices were good/funny.

 

Watched: September 26, 2026

Rating: ★★½ / 5  

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Pitch Perfect for college Bollywood dance teams is the easy comparison. But those are big shoes to fill, and this did not fill them adequately. There were a handful of funny moments, but I didn't think the writing was that strong. 

These two friends being jealous of one another because one of them is the "pretty one" and the other one is merely super smart and the best dancer and the best at everything... that did not really hit for me (though it is less heavy handed in the movie than in the sentence I just wrote). Takes a big suspension of disbelief to accept that both friends are not gorgeous, but nobody's asking me. Nobody ever asks. 

Always exciting to see movies made for and about South Asians. My whole family watched this one together. 

Unrelated but slightly related: will always have a soft spot for Maitreyi Ramakrishnan for declaring that "all hot people fail their driver's license test." Really changed my life, thank you. 

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The Love Hypothesis (2026) - directed by Claire Scanlon

 

They hired an android with abs to play the love interest. He’s so Spock until he starts to have feelings at which point I become Spock. Must’ve spent all his acting skills on the American accent. 

Olive and Anh so cute. I like friendship. 

Anyway, had a great time.

 

Watched: October 3, 2026

Rating: ★★ / 5  

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Either romance novels getting adapted for screen is a new trend, or it's something I've just started to notice. Off Campus and Heated Rivalry were both TV series, but Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation film came out at the beginning of the year. Then there are the many Colleen Hoover adaptations I don't keep track of, and I also don't keep track of whether or not they're considered romances. Verity is in theaters as we speak and it stars ANNE HATHAWAY omg this is a big deal, but I won't watch it. 

I have enjoyed telling all my friends that The Love Hypothesis book was originally Star Wars fanfic. Honestly maybe I should try watching The Force Awakens again with this lens. Tom Bateman's stoic character was based on Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. If only Adam Driver could have been cast in this movie too, I think I would have liked it more.

I'd read the book too when in a low-stakes-rom-com mood, and I think I'd like this movie better upon rewatch when I just lean into the campiness. Have heard from a primary source that some of the lines about grad school hit close to home. 

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The above movies were all released on streaming services—two on Netflix and one Amazon Prime. Rom-coms and comedies are not really making it onto the big screen these days, but I suppose I'm happy they still exist at all. Wouldn't want to watch Interstellar on an average movie night. But I think the quality of these movies suffers a bit because the stakes aren't as high. 

Not to say the quality of theatrical releases has never suffered. 

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Twilight (2008) - directed by Catherine Hardwicke

 

Watched for the fourth time because nobody wanted to watch Jaws with me 🦈💔 

Four years ago, I was baffled at how a movie so bad (and so blue) could’ve been green lit at all (haha, get it?). I was disappointed by the lack of effort put into this movie and confused by how much money it made anyway. 

I’m still kinda disappointed in the world, but I am glad Twilight exists for peak watch-party fun. I like the wack script, and I giggle at the weird lingering shots on the actors’ faces. I love the sexy conversations in the trees most of all. 

This movie is over-hated, but that doesn’t mean it’s not bad. Very rewatchable. Cultural touchstone. Some incredibly romantic not-at-all-creepy quotes. Perhaps one day I’ll watch all the sequels.

 

Watched: September 13, 2026

Rating: ★ / 5  

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When Twilight was all the rage, I was freaked out by vampires. I think there is some alternate universe that exists where I loved these books growing up and enjoyed the movies. The extent to which these movies are made fun of makes me uncomfortable, especially when it involves ridiculing the people (mostly women) that enjoy them. Let people enjoy things, I say. 

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Mean Girls (2004) - directed by Mark Waters

 

Some might say it’s the most quotable movie of 2004.

 

Watched: October 3, 2026

Rating: ★★★★ / 5  

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Last but never least, we have Mean Girls. It's funny, it's iconic, it's very important to watch on October 3rd. Unfortunately the people I watched it with were not the biggest fans, and I think that colored my enjoyment this time around. Funny how your opinions can change merely by who's around you. I shudder to think of the reality where I watched it for the first time in this setting instead of alone in my bedroom in middle school. 

It’s hard and maybe impossible to be truly objective towards nostalgic movies. I've watched this movie many times, and though there are some bits that haven’t aged super well, I like it. 

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Okayy she did it. Five reviews, one post. See you next time.