Wrapping Up Reeling 2026

The 44th annual edition of Chicago’s Reeling International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is now in the books, having featured an array of narrative, documentary and short films. The festival’s lineup was a big improvement over 2025, bringing in a slate of better programing compared to last year. In all, I managed to catch 13 films during the festival’s 12-day run, nine of which I rated good to excellent. So, with that said, here’s my take on what I watched and what I thought. Enjoy!

The Life Lessons of Two Alternative Love Stories

The hope most of us hold for romantic comedy-dramas is that everything will ultimately work out in the end. But, in real life, relationships don’t always turn out that way. So when filmmakers try to fuse those two divergent scenarios, the results can be unexpected, even dismaying, if not handled properly. However, when addressed with a skillful touch, such stories can be surprisingly entertaining, even revelatory, in many ways. So it is with two alternative love stories now available for streaming online, “Magic Hour” and “Departures.”

The Best of 2025

With 2025 now in the books, it’s time to look back on the year in movies. In this first of three blogs, I spotlight my Top 10 Films of 2025, followed by 10 Honorable Mentions and an open-ended list (in alphabetical order) of other releases that I found noteworthy or worth a look.

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