Reel Corner - February 2026

February 2026 Issue
Reel Corner by Donne Paine

Triumph, Obsession and Loss
Three Powerful New Films

SONG SUNG BLUE
Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson | Director: Craig Brewer

Song Sung Blue is a tender, bittersweet musical that follows a Milwaukee husband-and-wife Neil Diamond tribute act as they ride a sudden wave of success and weather devastating heartbreak. Based on a true story, the film balances showbiz with intimate domestic struggle, using Diamond’s songs to illuminate the couple’s highs and lows. Performances feel lived-in, especially Hudson’s, who did her own singing and recently was nominated for “Best Performance by a Female Actor” by Golden Globe. The duo’s chemistry carries the film through soaring concert sequences as well as quieter, raw moments at home. The director stages the shows with warmth, while the quieter scenes allow grief, drug addiction, and aspiration to breathe. The soundtrack functions as homage to Neil Diamond, and the movie earns its sentimental beats by letting the characters inhabit their pain, rather than explaining it away. At its best, the story captures why couples cling to a dream, and at its most affecting, it shows how grief can either sever or deepen a partnership. Fans of Neil Diamond will find Song Sung Blue moving, though you do not have to be a fan to enjoy it.



MARTY SUPREME
Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion | Director: Josh Safdie

Marty Supreme is an adrenaline-fueled portrait of ambition framed around a singular obsession: table tennis. Timothée Chalamet delivers an electrifying performance as Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects. Chalamet dominates nearly every scene, projecting restless intensity and a take-no-prisoners drive that pushes the film forward at breakneck pace. The narrative is relentless—Marty goes through hell and back in pursuit of greatness in table tennis, and the movie matches his urgency with kinetic camera work, tight editing, special effects, and a pulsing score. His work in this film was rewarded as the youngest ever winner of a Golden Globe for Best Actor. The supporting characters in the film are limited, often serving as obstacles or mirrors for Marty’s single-mindedness. In many ways the film is exhausting to watch because of Marty’s determination to reign as world table tennis champion. Fans of this sport will be swept up by Marty Supreme’s propulsive energy, the incredible table tennis competitions scenes, and Chalamet’s uncompromising central performance. I must give my nephew, Pasquale Greco, a shout out, listed in the credits as Senior Production of the special effects. Good Job!


HAMNET

Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Zac Wishart | Director: Chloé Zhao


Winner for Best Picture at the Golden Globe Awards, Hamnet reframes a famous name into an intimate family drama centered on Agnes (Buckley), the wife of William Shakespeare (Mescal) before his fame. Set in 16th-century England, the film focuses on Agnes’s life as a healer and the suspicion she endures from neighbors who fear what they do not understand. Their household—three children, daily routines, small mercies—feels vividly lived until the sudden loss of a child shatters it and forces Agnes into profound grief. The director and cast treat the story with restraint and realism, including a well-behaved, wild hawk. An emotional final scene culminates when Agnes watches a play her husband stages in memory of their son titled Hamlet, a moment where art and mourning meet. Beautifully directed and acted, the film is anchored by Jessie Buckley’s award-recognized performance. (She won the recent Golden Globe for Best Actress.) You do not need to be a Shakespeare aficionado to appreciate Hamnet; it is a deeply humane, thoroughly enjoyable portrait of love, loss, and the way sorrow can give rise to creation. It lingers in small gestures.

References: www.imdb.com. www.nyt.com, www.rottentomatoes.com

Donne Paine, film enthusiast, once lived around the corner from the Orson Wells Theater in Cambridge, Massachu-setts, where her strong interest in films, especially independent ones, began. Supporter of the arts, especially films, she has traveled to local and national film festivals including Sundance, Toronto and Tribeca. There is nothing like seeing a film on the big screen. She encourages film goers to support Hilton Head local theaters, Park Plaza Theater and Northridge. To support her habit of frequent movie going, Donne is a vaccine medicine nurse consultant and also the author of 4 Interview Pillars available on Amazon. See you at the movies!