Joey’s Home Movies For the Week of July 13th – ‘Normal’ and ‘Pillion’ Lead an Eclectic and High Quality Slate

Welcome back to my Home Movies! This week, we have a nice assortment of 2026 titles hitting shelves, led by the one two punch of Normal and Pillion, both of which are amongst my favorites of the year so far. There’s also two of the highest grossing films of 2026 in Michael and Obsession. Today also features a trio of Criterion Collection releases hitting shelves, including Martin Scorsese‘s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. What else is coming out? Read on to find out the rest of the slate…

Joey’s Top Pick

Pillion

Whether you consider this to be a melancholic romantic comedy, a sad coming of age story, or just a romantic drama, this LGBTQ+ story is one of the most affecting of the year. With strong acting from Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, alongside a hell of an ending, few movies in 2026 will be as memorable to anyone who sees it as this one. My rave review here on the site for Pillion began like so:

Romantic comedies come in all shapes and sizes. That’s part of what makes the genre great. At the same time, there’s often a sense of familiarity that permeates rom-coms. So, to come across something like Pillion is a real pleasure. Not only does the film present an LGBTQ+ romance that’s never been depicted on screen, it does so in a way that’s both completely lacking in judgment and absolutely full of life. It’s one of the best movies of the year so far and really does feel one of a kind.

Pillion is not like any rom-com you’ve ever seen before, both in content and execution. Yes, it can be graphic at times, but the flick is never doing it for shock value or to be overtly horny. Instead, it feels honest and observational, giving cinematic life to a type of romance that the big screen has never really depicted before. If you’re shocked, it won’t be because of the content, but due to the feeling that something new has been entered into the conversation. When most audiences interested in dom/sub relationships have had to settle for the awful Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, this is a real breath of fresh air.

Recommended Movies

Normal

Getting to see Bob Odenkirk become an action here has been a pleasure lately. Here in Normal, he plays a reluctant one, which gives the film a unique bent on what could have seemed like well worn territory. Funny, violent, and even a bit poignant, this flick was one of the bigger surprises of the year for me. My rave for this movie right here began with the following praise:

We’ve seen a bunch of action comedies this year, as well as horror comedies, etc. 2026 so far has seemed like a year where violence and humor go hand in hand. For my money, none have mixed genres better than Normal, which is consistently amusing, often poignant, and once the violence begins, supremely gory. The film works on all levels, crafting one of the more surprisingly satisfying efforts of the year. Provided you can stand some blood and guts, this tale of a reluctant hero has a ton to offer.

Normal has an ability to shift tones far more deftly than a lot of movies can even dream of. When it’s funny/silly, I was often smiling. When it’s going for light drama and even poignancy, I was invested. Then, when all hell breaks loose, I was hooting at the carnage on display. Given the unlikely hero at the center of it all, there’s just an added layer of fun to be had. This is actually quite a blast, as long as you’re not easy shocked.

Also Available This Week

Animal Farm

The Christophers

Crawl (4K)

Deep Water

Howard the Duck (4K)

I Swear

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

Michael

Obsession

The Office: The Complete Series – Superfan Extended Episodes (TV)

Queen of the Ring

The Untouchables (4K SteelBook)

Windtalkers (Blu-ray)

Criterion Corner

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

From The Criterion Collection: “Martin Scorsese infuses the classic maternal melodrama with the brash spirit of the New Hollywood in this zeitgeist-capturing feminist tale of a woman finding her footing in a patriarchal world. An Academy Award–winning Ellen Burstyn shines as Alice Hyatt, a newly widowed mother who, with her precocious son, Tommy, takes off across the Southwest to pursue her dream of becoming a singer, along the way learning to live on her own terms, even as a new romance with a rugged rancher (Kris Kristofferson) tests her growing independence. Boasting vivid supporting turns by Diane Ladd, Harvey Keitel, and Jodie Foster, this irrepressible look at starting anew overflows with warmth and humanity from each bustling frame.”

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The Crying Game

From The Criterion Collection: “Neil Jordan’s emotionally stunning international sensation overcame the barriers between independent and mainstream cinema to become one of the defining films of the 1990s. Set against the turbulence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, The Crying Game is a puzzle box of a film, examining complex questions of loyalty, desire, and identity as it traces the fraught relationship developing between two wounded souls: Fergus (Stephen Rea), a former Irish Republican Army member tormented by guilt, and Dil (the revelatory Jaye Davidson), the enigmatic girlfriend of the hostage whose death haunts him. As the film shape-shifts from political drama to noir-tinged thriller to bruising romance, what emerges is something beyond genre: a profound and indelible vision of human connection across all boundaries.”

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Hud

From The Criterion Collection: “A family’s downfall becomes a stark elegy for the ideals of the American frontier in this quietly subversive reimagining of western myths. In the fourth of his six collaborations with the progressive director Martin Ritt, Paul Newman created his darkest role yet as Hud Bannon, a charismatic but ruthlessly unprincipled rancher. Hud’s ambition to seize control of an ailing cattle business from his tradition-bound father (Melvyn Douglas) drives the family—including his worshipful nephew (Brandon de Wilde) and worldly-wise housekeeper (Patricia Neal)—toward collapse. Winner of Academy Awards for Best Actress (Neal), Supporting Actor (Douglas), and Cinematography—courtesy of James Wong Howe, whose austere black-and-white lensing lends psychological dimension to the desolate western vistas—Hud daringly rewrites the image of the heroic cowboy for a disillusioned generation.”

Stay tuned for more next week…