Lightspeed Log: What I’ve been watching and reading – July 2026

To infinity and beyond … one more time

Should there even BE a Toy Story 5? I’ll set that question aside for now, because Disney went ahead and made another sequel, and I went ahead and watched it. Overall, I enjoyed myself. It’s probably my least favorite of the five films; I actually really liked Toy Story 4, even though I was highly skeptical about it initially. By the fifth movie, the concept feels stretched too thin, although there are some good emotional moments. 

I liked the focus on Jessie’s character, and, once again, there’s an emotional gutpunch that triggers the waterworks. I loved the hand-drawn animation style of the play sequences, and it brought back fond memories of the stories my brother and I made up with our toys when we were younger. There were some laughs and fun nostalgic moments, and I appreciated the nuanced take on technology. The film explores how technology like tablets can harm but also help kids. Like most things, it’s all about balance. 

Overall I had a good time watching it, but I won’t necessarily be in a hurry to watch this again. (As a side note, I took my 5-year-old daughter with me to see the movie, and she seemed to enjoy it, informing me that her favorite part was when Buzz Lightyear rode on a plastic unicorn.)

Weird Al’s live show was an absolute blast

For our anniversary this year, my husband and I bought tickets to see Weird Al in concert. Although we’re big fans of his music, we’d never seen him play live before. When we saw that his “Bigger & Weirder” tour was coming to my hometown, we knew we had to go. We had an absolute blast at the show – the music was great, there were lots of laughs, and the crowd was energetic. I got to hear my favorite Weird Al songs (including “Tacky” and “The Saga Begins”) and also some ones I wasn’t familiar with. I loved seeing all the characters in Star Wars costumes at the finale, as well. Definitely worth the price of a ticket!

Why I’m still rooting for Supergirl

Supergirl was one of my most anticipated movies of the summer. Although I enjoy superhero movies in general, I was particularly excited about this one, because I’m a huge fan of Milly Alcock. I loved her performance as young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, and I couldn’t wait to see her in a starring role in a blockbuster superhero movie. 

I’m disappointed to hear this movie isn’t doing very well at the box office, especially since I quite enjoyed it. It’s not a perfect film; it feels like one of those scripts that could have used another round or two of edits. However, there’s the bones of something great here, and Alcock’s performance and the nuance she brings to the character are wonderful. I love it when female characters are allowed to be messy and complicated. I also appreciated the creative risk of setting this story in space, vs. the typical Earth setting of many superhero films. 

I don’t know if this means that general audiences aren’t as eager to head to the theater to watch superhero movies as they used to be? Both Thunderbolts* and to a lesser extent The Fantastic Four: First Steps underperformed last year, and I really, really liked both those movies. I feel like we won’t really know until we see the box office results for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. Hollywood trends ebb and flow, and while we may not rise to the box office heights of Infinity War or Endgame anytime soon, I hope that film makers are still willing to take creative risks and give us more superhero stories. Especially ones like Supergirl that aren’t afraid to try something different.  

More wonderful weirdness from Dungeon Crawler Carl

I was hooked by the Dungeon Crawler Carl series as soon as I started the first few chapters of the very first book. I have no idea where this wonderfully weird and crazy series is going, and unsurprisingly, the latest installment – A Parade of Horribles – raises more questions than it answers. (That’s definitely not a complaint, because a major part of the series’ charm is its wild unpredictability.) I will say that this most recent book, which is #8, and is very, very long. It might even be too long, and it took me a while to get through the first half. I devoured the final third, eager to find out what happened next, but I do believe some of the excess could have been trimmed off the beginning of the book. Still, I am fully invested in wherever Carl and Donut’s adventure goes next.

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