I ended last month’s review with a note of hope that the progress of 2026’s Challenge was at a tipping point; that things would imminently improve.

Reader, they did not.

Well, technically they did a bit — March has the most Challenge films of any month this year so far — but it wasn’t enough to consider me ‘back on track’. Why is this year going so poorly? What have I been doing instead of watching films? Well, it’s certainly true that I continue to spend leisure time on other things as well (books, games, TV), but I was also doing that last year. Am I choosing those more often than films now? I guess I must be. Still, it never feels like there’s enough time for any of it. Somehow, days just evaporate.

Anyway, let’s get into the detail of how things are going on the film front.

#8 Different from the Others (1919) — Blindspot #1
#9 PK (2014) — WDYMYHS #1
#10 Kung Fu Panda 4 3D (2024) — Failure #3
#11 This is Spinal Tap (1984) — Rewatch #2
#12 The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) — 50 Unseen #1

• I watched four feature films I’d never seen before in March.
• All of them counted towards my 100 Films in a Year Challenge, along with one rewatch.
• I should have reached #24 by the end of March to be on target, so I’ve only watched 50% of the Challenge films that I should have by this point.
• Kung Fu Panda 4 is my first 3D film this year, but doesn’t count towards my 3D Challenge category because it’s not classic 3D — by which I mean old rather than, y’know, A Classic. Not that it’s the latter either. But it is older than I thought: it came out two years ago! Where does time go?!
• Talking of time disappearing, I first and last watched Spinal Tap in 2007 (as #15 that year, to be precise) and the receipt in my Blu-ray copy tells me I bought it in 2011, so I’ve been meaning to rewatch it for at least 15 years. These are the kind of ridiculous timescales I operate on. While I liked it back then, I loved it now, so maybe the wait wasn’t such a bad thing.
• This month’s Blindspot film was the oldest on the list: Different from the Others. And not just old but historically important, being one of the earliest films to openly engage with themes of homosexuality.
• This month’s WDYMYHS film was comedic sci-fi / religious satire PK.
• From last month’s “failures” I only watched Kung Fu Panda 4.

Favourite Film of the Month
These categories feel a little meaningless this year, when the pool of ‘nominees’ is so slim every month. Nonetheless, The Ballad of Wallis Island is a good film — much funnier than I was expecting, while still hitting home with it’s more dramatic parts.

Least Favourite Film of the Month
Nothing outright bad this month, although several sit in the middle of the road. However, perhaps the least enjoyable viewing experience was Different from the Others. It’s an historically significant film and undoubtedly worthwhile for that reason, but huge chunks of it are missing, and even with photos and title cards to plug the plot gaps, it’s quite a disjointed watch.

Join me for the next instalment of the 48 Films in a Year Challenge!

…doesn’t have the same ring, does it? But it’s the current trajectory. That said, 88 films in 9 months works out at under 10 films per month on average, and 10 new films + 1 rewatch has been my monthly goal for a long time — and I’ve achieved it more months than not (before this year, anyway). In other words: hope remains that 2026 will turn out alright.