New York Times critics highlight eight new films, from Magellan to OBEX

The New York Times on Jan. 9, 2026 published a roundup of eight new films its critics say are worth knowing about, including Magellan, Young Mothers, Dead Man’s Wire, People We Meet on Vacation, Greenland 2: Migration, Primate, My Neighbor Adolf and OBEX. The selections range from Lav Diaz’s portrait of Ferdinand Magellan, starring Gael García Bernal, to the Dardenne brothers’ Belgian drama Young Mothers, a 1977-based crime film Dead Man’s Wire starring Bill Skarsgard, the rom-com People We Meet on Vacation, Gerard Butler’s sequel Greenland 2: Migration, the gore film Primate, Leon Prudovsky’s My Neighbor Adolf with David Hayman and Udo Kier, and Albert Birney’s indie OBEX.

According to the Times reviews, Diaz’s Magellan “skims over historic events,” Young Mothers allows tenderness to emerge amid a slower pace, Dead Man’s Wire lacks the energy of classic 1970s crime films, and People We Meet on Vacation delivers an expected, cliché ending. The critics also described Greenland 2 as hitting familiar postapocalyptic beats, called Primate a gore-forward “chimp kill” movie of simple pleasures, said My Neighbor Adolf gives its lead actors little to do beyond verbal invective, and noted OBEX’s distinctive visuals can distract from a conventional redemption story.

Key Topics

Culture, Magellan, Obex, Gael García Bernal, Lav Diaz, Young Mothers