It’s that time of year when Barnes and Nobel has Criterion Collection films at half-off. I ran into one of the local stores today to see what was there. Maybe I’ll run into another one later to take a gander at what’s in stock. But with so much going on and uncertainty in our life right now, I would be happy if this were my full haul for 2026.

  • Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Pee-Wee was one of my first films that obsessed over. I was a kid when it came out. And I remember my sister’s chagrin when I would select that from Blockbuster for the millionth time. I didn’t realize it was a Tim Burton film but based on my memory of the film, it totally makes sense in hindsight.
  • La Bamba. A good friend of mine and I have a theory that there are two types of Mexican-Americans, Selena Chicanos and Richie Valens Chicanos. Naturally, I need this in my collection. (And maybe one day Criterion will Selena as well.)
  • Flight of the Phoenix. Flight is special. Along with Excalibur, it was one of the first serious movies I remember watching with my dad as a kid. I think I know this whole film by heart as a storyboard. I can see every major scene in my mind as if I saw it yesterday even though it’s been 25-30 years since I last watched it with my dad.