In this episode of Flickering Dreams - a regular monthly round-up podcast - us 'ere hosts (Dr Bob Mann, Rev. Andy Godfrey, Emma Sewell and Scott Forbes) review a comprehensive selection of films released in January 2026, discussing our favourites and least favourites.

(This is Part 2 of the two-part episode, with the first part already available on the Flickering Dreams channel.)

In this episode of Flickering Dreams, we review several films released in the last half of January, including:

• 'Mercy',
• 'The Rip',
• 'Rental Family',
• 'H is for Hawk',
• 'The History of Sound',
• 'Saipan',
• 'No Other Choice', and
• 'Xeno'.

We discuss the merits and flaws of each film, sharing personal insights and ratings, while also reflecting on the emotional themes and cinematic techniques used in the films.

The conversation highlights the diversity of storytelling in cinema and the impact of cultural contexts on film narratives.

We also give our brief thoughts on the recently announced BAFTA nominations, we pay tribute to Catherine O' Hara (RIP) and Andy tries to baffle us again with a few more of his devious quiz questions.
00:00 Introduction to January Films
00:54 Andy enjoys Mercy!
03:41 Diving into 'The Rip' and Its Themes
06:26 The Crowd-Pleasing 'Rental Family'
12:55 Understanding Grief in 'H is for Hawk'
18:27 Flickering Dreams Scores for the First Set + the Second Set
19:25 Mescal and O'Connor in The History Of Sound
20:53 Team frictions erupt in Saipan
23:14 Analysing No Other Choice
28:21 Diving into Xeno: A Mixed Bag of Genres
30:38 Scores on the doors for the second set of films reviewed
31:07 Other New Releases in January
33:56 Scott Forbes reviews the list of other new streaming releases
36:35 Remembering an Icon: A Tribute to Catherine O'Hara
37:28 The Reverend's Devious Quiz Questions
39:20 A quick review of the BAFTA nominations
41:29 Closing words and End Title