Frog Fathers 2: Last Battle of the Pacific (2026)

“War is man's common enemy. We refuse to learn that lesson, and until we do, we're gonna keep living the same horrors.” 

Rocky waves of the ocean meet the soft shoreline of Okinawa, Japan. Its waters are rough yet clear, and the coral reefs are slowly coming back to life. One can imagine sitting along the cliff-side, soaking in a perfect sunset fit for a postcard or a vacation post on social media. Yet, the landscape hardly resembles the echoes of horrors it once endured – that these same shores were ground zero for an 82-day conflict between U.S. troops and Japanese regime during World War II.

It should go without saying that the legacy of war is all-encompassing – from every day civilians who felt called to serve their country, to the civilians caught in crossfire between nations at war, and the land that it cannot speak for itself. To tackle the three together is difficult and ambitious, but Frog Fathers 2: Last Battle of the Pacific, similar to its predecessor, Frog Fathers: Lessons from the Normandy Surf, takes the challenge on. 

 Part of understanding the mechanics of past international conflicts is to start at the beginning – how and why were the coral reefs in Okinawa destroyed. Through archival material, interviews with historians, and accounts from veterans, the documentary weaves a chronological timeline of the United States facing the German and Axis powers. As radical nationalism was rising in Japan, the United States ventured to the far reaches of the Pacific after the attack on Pearl Harbor. To siege control on land also meant overcoming obstacles at sea. While facing violent assaults at every turn along the coastlines, Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) prepared the way for American amphibious assaults by understanding the hydrography of the coral reefs across Japanese home islands - Marianas, Guam, Tinian, Saipan, and Okinawa – and then blowing them up, essentially leaving the underwater environment destroyed in their wake.

Where Frog Fathers differs in traditional war documentaries is in its gesture to do more than exclusively look backwards. In an effort to give back to the islands their forefathers destroyed, a team of Navy Seals, Marines, and a Green Beret participate in restoration efforts, on behalf of a non-profit organization Force Blue, to rebuild the very reefs once damaged during the oceanic fighting. From there, the Battle of Okinawa becomes more than about military strategy as the group travels from the National World War II Museum in New Orleans to Okinawa. Facts become memories as archivists, coral restoration locals, and relatives of survivors now shape the devastation that occurred at home with rebuilding. 

Though the campaign only lasted four months, it was devastating for everyone caught in its path. Under the pressure of widespread fear-based propaganda, great waves of Okinawans' civilian population was conscripted into committing mass suicide, used as laborers, or exposed to extraordinary danger by both sides. The documentary's most affecting moments comes from the preservation of personal testimonies - young girls becoming nurses to injured soldiers performing operations by candlelight in caves and displaced families on the run for refuge.

Through the horrors of war, the group of servicemen of today meet and learn from the survivors of Okinawa's bloodied history. As the team visits archives, memorials, and former battle sites, both on land and at sea, history becomes more than a collection of military victories, casualty figures, or strategic decisions. The coral restoration offers an opportunity to make up for the devastation that may have happened once but quietly lives on underneath and over the surface.

One of the documentary's few drawbacks is the subtle backdrop of patriotic exceptionalism. It's understandable that the film would aim to focus on solely on the Battle of Okinawa, given the limited running time and the weight of the topics. Only delving into the Japanese' empires actions against the U.S. and its own people, without also including the discrimination and incarceration of Japanese Americans on U.S. soil (as a result of more predicated racial prejudice) can be argued as a selective blind-spot. Several commentary scenes with the veterans selected for the coral reef restoration project lean closely to celebrating American military identity as proud liberators as well as demolitioneers, which also shifts away from the film's tense focus on sacrifice and redemption. Inclusion of an important part of World War II history wouldn't diminish the sacrifices of American servicemen or excuse the atrocities by Japanese military. Rather it would reinforce one of the documentary's central messages – that no nation is entirely immune to wartime and fear-based ideology.

What Frog Fathers 2: Last Battle of the Pacific succeeds the best at is understanding the enormous human cost of military victory. The legacy of war is typically examined through the lens of what was destroyed; very rarely to what is being rebuilt. Delving into the historical remembrance to build a bridge between present-day servicemen and civilians is treated with detailed reverence and respect. While the world still seems to be inclined to remain at war, newer generations find themselves following a similar calling their ancestors and military forefathers once held - only now in memory and preservation. By keeping the past alive, we give history a voice of its own and allow its wounds the chance to heal.

“They didn't know what they were getting into, but the world was on fire.”

Similarly, Force Blue has also produced a predecessor documentary, Frog Fathers: Lessons from the Normandy Surf. The film chronicles the harrowing display of courage amid unimaginable carnage, as four Navy SEAL veterans retrace the footsteps of Naval Combat Demolition Units who helped prepare the landing for D-Day. 

Both documentaries are available on select platforms in the U.S. and Canada.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Note: This review is provided with the availability of a screener. All opinions are my own.

Wicker (2026)

The real-world patriarchy is doing fine even in Wicker's fantastical town, where relationships are nothing more than an obligation. Every new maiden is destined to marry, brides wear a collar around their neck instead of exchanging rings, and anything a wife says to her partner goes in one ear and out the other. The men don't know what they don't know, and their spouses mostly do their bidding.

The targeted mockery is just part of another day, not only for all the women, but mostly towards the Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman). As the resident spinster, she lives on the outskirts, only coming through town to sell her catches of the day and becomes the object of humiliating jokes from her age, what she smells like, and the odds of her never settling down. It seems the only way to find someone worth loving, and to be loved in return, is to start from scratch. She shoots her shot requesting the basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) to make her a husband. In thirty days time, much to her surprise, the Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgard) is standing at the altar - handsome, kind, and ready to tie the knot without question.

Gaslit (2026)

Longtime activist and actress Jane Fonda was never one to mince words. And in Greenpeace USA's documentary GASLIT, the unflinching film opens with Fonda's appearance on nighttime host Bobbie Wagganat's program in 1980, and her no-holds-barred answer when asked about her thoughts on President Ronald Reagan's terms in office.

I am not too hopeful our problems are going to be solved. Frankly, I think it's going to have to come from grassroots from people and communities who start saying, 'I don't care if I'm a Republican or Democrat, young or old, right or left, or whatever. I've had it. And I'm going to get together with you and you and you and we're going to do something about it because our leaders aren't doing it and we're going to have to force them to.' ....We've got to do it ourselves. That's the only way we've done it. It's what our country stands for and if it means being controversial, means stirring up trouble, stirring up the dust. It's the only way it's going to happen. I have total and complete confidence in us as a people when push comes to shove, we're going to do it.

Almost 46 years later, the late night appearance acts as a prelude for Fonda as she prepares to protest inaction on climate change in New Orleans, the chosen “home” of a corporate World LNG & Gas Series: 17th Americas Summit. Her preparation is a road trip embarking from Texas to Louisiana to visit a number of activists and communities directly impacted by climate change and the on-going largest fossil fuel expansions in history.

Where the Hell is Anna? (2026)

“Love makes you do crazy things.”

When you find that special someone in your life, especially a friend, you will do anything for them. Even after years of separation or distance, you may find yourself wondering about their well-being. If you're lucky, you reconnect and pick up where you left off. That's exactly the place where Derick (Taylor Dupuis) finds herself, and also the last place she would ever imagine.

In Where the Hell is Anna?, Derick lets the love for her estranged best friend Anna (Allison Shrum) get caught up in all kinds of unpredictable places. Namely, following Anna to the middle of nowhere after discovering she has joined a "wellness retreat" called Arcana. The plan is to become a member, stay calm, avoid drinking or eating any substances, find proof, don't panic, and come up with an escape plan. The rules are straight-forward enough in black and white, but pulling her and Anna out to safety is more complicated than it seems. Anna is fated to a ceremony of the highest honor that will prepare her for an idyllic higher-dimension ascendance. But as Derick becomes more ingratiated with the women and lifestyle around her, all of their demons come back to haunt them.

Littermates (2026)

Gunfire echo throughout the English countryside as a helpless young man (later given the name Liam, played by Joey Bader) running for his life comes across Chester (Oliver Woolf) in the middle of a forest. He offers his hand and an escape to  safety. It's not exactly what Chester does but what he says - “Let me help you.” - that sets up the rollercoaster ride of Littermates.

If you watch enough dystopian dramas or post-apocalyptic films, these four words could be the exact call a distressed character needs to be rescued, or the threat that will draw them into an even more deadly situation than merely surviving a zombie apocalypse or natural disaster. To be honest and fair, just by the looks of Liam, he could use a lot of help. Out of breath, shell-shocked, and unaware of his surroundings, Liam's also lost his motor functions and he has no memory of who he is. But Chester is there like a guardian angel arriving just in the nick of time; to clothe, bathe, and help his new friend recover his speech and selfhood.