Now Playing: May 2026

Our May 2026 edition of Now Playing features movies to laugh (and cry) about, and indie pop to write to!

Mary Liza Hartong

I saw "The Ballad of Wallis Island" oh, maybe last summer, and ever since I've been wanting to rewatch it with my dad. It is, in my humble opinion, the perfect mix of humor, emotion, novelty, wit, and visual gorgeousness. I knew my dad would dig it. Especially the main character, a lovable dodo with no sense of boundaries. We watched it while my baby vied for our attention, so it was a bit of a stop-and-start viewing, but I was surprised to hear him say, "This is a sad movie." He laughed a lot too, but the sadness was what stood out for him. Maybe it's an age thing. Then again, once he said it, the sadness stuck out to me, too. I'm thinking I should watch it again in a year or two to see where I stand. For now, I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a good laugh-and-cry.

E.P. Tuazon

I want to shout out the group Michelle whose music I wrote most of my latest stories to. Unfortunately, they broke up which is a real bummer to me. Thankfully, one of the members has another group I just discovered called the booyah! kids who are still making music. When musicians break up or stop making music, it depresses the shit out of me. Recently, the drummer of my favorite band of all time, The Pillows, just passed away. I just wrote an essay about them for the Los Angeles Review too! Read it here: https://losangelesreview.org/like-a-love-song-by-e-p-tuazon/