Some quick thoughts on movies I watched last month, followed by lists of my current favorite films and performances of the year so far...

  • an asterisk (*) indicates a first time viewing

The Lego Movie (2014)*

Good fun, for sure. I'm fairly certain the last 10-15 minutes or so broke my 4 year old's brain.

The Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary Lego mini-figure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil Lego tyrant from conquering the universe.
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Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Few movies were as formative to my sense of humor as this. And I just showed it to my 4 year old, who was really into it!

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
The eccentric and childish Pee-wee Herman embarks on a big adventure when his beloved bicycle is stolen. Armed with information from a fortune-teller and a relentless obsession with his prized possession, Pee-wee encounters a host of odd characters and bizarre situations as he treks across the country to recover his bike.
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Train to Busan (2016)*

I thought the whole *zombies on a train* setup was pretty great, but I found some of the characters and inherent melodrama to be grating at times. Also, I don't know if it's just something about the version available on Netflix specifically, but I never could quite shake the feeling that it looked more like a TV show than a movie – I mean, a very well-produced TV show, but still a TV show.

Train to Busan (2016)
When a zombie virus pushes Korea into a state of emergency, those trapped on an express train to Busan must fight for their own survival.
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The Nice Guys (2016)

This one grows on me a bit more with every viewing.

The Nice Guys (2016)
A private eye investigates the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles and uncovers a conspiracy.
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Mary Poppins (1964)

After all these years, I still remember so many of the lines and beats of the film. It's still as charming as it ever was – and as I get older, I realize how disarmingly weird it is, too. And now my daughter is a fan of it, as well.

Mary Poppins (1964)
In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
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The Christophers (2026)*

Overall, I dug this. And it's great to see Soderbergh doing things like this and last year's Black Bag rather than just going on the various formal explorations he'd been inclined more toward in recent years. I hope he'll keep up both tracks going forward. Ian McKellen, by the way, is really great in this. Michaela Coel's character is a bit too much of a cypher, maybe, though that seems more a function of how the character is written and directed than anything else.

The Christophers (2025)
The estranged children of a once-famous artist hire a forger to complete his unfinished works so they can be “discovered” and sold after his death.
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Sure, there are a few moments that swing big and don't quite connect as intended, but this will maybe always stand as the most cinematically adventurous of the Star Wars films. And it will always be way too bad that the next movie drops the ball so hard after this set things up for something so potentially great.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.
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When Marnie Was There (2014)*

When a film as ethereal in its loveliness as this can keep you wondering about so much throughout most of its runtime while holding the interest of both a 4 year old and her dad, you know it's got something special going on.

When Marnie Was There (2014)
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
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Speed Racer (2008)

It's a two and a quarter hour movie with probably about 5 or 6 hours of plot and story packed into it. And the result of doing that, coupled with the high-wire, pedal down to the floor formal and visual aesthetics, is a series of eye-gasms designed to propel you through the entire runtime. As many have more or less said, it truly is simultaneously retro and ahead of its time in a way that makes it something very rare.

Speed Racer (2008)
Speed Racer is a young and brilliant racing driver. When corruption in the racing leagues costs his brother his life, Speed must team up with the police and the mysterious Racer X to bring an end to the corruption and criminal activities.
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Dead Poets Society (1989)

I'm not sure my feelings about a film have ever zigged and zagged as much as they have for this one. Thirty years ago, high school me thought this was a deeply profound and very adult movie. Fifteen years ago, I thought it was cringe-inducing, sentimentalist schmaltz. Now, I've horseshoed back around to finding it to be a sincerely moving portrait of young men learning how to access and live in their emotions.

Dead Poets Society (1989)
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
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The Verdict (1982)

I first saw this movie in a college film course that I think was maybe called Storytelling Strategies or something like that. The way the professor set it up as this beacon of superb writing and filmmaking really just didn't match my own experience of it at the time. And now, so many years later, while I certainly appreciate it more than I did as an 18 year old, I still don't quite get why some people place it so highly in the firmament of courtroom dramas or of Newman's or Lumet's filmographies. Don't get me wrong – it's solid as hell, but I feel like I'm missing something that connects with other people.

The Verdict (1982)
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin suddenly realizes that the case should actually go to court—to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients... and to restore his standing as a lawyer.
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Also Seen:

  • Marty Supreme (2025)
  • The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
  • Michael Clayton (2007)

Current Favorite Films of 2026

Current Favorite Performances of 2026

  • an asterisk (*) indicates a new addition since last month

Best Lead Female Actor:
- Rachel McAdams, Send Help
- Margot Robbie, Wuthering Heights

Best Lead Male Actor:
- Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary
- Dylan O'Brien, Send Help
- Ian McKellen, The Christophers
- Matt Johnson, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Best Supporting Female Actor:
- Sandra Hüller, Project Hail Mary
- Erin Kellyman, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Best Supporting Male Actor:
- Jack O’Connell, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Jay McCarrol, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
- Ben Affleck, The Rip

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Jeremiah Lee McVay’s profile
Jeremiah Lee uses Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists. 2,180 films watched. Favorites: All the President’s Men (1976), Blue Velvet (1986), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Thin Blue Line (1988). Bio: I work in media and entertainment. I also make a podcast with some friends about movies that have been on the Sight & Sound poll. I often also talk about movies on my other podcast.
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