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

And here's a playlist featuring music from the movies listed below for you to enjoy while you read...

Dead Man's Wire (2026)*

A pretty good little movie that feels like it could have been a pretty great little movie if they'd sorta fleshed out the middle of it a bit more. Man, Bill Skarsgård sure likes to play dudes who seem like they have snapped or might snap any moment.

Dead Man’s Wire (2025)
In 1977, former real estate developer Tony Kiritsis puts a dead man’s switch on himself and the mortgage banker who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.
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Backrooms (2026)*

Hi, it's your boy, the number one* fan of liminal spaces on screen logging on. Sure, anytime the word "architect" is uttered on screen, it had me thinking of George Costanza claiming to be one named Art Vandalay; and maybe some of the therapy stuff seemed a bit undercooked in a way you might expect from someone who is still but a fetus of filmmaking... But those were minor blips that, rather than causing any real aggravation, more just made me smile to myself a bit. Overall, this movie is 100% my shit and the fact that it was made by a 20 year old is certainly impressive, but it would be an impressive film from any filmmaker working in this space (pun not intended).

*Not actually number one, but I dig 'em a lot and use them in my own work.

Backrooms (2026)
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

o c e a n s a r e n o w b a t t l e f i e l d s .

O c e a n s A r e N o w B a t t l e f i e l d s .

Oceans. Are. Now. Battlefields.

OCEANS. ARE. NOW. BATTLEFIELDS.

OCEANS! ARE! NOW! BATTLEFIELDS!

OCEANS ARE NOW BATTLEFIELDS!

OCEANS ARE NOW BATTLEFIELDS!!!

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship’s thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.
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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)*

Finally, someone had the guts to say that garden gnomes are little fucking creeps!

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)
Gromit’s concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a “smart” gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master… or Wallace may never be able to invent again!
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Kpop Demon Hunters (2025)*

We waited to watch this until we thought our daughter might be able to handle it and she is now obsessed. And I get it... it's good!

KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren’t selling out stadiums, they’re using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.
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Zodiac (2007)

After my last couple of watches, I'm starting to really think this may be the best film of the century so far.

Zodiac (2007)
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the answers, an amateur cartoonist from the initial sightings races against time to prevent what he believes is another murder.
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Disclosure Day (2026)*

I didn't really like the visual aesthetic of the film and I seriously thought the religious subplot was ham-fisted as hell. There were moments that worked for me, but overall, I just never felt the stakes the film seemed to think it was selling. Who knows, though... it might play better on future viewings with the absence of expectations.

Disclosure Day (2026)
A cybersecurity expert becomes a whistleblower after uncovering secrets about aliens, putting him on the run from a corporation. Meanwhile, a meteorologist experiencing strange phenomena joins forces with him to prove there’s life beyond our understanding.
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Whisper of the Heart (1995)*

I knew absolutely nothing about this going in, other than it was a Studio Ghibli release. But man, what a lovely movie. Gorgeously animated and so good at capturing the budding development of a young person as they decide to become an artist. It really captures something about the maniacal condition that can overcome you when in the throes of artistic expression and creation and the mixed bag of feelings that can wash over you as you start to share your work and come up for air from the mania that fueled you.

Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: “Seiji Amasawa.”
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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

The first and only previous time I saw this, I was a 21 year old film school kid who loved Kubrick and was feeling disenchanted with the whole Spielberg thing, so I was perhaps perfectly primed to just really not be into this, as excited as I was about the idea of it. But it just did not connect with me at the time, which is sort of bizarre in retrospect since I was also at the time really on a "Pinocchio is the best Disney movie because of how horrific it actually is" kick. And look, again, I was a 21yo film school kid, so I was certainly a bit pretentious in my tastes at the time (though I think also thoughtful in a lot of ways), but watching it now, I think I just was never going to get it at that age.

Now, as 1) a mid-40s parent of a young child, and 2) someone with a lot of apprehension about the state of the world, including both the emergence of something we at least call A.I. and our refusal to take seriously our stewardship of the planet, I certainly find more in the film to connect and reckon with. I wouldn't say I've totally turned around on it, mainly because I think some of the middle sections of the film are still pretty clunkily hit or miss, but I imagine I won't take another quarter century to give it another shot and see how it goes.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.
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Belle (2021)*

Visually stunning, but the emotional pitch of it was a bit too much for me to connect with at times. And it felt longer than it was.

Belle (2021)
Suzu is a 17-year-old high-school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world “U” and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U’s eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious, dragon-like figure appears before her.
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Buffalo '66 (1998)

Having seen this at the Angelika in my first week or so of living in New York to attend film school, this is a somewhat formative and revelatory film for me. As a result, any time I've gone to revisit it, I've been slightly nervous it won't hold up. But I still love it and find it to be an inspiring piece of work.

Buffalo ’66 (1998)
Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.
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Funny Games (1998)*

OK, Michael, you magnificent bastard... you're right! I'm implicated! OK???

Funny Games (1997)
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic “games” with one another for their own amusement.
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Toy Story 5 (2026)*

Saw this on Father's Day with my 4 year old, which is maybe the perfect way to have seen it.

If I have any gripe about it as a film (and this goes for the 4th one, too, as I recall), it's that I don't like that they literally box up most of the old toys and put them on a shelf to, I have to imagine to some degree, make things less unwieldy. I know some of the original voice cast has passed away, but it just feels way too convenient and truly, clunkily unmotivated by anything in the world of the story to just cut them from most of the runtime like they do.

Toy Story 5 (2026)
When Bonnie receives a Lilypad tablet as a gift and becomes obsessed, Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang’s jobs become exponentially harder when they have to go head to head with the all-new threat to playtime.
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The Game (1997)

I wonder how many takes Finchy made Michael Douglas do of pulling a key from a wooden clown's mouth...

The Game (1997)
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
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Supergirl (2026)*

Milly Alcock is great as Supergirl, so I'm excited to see her hopefully show up plenty more in upcoming DC films. Overall, while I didn't find it quite as good as last year's Superman, I still had a lot of fun and expect to revisit it plenty in the future, just like a good comic book or comic book movie.

Supergirl (2026)
When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.
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Maternal Instinct (2026)*

It's a brutal story. But while I understand what happened, I can't tell you exactly why it happened. I wish the film had found a way to dig deeper into whatever underlying issues Taylor has/had that led her down this terrible path.

Maternal Instinct (2026)
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren’t hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
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The Cat Returns (2002)

I could honestly watch a whole series of movies with the Baron, Muta, and Toto going on adventures as the Cat Bureau – especially if they were still voiced by Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle, and Elliott Gould in the English dubs.

The Cat Returns (2002)
Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it’s no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.
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A History of Violence (2005)

The moment when Viggo subtly shows his true self is sublime, but on this two decade later rewatch, I have to say I never quite bought what was happening on either side of that. And maybe that's kind of the point – intellectually, I get it, but though it's pretty close to working on me, it just doesn't quite get there.

A History of Violence (2005)
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
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Moneyball (2011)

Sometimes, I just like to hang out with my baseball friends.

Moneyball (2011)
The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
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Also Seen:

  • The Truman Show (1998)
  • Lincoln (2012)
  • KPop Demon Hunters (2025 - second viewing)

Current Favorite Films of 2026

Current Favorite Performances of 2026

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

Best Lead Female Actor:
- Inde Navarrette, Obsession
- Rachel McAdams, Send Help
- Anne Hathaway, Mother Mary
- Michaela Coel, Mother Mary
- Keke Palmer, I Love Boosters
- 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
- Bill Skarsgård, Dead Man's Wire
- Robert Pattinson, The Drama

Best Supporting Female Actor:
- Sandra Hüller, Project Hail Mary
- Erin Kellyman, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada 2
- Naomie Ackie, I Love Boosters
- Demi Moore, I Love Boosters
- Renate Reinsve, Backrooms

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

Current Favorite First Watches of 2026

Non-first run movies I saw for the first time this year...

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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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