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
It Was Just an Accident (2025)
On second viewing, I think this is a nearly perfect object of art and storytelling – and my favorite movie of 2025.
The Vanishing (1988)*
It's great when a nearly 40 year old movie you've never seen before can keep you guessing because you somehow managed to never encounter any spoilers for it over the years.
Bugonia (2025)
On second viewing, the whole bee/colony collapse theme worked more on me. Also, it was interesting to watch it again knowing how it ends and notice things in Emma Stone's performance that seem to be bigger tells than you could possibly know on first viewing.
Hoppers (2026)*
Not sure you can convince me Mayor Jerry's character design wasn't based on Gavin Newsom. Had a great time taking my daughter to see this.
Pocahontas (1995)*
I was 15 when this came out, which means I had basically no interest in seeing a Disney movie then. But my 4 year old wanted to watch it and, while I was braced for an entirely problematic story, it ended up not being nearly as bad in that way as I thought it might be – though it certainly has its cringe-inducing moments. And it's pretty damn gorgeous to look at, too.
Project Hail Mary (2026)*
Look, we live in a world where imagining anyone working together toward a common goal unfortunately seems more and more like fantasy. So, it's nice to see a movie that imagines a world where that can happen and hope can lead to survival.
The Ice Storm (1997)
It's the late nineties** and the American family is under the microscope as we feel the dreaded, so-called End of History. The Ice Storm is the film that its two-years-later descendent, American Beauty, both pretends and wants to be – more introspective than navel-gazing, and more revealing than faux-clever.
**and yes, I know the story takes place in the seventies, but it's really about both times, as so many period pieces are.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Sometimes the final girl can be a poor white boy with his gross Grandpa.
There's absolutely no reason any of the disparate pieces of this film should work together, yet here I am watching a movie with my kid about three decades after I enjoyed it as a kid, when it was already two decades old then.
Field of Dreams (1989)
Seriously, though, there's no reason on Earth why you'd hear or read the pitch for this movie and think it would actually work, and yet it absolutely does, every time. For that, it's a bit of a miracle. And watching it on 4K shows off just how beautiful it actually is, unlike the countless times I saw it on VHS back in the day – I could watch those shots of Costner wandering around his corn fields for hours, honestly.
The Battle of Algiers (1966)*
My god, what an achievement. You wouldn't necessarily think a movie made 60 years ago could feel so presently alive and even instructive, but I guess that's what happens when someone essentially makes an Italian Neorealist film about the tension between colonial fascism and self-determinative national identity and dignity.
Glory (1989)
Watching this as an adult, it very much plays like what a child thinks a grown-up movie should be, which makes sense as I thought this was such a grown-up movie when I first saw it at age 9 or 10. That said, at either age, there is much about it that impresses.
Also Seen:
- Sirāt (2025)
- Hail, Caesar! (2016)
- The Secret Agent (2025)
- Flow (2024)
- Kill Bill: Vol 2 (2004)
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
- 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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