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...

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Movie Trailer Voiceover Guy: In a world organized entirely around holidays... Director Henry Selick presents a movie about early 1990s Tim Burton trying to be Walt Disney, but then realizing he makes a much better Tim Burton.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
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Matilda (1996)*

I was a little too old for this when it came out, so my first time seeing it was this month when my daughter was home sick from school. Despite the strep throat, we had a blast!

Matilda (1996)
Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a terrifying, sadistic headmistress. As she becomes fed up with the constant cruelty, she discovers she has a special gift that she just might be able to use to outwit the unruly adults around her.
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Prince of Darkness (1987)*

Even though I've really come to love Carpenter in recent years after not really exploring his work for so long, I have to admit this one just didn't land for me.

Prince of Darkness (1987)
A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.
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Nuremberg (2025)*

Somewhat obviously given the topic, this had a lot of potential. And while it's not totally squandered or anything, it's also not fully realized. Rami Malek is an actor who I've pretty much never found compelling on screen so, given that my expectations of him are so goddamn low they're getting poked with a pitchfork in the fiery depths of hell, I have to admit that he wasn't as bad as I thought he might be. That said, he never really comes close to holding his own against the heavy hitters he's on screen with... and let's be honest, none of them are really doing their best work here, so that's really not great. But yeah, I think it's gotta be the screenplay that really takes a lot of the blame because it doesn't give anyone enough to work with.

Nuremberg (2025)
In postwar Germany, an American psychiatrist must determine whether Nazi prisoners are fit to go on trial for war crimes, and finds himself in a complex battle of intellect and ethics with Hermann Göring, Hitler's right-hand man.
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Rosemary's Baby (1968)

I can't remember the last time I saw this, but it's even better than I remembered. I truly can't imagine what it must have been like when this movie came out in 1968 and played to mainstream audiences who'd likely never seen anything like it on screen before. Also, due to some of the complications of my wife's pregnancy (everyone is fine!), some of the pregnancy stuff having to do with Rosemary's failing health definitely hit harder than before.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.
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Rain Man (1988)

I know Hoffman won the Oscar and got all the attention for this, but it really is Cruise's movie and features one of his best performances – and one of the best variations on his run of "driven, unrepentant asshole who learns a little something about being human" roles.

Rain Man (1988)
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.
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You Can See Everything (2026)*

Ostensibly a movie about Elizabeth "Liz" Holmes, it's really a movie about how and if we can recognize an objective truth in a swirl of extenuating and debatable circumstances. In other words, it's a movie that 100% meets and portrays the current cultural and historical moment we're living through every day. For that, it truly is the movie of the year, and after some time has passed will likely be considered a masterpiece.

You Can See Everything (2026)
Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending three-year journey into the abyss.
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Digger (2026)*

Well, damn... I guess I'm part of Digger-Hive. 

Cruise is doing some of his most daring A-C-T-I-N-G of at least the last couple of decades, if not ever. And while I'm not sure every little bit of the movie worked, it certainly all had my complete and utter attention and I'm still turning it over in my head weeks later. 

Oh, and while I keep hearing people comparing it's satire to Dr. Strangelove, I gotta say it felt more like a Terry Gilliam movie to me.

Digger (2026)
The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything.
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The Lego Batman Movie (2017)*

This was a lot better than it had any business being. And my daughter loved it.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick.
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Porco Rosso (1992)*

After watching this, I had to look up which came first, this or Disney's TaleSpin and, while TaleSpin came out before this movie, the Miyazaki manga that this was based on came out about a year before TaleSpin and did apparently influence that show's creators.

Anyway, flying pig who hates fascists. Good stuff.

Porco Rosso (1992)
In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.
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Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Hand't seen this in like 35 years, so either forgot or likely didn't even realize how ridiculously meta it is. Totally a lot of fun.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Young sweethearts Billy and Kate move to the Big Apple, land jobs in a high-tech office park and soon reunite with the friendly and lovable Gizmo. But a series of accidents creates a whole new generation of Gremlins. The situation worsens when the devilish green creatures invade a top-secret laboratory and develop genetically altered powers, making them even harder to destroy!
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Paranormal Activity (2007)*

Sporadically engaging, but barely a movie.

Paranormal Activity (2007)
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
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Coraline (2009)

Man, this is a lot better than I remembered. Of course, it surely helps that – yeah, I'll say it – I now have a daughter and we watched it together. Though, a not for fellow parents, my kid really enjoyed watching this in the moment, but had some nightmares a couple of nights later about the Other Mother, so do with that info what you will.

By the way, Coraline's parents do really suck and I aspire to live my life pretty much in opposition to them.

Coraline (2009)
Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
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The Departed (2006)

This has never been anywhere close to a favorite Scorsese film for me, and likely never will be, but I do have to admit it's been growing on me.

The Departed (2006)
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
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It Follows (2014)

Well, this has aged well. One big question, though:

When the hell does this movie take place?? Because other than the weird seashell tablet device thing that one girl has, it could totally be the 1980s or early 1990s...

It Follows (2014)
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
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Also Seen:

  • The Prestige (2006)
  • Charlotte's Web (1973)

Current Favorite Films of 2026

Current Favorite Performances and Music of 2026

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

Best Lead Female Actor:
- Inde Navarrette, Obsession
- Rachel McAdams, Send Help
- Olivia Wilde, The Invite
- Anne Hathaway, Mother Mary
- Michaela Coel, Mother Mary
- Keke Palmer, I Love Boosters

Best Lead Male Actor:
- Tom Cruise, Digger*
- Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary
- Seth Rogen, The Invite
- Matt Damon, The Odyssey
- Austin Abrams, Resident Evil

Best Supporting Female Actor:
- Sandra Hüller, Project Hail Mary
- Penélope Cruz, The Invite
- <REDACTED>, You Can See Everything*
- Gillian Anderson, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
- Samantha Morton, The Odyssey
- Merritt Wever, Primetime

Best Supporting Male Actor:
- Skyler Gisondo, Primetime
- James Ortiz, Project Hail Mary
- Jack O’Connell, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- John Leguizamo, The Odyssey
- Edward Norton, The Invite
- Robert Pattinson, The Odyssey

Best Score:
- Kane Parsons & Edo Van Breemen, Backrooms
- Ludwig Göransson, The Odyssey
- Ari Balouzian, You Can See Everything
- Cosmo Sheldrake, Digger
- Rock Burwell, Obsession
- Alex G, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

Best Needledrop, etc.
- "Sign of the Times" in Project Hail Mary
- <REDACTED> in You Can See Everything

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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