Nate at the Movies: October 2026 Roundup 🍿

Hey, Reader! Welcome back another month of movies. Let's find you something worth watching.

🌟 This Month's Must-See Movies

Wildwood (2026)

Everything that you've seen said online about Wildwood is correct: this film is a triumph of human ingenuity and a middle finger to the enshittification of Hollywood. It's one of the best animated movies of all time; PLEASE go see it in the theater.

"As to be expected with Laika, the animation was not just impressive—this was the most outstanding stop-motion animation I’ve ever seen, and one of the best-animated movies I’ve ever seen. Every inch of this film was gorgeous, vast, detailed, expressive, and satisfyingly fluid at 24 painstaking frames per second".

Read the full review

You Can See Everything (2026)

You Can See Everything wasn't on my radar—it wasn't on anyone's—but it blew me away with one of the most surprising, disturbing, hilarious documentary narratives I've ever seen. It could very well be the first documentary to ever be nominated for Best Picture.

Read the full review

Digger (2026)

October was the month of "movies that were miracles to be made that also rocked", and Digger was no exception. I know a lot of people that this movie would make upset with its politically-charged satire, but I'm not one of them.

Read the full review

💎 My Favorite First-Time Watches This Month

I don't usually include new releases here, but Wild Horse Nine (2026) couldn't get into the 5-star-heavy previous section. This film was outstanding, hilarious, and predictably dark and existential—easily my favorite of Martin McDonagh's films.

I watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) in preparation for Wild Horse Nine, and I'm glad I found a Martin McDonagh movie I liked! The film was tense, depressing, and darkly funny at times, and I'm so glad it got my boy Sam Rockwell an Oscar.

The Boxtrolls (2014) was the fourth Laika movie I watched before Wildwood, and though it wasn't an all-time great, it was a fun and more innocent turn for a studio who's garnered a reputation for dark family storytelling.

🎯 Works in Progress

Adaptation Appreciation (10/12): This month's read, amazingly, was Wildwood, by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis! I adored the book's dark fantasy and lovable, complex characters, and those qualities were brought perfectly to the screen in the most impressive stop-motion animation I've ever seen.

Harry Potter (7/8): This month was The Deathly Hallows Part 1, the first Harry Potter movie that I hadn't seen prior to this months-long marathon. I really enjoyed it, especially because it put the narrative focus back on Harry, Ron, and Hermione as a trio. The Horcrux mission has been intense and entertaining, and I can't wait to see how it ends!

🎶 While I Wasn't At The Movies

I haven't been watching as much TV since the summer ended, but I do watch a good bit of YouTube, and one of my favorite YouTubers is a guy named Scott Cramer. His videos are super creative—just this month he had videos where he recreated the Disney Channel Games for his friends (his version is the Cramer Games) and gave a TED Talk in his hometown of Fargo, ND. Check him out!

🚨 Next Month's Movie Radar

I've been excited for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026) since their impeccable castings were announced. Then that vibrant, colorful trailer came out and I got more excited. There hasn't been a bad Hunger Games movie yet, and I don't think this will be the first.

I'm also pretty excited for Godzilla Minus Zero (2026) (Clayface will have some serious competition for the Visual Effects Oscar) and two anticipated screenings: Behemoth! (2026) and The Debut (2026). I'll be seeing the latter at the Lone Star Film Festival, which I've never been to—I'm pumped!