Martin (1977)
June 6, 2026
Martin earns its 8 by asking a question that quietly dismantles the entire vampire genre. What if there is no such thing as a vampire, only a disturbed young man who believes he is one?
Tag: Loneliness
Loneliness may be the most universal subject fiction has: everyone recognizes it, and few things are harder to render honestly. This tag collects reviews and essays on stories about isolation and the ache of disconnection.
2010sLet Me In (2010)
June 6, 2026
Matt Reeves remakes Let the Right One In with care and conviction. Let Me In earns its 8 by being the rarest of things, an American remake of a beloved foreign film that justifies its own existence.
2010sThe Transfiguration (2016)
June 6, 2026
Michael O'Shea's grounded debut uses vampirism as a lens for trauma and isolation. The film never says, and the ambiguity is the point.
1940sThe Shop Around the Corner (1940)
May 19, 2026
Two Budapest shop employees who can't stand each other are unknowingly falling in love through anonymous correspondence. The Shop Around the Corner is Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 American romantic comedy adapted from Miklós László's Hungarian play Parfumerie, depicting two Budapest leather-goods…
1960sThe Apartment (1960)
May 19, 2026
An ambitious insurance clerk lends his apartment to executives for their affairs, until he falls for the boss's mistress at Christmas. The Apartment is Billy Wilder's 1960 American comedy-drama about an ambitious insurance company clerk who lends his Manhattan apartment…
1960sHow the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
May 19, 2026
Chuck Jones directs the animated Dr. Seuss special about a sour creature plotting to steal Christmas from the Whos in Whoville. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
1960sA Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
May 19, 2026
Charlie Brown directs the Peanuts gang in a Nativity pageant after rejecting the commercialism of the season. A Charlie Brown Christmas is Bill Melendez's 1965 American animated television special depicting Charlie Brown's depression at the commercialization of the Christmas season…
2000sTokyo Godfathers (2003)
May 19, 2026
Satoshi Kon directs the story of three homeless Tokyo residents who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve and search for the parents. Tokyo Godfathers is Satoshi Kon's 2003 Japanese animated film depicting three homeless Tokyo residents, a middle-aged alcoholic…
2000sLove Actually (2003)
May 19, 2026
Multiple intertwined London relationships unfold across the five weeks leading up to Christmas, from the Prime Minister to schoolchildren. Love Actually is Richard Curtis's 2003 British romantic comedy depicting multiple interconnected London relationships unfolding across the five weeks leading up…
2000sThe Holiday (2006)
May 19, 2026
Two women in unhappy relationships swap homes for Christmas across the Atlantic and find new romance during the holiday. The Holiday is Nancy Meyers's 2006 American-British romantic comedy depicting two women in unhappy relationships, an English country-newspaper columnist and an…
2000sBad Santa (2003)
May 19, 2026
A drunken con artist working seasonal Santa jobs robs department stores on Christmas Eve and reluctantly bonds with a strange child. Bad Santa is Terry Zwigoff's 2003 American black comedy depicting Willie Soke, an alcoholic safecracker who works seasonal Santa…
2010sBohemian Rhapsody (2018)
May 19, 2026
Bryan Singer's 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic. Queen's Live Aid recreation.