My May 2026 Media Diet

This past month I’ve become oddly invested in the new wave of horror writer-directors. This interview between Curry Barker and Zach Cregger has me genuinely excited and reassured me that my favorite genre is in good hands. Horror has been on a great run lately, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

On the complete opposite end of the excitement spectrum, I added a UPS to my network cabinet because apparently that’s the kind of thing I get excited about now. I also replaced my aging LG 5K monitor, whose image retention issues were becoming impossible to ignore, with a new ASUS display. The extra screen real estate has been fantastic, both in pixels and physical size. I mounted it above my desk and immediately wished I’d done the same thing years ago. The whole process was surprisingly painless. I discovered self-drilling drywall anchors along the way and now I’m convinced they’re one of humanity’s greatest inventions.

Anyway, here’s what I watched, played, and read this month:

📺 Beat Bobby Flay. This is the comfort food TV show of the month in our apartment. Can you believe this thing has nearly 50 seasons? We briefly looked into attending a taping and discovered they’ll pay you 200 bucks to be in the audience. The catch? It’s a 10-hour day. Worth it? 👍

📺 Regular Show. One of the all-time great cartoons deserved a rewatch. It’s perfect for life’s in-between moments when you’re cooking dinner or cleaning around the house. Guys Nightttttttt!!!!!! 👍

🍿 Exit 8. I had no idea this was based on a video game until a few weeks ago. The movie was decent enough, if a bit predictable. Based on what I’ve seen, I think I’d be terrible at the game.

📺 Widow’s Bay. This wasn’t even on my radar, but it’s right up my alley. We need more horror television, and this is shaping up to be a lot of fun. The comedy is surprisingly sharp too. Stephen Root has come a long way from Milton in Office Space. 👍

🍿 Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. I didn’t know I needed another one of these, but they kind of nailed it. The ending feels pretty definitive, but I’d happily watch more entries in this world. Elijah Wood is having a blast here. Maybe he can become the Daniel Craig of this weird horror-adjacent Knives Out thing they’ve got going.

🍿 They Will Kill You. I watched this the day after Ready or Not 2 and was surprised by how similar the themes are. Not quite as good as the former, but I did enjoy the final sequence involving the pig’s head.

🍿 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Nothing particularly special outside of the genuinely impressive animation. If you’ve grown up with Mario, you’ll probably have a good time. Huge miss not giving Jack Black another musical number though.

🕹️ Kirby and the Forgotten Land. My brother lent me this years ago and I immediately lost the cartridge. I finally found it a couple weeks ago. The Kirby games have always felt like Mario’s easier cousin, but this one adds enough new ideas to stand on its own. I’m having a blast. 👍

📺 Dark Wizard. A fascinating look at an incredibly talented and deeply troubled climber. We had just visited Yosemite, which features heavily in the documentary, so the timing was perfect. The ending is sad, but the footage and story are worth the ride. 👍

🍿 The Drama. Went in completely blind. The central conflict is a fun thought experiment, even if the characters consistently make the worst possible decisions.

🕹️ Mixtape. If you’re a white millennial who grew up in the suburbs, this game was made specifically for you. The story is great and the gameplay sequences between conversations are even better. Some people have criticized the lack of player choice, but I think there’s absolutely room for tightly authored stories like this. 👍

📺 The Terror. I loved the first season but skipped the second because the reviews scared me off. Dan Stevens as a mental patient in a seemingly haunted asylum? I’m all the way back in.

📺 Snowball Earth. I’m struggling to come up with anything interesting to say about this show. Which might be the review.

📺 Nippon Sangoku. I really like the retro-future Japan setting, but I’m still waiting for the story to give me a reason to care. Maybe that uncertainty is the point. I’m not convinced I’ll stick around long enough to find out.

🍿 Project Hail Mary. I thought the book was good, not great. Still, after The Martian, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised this got the Hollywood treatment. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller absolutely cooked. Gosling’s comedic timing is perfect and Rocky is handled wonderfully. I still think this kind of story wraps pseudo-science in a layer of hard sci-fi clothing, but I had a great time regardless. 👍

📺 Devil May Cry. Fast-paced, stylish, and fun. Also completely forgettable. If they make another season, I’ll watch it. I’ll probably forget that one too.

📺 Hacks. I’ve really enjoyed this final season despite being lukewarm on some of the previous ones. The show is at its best when the characters are moving toward a common goal. The finale wraps things up a little too neatly, but I had a good time.

🍿 Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Another great Zazie Beetz performance. I’m also a sucker for Sam Rockwell ever since Moon. The themes are a little heavy-handed, but the movie kept me engaged from beginning to end.

📺 The Punisher: One Last Kill. Despite the internet collectively losing its mind over the CGI, I thought this was a fun 40-minute romp. I’d be perfectly happy if Marvel gave us one of these every year or two. No series, just checking in on Frank.

🍿 Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. This could have been another generic possession movie, but wrapping it in ancient Egyptian horror gives it enough personality to stand out. Gross, creepy, and reasonably effective.

📺 From. The first season was incredibly compelling. The longer it runs, the less convinced I am that anyone involved knows where it’s going. And yet, I can’t stop watching. Help.

🕹️ Marble It Up! Ultra. The spiritual successor to Marble Blast Ultra that I somehow completely missed. It runs beautifully on the Ayn Thor and is perfect for five-minute sessions or hour-long binges. I’m about 80% through and expect to finish it soon. 👍

🍿 Obsession. This might be my movie of the year so far. I loved everything about it. The theater experience elevated it even further. People were screaming, covering their eyes, and collectively bracing for whatever came next. Great possession horror and I can’t wait to see what Curry Barker does next. 👍

📺 Big Mistakes. Loved this. Dan Levy’s humor is firing on all cylinders and watching the characters slowly stumble into a life of crime is endlessly entertaining. Bring on season two. 👍

🕹️ 1000xRESIST. Between this and Mixtape, I’m realizing that coming-of-age stories might be my thing right now. The art style is fantastic and the mostly-walking gameplay stays varied enough to keep me engaged. Looking forward to finishing it soon.

🍿 Iron Lung. I don’t know who Markiplier is. I didn’t know this was a video game adaptation. I’m also not entirely sure what happened in the movie. I think it was bad. I still watched the whole thing.

🕹️ Mina the Hollower. The Shovel Knight team is back with a Game Boy Color-inspired action adventure that feels like Zelda crossed with Dark Souls. I’m not very far in, but I like what I’ve played. I just hope the difficulty curve eases up a little because I’ve already had to replay a few sections more times than I wanted to. 👍