Project Hail Mary

My View: Project Hail Mary  (2026)  PG-13 In Project Hail Mary, science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no idea who he is or how he got there. He soon figures out that his mission is to somehow stop a mysterious substance from killing the sun. Ryland is not alone up there and discovers unexpected help from an alien. There are some films that you enjoy from beginning to end, and this is one of them. You are going to fall in love with the alien that Ryland names Rocky. Project Hail Mary is such a wonderful film, from brilliant and jaw-dropping effects to a storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat while simultaneously laughing, that it is a wonder to behold. Gosling is perfect in the role of an everyman who isn’t trained to be an astronaut, much less a hero, but who is smart and willing to meet an alien life form not only halfway but become that life form's friend. While the running length may seem daunting at over two and a half hours, you never feel its length, as the story keeps you interested, excited, and joyful. There are some amazing space sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat, but the heart of this film is the friendship and trust that develops between Ryland and Rocky, as they try to save their worlds while feeling the weight of not wanting to fail. Project Hail Mary is a film full of wonder, humor, and suspense, and one you just might go see again.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Project Hail Mary Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide

My View:  Ready or Not 2: Here I Come  (2026)  R Ready or Not 2: Here I Come begins after surviving the game where the family Grace (Samara Weaving) was marrying into tried to kill her. She has now been kidnapped by four rival families, vying for a throne by killing her. To raise the stakes, Grace’s sister (Kathryn Newton) is now her partner in the new game. I loved the first film, Ready or Not, which I said was a perfect example of the definition of a ‘dark comedy,’ a film that makes light of a subject that is generally considered taboo, and I loved the gutty and fiery performance of Samara Weaving. While I enjoyed this film, as you would expect from a sequel, it doesn’t quite deliver the thrills of the original. Kathryn Newton’s addition to the cast as the estranged sister of Grace, who has a chip on her shoulder for being abandoned by Grace when she was 15, is a boon, as their interplay throughout is a lot of fun. There are still some fun kills, and yes, people do still blow up, getting blood everywhere (kind of a running gag in this one). I did enjoy the new characters, including the twins, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy, who have a very strange relationship. I will say that I was thrilled with the ending, so if you liked or loved the first film, go on another escape the nutty family with Grace, and this time you have her sister to help deal with all the blood. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Ready or Not 2 Website Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Tow  (2025)  R  Tow is about Amanda Ogle (Rose Byrne), a homeless woman in Seattle who has been living in her car for the past few years. Her world comes crashing down when her car is stolen and is found in a tow company's holding yard. To get her stolen car back, she will have to sue the company after receiving a bill that she can never afford to pay. Rose Byrne and a stellar supporting cast, including Demi Lovato, Dominic Sessa, Octavia Spencer, Ariana DeBose, Simon Rex, and Elsie Fisher, try to overcome both a script that tends to wander and a direction that never can find a place to concentrate on. We get a cast of characters that don’t help the storyline and are asked to say lines like, “No porn on the Lord’s Wi-Fi.” We get a lot of scenes of phone calls and texts between Amanda and her daughter, Avery (Elsie Fisher), that amount to a lot of feeling guilty and Avery feeling abandoned, all of which could be shown in one or two conversations, instead of every five to ten minutes. The final courtroom scene falls flat, making Amanda’s victory feel hollow and powerless. It’s a long way to go on a journey that never really gets started.   My Rating: Cable  Tow Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  André Is an Idiot  (2025)  André Is an Idiot is a documentary about a self-proclaimed ‘idiot’, André Ricciardi, who learns that, after skipping the colonoscopy that could have saved him, he is dying of colon cancer. He decides to go out with how he has always lived his life: with irreverence, humor, and curiosity. I really enjoyed this documentary, but man, I am glad that I never knew the guy because he would have driven me crazy. To say that André’s view of the world is a little off-kilter would be an understatement. However, if you are going on a journey with a man who is going to die of cancer, you might as well go on that journey with a guy who sees the world as his playground, and we are all just there for him to mock. There is a ton of animated scenes that illustrate Andre's kooky ideas, including a game show where contestants vie to kill him. André fights as long as he can and does it on his terms, and no one else is going to change his mind. My Rating: Full Price  Andre is an Idiot Website  Now playing in select theaters

Forgotten Film: Cold Souls  (2009) PG-13  Paul (Paul Giamatti) is an actor preparing for his Broadway role in “Uncle Vanya”. However, Paul isn’t feeling it, and he learns that there is a doctor who can put his soul in storage, giving him a new outlook. When losing his soul doesn’t work, he asks for someone else’s and is given a new one, one of a Russian poet. It improves his performance but ruins everything else in his life, and he is desperate to get his old soul back. This is a very strange comedy that is worth seeing because of Paul Giamatti, who is brilliant in this strange, deadpan comedy that wonders if you really need a soul. My Rating; Full Price  Cold Souls Info  The film is available on Amazon Prime

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Project Hail Mary:  Royal Navy Logistics

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice  (2026) R   In Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, Nick (Vince Vaughn), a mobster, must use a time machine to travel back in time to save his friend, Mike (James Marsden), from being murdered. To complicate matters, Nick has just found out that Mike has been having an affair with Nick’s wife (Eiza González). I love the tagline of the film, “A time-traveling, double-crossing, ass-kicking comedy.”  Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice Website  Premiering on Hulu on Friday, March 27, 2026.

Until Next Time!