Project Hail Mary (2026) | REVIEW

Ryan Gosling in PROJECT HAIL MARY — PHOTO: AMAZON MGM STUDIOS (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street; The LEGO Movie) — Screenplay by Drew Goddard (The Martian).

Based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary follows Dr. Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling), a former molecular biologist and middle school teacher, who wakes up on a spacecraft several light-years away from Earth with no memory of how he got there. As Grace’s memory slowly comes back to him, he investigates the spacecraft and finds that he is the sole survivor of a three-person crew sent out to find out how we can stop an extinction-level event from further harming Earth. A microorganism known as Astrophage, which is exponentially increasing its size, appears to be dimming our Sun and several stars in our solar neighborhood. The crew, including Grace, was sent out to figure out why Tau Ceti is the only unaffected star in the vicinity. Unsure about how to carry out his mission, Grace eventually comes into contact with an alien entity, which he dubs ‘Rocky,’ and its own glorious spacecraft. When Grace finds a way to communicate with Rocky, named so because of his ‘pile of rocks’-like body, Grace figures out that they’re there for the same reason. So, he now must figure out how to save lives at home and light-years away from our solar system.

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REVIEW: Creed III (2023)

Jonathan Majors as ‘Diamond’ Damian Anderson in CREED III — PHOTO: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Bros. Pictures / United Artists Releasing.

Directed by Michael B. Jordan — Screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin.

It would be fair to say that Michael B. Jordan is, to a certain extent, following in the footsteps of Sylvester Stallone. Not only has he taken over as the lead of the Rocky franchise, which is now spearheaded by Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis “Donnie” Creed, but his films have followed similar patterns as Stallone’s Rocky films. With Creed III, the extent to which Jordan is following in his footsteps has reached a new level with Jordan taking on directing duties just as Stallone eventually did for one of his most beloved franchises, which he appeared to exit at the end of Creed II (I thought it was a sweet ending to his story, though it sounds like he isn’t happy about the series moving on without him). Ryan Coogler’s Creed was a beautiful and moving knockout blow, Steven Caple, Jr.’s Creed II was solid but formulaic (and felt too much like a sequel to Rocky IV), and, now, Michael B. Jordan’s Creed III is similarly formulaic but it is also a strong and satisfying response to some of the reservations that I had about Creed II

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REVIEW: Creed II (2018)

US Theatrical Release Poster – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The following is a review of Creed II — Directed by Steven Caple, Jr.

Back in early July this year, I watched and reviewed the highly anticipated sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario. The sequel subtitled Day of the Soldado was directed by Stefano Sollima and his film provided us with a perfect example of just how wrong it can go when you make a change in the director’s chair for a sequel. Day of the Soldado was offensive and hollow, and it is one of the biggest film disappointments of the year for me. Continue reading “REVIEW: Creed II (2018)”

REVIEW: Creed (2015)

Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following is a review of ‘Creed’, a Ryan Coogler film.

The boxing saga that is the story of Rocky Balboa is immensely popular, with it having been relevant and present since 1976. Interestingly, we’ve seen a Rocky-film in every decade since John G. Avildsen and Sylvester Stallone first gave the Italian Stallion an opportunity against Apollo Creed in the 1977 Academy Awards Best Picture winner. Creed is a soft reboot of the franchise set 39 years after the events of Rocky, and I was surprised to feel that it might be the best film in the Rocky Balboa-saga. Continue reading “REVIEW: Creed (2015)”