‘Project Hail Mary’ Projects a Universe’s Worth of Resourcefulness and Wonder

March 18, 2026

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

It’s a touchdown! (CREDIT: Jonathan Olley
© 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, Priya Kansara

Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Running Time: 156 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Quite Mild Suggestive Themes and References

Release Date: March 13, 2026 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Ryland Grace is just a middle school teacher! But he might also be the exact right person to save the world, and possibly even the entire universe. Here’s the potentially apocalyptic problem: a newly discovered form of microorganisms called astrophages are basically eating up our Sun and so many other stars… except for one strikingly immune astral body light-years away from Earth. Despite his current humble position, Dr. Grace has the precisely necessary background to tackle such an intractable problem. So one day he finds himself waking up in a spaceship very far from home, and it just so happens that he’s right next to a cute alien scientist that he dubs Rocky. And so, they of course team up to save the universe together.

What Made an Impression?: A Truly Alien Encounter: With more than a century’s worth of cinema about interplanetary adventures, it can feel like we’ve run out of all possible design ideas for extraterrestrial beings. And yet we’ve never before encountered anything quite like Rocky (though certain individual elements may harken back to some classics). Voiced and puppeteered by James Ortiz, he’s got the blocky geometry of TARS from Interstellar crossed with the boundless energy of a puppy and the playful genius of an Einstein.
A Bond as Vast as the Universe: I wonder how a movie critic from Rocky’s species would describe Dr. Grace in a review of their planet’s version of Project Hail Mary. I imagine this creature would be massively charmed and would even speculate that he would be giggling all the time on their planet’s analogue of Saturday Night Live. Anyway, that’s just a windup towards disclosing that Rocky and Grace’s friendship is absolutely lovely to witness. You could call them The Odd Couple of 2026, except that it’s not odd at all.
Remembering What It’s All For: If your favorite part of Toni Erdmann was Sandra Hüller busting out some Whitney Houston, then you’ll be happy to learn that she sings another noteworthy pop number in PHM. I won’t mention the exact tune here in case you want to go in cold, but I will note that it has been teased during the promotional cycle, and it’s a blast whether you’re ready for it or not.
We Can Do It!: With equal amounts of fun and worry to be had in this epic galaxy-spanning adventure, the biggest takeaway is that there’s still room for hope in an existence where everything seems to be crumbling apart. I was massively inspired by Grace and Rocky’s teamwork, and I suspect that you will be too. What a wonderful feeling to be left with when stepping out of the theater!

Project Hail Mary is Recommended If You Like: NASA, Interplanetary collaboration, Karaoke

Grade: 4 out of 5 Astrophages

‘Polite Society’ Flies and Kicks Its Way Into Our Hearts

April 25, 2023

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PICTURED: Someone being polite (CREDIT: Parisa Taghizadeh/Focus Features)

Starring: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha, Shobu Kapoor, Ella Bruccoleri, Seraphina Beh, Shona Babayemi, Jeff Mirza, Akshay Khanna

Director: Nida Manzoor

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Sneaky Bodily Invasiveness

Release Date: April 28, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) has her heart set on becoming a big-time martial artist. She frequently writes fan letters to her idol, iconic English stunt professional Eunice Huthart, but she’s mostly a voice crying out in the dark. Her friends Alba (Ella Bruccoleri) and Clara (Seraphina Beh) are pretty much the only ones who will give her flights of fancy the time of day. Her parents (Shobu Kapoor, Jeff Mirza) totally don’t understand her at all, while her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) is moving on to more adult pursuits, like dropping out of art school to marry some rich guy named Salim (Akshay Khanna). But Ria has major doubts about this dude, and she’s also detecting major supervillain energy emanating from his too-perfect mom (Nimra Bucha). Everybody assumes that Ria is just letting her imagination get out of hand, but despite her propensity for shenanigans, she might just be on to something.

What Made an Impression?: I’ve gotta say, after watching Polite Society, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to declare that Priya Kansara deserves to be a star.  As Ria, she has to commit fully to being a selfish control freak, and it’s often difficult to watch such an exhausting character. But Kansara manages to make her bearable. Not just bearable but frequently amusing! It certainly helps that the story becomes more fanciful as it moves along and that Ria’s suspicions are mostly vindicated. But even if that weren’t the case, Kansara still has a knack for being compelling while falling on her face, literally and metaphorically.

She also plays well with others, as the most memorable scenes are the farcical heists that Ria pulls off with Alba and Clara, as well as Ria’s bully-turned-ally Kovacs (Shona Babayemi). The first involves some light computer hacking and an ambush of Salim at the gym, while the follow-up is the climactic showdown at Lena and Salim’s wedding. Ridiculous Disguises + Always Having Each Others’ Backs = Some Good Silly Fun. In conclusion, Polite Society is a high-energy goof that’s mostly worth checking out.

Polite Society is Recommended If You Like: Never Have I Ever, Stargirl, 80s Action Flicks

Grade: 3 out of 5 Secret Lairs