Project Hail Mary (2026)

I really liked the book--which I would never have picked up on my own, but did so on the strength of it being on Obama's reecommended reading list, which is a relable source and often features books that I would otherwise have missed. The movie was more of a stretch for me--and I love Ryan Gosling, but felt that the movie was strongest when it flashed back to before he was rocketing through space trying to save the sun. The story goes that Dr. Ryland Grace travels through space alone toward a distant star that he hopes holds the key to saving life on Earth. Along the way, however, he meets a surprising extraterrestrial being whose world is under threat as well. Their journey makes the expected visual nods to sci-fi classics and attempts to offer some blockbuster spectacle. But the harder the film tries, the more one feels pulled along rather than effortlessly transported. Much like with all space movies, there just isn't a whole lot to do there, and it is less riveting for me (the exception being Apollo 11, where they are doing quite a lot)--but I especially enjoyed seeing Sandrs Huller again--she made quite the showing in films that rose to award level attention a couple years ago and hope we see more of her. This is good but not great in my estimation.