by Linda Holmes, Mike Katzif and Liz Metzger |
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In the new film Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher whose background is in molecular biology. He wakes up in a berth, bedraggled and weak, unable to remember why he is floating through space on a ship in which he is the only living crew member. With time, he's able to put together that a woman named Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) recruited him to a team she was assembling to solve the gravest of problems: The sun is dying. The rest of the mission details are filled in through flashbacks, but the short version is that Grace was sent into space to figure out how to stop a sort of celestial infection that's wiping out star after star — not just our sun.
Because there are other suns involved, it's not surprising that there turns out to be other life involved, too. Other beings are trying to save themselves from the same menace that's threatening Earth, and eventually, Grace makes contact with one: another scientist in another ship, whom he decides to call "Rocky," because the guy looks a little rock-like. Also a little dog-like.
It is one of the greatest threats to making a good film out of Project Hail Mary that Rocky is very cute. In fact, he is adorable. He is also a skilled engineer dealing with his own isolation and his own losses. But Grace finds a way to communicate with him and eventually to outfit him with a human voice (provided by James Ortiz, who's also Rocky's puppeteer), and at that point, there is a lot of buddy comedy in the mix. It would have been easy to turn this into a nonstop series of gags where Ryan Gosling — who, after all, is also often adorable — cracks jokes with his alien pal. There are parts of the film that are that, and they are terrific.
But Weir is a really thoughtful writer (as is screenplay writer Drew Goddard), and Gosling can be an exceptionally quiet and sympathetic actor (as he was when he played Neil Armstrong in the underappreciated First Man). And in this story, they also find a lot of opportunities to explore questions about how to carry on in almost impossible circumstances.
Grace's story is a lot of fun, but, like The Martian, which became a movie in 2015, it's also an examination of how to get by and avoid despair. It's about what Grace needs in order to persevere: a plan, a sense of purpose, and some company. It posits that people (and maybe beings other than people) need friends. They need allies. Grace needs Rocky, for help with the science but also because for him, alone is bad, and not-alone is better. |
Above, Linda and Paul McCartney in an undated photo. Linda McCartney/Amazon Studios |
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Beatles fans have been over-served with documentaries about the Fab Four. What makes Morgan Neville’s film Man on the Run unique is its focus on what it felt like for Paul McCartney after the biggest band in the world broke up. Deploying some lovely home movie footage, the film shows an uncertain period for Paul in the '70s, as he retreated to his Scottish farm, filed a lawsuit against the band, and weathered bad reviews of his early solo career. It’s an intimate portrait of how his rural family life and relationship with Linda helped Paul rediscover himself as a songwriter and rise anew with Wings. I've been spinning Ram with fresh ears ever since. — Producer Mike Katzif
It's time to head back into the belly of the beast, because the ultimate deck builder is back, baby. The long-awaited video game sequel Slay the Spire 2 is available to play in early access, and I am locked in for 100+ hours of maddening fun. You are still building a deck of killer cards and climbing through floors of a tower battling monsters but, boy howdy, it’s harder and there are so many more things to discover. With the new online multiplayer mode, I know I'll be running up that spire many, many times. Slay the Spire 2 is available on Steam now. — Producer Liz Metzger |
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Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are:
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