Tag Archives: Book review

Project Hail Mary

I have qualms.

I’d expected that I might be jumping up and down, waving my arms and telling one and all that the new movie Project Hail Mary is a MUST-SEE film. Its clever story comes from a best-selling book. It has a cute, non-threatening alien. It stars Ryan Gosling. The visuals are stunning.

But I have qualms about anointing Project Hail Mary an all-time great movie. Others will and that’s their opinion.

Why do I have these qualms?

The book is better than the movie. Yes, they are two different things. Most people who see the movie will not have read the book. Good for them or you!

The narrative is similar to those we’ve seen in other space/sci-fi movies: mission underway, problems/peril, tension, resolution. Just check ‘em off as you go. PHM does have distinctive features including some trippy images and, presumably, the science, while over my head, is legit or close to it.

The mixture of tension and humor seems unnatural, contrived. Well, it IS contrived—it’s fiction! But still, those two elements could’ve been blended better. Does PHM want to be a serious movie or a lightweight movie?

The depiction of the alien Rocky, to my eye, is a bit hokey. Like a Jim Henson Muppet reject. Is that the best they could come up with?

The German gal Eva (Sandra Huller) is just a bit TOO German. Rather off-putting.

The effects are quite good but I’ve seen better.

Is my lack of passion and zeal for PHM because I’ve seen so many of these films and I’ve become weary about yet another one? Maybe. But this genre has given us numerous true classics from 2001 to Apollo 13. (I do admit to disagreeing with the high IMDB user rating for Interstellar. #18? Seriously?)

On the upside, Ryan Gosling as middle school teacher turned astronaut Ryland Grave is excellent as usual. He never fails to deliver. The novelist Andy Weir has given Gosling a cool character to work with.

And the depiction of the alien Rocky’s subjective visions—sort of like a fuzzy pre-cable UHF signal—is impressive.

Also in the cast in minor roles are Lionel Boyce who plays Marcus on The Bear. And Milana Vayntrub who did those AT&T Wireless TV spots for years.

Project Hail Mary is a good, well-made, entertaining movie. Go see it and enjoy it. You might have your mind blown. Or not. Rated PG-13. First showings are set for Thursday, March 19.

Project Hail Mary is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Leave a comment

Crime 101

Crime 101 has all the ingredients. Blended together nicely. Overall, a decent, fast-moving caper film set in Los Angeles. However, there’s nothing particularly distinctive or unique here. It’s good but not quite great. Enjoy Crime 101 for what it is!

The players: Davis (Chris Hemsworth), a jewel thief who robs without killing. Lou (Mark Ruffalo), an observant LAPD detective who is rough around the edges. Sharon (Halle Berry), a wellness-obsessed insurance exec who courts high money clients but has yet to make partner at her firm. Ormon (Barry Keoghan), a violent thug who steps in to pull a theft that Davis passes on. 

Also: Maya (Monica Barbaro), Davis’s girlfriend who can’t figure out what he’s hiding. (She was Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown.) Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Lou’s soon to be ex-wife. And Nick Nolte! He plays Davis’s mentor. So… a pretty good cast here!

The story involves jewel thefts that occur nearby to the 101 freeway, hence the title. The “101” designation on a college course connotes that the material to be covered is basic stuff. And since many of the tropes in Crime 101 are those that provide the foundation for many such stories, it’s an appropriate title. (If rather generic for marketing purposes, to be honest.)

A few plot elements are curious. Like why is it necessary for a cache of diamonds to be couriered in from Antwerp to LA for a rich guy’s wedding to his young trophy wife? On the day of their nuptials? (Except, of course, to provide fodder for the film’s climatic scene!) 

Crime 101 is written and directed by Bart Layton. (From a novella by Don Winslow.) Layton’s upside down cityscapes add a different touch to the skyline/freeway transition shots that many films and TV shows use as punctuation. And one scene late in the film with Hemsworth and Ruffalo is written and performed beautifully—what does each of them know about the other? 

Crime 101 is rated R.

Leave a comment

The Housemaid

An ad for the new movie The Housemaid suggests that moviegoers will want to see this film for a second time. Presumably to piece together all the film’s plot elements. 

Once is enough for me. The film’s “bloody violent content” is a smidge over-the-top for my taste. YOU, on the other hand, might be totally okay with it!

The Housemaid is a suspenseful, psychological thriller. The stars are attractive. All are talented. The story is unraveled cleverly. And, along with the tension, The Housemaid even has a few chuckles. Good movie. Just grisly.

There are signals early on in the story that things in this beautiful house are not quite right. Would a suburban housewife like Nina (Amanda Seyfried) actually hire as a housemaid a woman who looks like Minnie (Sydney Sweeney)? Especially when she has a handsome hunky husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) who is a perfectionist?

It’s soon revealed that Minnie is a recently paroled convict who is sleeping in her car. She needs the gig, even if her rather spartan room is at the very top of the house. Minnie works hard to keep Nina pleased with her work, despite her uneasiness with Nina’s erratic behavior.

As the tale unfolds and more is revealed, we learn things about Andrew, his man cave (where he likes to watch of episodes of Family Feud) and his controlling mother (Elizabeth Perkins). And what about the swarthy handyman (Michele Marrone) seen lurking in the yard doing random tasks? And Cece (Indiana Elle), Nina’s daughter from a prior relationship?

NO SPOILERS HERE! What transpires in The Housemaid are events you might have guessed were coming. But you will enjoy it more, I think, if you just allow things to happen and let yourself be surprised/amazed by what unfolds.

The Housemaid is directed by Paul Feig who knows how to assemble a suspenseful movie. Writer is Rebecca Sonnenshine from Freida McFadden’s novel. The Housemaid is rated R for “strong/bloody violent content, sexual assault, sexual content, nudity and language.” 

Leave a comment