Recently Watched Movies 2026

[Palatine]

Project Hail Mary

It's rare that the hype for a movie matches the enjoyability and this is one of those instances.

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being Starfleet Academy and 10 being Interstellar, I give this an 8. Interstellar is one of the greatest movies that will ever be so 8 is damn good in my book.

It's from a book by Andy Weir who wrote The Martian. Having read that book he only writes books to make them into movies. But it's still a good one.

The story is a blend of your favorite buddy movie with a bit of Interstellar, Contact, 2001, The Martian and some other movies yet it somehow feels really original. Ryan Gosling plays a chatty Scientist named Grace, who suddenly becomes mission essential on a project to save the sun which is infected with something which will result in extinction of life on earth.

The movie starts in media res with Grace waking up and the rest of the crew is dead. He has amnesia and has no idea where he is or why he is there. This is one of those dual narrative movies where you see the present and there are flashbacks to before the trip on earth.

When he gets to where he is going light years away, he meets an alien buddy who just so happens to be there for the same exact reason. And this is the best part, because instead of acting on a green screen, they use a real puppet to be the alien instead of awful Marvelesque CGI. The alien occupies a physical space and it makes a huge difference.

Gosling and the puppet have to carry the whole movie and it works perfectly. My only issue is that the most unbelievable storyline is that the Grace and Rocky end up in the same system at the same time. Also the movie is a bit long and not in the good Christopher Nolan long movie way.

Now, you have really gone and done it. Interstellar isn't even Chris Nolan's best science fiction movie, that would be Inception.

But I am looking forward to Hail Mary. Did you watch it in a theater?

 

[Dove]

Springsteen: Delivery Me From Nowhere

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Really appreciated its pace in relation to the artistic process. Jeremy Strong was fantastic as Bruce's manager and Jeremy Allen White did a great job too, honestly, I think it's the first work of his I've seen.

I can't see ''Lip" as Springsteen. But, we'll check it out.

 

[Dove]

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (2026)

Overall entertaining for Peaky Blinders fans. But the plot is pretty simple and not thought provoking.

Tommy Shelby (C. Murphy) is out of the family biz. He's writing an autobiography. His gypsy son, Duke, now runs Peaky Blinders and is about to get in bed with Nazi Germany to ruin England.

Tommy is lured back in and confronts his son, and together, they take on the Nazis.

I liked it.

 

[ZooCougar]

Now, you have really gone and done it. Interstellar isn't even Chris Nolan's best science fiction movie, that would be Inception.

But I am looking forward to Hail Mary. Did you watch it in a theater?

Inception is great, I love all of his movies. But you are dead wrong on Interstellar. The rub on Inception is that people found it confusing.

Yes the theater.

 

[Waquoit]

They should have called it The Neverending Movie because random stuff kept happening long after any point of the movie had been made.

I finally saw it late in life on the big screen and that's kinda how I felt. But I still loved the visuals. I got a kick out all the times I caught something that was clearly an influence on a later movie. Speaking of random stuff, remember The Tree of Life? It was Oscar-nominated and went away. Only available if you pay extra.

 

[Palatine]

Predator: Badlands (2025) This is an action movie, an adventure movie, a buddy picture and more rolled into one. It is imaginative, fun, clever, surprising and has a heart. Maybe I had low expectations but I enjoyed it, a lot. Basically, the runt of a predator litter is kicked out of his family and wants to bring back the biggest baddest unkillable beast from a quest to prove his worth.

This is a well made film. The story, acting, cinematography, editing, score, and special effects are all top shelf. It is tightly made with pacing that never drags. You care about the characters and they grow, changing before our eyes, as the story progresses. Ellle Fanning is terrific. Well worth your time to visit the Badlands. Three plus stars of of four.

 

[CL82]

And this is the best part, because instead of acting on a green screen, they use a real puppet to be the alien instead of awful Marvelesque CGI.

And it is strikingly realistic, too.

I appreciate the long write up as well. It sounds good. I think I will start with the novel first.

 

[ZooCougar]

And it is strikingly realistic, too.
View attachment 118606

I appreciate the long ride up as well. It sounds good. I think I will start with the novel first.

Apparently it's a great audio book.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Mercy" is a fairly recent theatrical movie that is now on Amazon Prime. Starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. Near future, LA is just ravaged by crime. The justice system is overhauled using AI that serves as judge, jury and executioner and fast tracks trials to mere hours instead of weeks, months, years. No appeals. Verdict is final. Suspects are considered guilty unless proven innocent. Ferguson plays the AI. Pratt is a cop, who has sent several suspects to the Mercy justice system. He finds himself as a suspect now charged w/ killing his wife, with only 90 minutes to prove his innocence. Fairly decent thriller.

 

[ZooCougar]

"Mercy" is a fairly recent theatrical movie that is now on Amazon Prime. Starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. Near future, LA is just ravaged by crime. The justice system is overhauled using AI that serves as judge, jury and executioner and fast tracks trials to mere hours instead of weeks, months, years. No appeals. Verdict is final. Suspects are considered guilty unless proven innocent. Ferguson plays the AI. Pratt is a cop, who has sent several suspects to the Mercy justice system. He finds himself as a suspect now charged w/ killing his wife, with only 90 minutes to prove his innocence. Fairly decent thriller.

Is he an ex Navy SEAL in this movie too?

 

[nwhoopfan]

Is he an ex Navy SEAL in this movie too?

No. Detective. Yeah, didn't think of that, he seems to be getting accused of killing his wife in a lot of his roles lately.

 

[Palatine]

"Mercy" is a fairly recent theatrical movie that is now on Amazon Prime. Starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. Near future, LA is just ravaged by crime. The justice system is overhauled using AI that serves as judge, jury and executioner and fast tracks trials to mere hours instead of weeks, months, years. No appeals. Verdict is final. Suspects are considered guilty unless proven innocent. Ferguson plays the AI. Pratt is a cop, who has sent several suspects to the Mercy justice system. He finds himself as a suspect now charged w/ killing his wife, with only 90 minutes to prove his innocence. Fairly decent thriller.

This is another relatively inexpensive thriller for a streaming service. They can pump these out for a faction of a real action movie budget. The key is to minimize the star (Pratt and Ferguson) contribution. In this case, they sit in room for the majority of their scenes, much of their pay comes from back end deals.

It is a fast paced and tense story. Not too bad. Held my interest for 100 minutes. Ultimately it is a forgettable film.

 

[nwhoopfan]

This is another relatively inexpensive thriller for a streaming service. They can pump these out for a faction of a real action movie budget. The key is to minimize the star (Pratt and Ferguson) contribution. In this case, they sit in room for the majority of their scenes, much of their pay comes from back end deals.

It's about time Hollywood started to figure out how to make movies for less money. And it was perfectly fine. I didn't find myself thinking "Gee, if only they pumped another $150 mil into the budget, it could've been decent."

 

[ZooCougar]

It's about time Hollywood started to figure out how to make movies for less money. And it was perfectly fine. I didn't find myself thinking "Gee, if only they pumped another $150 mil into the budget, it could've been decent."

Yeah. Look at Godzilla Minus One.

If you write a good story then everything falls into place.

 

[Palatine]

Project Hail Mary (2026) is a fun movie, a feel good film. For the first ten minutes I thought it was going to be really stupid. But it finds its footing and the story telling is very good. There are some parts of the film requiring suspension of disbelief (I like my science fiction a little more grounded). Stuff like Grace using his laptop to create a universal echolocation to English translator. But without it there would be no movie, so go along to get along.

The alien "Rocky" (an actual puppet) manages to be as charming as Ryan Gosling, no small feat. And we root for the duo as they try to save their worlds. I enjoyed it. What you can do when you have Ryan Gosling and 250 million dollars is pretty amazing. Audiences will absolutely buy into the world created in this film. Leave your judgement at the door. Go on a ride. See it in a theater if you can.

 

[CL82]

In the Blink of an Eye (2026)

This is an interesting movie that involves three separate narratives, prehistory, essentially present times, in the future. The story jumps back-and-forth between the three narratives. Eventually, the narratives intersect.

The prehistoric narrative involves a Neanderthal family. They're going through their hunter gatherer routine.

The "present", which is actually the near future, involves a Princeton, archaeologist and her on and off relationship with "Greg" her statistics boyfriend. Rashida Jones plays the professor.

The future involves a "ark" kind of spaceship, going to colonize a new world. Kate McKinnon plays an enhanced human with an indefinite lifespan flying a ship full of embryos. The only interaction she has is with the ship's computer.

Eventually, all three narratives get connected in a satisfying way. Jones and McKinnon are both perfectly fine, if not great. It is an ambitious movie that plods a little bit, but ultimately it was solid watch.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"Now You See Me Now You Don't" third movie in the franchise. The Horsemen broke up, 10 years later they are brought back to together for a mission. Some new blood is introduced with 3 new characters. I found it entertaining. If you enjoyed the previous entries, you'll enjoy this. Rosamund Pike was good as the baddie. Of the newbies, I was familiar w/ Justice Smith and Ariana Greenblatt, I thought both were good additions.

 

[Dove]

Sisu: Road To Revenge (2025)

Not through the whole flick yet.

So stupid. Loved the first movie tho.

 

[nwhoopfan]

"The Housemaid." Twisty, kinda steamy thriller with Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. I found it fairly interesting.