Speaking of which, my old friend Robert Meyer Burnett has just dropped another great new column on the Lionsgate Limited website looking back at The Ninth Gate. It’s definitely worth a read, so do give it a look here: Paper, Ink, and Hellfire: Reading Between the Lines of The Ninth Gate.

Now then… I had the chance to see Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Project Hail Mary last night in Dolby Cinema, based on the book by Andy Weir (of The Martian fame). So here’s my quickie non-spoiler review (and keep in mind, this is coming from a diehard sci-fi cinema fan): It’s not perfect, but it’s very good. I think the film is a tad uneven, there’s some plausibility stuff you just have to kind of go with, and—unlike the film adaptation of The Martian (2015), which I absolutely love (especially the Extended Edition)—beyond the two main characters, there’s not really much character development. (What I’m saying is, I love how The Martian made the film experience more of an ensemble with the Hermes crew and the folks at NASA all playing a bigger role.) This film doesn’t really have that, though I think its flashback sequences could have developed other characters more.

But I’ll tell you what matters most here: the space stuff is really great. Greig Fraser’s cinematography is absolutely magnificent (if I were ever making a film, he’s the guy I’d want behind the lens), as is the all of the sci-tech production design (both Earth and Eridani). All of the humor here is organic, charming, and genuinely funny, the Rocky design works perfectly, and Ryan Gosling is excellent as always. This film is definitely a crowd pleaser and a must see for hard science fiction fans and casual fans alike. And I love that this kind of movie is getting made more often today, and being taken more seriously by audiences.

If I were going to give it a grade, right now it would be a B+ though it might become an A-; I have to see the film again (which I’m doing in 15-perf 70 mm IMAX on Thursday) and really give it some more thought. I have a feeling my appreciation of it will grow with time, as was the case (for me) with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014). And I’ve heard that the test screening cut of the film was ten minutes longer (and that the first cut well over three hours), so I’d love to see some kind of Extended Cut eventually on Blu-ray and 4K disc.

But let me make this critical recommendation: See Project Hail Mary on the biggest possible screen with the best possible sound. Pay extra if you must—it’s well worth it. The film opens widely on Friday. Enjoy!

All right, I’ve got just a couple of other things for you today before we go…

A pair of trailers dropped today that I think are worth checking out. The first is for a film I can’t wait to see in December, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three. While obviously based on Frank Herbert’s novel Dune: Messiah, it looks to me as if Denis has delayed a bit of material from the original Dune novel for use here, and also drawn in a bit of material from Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune as well. So it should be great, if the two previous films (and this trailer) are any measure. Here it is…

Also, Amazon has just dropped a trailer for something I wasn’t even aware was coming: A new Jack Ryan film featuring the cast of their recent Amazon Prime series—John Krasinski and Wendell Pierce. It’s called Jack Ryan: Ghost War. And there’s trailer for that…

I was bummed when I heard that series was ending, so I hope they continue to do these movies if they’re successful.

And that’s it for today.

Back with more soon! Stay tuned…

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter/X, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)