Project Hail Mary (2026)

 

Everything is figure-outable. And in times like these days where the world is on fire and minute-to-minute news feels like we're past the brink of losing it all, it's refreshing to watch a film jettisoning us to space in the hope of saving humanity and holding into our future. Its star and my forever bae Ryan Gosling spent six years bringing the mammoth novel by Andy Weir to life, and a lot of that love shines on screen from the incredible production design and score, to the essential element of the film - his character's friendship with an alien Rocky, whose own planet is also being slowly eaten away by alien bacteria called Astrophage. 

Blue Moon (2025)

Set several months before songwriter Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) passes away of complications of pneumonia brought on by alcoholism, he spends a night out at the iconic restaurant Sardi's as his old songwriting partner Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) celebrates the premiere of Oklahoma! and goes on to have a legendary creative partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II. 

Director Richard Linklater essentially composes a play to film, centering on a one-set location and tiny ensemble to steer Robert Kaplow's wondrous script. As a dialogue driven drama, there's a His Girl Friday pace to the tone of what is said. Think about anything else than what is being heard on screen, and you might miss the string of fast paced one quips Hawke hits out of the park or the painful ruminations as Hart misunderstands his essential part in the grand scheme of theatre and fame.

Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror Picture Show (2025)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been on a strange journey since it debuted fifty years ago. Linus O'Brien, son of musical creator Richard O'Brien, traces back the phenomenal musical to its heyday when his father first started working out the idea of transvestite scientist Frank-N-Furter with his cohorts and their run-in with straight-laced couple Brad and Janet. 

When experiencing in person, or merely observing, the underground yet global reception of Rocky Horror Picture Show today, it's tough to believe that the theatrical production originally began with such humble beginnings - O'Brien putting his own feelings of gender and belonging to the page, assembling a ragtag group cast and crew who eventually hopped the pond over to the Roxy Theatre in L.A., and then becoming cemented as a film classic. And yet, as the LGBTQ+ community faces more and more challenges, the show never goes out of style, kept continually revived by midnight theatrical runs, fan clubs, and shadow casts. 

But what happened that made it go from a theater production without props or stage, to earning a documentary in its own right, is the stuff interviews are made of. Sitting down with his father, and the cast/crew who made the production possible - director Richard Hartley, actors Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn, Susan Surandon costumer Sue Blane, and more - the film provides a heartfelt overview of how the show came to be and continues to live on. As much as Rocky Horror Picture Show defines how much Richard O'Brien gave of themselves to make the musical, it also shows how much the fans give back to it - with an insightful opening from Trixie Mattell, who found their drag identity through a shadow cast production, and a sweet tribute to Sal Piro, one of the first and most influential superfans, who passed away in 2023. 

Linus O'Brien's documentary is a mostly tidy chronological depiction that is a fun introduction to new fans and might make some hardcore fans want it to dig a little deeper. Some questions about how Richard O'Brien created the music or how the musical workshopped its way in theater between kitsch and commentary is left more towards reminiscing than exploring the process. Its heart beats strongest reflecting how its characters and message unlocks a certain kind of freedom within. Much like the musical itself, Strange Journey is a snapshot into a world where acceptance is celebrated and grows more prevalent with each decade.

Rating: ★★★1/2☆☆

The Jurassic Games: Extinction (2025) Review

From The Belko Experiment and Gamer to the cultural phenomenon of The Hunger Games and Squid Games, criminals, tributes, and down-on-their-luck strangers have entered arenas in a fight to the death and earn a victory garnering freedom, wealth, a second chance at life. The types of arenas, violence, and contestants have changed over time, but the spectacle of survival, moral compromises, and engineered chaos reimagines the same question - what would some do to be the last one standing?

Just when one might think the underlying genre had tackled the concept in every imaginable way, director and writer Ryan Bellgardt entered the domain in 2018 with The Jurassic Games, a sci-fi flick where ten death row inmates were thrown into a virtual reality gauntlet against prehistoric beasts in exchange for freedom.

Meet Cute In Manhattan (2025)

“While the city never sleeps, it dreams of meet cutes and chance encounters, where coffee spills aren't accidents, but the universe playing matchmaker....”

In Meet Cute in Manhattan, actor Jason (Terence Chen) finds himself in the middle of his own meet cute – when a run-in with an aspiring architect Nora (Kendall Leary) affords an opportunity to audition as a couple in love for a dating app commercial. As the whirlwind of their on screen chemistry goes viral, they are unexpectedly swept into forming a deeper connection, and maybe a happily ever after just like the one they are pretending to share.

Fate, and the idea of it, is very much at the heart of their first encounter – what is coincidental, what is destiny, what is making imagination or one's biggest dreams come true. Their meet cute seems purely coincidental but brings a unique magic that changes everything where they have to decide what they truly want in life. Their inexplicable run-in leads Jason and Nora to pursue what they want in their romantic relationships but also their careers and lifestyles.

It's very clear from the direction by Karen Morey, and co-written between Morey and Chen, they deeply respect this ever-burgeoning and underrated genre, and want to play clear homage to it. The script and production pays diligent attention to the recipe that makes a heartwarming rom-com – charming leads with strong chemistry; beautiful cinematography, New York City as its iconic backdrop. But the film never looses sight of the carefree joy that great romantic flicks share. As every ad and “off-screen” moment brings the couple closer together, their relationship plays out lovingly both on the screen for social media, and on the screen for audiences watching the movie. There's no denying that Jason and Nora share great on screen chemistry as their various ads grow in popularity, and that's what gives them the edge to reenact iconic scenes allowing easter eggs galore that immerses you into what you love about the genre.

What does offset the momentum of Jason and Nora's love story, however, is the major subplot where their relationship from meet cute to happily ever after is also part of a movie pitch – one Jason is sharing with executive studio producers. The film shifts back and forth between their timeline throughout the boardroom pitch to comment on the character development and genre formula. Each pitch serves as way for the potential movie about their meet cute to play out between a personalized account of it and reality. Unfortunately, having both sides of the relationship leaves some scenes disjointed. If the script didn't have enough conflict to plum through such as Jason trying to break out of commercial acting and the breakdown with his social media influencer girlfriend (Amanda Shi) or if Nora questioning her corporate lifestyle alongside her boyfriend (Martin K Lewis), the movie-within-a-movie subplot would suffice. Even though the movie pitch acts as a necessary critique of a lack of diversity represented on screen, its themes and messages could come across much stronger without the extra layer of self-awareness.

Despite the plot biting off a little more than it can chew, Meet Cute In Manhattan is an admirable and enjoyable watch, offering plenty of heartfelt moments to make it worthwhile. Morey's film is a steady and sweet directorial debut and homage that serves as a wonderful reminder of why we keep coming back to the beloved genre.

Rating: ★★★1/2☆ ☆ 

Note: I was provided with a screener to provide this review. All opinions are my own.