MOVIE Morning

My most anticipated movie of 2026 - Project Hail Mary - is finally out in cinemas and I think it's pretty safe to say that my track record of my most anticipated movies of each year turning into absolute bangers continues to be pretty good. This is the first time Phil Lord & Christopher MIller - who are truly two of my favorite creatives working in Hollywood - have been behind the camera and directing since 22 Jump Street. They've been major creative & producorial forces behind the Spider-Verse movies and things like The Mitchells vs. The Machines but this is their first live-action work in over a decade, minus their short stint on Solo over at Lucasfilm. But to team them up with Ryan Gosling, with a screenplay adapted from an Andy Weir (The Martian) novel by Drew Goddard - who also adapted The Martian and created Netflix's Daredevil - sounded like every ingrediant I could possibly want for a dream movie. So, does Project Hail Mary deliver? Find out in this review!Project Hail Mary:Directed by: Phil Lord and Christopher MillerScreenplay by: Drew GoddardBased on the novel by: Andy WeirProduced by: Ryan Gosling, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Rachel O'Connor, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, Andy WeirExecutive Producers: Nikki Baida, Sarah Esberg, Drew Goddard, Ken Kao, Lucy Kitada, Patricia WhitcherMusic by: Daniel PembertonDirector of Photography: Greig FraserEdited by: Joel NegronCasting by: Nicole Abellera, Jeanne McCarthyProduction Design by: Charles WoodCostume Design by: David Crossman, Glyn DillonCast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Lueng, Milana Vayntrub, Liz Kingsman, Orion Lee, Aaron Neil, James Ortiz, Priya KansaraSynopsis: Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

We are now just a day or two away from the 98th Academy Awards and just a few days ago, I already provided my FINAL predictions for who I think are going to take that gold statue for each category. But, now... we're going to get real spicy. As always, I am going to be ranking all 10 of the films nominated for Best Picture this year, from the worst to the best. I think this is a pretty special lineup of movies; I honestly only dislike ONE of these movies and, even then, it's not straight up bad like some movies nominated for this category in the past have been (*cough cough* Emilia Perez ). So, let's begin!

The time is almost here! The 2026 Academy Awards are just a few days away and, as always(!), I will be providing my predictions for the winners of all 25 categories at the 98th OSCARS this Sunday, being hosted by Conan O'Brien. This is coming from someone who's been following the OSCARS pretty much since I got into movies as a cinephile and the craziness & the drama leading into it is some of my favorite stuff in the online film space. And finally, after months and month of predictions and precursors, awards season is finally going to culminate in the big night... a night that should happen sooner (like it used to!) might I add. Will Timmy still pull off the Best Actor victory despite not being able to put Marty away? Will Sinners break all precursor odds by winning the big prize? Well, listen to my predictions to find out what I think! I think we can all agree that the biggest lock - thank god - is that PTA will be finally winning his first OSCAR!

PIXAR is back! Hoppers is the latest original animated effort from the studio and is looking to be (fingers crossed) their first original hit in quite a while. Now, to be fair, Elemental did have great legs and went on to make over half a billion dollars... but even that had a really slow start opening weekend. It continued on and made money becuase it was well received, and I think a similar effect will work on Hoppers even though it's already opening bigger. I have loved Pixar since I was a kid; like so many Gen-Z'ers, so many of their movies mean so much to me and I'm always ready for Pixar to shatter my soul & piece it back together all in a 100-minute family film. Does Hoppers alos stand as their best original work of the 2020s? Find out in this review!Hoppers:Directed by: Daniel ChongScreenplay by: Jesse AndrewsStory by: Daniel Chong and Jesse AndrewsProduced by: Nicole Paradis GrindleExecutive Producers: Pete Docter, Kiri Hart, Domee Shi, Peter Sohn, Lee Unkrich, Michael WarchOriginal Score by: Mark MothersbaughDirectors of Photography: Jeremy Lasky, Ian MegibbenEdited by: Axel GeddesCasting by: Kate Hansen-Birnbaum, Natalie Lyon, Kevin ReherProduction Design by: Bryn ImagireCast: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave FrancoSynopsis: Scientists have discovered how to ‘hop’ human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals. Animal lover Mabel seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's latest film - The Bride! - has now hit theaters. This is the latest film from Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy's Warner Bros. slate where they let a bunch of filmmakers off the leash to make some wild, original movies... and this one is no exception. Delays and rumors of bad test screenings aside, I have been hyped to see a new take on the Bride side of the original Frankenstein story from Mary Shelley and I'm glad to say that I had a really good time with it, despite the film being overstuffed and packed with just a few too many ideas for it's own good. Listen on to hear more!The Bride!:Written and Directed by: Maggie GyllenhaalProduced by: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler, Emma Tillinger KoskoffExecutive Producers: Pete Chiappetta, Courtney Kivowitz, Andrew Lary, Carla Raij, Anthony Tittanegro, David WebbMusic by: Hildur GudnadóttirDirector of Photogrpahy: Lawrence SherEdited by: Dylan TichenorCasting by: Douglas AibelProduction Design by: Karen MurphyCostume Design by: Sandy PowellCast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anette Bening, Peter Sarsgard, Panélope Cruz, John MagaroSynopsis: A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride is born. But what ensues is beyond what either of them imagined.