Minions & Monsters

Posted on June 30, 2026 at 2:57 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Cartoon mayhem, peril, and violence, with some comic but graphic moments including a beheading, plus scary monsters
Diversity Issues:	Deaf character
Date Released to Theaters:	July 1, 2026

It was about the time that tourists on a history of Hollywood tour walked past an animated George Lucas in a glass case, speaking with the ACTUAL VOICE OF THE ACTUAL GEORGE LUCAS that I said, “Okay, my critical faculties have been officially shut down and I am just a happy fangirl at this point.” “Minions & Monsters” continues the origin story of the little yellow guys in denim overalls and now adds in the origin story of the movies, plus a robot voiced by Jesse Eisenberg and some love for the fanboys. That’s a quintella of irresistableness and I did not even try to resist.

In a present-day prologue, tour guide (Alison Janney) tells a group to take a seat so she can give them the full story of the two minons who changed everything in movies, history, and the world. We go back in time to see them on their quest to find and serve the most evil master in the world. Unfortunately, the minions keep accidentally destroying their “big bosses.” First there is a “scary, burly, and super-mean”gigantic one-eyed ogre, then a wizard with a book of arcane spells, and a despotic king.

Then, they see another promising bad guy, an old West train robber riding a galloping horse. The minions end up taking over the train, which crashes through the city of Los Angeles circa early 1920s (the history dates here are pretty wobbly, but go with it). This gives us a glimpse of iconic silent film characters and settings including Charlie Chaplin in “Modern Times,” Buster Keaton in “Steamboat Bill Jr.,”and Harold Lloyd in “Safety Last.” That train robber? An actor, in a film the minions have just disrupted to the frantic consternation of a dashing monacle-sporting, tweed-knickers-wearing director named Max (Christoph Waltz). But it turns out the brothers who run the movie studio (both voiced by Jeff Bridges) love the chaos of the minions and soon they are big stars, living in an enormous mansion, adored by fans, and selecting what will become their iconic look: denim overalls.

Like many other stars of the silent era and unforgettably depicted in “Singin’ in the Rain,” things change dramatically for the minions when the sound era begins. The minions do not possess the ability to produce intelligable speech. Most of the minions go off in search of another “big boss.” A few, including James, Henry, and Ed, who is Deaf decide that they need to make a monster movie. And so they use the wizard’s book of spells to call up a friendly little green monster (Trey Parker) who promises to bring them to some scary but cooperative monsters.

Meanwhile, a nerdy robot named Dort (Eisenberg) proves unexepectedly adept at fighting bullies at a sci-fi convention and starts seeing a sweet suffragist named Debbie (Zoey Deutch). Dort is a great new character, with a wonderful retro design and a hilarious, slightly unbalanced walk.

It is exciting and very funny and in love with movies. It even begins with the old Universal logos and the Eadweard Muybridge images that led to the very first development of movie technology. Above all, like “Toy Story 5” (and “Toy Story 4”) this film is a tribute to the joy of imagination. The two new minion characters, James and Henry (like the other minions, voiced by director Pierre Coffin) grew up creating stories and characters. The people who made this film did, too, and they want you to see how exciting and fun and important that is.

Parents should know that this film includes a lot of cartoon comic mayhem, peril, and violence including scary monsters and sharks, chases, punching and slapping, a character’s head is cut off, and another dissolves into dust. There is some rude humor including a character who sits on a toy. A new minion is Deaf and his friends quickly adapt to using sign language.

Family discussion: Why do brothers Frank and Ernest have such different responses? Which of the minons are better at adapting to changing circumstances? Which of their “big bosses” is the scariest?

If you like this, try: the classic movies referenced in the film and the other minions and “Despicable Me” movies

Project Hail Mary

Posted on March 18, 2026 at 10:12 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some thematic material and suggestive references
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Intense sci-fi situations and peril, characters killed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 20, 2026
Date Released to DVD:	June 16, 2026

“Project Hail Mary” is everything we hope for in a movie, filled with intelligence, humor, heart, and hope. It also has one of the rarest of qualities in a movie: genuine joy.

If we are going to spend much of the run-time with one actor, there couldn’t be a better choice than Ryan Gosling, who is a quintessential American boy-you-wish-lived-next-door hero, with self-deprecating humor, and the superpower of the scientist trifecta: boundless curiosity, problem-solving skill, and extensive knowledge of the physical properties and the organic world. Those three qualities overlap and enhance each other. If curiosity is your foundational mode of thought, there is no room for fear. And knowledge and not panicking help a lot with problem-solving. As we see in the popularity of shows like “The Pitt,” there is something deeply reassuring and inspiring about competence, dedication, and integrity.

Gosling plays an unassuming middle school science teacher named Ryland Grace. In a brief classroom scene we learn two things. First, he loves teaching and inspires his students. Second, as the students ask him questions about rumors and bits of news reports they’ve heard, there may be an existential threat in some changes to the sun. He does his best to answer honestly but reassuringly. And then, as he is about to ride home on his bicycle, he is quasi-Shanghaied by some mysterious but official-looking people. They are the ones monitoring the dimming of the sun and trying to figure out what is going on and how to stop it. The leader of this initiative is Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), perhaps selected for this role because of her ability to move forward, eliminating every consideration except whatever it takes to keep the planet alive.

Hüller and Gosling play very well off of each other as the resolute Stratt and the amiably goofy Grace. The middle school science teacher has a PhD in molecular biology and was tossed out of academia for a theory that was so far outside of conventional belief it was considered not scientifically valid.

It is his openness to think outside conventional belief that makes him immediately valuable to Stratt. And eventually we will learn how that led to his being sent on an interstellar mission to find out why just one star has not been affected or infected and what that means for saving our sun. A karaoke scene where Stratt sings Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” brings them together for a brief respite from the overwhelming existential threat; it is a pivot point at the heart of the story.

Information about the past is revealed to us as Grace remembers it in pieces. He has been in an induced coma as he traveled through space. The other members of the crew have died. But he is not alone for long. He meets an alien who is there for the same purpose. They find a way to communicate, and they work together to save the stars.

The alien, a sort of spider-looking creature who looks like he/she/it/they is/are made out of rocks and so nicknamed Rocky, is utterly endearing to Grace and to us. They manage to create a translation program so they can communicate but it helps a lot that for both of them their first language is science. Numbers and molecules and physics are the same in any language, even when the words for them are different. And, as Grace says, if his puny human brain does not understand what Rocky wants to say, Rocky uses his masterful construction skills to make little puppet figures to show Grace what he means.

They do have their adjustment problems. There is a scene that could be a sci-fi version of “The Odd Couple.” But the friendship that develops between them is immensely touching and the way they think through their challenges is hugely satisfying.

The production design by Charles Wood and special effects by a huge team are stunning. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are the brains and heart behind some of the funniest, smartest and most joyfully buoyant animated films of the past two decades, including “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” the “Spider-Verse” films, and “The LEGO Movie.” Their visual imaginations are witty, accessible, and thrilling. The score by Daniel Pemberton is excellent. And costume designers David Crossman and Glyn Dillon deserve a special award for Grace’s sweater, t-shirts, and glasses, which achieve the near-impossible in making Ryan Gosling look even more adorable and yet relatably human than we imagined.

Gosling contributes a lot to that as well, of course. He makes Grace just a little shlubby, but heroic in a way he does not realize. When he remembers something about his past near the end, when he is faced with a dire moral dilemma, when he finds a connection to Rocky that is more meaningful than any he has ever had on Earth and realizes that connection is as important to saving both their planets as all the science and engineering they can draw on. Gosling does not just show us what Grace is feeling; he makes us feel it, too. His comic timing is impeccable, and he is just as good at the drama, the fear, and the adventure.

I do this job because in my heart I believe that movies are the culmination of every art form imagined by humans, the greatest story-telling mechanism ever developed. “Project Hail Mary” makes use of every part of that story-telling capacity, a film that makes us feel good about the characters, about the people who devoted all of their skill to making it, and about being human.

Parents should know that this movie is about a threat that could destroy all life on Earth. Characters are in peril and some are killed. There is some mild languages and references to bodies and characters drink alcohol.

Family discussion: If you woke up in a spaceship, what is the first thing you would do? If you met Rocky what questions would you ask?

If you like this, try; the book by Andy Weir and the book and movie of “The Martian“

Mercy

Posted on January 22, 2026 at 6:33 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense violence, mature thematic elements, some language, and drug/alcohol references
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcoholism, drinking and drunkenness, drug references and brief drug use
Violence/ Scariness:	Woman stabbed to death, other characters injured and killed, guns, explosions, chases, young character taken hostage
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	January 23, 2026

Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) wakes up, or maybe comes to, sitting in a chair, his wrists manacled. He is in Mercy Court, presided over by an AI judge who gives him 90 minutes to prove that he did not murder his wife. If he is not successful, he will immediately be executed.

“Mercy” is set in the near future, when civil unrest has led to the development of the AI court, reversing the Constitutional presumption of innocence and right to counsel with a system designed for efficiency. It is “the ultimate deterrent.” Chris is the 19th person to be tried by the AI judge, who appears on screen as a female character named Judge Maddox (Rachel Ferguson).

Chris does not even remember where he was the previous day and learns from the “judge” that his wife has been stabbed to death in the kitchen, her body discovered by their teenage daughter, Britt (Kylie Rogers). The “judge” plays the footage for him, showing him leaving work to return home, insisting on entering despite his wife telling him not to come in. No one else came to the house during that time period. Chris, a cop who was instrumental in developing the AI court system and brought in the first case, now sees what it is like to be on the other side. As the clock ticks down, Chris has access to all of footage, recordings, and records that are automatically stored online and is permitted to make calls to witnesses.

Producer/director Timur Bekmambetov specializes in action with a fantasy element like “Night Watch” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and that makes him a good fit for this film. We might not expect a movie set primarily in one spare room with a screen and a chair to be in IMAX 3D, but it keeps the visuals from feeling claustrophobia-inducing as Chris and the judge call up images of all of footage and data Chris calls up on the screen. Chris has an immersive experience, and the effects make us feel a part of it.

The set-up is strong, raising questions (though not spending much time exploring them) about how society balances safety and justice and imposing a tight time limit to build and sustain a feeling of urgency. Adopting if not reaching the ingenuity of telling the story on a screen of the innovative films “Searching’ and “Missing,” produced by Bekmambetov, he makes the best of that form of storytelling and Pratt does very well stuck in a chair, showing us how his character shifts from horrified, confused, and humiliated to the determined problem-solver cop he is.

The last part of the movie gets over-complicated, piling detail upon detail, and cutting some logical corners. But Pratt is, as always, a likable presence and we want to see him work through this mess and prove that he is innocent — and that at least for now humans can still outthink machines.

Parents should know that this movie included the murder of a mother, discovered by her daughter who is very traumatized, as well was peril and violence including guns, explosives, and a car chase, with characters injured and killed. Characters use strong language, some are alcoholics who struggle to stay sober and one starts drinking again and gets very drunk, there is brief drug use and reference to making and distributing drugs.

Family discussion: Do you think AI will ever be able to judge someone’s guilt? Did you think Chris was guilty and if you did, what changed your mind?

If you like this, try: “Missing” and “Searching”

TRON: Ares

Posted on October 7, 2025 at 1:44 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for violence and action
Profanity:	Brief strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended fantasy/sci-fi peril and violence, sad deaths of family members
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	October 10, 2025

The latest in the series about sentient characters in a digital world follows in the tradition of its two predecessors: the creativity is in the visuals, with very little in the storyline, and almost none in the characters and dialogue. The visuals are excellent, though, so if you see it, make sure to see it in IMAX.

The original “TRON” (1983) was inspired by the video games that were captivating a new generation (indeed, the video game it inspired out-grossed the film). Like its sequel, “TRON: Legacy” (2010), it took place mostly in a digital world. This movie, reflecting the cultural impact of the technologies that move much faster than we can comprehend or control them, shows us the wall between “real” and virtual is dissolving.

It begins with glimpses of various news broadcasts reporting on the developments at two huge software companies. One is ENCOM, where Jeff Bridges’ character Kevin Flynn worked in the earlier films. It was then led by the benign, public-spirited Kim sisters, who wanted to use technology to feed people, cure diseases, and “uplift humanity.” The other is Dillinger Systems, recently taken over by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), grandson of the founder (the bad guy in the original film). Julian wants to use technology to create weapons, including AI soldiers who are vastly more capable than any human, and, this is a key value proposition, “100 percent expendable.” The enemy “kills” one? We’ll sell you more! And why not make these soldiers not just humanoid, but gorgeous humanoids? Thus, the sample AI-soldiers look just like Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Ares, played by Jared Leto, who says that the original film transfixed him when it first came out, and is a producer of this film

There’s just one problem that Julian manages to keep from the world leaders at his demo. The soldiers collapse into ash-like piles of code after just 29 minutes. If he is going to conquer the world, he needs to find the “permanence” code he suspects ENCOM has discovered. His mother, Elisabeth (a wasted Gillian Anderson) tries to warn him that he is being reckless, but he will not listen.

Meanwhile, Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is in fact discovering that code with the help of her assistant, Seth (Arturo Castro), on floppy disks left in a remote outpost by her late sister. Julian sends Ares and Athena to steal the code as characters — and code — go back and forth between the digital and analog worlds.

The visuals from production designer Darren Gilford) are dazzling, especially the motorcycles, ultra-modern and OG, the visualization of the cyber-heist, the action conflicts, the ribbons of light and a very cool winged flying contraption, though another flying thing that looks like something between goal posts on a football field and the Arc du Triomphe seems more dramatic than aerodynamic. The sound design is excellent, thanks to supervising sound editor Baard H. Ingebretsen and the whole sound department. The score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is also first-rate, as we expect from the impressively versatile Oscar winners.

It is frustrating to see this movie almost approach some of the real and fascinating questions of AI and then swerve away for yet another “Pinocchio” story about what makes a real boy, much more thoughtfully and provocatively explored in films like “Blade Runner,” and, in a way, by every movie because they are all about what makes us most human: love, compassion, curiosity, humor, the quest for making things better. I was much less interested in whether Ares would develop feelings beyond vocabulary than I am in what we do about characters like Julian, who are unconstrained by norms, or concern for anyone but himself. The script equivalent of the 29 minute AI soldier collapse is giving Julian and his mother less depth than an 8 bit NPC. Eve, Seth, and Ajay (Hasan Minhaj) are not much better, and it is truly a shame to see this exceptional performers given so little to work with. I mean, Tilly Norwood could have handled this just as well, which is a reflection on her limitations, not her capacity.

That includes dialogue like “Maybe there is something wrong with me.” “Maybe there is something right with you.”

I did laugh at Ares’ appreciation for Depeche Mode. This is an entity made from data who has absorbed every bit and byte of information since the world began including all of Eve’s text messages, and what Ares likes is the ineffable pull of 80s British synth-pop? (He manages a kind word for Mozart.)

Jeff Bridges does show up in beatifically magisterial and most welcome mode, playing a Wizard of Oz-like figure (Julian’s interface is strongly reminiscent of the fake Oz in the MGM version), reminding us that there are some things AI cannot match. So far.

Parents should know that this movie includes extended fantasy/sci-fi peril and action with some violence and two sad deaths of family members. There is brief strong language.

Family discussion: Who should monitor and control AI? If you went into the digital world, what would you do? Why did Ares say once was enough?

If you like this, try: the other “Tron” movies and the “Blade Runner” films

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Posted on July 22, 2025 at 12:19 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for action/violence and some language
Profanity:	Brief mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended comic book/action-style peril and violence, some graphic images
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	July 25, 2025

Four seems to be the magic number. After three unsatisfactory tries at getting Marvel’s cosmic ray-enhanced superheroes on screen, Marvel Studios got it right, gorgeously produced, well cast, gracefully relegating the origin story to a few “archival” clips, and putting our quartet and us right in the middle of the action.

It is set in a fantasy version of the 1960s, inspired by the visual style, not the history or pop culture. In the first scene, Reed is looking for iodine, the painful antiseptic used for minor cuts in the 50s, and Sue Storm uses something that was not invented in our reality until the 1980s. There is a Calder mobile in their headquarters living room and the men we see in the outdoor scenes all wear hats, so handsome this movie just might bring back the fedora. The production design from “Loki’s” Kasra Farahani is dazzling and endlessly inviting, a heightened version of a mid-century concept of the future. The cerulean blue and white accents of the retro F4 uniforms designed by Alexandra Byrne (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) place us in a time and a world that is like but not the same as ours.

The Four are Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), a brilliant scientist whose body stretches, his wife Sue (Vanessa Kirby) who has the power of invisibility, including creating invisible shields, Sue’s impetuous and very single brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn), who can burst into flames and fly, and Ben Grimm, known as The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who looks like he is made from mountain rock and is very, very strong.

As the movie begins, the world is celebrating them as heroes and protectors. It has been four years since the space expedition exposed them to the cosmic rays, they have defeated or, in the case of the subterranean Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), negotiated a peace agreement, and established a United Nations-type organization called the Future Foundation.

The superheroes and the people they protect believe F4 and their adorable robot, Herbie, will always keep them safe. And then they face their biggest and most terrifying challenge. Sue is pregnant. While Reed and Sue know that the molecular changes from the cosmic rays may affect the baby, they believe, with some reassurance from Sue’s ability to make her abdomen invisible so they can see the fetus, the baby will be fine.

Big and terrifying challenge #2: the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives to announce that Earth is about to be consumed by Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a planet devourer. F4 tracks the Silver Surfer to find Galactus, confident they can defeat him. And this leads to the first Marvel action sequence that features a very pregnant superhero. Galactus offers them a terrible choice, and when they refuse, the people on earth quickly go from fans to haters.

The film moves briskly, with one of the shortest run times in the MCU, under two hours. But it creates a fully-realized world, with small details like the Mole Man’s dad jokes, Ben Grimm’s “beard” and copy of 50s classic child care bible Dr. Spock, and a sweet brief appearance by Natasha Lyonne as the teacher of students who are big fans of The Thing. Fans will enjoy some glimpses of popular villains from the comic books. Director Matt Shakman (the similarly retro fantasies “Game of Thrones” and “Wandavision” and “The Great”) understands that the action scenes and the family dynamic are central to the storyline and he has fun with scale when Galactus arrives. While the stakes are dire, he stays away from gratuitous carnage. The film has good-natured humor, impressive special effects, some tender moments, and even a light gloss of commentary on what we expect from our heroes, and how we approach moral dilemmas and life-threatening challenges. I’m iffy about one twist, but overall, this is a film that respects comic book characters and what we love about them.

Parents should know that this movie features extended comic book/action-style peril and violence, with some scary creatures and disturbing and graphic images. There are mild references to reproductive biology and a woman goes into labor (discreetly filmed). Characters use some mild language.

Family discussion: Philosopher Jeremy Bentham argued that all decisions should be based on the greatest good for the largest number of people. How does that idea appear in this film and do you agree? What do you think will happen to Franklin? What is the law of levers and how do you see it around you?

If you like this, try: “Superman,” The Fantastic Four comics, and maybe just for fun watch the earlier films so you can compare them.

NOTE: Stay through the credits for one extra scene indicating where the story is going and, at the very end, a nostalgic moment.