Welcome to my new series called Quickies. Today is a double feature review of two movies from 2026: Hoppers and Project Hail Mary!
Hoppers Plot: Mabel Tanaka loves animals, so when her science team experiments on animals, she puts her brain into an artificial beaver. The mayor wants to tear the environment apart, so Mabel uses this opportunity to communicate with animals and help them fight back.
Hail Mary Plot: Science teacher Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, wakes up on a ship with his teammates dead. He does not want to do the project, but the world is in danger from the Astrophage, so he does not have a choice. He also makes a new friend named Rocky, a rock-themed alien whose planet was destroyed by the Astrophage.
Review: While Hoppers was decently good, Hail Mary was the best movie of 2026!
Hoppers Review: The concept was good. Mabel is a likable protagonist, and her passion for animals is why she has a grudge against the human antagonist, Jerry. Titus was a decent antagonist, as his mom was killed, and he was originally a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly. James Franco does a solid job voicing him. Other good characters include King George, Conner, and Diane. The human antagonist, Jerry, was very lame in this film, as all we see is him wanting to replace the environment. Anyways, the music was good, the animation was pretty solid, and the writing was okay. This was not close to Inside Out 2, but it was still a decent film. Quote from Siena Stronach, a friend of mine: “I don’t have a favorite quote particularly, but I like the plot of working together.” 6/10
Hail Mary Review: Ryan Gosling brings life to his protagonist, Ryland Grace, who was originally a science teacher before being chosen for a top-secret assignment. The alien Rocky was very cute, and he feels like a throwback to E.T. The ending was also very emotional. This is one of the two-to-three-hour films that works very well, though not every movie with a two-to-three-hour runtime can be good. Some of the best long films include The Lord of the Rings and Avengers: Endgame. Scooter Westman, an MC student from Germantown, gave the film a 9.3 out of 10 and said, “Hail Mary started out a little slow, mysterious, and funny at the beginning, but as the story progresses, it becomes much more engaging. When we see Grace befriend Rocky the alien, the movie really starts to shine, bringing more heart, excitement, and emotional depth to the story.” The direction by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller is very good, and the music is very emotional. This film gets a 10/10!
