Movie Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

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A gorgeous looking film that promises epic adventure but ultimately falls flat due to pacing issues and a bland story. The Mario games aren’t really known for their storylines, with there being a handful of exceptions: “Super Mario Sunshine,” and the game the film is mostly based on, “Super Mario Galaxy.” While “Sunshine” has a decent plot that drives the game, this film only uses the big bad from that game and a few other superficial odds and ends. Both the game and film versions of “Galaxy” start off in a similar way, however the game is a fairly epic jaunt through the universe while the film briefly stops in a few places that look so much like each other at times it feels like everything happens on the same planet. That essentially leaves two story arcs that meander around a bit before coming together, and neither one of them ends up feeling that important due to the way they just kind of wrap up at the same time. The returning characters are still enjoyable, but the biggest new characters, Bowser Jr. and Yoshi are actually a bit bland. The animation is top notch, and almost every inch of the screen is filled with easter eggs. Ultimately Mario fans, especially “Mario Galaxy” fans, will be get some enjoyment out of the film but casual fans will probably be bored and maybe get a chuckle or two from the attempts at humor.

** out of *****

Movie Review: Project Hail Mary

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A solidly entertaining film, that despite running a bit long and being fairly predictable, succeeds thanks to great visuals and the acting skills of Ryan Gosling. Before seeing this movie, I read that it’s a mystery where Gosling’s character is and how he got there. However, all the marketing spoiled the details from day one, so much of the first act lost some of the intended suspense. Outside of that, the basic plot offers few surprises after the setup and despite the high stakes, Gosling and his companion never feel like they’re in any real danger because it’s clear that it’s not that kind of movie. Despite that, the story itself is engaging and there are just enough unexpected moments to keep things interesting. Sandra Hüller does a solid job in her relativity small role, while the rest of the cast does what they can with the minimal screen time they get. However, this is Gosling’s chance to shine, and he does a fantastic job portraying the complicated emotional journey of his character. (This is only really hurt by leaning a bit too much into comedy and quirkiness just for comedy and quirkiness sake, but he still nails the more emotional moments.) The effects look great with all the ships and outer space sequences looking convincing, while the puppetry (probably CG-enhanced) really brings life to the film’s other essential character.

***1/2 out of *****