The last edition of Sci-Fi Saturday reported on the science fiction books I’ve read recently (for a rather generous definition of “recently”). This edition reports on the recent science fiction movies (and some TV shows, mostly animated).
Early warning: among the ones new to me, there is only one I’ll particularly recommend. Most were “just okay” (though one is worth a small rant). Others were re-watches, and those generally have higher scores — of course they do; I re-watched them because I liked them.
By the way, the definition of science fiction is also a little generous here.
An aside to start off: I posted about Project Hail Mary, the 2021 book by Andy Weir back in February [see this post; synopsis: loved it]. In March I mentioned having seen and loved the movie [see this post]. In April, I wrote a post with a bunch of links to videos exploring the movie and its production.
After seeing it at my local theater in March, I went back and saw it again in April when I got my new hearing aids [see New and Old Stuff]. I saw it in the theater again a month or so later when I took my buddy and his wife to see it.
And then I watched it a fourth time when it became free to Prime subscribers.
Thoroughly enjoyed each viewing and wouldn’t mind reading the book again. I think it’s the best of Weir’s three novels so far.
I haven’t liked both the book and its adaptation so much in a long time. Usually, when I really like the text, the adaptation disappoints. (It makes sense to me that the more one likes a text, the more one demands of its adaptation.)
At least one exception springs to mind: I really like the 1987 Watchmen graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and I also really like the 2009 same-named adaptation by Zack Snyder. In fact, while I’m often askance at changes, I like his ending better. At the time, I ranked it as one of the best adaptations I’d seen.
Another exception might be the 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, and its 1986 same-named adaptation with Sean Connery and a very young Christian Slater. I really enjoyed the book — it was one of my dad’s favorite murder mysteries; I understood why after finally reading it — and I found the movie an excellent adaptation.
[That said, back then movie adaptations were, if nothing else, typically faithful to the book, a genuine attempt to adapt the original to film. The extreme revisionism common today wasn’t common then.]
I meant this to be just a paragraph or two mentioning Project Hail Mary, but the text got away from me and ran around. You’d think after so many years it would learn to heel.
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Besides PHM, the other movie I liked and recommend is Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025), starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Gore Verbinski.
I’ve liked (to one degree or another) all of the Verbinski films I’ve seen. That’s saying something because I’ve seen ten of the eleven feature films he’s done (I never saw the 2016 A Cure for Wellness).
Verbinski is perhaps most well-known for directing the first three of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He also directed (and produced and wrote the story for) the animated feature Rango (2011), voiced by Johnny Depp, which I liked enough to buy and have seen several times. I even enjoyed his 2013 implementation of The Lone Ranger, though the casting of Depp as Tonto was problematic.
For that matter, his The Ring (2002), a remake of the Japanese horror film, is one of the few horror movies on my recommended (if you like that sort of thing) films list. I’m not typically a fan of horror, most of it comes off as silly to me, but there are a few that manage to get under my skin (Ju-On top among them). It’s generally ghost stories because I find them at least sort of semi-plausible whereas demons from other dimensions, radioactive monsters, and other such don’t at all. I can enjoy a (good) Gojira film but don’t take it seriously.
Anyway, Verbinski has a very high batting average in my ballpark, and his latest, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die didn’t disappoint. It gets a strong Ah! rating for heart and creativity (I might upgrade it to a Wow! rating after watching it again and studying it). It’s a time-travel story combined with a strong dash of we-need-to-prevent-a-future-Ai-from-taking-over (sort of but not really like Skynet in the Terminator films).
Sam Rockwell stars as the Man From the Future. Looking like a crazed homeless person, and claiming he has a bomb, he storms into a Norms diner in present-day Los Angeles and claims that only some subset of the people in this diner can save the world from the imminent Ai takeover. This is his 117th attempt to find the right group.
And that’s about as much as one should know before viewing. A gem of a film.
Rockwell endeared himself to me and my SF-loving friends when he played a “redshirt” in 1999 film Galaxy Quest (not just a favorite SF film but in my Top Five Favorite Films of any kind). He cemented the affection by starring in Moon (2009), a gem of a science fiction movie, especially given its low budget [mentioned in Underrated SF Movies]. He’s also in Cowboys & Aliens (2011), which, despite what people said, wasn’t that bad [mentioned in RSVP].
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I’m often disappointed by remakes of films recent enough that I saw them when they came out. So, I wasn’t expecting much from The Running Man (2025), the remake of the admittedly cheesy same-named 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Which was based on the same-named 1982 Stephen King novel.
I was pleasantly surprised; I found it enjoyable.
In some ways, it’s better than the 1987 film. The effects are certainly better, and there’s less of that 1970s/1980s cheese. And the watchable Glen Powell is a better actor than Arnold was (or is). I really liked him in Hit Man (2023), which was a lot of fun, and in Twisters (2024), another creditable remake.
The film was written, produced, and directed by Edgar Wright, who wrote and directed my favorite zombie movie, Shaun of the Dead (2004). That isn’t saying all that much because I’m not a fan of zombie movies. Same as with other monsters, I just don’t believe in them.
[That said, Cockneys vs Zombies (2012) is a lot of fun, and so is Juan of the Dead (2011), a Cuban zombie movie. I like the parodies and satires but find straight up zombie movies, such as 28 Days Later (2002) unmemorable. The exception is the Resident Evil movies with Milla Jovovich and written/directed by PWSA, but those are straight-up kickass-chicks-with-guns porn and not really zombie movies to me.]
Wright also did Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013), which are a lot of fun, and which comprise a kind of trilogy beginning with Shaun of the Dead. Wright also wrote and directed Baby Driver (2017), a worthy crime drama about a getaway driver.
All of which is to say that there is some substance behind the film. I give it a strong Eh! rating.
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I managed to watch the entirety of Mercy (2026) without recognizing that the lead character is played by the (now somewhat over-exposed) Chris Pratt. I didn’t realize it until the end credits — I suspect I still have the young Pratt’s image in my mind from all the years watching Parks and Recreation (2009-2015). But he’s 47 now and in this film looks it.
I did recognize the talented Rebecca Ferguson as the Ai judge trying Pratt’s character for the murder of his wife. One of the movie’s weird points is that the trial is 90 minutes, and unless the probability of guilt drops below a certain percentage, the presumed guilty killer is automatically (and unstoppably) electrocuted immediately after the 90-minute trial.
So, it’s a race-against-time story in which Detective Christopher Raven, locked in a steel execution chair for the trial, must find evidence that exonerates him (as the star, we presume he’s innocent despite all appearances).
It’s not a story that survives much examination, and it didn’t get many props, but I found it diverting and watchable. I give it a middling Eh! rating, mostly on the strength of the two performers.
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I was way too old — several years post-college — for the original Masters of the Universe (1982-1988) and never got into any of the resulting spin-offs. Not really my kind of thing, even as a kid. Even then my toys were more technical and geeky (such as magnets and various kinds of construction kits). I was never into action figures (I did have a The Man from U.N.C.L.E. cap gun).
But I heard the 2026 Masters of the Universe wasn’t embarrassing (as apparently the 2021-2024 animated TV series by Kevin Smith was — a pity because I really liked Smith’s early films, especially Dogma in 1999, but not so much his later work).
And, yeah, it was watchable given it wasn’t my cup of tea, and I had no history with the franchise. It didn’t earn a Meh! rating, so it gets a weak Eh! rating.
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I finally saw the most recent Superman (2025). It does get a Meh! rating along with a bit of a rant. I’d give it a worse Nah! rating, but I got a kick out of the dog (Krypto).
There is for me at this point a triple problem:
Firstly, I am beyond being over superhero movies, and it takes something very special — very inventive and different — to interest me at all.
Secondly, the genre of live-action superhero movies seems tapped out in general. They’ve just gotten tired, and there is a sense of pro forma to them now.
Thirdly, they were always preposterous, and live-action versions of comics or animated shows put that in stark relief. Adults running around in capes and long-johns (in Superman’s case, with his underwear on the outside). The premise is ridiculous, which makes it all but impossible to tell truly coherent stories. Superhero powers, strengths, and weaknesses often change to fit plot requirements.
And again, live-action implementations emphasize the silliness of it all.
But as these things go, it didn’t suck. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan certainly have the look of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. (Unlike Amy Adams in Man of Steel, a very disappointing Superman movie; see Movies: Man of Steel).
But there was nothing original or creative, and much of it was childish. The final cookie between Superman and Whatshisname about the building, for instance.
That Clark Kent wears special hypnotic glasses so people won’t recognize him as Superman was a cute meta-gag. Fans for years have pointed out how glasses don’t disguise anyone, and how dumb is ace investigative reporter Lois Lane for not catching on immediately. Oh, so hypno glasses is why.
And the “anti-proton river” — bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha. As if.
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Finally saw an even older movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). To the extent I’m tuned out on superhero movies, I’m especially tuned out on the long-running Marvel movies. I stopped keeping up with them some time ago.
Which makes it hard to fully appreciate this one because it has so many references to what has come before. That’s a downside of a franchise like this: it’s hard to jump in midstream. That’s an issue for any long-running series, movies, TV shows, or books.
I found this instance of the Marvel series completely mid and wasn’t inspired to take any notes, so ‘nuf sed. I give it an Eh! rating.
I will add that, of the Marvel movies, the Spider-Man movies are slightly less meh. Especially the recent animated Spider-verse ones; those I quite like. I stopped watching the other Marvel movies because I found them dull and repetitious.
[I’ve mentioned before how I first saw The Avengers (2012) many years after its release. I’d seen many other Marvel movies by then, and the thing that struck me was how little had really changed. Those movies are the same schtick over and over and over. No wonder I stopped watching them.]
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I’ll end with some brief mentions:
▶ Not exactly science fiction, but close, I finally saw Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (2025), the final installment (I hope) in the Mission: Impossible film franchise. They’re kind of like the James Bond films: increasing big productions and increasingly silly. I long ago accepted these have nothing to do with a beloved TV show I watched back in the 1960s, so they’re … fine.
▶ I re-watched Lucy (2014) because I do like Luc Besson films. Between for knowledge and, I suspect, mellowing in retirement, I didn’t dislike it as much as I did the first time. I think the whole “10% of your brain” thing set me off the first time (and Morgan Freeman had to deliver that nonsense like it was science).
▶ Forbidden World (1982) is a Roger Corman film, so it’s a cheesy ultra-low-budget imitation of some other film. In this case, mostly Alien. Sort of. The writing, directing, acting, and production values all work together to make it laughably bad and not excruciating to watch (which, for instance, Plan 9 from Outer Space decidedly is).
▶ Trigun Stampede (2023, 2026) is a continuation of the Trigun TV series (1998) [mentioned in this post]. It’s an SF western set on an alien planet where a bunch of generation ships were forced to crash land (for reasons revealed in the shows). The anime, of course, is based on a manga.
▶ Lastly, I re-watched (third viewing!) the Assassination Classroom anime series (2015-2016). Very possibly my favorite Japanese anime [see Assassination Classroom] and, for all its weirdness, hard SF. And it’s a very faithful adaptation of the original manga by Yusei Matsui.
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Stay away from zombies, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.
∇
September 12th, 2026 at 4:32 pm
Coincidentally, another remake that’s actually better than the original is Total Recall (2012), another cheesy Arnold Schwarzenegger film from 1990 (essentially yet another 1980s action film). In this case, I thought it was quite a bit better.
September 12th, 2026 at 6:13 pm
Tough decision for tonight’s SF TV viewing. Do I binge on the new season of Rick and Morty, binge on the new The Ghost in the Shell, or watch a bunch of episodes from both?
September 14th, 2026 at 9:07 am
I decided to watch five (of ten) episodes of Rick and Morty followed by five (again of ten) episodes of The Ghost in the Shell. Enjoyed the former, as usual, but was hugely disappointed by the latter (despite having had a few beers by then and being in a good mood). Definitely the worst instance of GitS I’ve seen (and I’ve seen most of them). So far, it gets a Nah! rating but depending on the final five episodes, it might drop to an Ugh! rating.
September 13th, 2026 at 5:40 am
P: Hail Mary – I still haven’t watched it. Mainly because it seems so popular (both in book and film format) and my contrarian nature just bucks against that. I’m also hesitant because one of the 20somethings at church recommended it but she also recommended the 5 Nights at Freddies movie franchise
So I’m rather mistrustful.
Ohhh, Pirates of the Carribean. It has been a long time since I’ve watched those. I own the original trilogy on dvd, so it would be a good chance to decide if I want to upgrade it to bluray or not.
The remake of running man felt more like an actual adaptation of the book instead of a remake of the Ahnold movie 🙂 But this whole “power by the oppressed masses rising up” schtick we’re seeing more and more of reminds me of pre-Lenin Russia. and if people end up acting on it, well, it will probably end up about the same too.
Was Mercy an Amazon production? I know Pratt did that other amazon movie about aliens and time travelling and all I can remember about it was that it looked great from a visuals perspective but every other aspect stunk to high heaven. I can’t even remember the name, I’ve blocked it out 😉
I was the target audience for the He-Man movie and it fell totally flat for me. He-Man needs a tv show, not a movie and while this might have been a great introduction, it’s not going to appeal to kids and without a weekly reminder of the characters, it’s just going to fade away (like is already happening).
You didn’t like Man of Steel!?!? Wuuuuuuuuuuuuut?!? and you liked the new Superman movie better? Say it ain’t so!!!
I’m a big fan of the mission impossible movies. I grew up on the 80’s tv show, so the first movie was a tough nut to crack (what with the main guy selling out for money) but after that I enjoyed the heck out of them. Cruise has sold each movie for me and I’m eagerly awaiting for a blu-ray complete collection so I can watch the final two movies.
So did you end up watching R&M or GitS?
September 13th, 2026 at 10:03 am
I don’t quite fathom your tastes, so I honestly can’t predict whether you’d like PHM. All I can say is that it’s the best SF book I’ve read in a while, and the best adaptation I’ve seen in a while (on top of being on its own one of the best SF movies I’ve seen in a while). And FWIW, I think Weir’s books get better each time.
I think, as a sweeping statement, those who love science and/or hard SF would be prone to like Weir’s book and the adaptation. A litmus test might be, if you read The Martian and/or saw the movie adaptation, you might have a general sense of PHM. Except this time, the guy is not alone; there’s an alien buddy. So, it’s kind of a buddy story, too. You could check out some of the videos I linked to to get more of a flavor of the movie.
Speaking of taste, I enjoyed the PotC movies, but they never rose to the Buy List for me. (But then, I was never into pirates.)
I haven’t read the Stephen King novel, so can’t comment on TRM as an adaptation, only as a remake. (My sister is the King fan in the family. I’ve only read a handful of his more popular novels. Enjoyed them, but he never grabbed me.) I have heard that the remake is more faithful to the novel, though. Yes, Mercy is from Amazon Studios. Are you thinking of The Tomorrow War? I never saw it (description didn’t grab me), but it’s also from Amazon Studios.
I don’t think MotU was meant to entice kids to the series. I suspect it was a labor of love by those who loved the show and that it tries to honor memories of a beloved series. It didn’t feel like a cash-grab to me, but who knows.
Yep, I’m afraid I really hated Man of Steel [see this review… if you dare 😁], so I liked the new movie better than that, but still didn’t think much of it. Live-action Superman doesn’t really work for me. Live-action superheroes in general don’t.
Yeah, I was very offended by the first M:I movie (“Jim Phelps a traitor?! WTaF?!”). And I’d been so thrilled when the opening credits, with that well-known music, kicked off. I remember that 1980s reboot, too.
I watched and enjoyed five episodes of R&M. Then I watched and very much disliked five episodes of TGitS. I rank it as the worst implementation of the series. It’s almost diametrically different from the Mamoru Oshii film, having none of the lyrical and music beauty of the original. The new version is the kind of frenetic, broad anime that seems more intended for YA than maturing fans of the OG. I ended up with a whole page of rant notes…
September 13th, 2026 at 12:24 pm
I’ve avoided Weir on the principles I outlined for PHM 😀
Yep, the tomorrow war it was.
That makes sense for He-Man, because nothing else really makes sense to me.
I’m going to avoid that review, as movies just aren’t important enough to me to get worked up about. And dissenting opinions about something I like always gets me worked up, hahahaha 😀
I’m guessing you won’t be watching any more episodes? Or was what you watched all there was? And should I be looking for a review coming down the pike?
September 13th, 2026 at 1:36 pm
I can appreciate avoiding trendy (I do that myself), but that can go too far sometimes.
TGitS is ten episodes total, and I’ll probably watch them. Or not. The odds of a review are semi-high since I’m such a fan of the OG work and found this so disappointing.
September 13th, 2026 at 1:38 pm
Once Weir stops being trendy, I’ll happily dive into his works 😀 Kind of like me and Crichton, hahahahaa.
September 14th, 2026 at 9:04 am
I dunno how trendy Weir himself is, though the movie adaptations were popular. His first two books are available without delay at the library though there is a 10-week wait for the third (PHM). I’ve queued up The Martian and Artimus for a second read.
September 14th, 2026 at 4:51 pm
Any author that gets multiple books turned into movies is trendy by my definition 😀
September 15th, 2026 at 9:29 am
Heh. In his case, I suppose you could even say ‘has had two-thirds of his books turned into (successful) movies’ (and the third one had the film rights purchased but never made it to the screen — pity, it would make a good movie; an action thriller set on the Moon).
September 19th, 2026 at 5:59 pm
I enjoyed Good Luck… It was a good combination of “what the hell is going on in this movie” and delivering pretty cool answers.
I think I liked the new Running Man better than the old Arnold movie. I heard it was closer to the book in tone, and it definitely feels more like something Stephen King would produce.
Mercy’s trailer hasn’t really drawn me in. I might catch it at some point. I see it’s free on Amazon, so that increases the chances I watch it sometime soon.
I watched Masters of the Universe. It was fine, although a bit cheesy. I know, what should I expect from a toy franchise?
I watched Superman a while back, and actually don’t remember much from it. I did just recently watch Supergirl. It was diverting enough for a couple of hours, but I suspect I won’t remember much from it in a few months.
I saw Spiderman: Homecoming years ago. Can’t remember what happens in which films. I did enjoy the one that came out before the one currently in the theaters. Although similar to a lot of recent Marvel stuff, it leans hard on the multiverse.
I enjoyed Final Reckoning, but like all Mission Impossible movies, definitely not anything that stands up to scrutiny, just one of those thrill rides we’ve discussed before.
One of these days I’m going to have to check out Assassination Classroom.
September 20th, 2026 at 9:00 am
Good to hear from you! (I was actually starting to wonder if all was well. Was going to drop a comment on your About page, but you have comments turned off there.)
I’m looking forward to re-watching Good Luck… Definitely one of the better movies I’ve seen recently.
Everyone who has read the King book and seen the remake seems to agree it’s both a better movie and more faithful to the book. (I’ve never read the book. My sister is the Stephen King, and horror, fan in the family.)
As I recall, I watched Mercy on a lark, mainly because it kept popping up on Prime, so I finally decided to give it a try (only 99 minutes, so not a huge investment). It moved along fine and diverted me. Keep it on tap, maybe, for a time when you don’t feel like paying that much attention. Done by Amazon Studios, so I assume it’ll be on Prime forever.
I’ll watch Supergirl when it comes around to streaming, but nothing I’ve heard or seen commends it much to me. But Supergirl was one of my childhood crushes, so I’ll watch the film. At least the effects will be better than the 1984 version with Helen Slater.
I’m glad the M:I series is done. Exactly as you say, just an amusement park thrill ride, which is fine, but Cruise is seriously aging out of the part.
I’d be very interested in your take if you do watch Assassination Classroom. Part of the attraction for me is the upbeat positivity behind the “monster” teacher (Koro Sensei; “unkillable teacher”) and his students. His advanced powers allow him to tailor his teaching for each student, and the growth of the “hopeless” students is a big part of the charm. Which all may not be your cup of tea, but there is also plenty of battle action and some dark characters and motives, so maybe it will appeal. Certainly, it’s one of the more unusual stories, even for anime/manga.
September 20th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
Sorry. I’ve been aggressively trying to refresh and enhance my knowledge on investing, trying to figure out my retirement options. When I get like this, coming up for air can be difficult. The good news is I’m better off than I feared but still trying to decide how much risk I want to live with.
I watched Supergirl on HBO Max, in case you have it. It’s a more gritty take, typical of DC in recent years. Although it seems like there’s a limit to how gritty you can make Supergirl.
On M:I, it sounds like these last two movies really stressed Cruise out, both physically and mentally. So he’s likely feeling aged out for it.
I’ll definitely let you know when/if I watch Assassination Classroom. School based anime doesn’t usually draw me in, but the accolades it receives may.
September 21st, 2026 at 11:19 am
Oof. Financial stuff. One of my least favorite things to do; I’ve never been able to wrap my head around it. Good that the math isn’t as dreadful as you feared. Are you thinking of “pulling the ripcord” soon? For people like us, with a lot going on mentally, retirement is the chance to be 100% on all the stuff we had to fit into nights and weekends before.
No HBO. I only subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, and Prime. I’m guessing it’ll come around on Prime before too long (that’s where I watched Superman). I believe they’re already advertising it for rental or purchase.
Stressed Cruise out, eh? Well, he does do a lot of his own stunts, so I can see it. I actually did a post about his movies a few years ago. He has been in a lot of movies I’ve really liked, and a surprising number of SF films.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:07 pm
Yeah, despite having a degree in accounting, there’s a reason I ended up in IT. On pulling the ripcord, I came very close a few months ago, to the extent of starting a transition conversation with my boss, but she gave me a week to think about it and I backed off, that time.
Given his early roles, and some of his beliefs, it was surprising Cruise turned into such a sci-fi/action star. Maybe it’s just where the money led. But Minority Report, Oblivion, and Edge of Tomorrow are some of my favorite films.
September 22nd, 2026 at 12:57 pm
An accounting degree; I had no idea! A very foreign world to me.
Some of my favorites, too!
(Happy Autumnal Equinox!)
September 22nd, 2026 at 2:19 pm
Yeah, I was coding long before I went to college, but bought the arguments, c. 1985, that 4GL tools would make programming obsolete. By the time I figured out that was BS, it was too late. But a few years after graduating, I went back to technology and never regretted it. That background does help these days in talking developers with AI anxiety off the ledge.
Happy Autumnal Equinox to you too!
September 22nd, 2026 at 3:37 pm
I stumbled into coding by taking a college elective back in 1977. Took to it big time but it was almost ten years later it went from hobby to a career.
Managing a work force. Another foreign skill set to me!