A Walk Through Huntington Library!

 Yesterday was a chance to walk and renew at Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens! I love the drive in San Marino, which is just houses, then fences leading to Huntington Library. It is like a paradise hidden in suburbia. There was some massive construction on what looks like housing for visiting scholars. The entrance was a little different for me. There are rows leading to the ticket windows. Then, tickets needed to be purchased online before going to the ticket window. I used my phone, $34, Friday to Sunday, worth it!, and then scanned my QR code. I don’t know if this is promoted by the organization. Find info about the library and gardens at: https://www.huntington.org. I had remembered a grassy hill where families picntic, but it is now lanes that lead to the Desert Garden and branches to the galleries and other gardens. Before reaching the Desert Garden, I walked into the Mapel Orientation Gallery, highly recommended! 

Looking at the Huntington Library, Desert Garden, author’s photo.

The highlight of the gallery is the replica of the Red Car in a case. The Pacific Electric Railway Company was the largest electric railway system in the 1920s! It was created by Henry E. Huntington, the founder of the Huntington Library. I went around the walls to read the Huntington Timeline. What was impressive to me was the overlays, don’t miss it!, that showed early Native American trails, the Red Car railway network, and then the modern roadways. So we had a non-polluting, extensive, mass transit all over Los Angeles; the San Gabriel Velley, Inland Empire, Long Beach, and Hollywood to Venice! Likely, my opinion, the Big Three car companies moved us away from the Red Car to ensnarl us in eternal traffic. See Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) to watch how innovation, dreams, can sometimes be crushed by big business. “Hold That Tiger!” The other point is that there are numerous booths throughout Huntington Library with guides to point out where things are, how to find a certain art piece, or any recommendation. This applies to all of the personnel! There’s also an app to give you exhibition highlights and self-guided tours. 

The Aloe dichotoma, Desert Garden, photo by the author.

What renews me going to the Huntington is not only the beauty of the gardens, paintings, and sculptures, I found out this time, it is the quiet. The guests spoke in hushed tones in the Desert Garden. As the day headed to the close, the volume went up to Mall Yapping levels. I would like to go earlier in the day and meditate. This is now a goal. The Desert Garden is right there at the end of the path. It wanders around, you can choose any path, with cacti, aloe, and other succulents around the garden. The greenhouse was closed for that time. I really like the Aloe dichotoma, that is native to Nambia and South Africa, tree-like it has aloe leaves at the top. The Library/Art Building was closed at the time for construction. I continued on to the Huntington Art Gallery. One of my favorite paintings in the collection is Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. He was paired with Pinkie by Thomas Lawrence. They were separated three years ago, according to the security guard, and now she is displayed outside of one of the rooms. I always think they belong together. 

Notebook with the writing of Octavia Butler!, author’s photo. 

There was also a new exhibition, Stories from the Library, which had part of the collection for Octavia Butler. My Lyft driver noted that when she was young she found the author’s number and called Butler to tell her how much her novels meant to her. There was a handwritten note book. Also, a letter from Mary Wollstonecraft Shalley, author of Frankenstein! Then, I went to the American Art Gallery, there was a 1922 bronze statue of Diana The Huntress, impressive. It is an ok collection, I thought it needs comic books that are really part of American artwork. I think this may be more intended for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, opening this September! I was exhausted by that point, but saw on the map that the Chinese Garden was not too far away. This was getting later so the noise level rose. There are limestone rocks around the garden that look like formations rising from the ground with holes and interesting patterns. There is a green lake, flowers, and a house in the Courtyard of Assembled Worthies. 

Two ladies from the Historical Tea & Garden Society at the Rose Garden, photo by the author. 

I went to the Japanese Garden which has a tea house that used in the 2009 G.I. Joe movie that had no set decoration. When I had seen that movie, taking place in Tokyo, I was no that’s Huntington Library! I like the collection of bonsai trees especially the Montezuma Cypress. What I had note was the guest who was looking for the “Banzai Trees” and corrected her. Y’know like how it is labeled all around the garden? I really like the koi pond and moon bridge. Still, I was just worn down so started to leave and reached the Rose Garden. Then, I saw several people dressed up in 18th century clothes. They are part of the Historical Tea & Dance Society. They instantly transported me to the 18th century surrounded by the roses!One member noted that they had a Jane Austen event at the Audobon, but it was cancelled because of rain. So they stopped by the Rose Garden. It was only at night when the rain came in. The group offers dance classes, no partners needed, beginners are welcome. Find more about the Historical Tea & Dance Society at www.historicalteaanddance.org. I have no idea idea why other cosplayers and influencers go to The Huntington. A great day at the Huntington Library with gardens, artwork, and a a chance meeting with the Tea & Dance Society! 

Maul: Shadow Lord, Ep. 1, Review!

Maul has returned in Maul: Shadow Lord and he is ready to rebuild his power and possibly the Shadow Collective! The first ep is titled, “The Dark Revenge.” Maul has been a prequel presence since he appeared in Phantom Menace (1999), he was a threat in the Clone Wars series, but turned against the Emperor. Maul took over the Shadow Collective, an organization of bounty hunters, smugglers, and assassins. 

Duchess Satine Kryze, who had ruled Mandalore, was overthrown by the Death Watch commandos. Maul killed her with the Darksaber in Clone Wars, “The Lawless’ (2013); LC-5/16. He was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Twin Suns” (2017), the Star Wars Rebels ep; FC-SWR3/20. Maul: Shadow Lord is created by Dave Filoni. The pilot is directed by Steward Lee, Saul Ruiz & Nathaniel Villanueva. It is wrtten by Matt Michnovetz, head writer and developer of the show. 

The first season is made up of ten episodes streaming on Disney+ now. Sinister music plays, composed by Kevin Kiner, as we see the city-planet of Janix. This is a new Mid-Rim planet. Ships flash through the skyscraper canons with blue-tinged light in the darkness. Three ships in particular. A dark building has two groups rapelling down its face. We hear the voice of Rook Kast (Vanessa Marshall) who reports, “Target incoming.” 

Marshall voiced Hera Syndulla in Star Wars: Rebels. Rook Kast was a Mandalorian, part of Maul’s Shadow Collective, making her debut in Star Wars: Darth Maul - Son of Dathomir #1 (2014). It was an unused Clone Wars ep., “The Enemy of My Enemy” so technically falls in the canon, GL-SOD1. In series form, Rook Kast was voiced by Vanessa Marshall in Clone Wars, “Old Friends Not Forgotten” (2020); FC-CW7/9.  

The door opens for the bank vault, inside droids are hauling pallets of credits, a 3P( b-like bank droid informs the hauler droid to ready the credit cargo. Bank guard droids are ready with blaster rifles. Rook sends out a device to attach to one of the ships. The ship comes in to land in the hangar. A spybot (David W. Collins) is outside watching the activity. It hurtles another device inside the hangar before the door closes. 

The spybot has a disc-like head and says, “Knock knock.” The device is activated which opens the hangar door. The bank droid warns of the breach as teh Rook’s men swing into the hangar. She blasts a bank guard droid. Others in her crew are Zabraks like Maul. They quickly take down the droids. An alarm is sounded that gets the attention of Officer Pak (Brandon Blum). The English voice of Walla in Sol Bianca: The Legacy (1999-2000) was provided by Blum. It looks like his uniform and airspeeder are out of The Fifth Element (1997). 

The Zabraks retreat to the cargo ship, one holds the deactivated bank droid as a shield, the spybot attaches to the upper hatch of the ship. It detects the TDF airspeeder. Rook activates a device on her wrist gauntlet that sends cables out like spider webs. A police airspeeder is destroyed, but Officer Pak evades the trap. They pursue the enemy ship and Spybot fires at them! Officer Pak’s airspeeder smokes from the damage, he tells his droid partner to run a scan. 

He reports that there is an unidentified shuttle. He orders all TDF units to that point. A Kom’rk-class fighter descends at a building, the Death Watch ship rotates its dagger-like side wings when landing. Rook Kast orders her crew to move the credits to the other ship. Officer Pak blasts his way to the landing site and his airspeeder is hit by multiple blaster fire. He has the bank robbers to drop their weapons with his TDF backup. 

Rook Kast just stands up. From the steps of the misty Kom’rk ship comes dark boots and the theme from “The Duel Begins” from The Phantom Menace. They see the dark cloak of Maul (Sam Witwer) who ignites his double bladed lightsaber. Witwer has been voicing Maul since Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He started with the Clone Wars episode, “Brothers” (2012); GL-CW4/2. 

The red glow covers Officer Pak and his droid. Maul spins his lightsaber deflecting the blaster fire. He leaps, Pak’s face is startled, and Maul swings his lightsaber! We hear the theme song of the show as the burning title smokes away like coals. We see the blue-lit buildings of Janix’s city with the sounds of police sirens. In the shadows is Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) senses something, Eeko-Dio Daki (Dennis Haysbert) says it is not their concern. Adlon voiced Pak Redia in a 20245 episode of Young Jedi Adventures. 

Devon is a pinkish Twi’lek. Haysbert is a veteran actor who played President David Palmer in the show, 24, recently he voiced General Hologram in Wreck-It Ralph (2012). Eeko-Dio is a reptillian Mosyk, a species first seen here, but reminds me of the Trandoshan Jedi Master Sskeer from the Star Wars: High Republic comic book. She takes a yellow fruit from a vendor cart and offers it to Eeko-Dio, but he refuses even though Devon says he is hungry. 

He says they should not steal. The Jedi Master asks a stranger for help, but is ignored. Devon leaps to reach a cart in the street. She snatches several green and yellow-striped fruit , but she spills them, and the vendor points this out to a police droid. The droid (Christopher Swindle) with a backup tells her to surrender. Eeko-Dio tells her to be patient. If taken into custody, the Jedi would be easily identified, the last thing they would need after Order 66 is to be exposed to Inquisitors! 

She sighs and gives her cloak to the Jedi Master before Devon is taken by the police droids. A low key introduction compared to Maul’s entrance. The city is now bathed in a golden light and a speeder lands at the bank vault site. Captain Brander Lawson (Wagner Moura) walks to the crime scene. Moura starred in political drama, The Secret Agent (2025). He has had voice work as the Wolf in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). 

Captain Lawson has a moustache, white hair at his temples, and a brown jacket. He sighs at the destruction before asking for a scan of the escape route. 2BOT, called Two-Boots (Richard Ayoade) reports that the bank supervisor droid is missing. Lawson notes that the powerful Nico Deemis owns the bank. An interesting play on name of a Biblical figure. Two-Boots notes that Deemis has enemies in the syndicates including his rival, Looti Vario. Lawson says that would be open war for Vario. He adds that they took the droid instead of credits. Captain Lawson suspects it is not any of the sydnicates. I like the police procedural part of this show. 

Deemis (John Carroll Lynch) angrily smashes his table. Lynch is in the crime drama, Ballard. The crime lord is a bulky Gran, the goat-like alien with three eyes. A Trandoshan henchman says it must be Vario. Deemis wants a meeting at a neutral place. The spybot has been listening in using a macrobinocular lens. It flies away. In the darkness of a hangar, Rook asks Maul if he had a vision. He says he has seen his apprentice. This must be Devon Izara similar to Maul's attempt to make Ezra Bridger an apprentice away from Kanan Jarrus in Star Wars: Rebels. 

She also reports that the crime lords are not fighting with each other. Maul says that this is unusual for Deemis. Rook wonders why they are dealing with crime lords. Maul tells her since the rise of the Empire, other criminal groups have risen; the Pykes, Crimson Dawn, and Vario. We saw the Pykes in the Book of Boba Fett; FC-BBF, and Crimson Dawn wa run de facto by Dryden Vos in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018); DC-SAS. Maul says they will all pay so he is getting revenge from losing the Shadow Collective. He orders a Zabrak to bring the bank droid. Maul says the droid will be part of his plan. He says the droid will take a message to Deemis igniting his lightsaber! 

On the city street, Eek-Dio looks up at the ringed TDF building. Devon is taken to a droid to give her identification. Brander asks about the prisoner and says she is just a kid. He tells the officer to bring Devon to his office. At his office, Lawson reads her charges of robbery and no i.d. On his desk is an image of his family, including wife and son. She wonders if it is his son. There is something about Devon bringing up his son. Wearily, Lawson says that she faces a night in jail without i.d. Two-Boots gets his attention. He runs the recording from the police droid’s memory banks. 

Maul leaping with his double-bladed lightsaber. Lawson gets a holo projection of Maul and says, “Laser sword?” Anakin says in The Phantom Meance to Qui-Gon, “I saw your laser sword only a Jedi has that kind of weapon. Lawson says he hasn’t seen a lightsaber since the Clone Wars. He tells Two-Boots to run a recognition scan on Maul. Lawson looking at the data pad is surprised the record is flagged by the ISB, the Imperial Security Bureau, and that any sighting has to be reported. Lawson doesn’t want the interference of the Empire. Maul: Shadow Lord follows the rebuilding of Maul's power, his revenge will sweep across Padawan Devon Izara, the crime lords of Janix, and the galaxy!    

Four Double-Bladed Lightsabers out of Five! 

#MaulShadowLord, #TheDarkRevenge, #DaveFiloni, #StewardLee, #SaulRuiz, #NathanielVillaneuva, #MattMichnovetz, #SamWitwer, #VanessaMarshall, #GideonAdlon, #DennisHaysbert, #WagnerMoura, #RichardAyoade, #DavidWCollins, #BrandonBlum, #ChristopherSwindle  

Ren Faire on Easter!

Today was a day to celebrate Easter at the Original Renaissance Faire! The tickets were $10 off for this day. There is so much music, people milling about, and activity at the market place entering the faire. This was the opening weekend and it continues on weekends to May 17th. Find more info about the faire at: https://renfair.com/socal/ The path was mostly dusty, filled with rocks, tree roots, and grass. The privies, port-a-potties, were open, but the park’s restrooms were gated closed, due to the L.A. County parks department. A shame since there many guests enjoying the Santa Fe Dam park itself. Many picnics were taking place at the grassy areas around the park. 

The entrance to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, author’s photo. 

A nice, formally dressed couples danced around the maypole. A group of singers sang, “Greensleeves.” At St. Cuthbert’s, a number of pole arm men set up to march in formation. Oso Forge had many fine blades which I saw up close. The master forge smith even showed me the seven and a half pound sword, which was like holding a traffic light pole, I could just hold the heavy blade. This makes me think of The 13th Warrior (1999) where the blond-haired Viking Herger (Dennis Storhoi) tosses the protagonist, Ahmed ibn Fahdlan (Antonio Banderas), a sword. Fahdlan says, “I cannot lift this.” Herger about to pass him says, “Grow stronger.” 

Another camp, St. Michael’s, that was by the joust had some displays of weapons. I was able test out one of the long pole arms. The grip was left hand out and right hand at the end of the pole arm. This was a small part of it used just to ward off any attacker. It wobbled at the spear point to confuse any opponent about direction. For a show, I went to Rogue’s Reef to catch a performance by the Poxy Boggards, there are many warnings that the show was R rated. I would think that it would be Aarrr rated. The thirteen member group has been at the faire since 1994. Their motto is they are "The Drinking Group with a Singing Problem." They sing bawdy songs including their hit, “I Wear No Pants.” 

The Poxy Boggards sing!, photo by the author. 

The audience was clapping and shouting out words not appropriate for an Easter Sunday, but the group leaned into the irreverence, fun! Their latest CD, available for streaming, is Blood, Sweat & Beers Part 1. Check them out at https://poxyboggards.com/ My activity was the axe throwing. $10 for 10 axes, these were light, all metal axes. The closest I got to the target was throwing upwards, it struck the target blunt side, and fell. There were not many bunnies, a few figures in white robes with red sashes, but there was a music, understanding and looking at Renaissance weapons, and a place filled with cosplayers. I saw pirates, princesses, Vikings, even a Mandalorian. There is still more entertainment, activities, food and merch to experience at the faire! The Original Renaissance Pleaure Faire, a fine way to celebrate Easter! 

#RenaissanceFaire, #StCuthberts, #OsoForge, #StMichaels, #RoguesReef, #PoxyBoggards 

Last Day at Wondercon (2026)!

 Wondercon finished yesterday, Sunday, March 29th, with panels, guests, and cosplayers! I started the day with the Q & A Session with Robin Hobb. The room was filled with readers, the author made clear she has readers, not fans. Kat Odgen was the host and she is the daughter of Robin Hobb. The panel was insightful into the writing process, Hobb note her saying, “Right here, write now.” She said there was perfect time to start writing at any age or time of a person’s life. Hobb recommended some books, she said, The Devils (2025), by Joe Abercrombie is “everything you’d want in a book.” The initial concept of the Farseer trilogy for Hobb was the question, “What if magic was an addiction and the addiction was destructive.” Find out more about Robin Hobb on her website: https://www.robinhobb.com. 

Bob Gurr meets RX-24 at his Wondercon booth!, photo by the author. 

At Artist’s Alley, I saw a special guest of the convention, Kendall Hale. He had several Lorcana cards and mini-prints at his table. Hale is the artist of all of the Seven Dwarf Lorcana cards that were in the Rise of the Floodborn series. Check out his website: https://kendallhale.com. I also saw Babs Tarr, the artist for the Sirens: Love Hurts, written by another special guest, writer, Tini Howard. Next, I went over to see designer, Bob Gurr, it was great to see him again at the Bob Gurr: Living by Design screening. What was the most fascinating was when a RX-24 wandered by the booth and he was overjoyed greeting the droid. Finishing off the con, I will say everyone should meet Eric Bauza, the voice of many favorite Looney Tunes characters! His long filmography also features The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024). 

Eric Bauza, voice of Daffy Duck, Squid from Krapopolis, Drift who was in Transformers: Robots in Disguise, the Evil Mogwai of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and more!, Wondercon, author’s photo. 

He voiced Daffy Duck and Porky Pig and instantly shifting into the voices and also Bugs Bunny from Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021). Bauza mentioned the upcoming, Coyote Vs. Acme, the expectations for this movie is so high especially with its struggle to get to movie screens. We haven’t seen a trailer or much promotion for it, but it be at theaters on August 28th of this year. Films that are special need your support, spread the word, and watch it in theaters. Outside of the convention center, there were many cosplayers, one of the standouts for me was a cosplayer as the Bride of Frankenstein! A crowd of photographers were around the cosplayer who portrayed Supergirl. The convention was winding down, many of the artists and guests had already left, but there was still creative people, authors, artists, and voice actors, and great cosplayers!  

#Wondercon, #RobinHobb, #KendallHale, #BabsTarr, #TiniHoward, #SirensLoveHurts, #BobGurr, #EricBauza, #CoyoteVsAcme

First Day at Wondercon (2026)!

 Wondercon, which started on Friday, March 27th, today had some great guests and cosplayers who were on point! This weekend was a strange convergeance of three conventions across the country; Wondercon, C2E2 (Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo which featured Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Weir, author of Project Hail Mary, and artist, Frank Cho, plus Planet Comiccon Kansas City whose guests include Sean Astin, Thrawn Trilogy author, Timothy Zahn, and Stanley `Artgerm’ Lau. My first stop was of course the Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. table. The special guest there was Joe Lansdale. His novella, Bubba Ho-Tep, was made into a 2002 film starring Bruce Campbell as a man in a retirement home who calls himself Elvis! 

Saturday, Wondercon, 2026, photo by the author.

He has to defeat a mummy who feeds on the retirees until Elvis and Jack, President Kennedy who is now a black man, stop him! Lansdale was there to promote the 30th anniversary of Tarzan the Lost Adventure. It was an unfinished manuscript by Edgar Rice Burroughs and completed by Lansdale. There was published by Dark Horse Comics as four graphic novels. The complete story was collected into a 1995 novel. Also at the table was Llane Jane Burroughs, the great granddaughter of Edgar Rice Burroughs, she wrote a foreward for Tarzan the Lost Adventure. Next, I visited the Stranger Comics booth, and talked with Darrell May, layout artist for the comics. He said the teaser trailer of Niobe will have a full trainer at San Diego Comic Con! At the table was a Wondercon special edition of Tales of Asunda The Untamed: Wishing Well #1. 

Wondercon special guest, author, Robin Hobb, author’s photo. 

Another of Wondercon’s special guests was author, Robin Hobb, who wrote Assassin’s Apprentice (1995), part of the Farseer Trilogy. She also wrote the Liveship Traders series staring with Ship of Magic (1998). I had not found my book and comic books based on Assassin’s Apprentice, but thankfully they were available at the Mysterious Galaxy booth. The cosplayers were great, there were several meet ups including Marvel Rivals, which also had voice actors from the game at a panel. The cosplayers were all different, not too many simliar costumes, at the fountain were Wizard of Oz cosplayers. The fountain has several steps in front of the convention center so it is a great place for photo ops. There was a Dorothy menaced by two Flying Monkeys. Several Glinda and Elphabas from Wicked. I saw a great Fiyero transformed into the Scarecrow cosplayer. Also, a Cowardly Lion from The Wiz!  A chance meeting brought together the Accountant, the tatooed switchboard operator, and a John Wick cosplayer! A single day at Wondercon was filled with fantastic authors, artists, and cosplayers! 

#Wondercon, #C2E2, #PlanetComicconKansasCity, #JoeLansdale, #TarzanTheLostAdventure, #LlaneJaneBurroughs, #StrangerComics, #DarrellMay, #TalesOfAsundaTheUntamedWishingWell, 

#RobinHobb, #AssassinsApprentice, #MysteriousGalaxy, #MarvelRivals, #WizardOfOz, #Wicked, #TheWiz, #JohnWick 

Project Hail Mary Review!

Project Hail Mary is feel good hope in a hard science fiction film with a reluctant astronaut, Grace, unlikely teaming up to save the stars and Earth! The movie is based on the 2021 novel by Andy Weir who had also written The Martian (2011). In turn that story was also adapted to a film in 2015. He is a producer on this film. The film is directed and produced by the team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. 

The last movie the duo had directed was 22 Jump Street (2014) having attempted to direct Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2027) was co-written and produced by Lord and Miller. Drew Goddard is the executive producer and screenwriter who also adapted The Martian. A short note: there is strobing lights and slight vertigo with the screen. It begins with red light on a plastic coat with a zipper in the center. There is also a helmet where we see blinking eyes! 

A robot electronic arm pulls out a breathing tube from the subject’s mouth. This shaggy bearded man, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is asked by the ship’s voice, Mary (Priya Kansara) a question to check his mental accuity, “What is 2+2?” Gosling traveled to space as Neil Armstrong in First Man (2018). He is also a producer on the film and was given the manuscript before the novels publication. Kansara played Ria in the action comedy, Polite Society (2023). Mary almost acts as another character to the lonely Grace, answering his questions, and reporting ship functions.

Grace clamps his jaw twice. His disorientation is part of the journey. Grace flops out of the bed and across the room. He is dressed in a plastic body suit. Grace reaches a ladder and climbs up it checking on the other passengers. The woman, Olesya (Milana Vayntrub), has a face frozen in a deathly rictus. Vayntrub was in the sci fi comedy, Other Space (2015) as Tina Shukshin. The next bunk is listed Yao, LJ, with the reading Deceased! The pilot of the ship, Ken Leung plays Yao. Leung portrayed Commander Zhao in the Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024) show.  

Grace stumbles over to a window to see unfamiliar stars! He starts to walk into a several paneled video room. It is similar to the Star Trek holodeck showing Earth scenes. Grace takes out a white track suit. Mary says, “Please record video diary.” Grace ignores the computer and says pilot. Mary responds, “Pilot deceased.” He says to the computer to start “Operation Go Home.” Funny. Next, Grace asks Mary to “Call Earth.” The computer responds that it will take 11 years! 

He starts to scroll track the flight path to Earth. Grace asks the computer of the location of the fuel. He uses the fuel used to calculate the distance. 113.8 years away! Grace covers his head at the overwhelming situation. He’s a long way from home and the best example of the character for me is the Don Knotts film, The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) where he plays a janitor accidentally sent into space! Then, there is a television report on the Arclight probe sent to the Petrova Line. There is black clusters seen.  

This moves to the science class of Grover Cleveland Junion High in the Bay Area. Grace is teaching the class using a microphone to create sand distortions.The class wants to play the Lava Game. They toss a hackey sack colored like the Earth to get answers. Grace asks for speed of light. This is correctly answered, 186,000 miles per second, by Olivia (Annelle Olaleye). She asks back to Grace about the dots eating the sun. He explains that a scientist, Irina Petrova, found infrared light forming a line from the sun to Venus. 

This was called the Petrova Line. Grace admits “They seem to be dimming the sun.” This causes a panic with the class. Grace contemplates the impact and Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) enters the classroom. Stratt is the head of the world response to the crisis. Hüller was in the drama, Anatomy of a Fall (2023). An impressive part, she has the calm demeanor of a leader, but also a deep insight into people. She reveals that over the next 30 years, the temperature will drop 15 degrees! This would start a new ice age, freeze water systems, and cause mass extinctions. 

Stratt says, “The best minds in the entire world are on it.” A consotrium of scientific minds is something that makes me think of the film, Tomorrowland (2015). The group was called Plus Ultra that help build the future. Then, we move to the current day Grace drinking bags of vodka. He finds photos of his fellow astronaugts. Also, a polaroid of himself alone. He dances with a mop in a lab. Returning to the conversation with Stratt, she mentions Grace’s paper on rejecting water is needed for life, the Goldilocks Principle. 

He presented it at the UNESCO conference in Denmark. They walk outside of the school. Dark coated agents begin to surround him. Grace asks the name of an agent, the agent (Lionel Boyce) answers that his name is Carl. Boyce stars in the series, The Bear, as Marcus. At a lab, Grace is in a large environmental suit and on the other side is a room of military officials, scientists, and Stratt. He tests a sample of the black, oily Astrophage, the star eater. Grace says “It’s a tiny, alien cell.” 

He also finds that it is made of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, water, disproving his theory! Grace sits in a tunnel and explains to Stratt that the Astrophage gives off infrared radiation to move. She leaves him saying they have 347 astrobiologists to work on the Astrophage. Stratt adds, “I left you three dots.” On the Hail Mary ship, Grace walks past three gold plates showing human evolution. He holds the Earth hackie sack. Flashback to the lab, he speaks to Carl at the other side of a room via a walkie talkie, “Hey Carl, do we have an expense account?” 

They start shopping at Home Depot throwing in rolls of electrical tape and a few other items into the shopping cart. They are almost playful which makes Carl from stern guard to someone who is on the side of Grace. They start shopping at Home Depot throwing in rolls of electrical tape into the shopping cart. Carl, Grace, and other assistants begin the experiment, completely covering the walls of the lab. A very DIY science experiment. Grace finds that the three Astrophage are gone, but contained in the lab. 

He needs complete darkness in the tunnel to prove the Carl Hypothesis, Carl thought they had moved, so the tunnel door is closed. Grace finds with infrared light that the three Astrophage in a corner. They moved towards a CO2 source like Venus. He also finds that there is another Astrophage, they reproduce in a CO2 environment and then go to a light source like the sun. Grace says, "We're fathers, Carl", funny! The discovery is told to Stratt who has ordered a F/A-18F Super Hornet jet to take him to next project area. 

Grace is sickened by the maneuvers of the jet, the thrust and rolls. He finds himself at an aircraft carrier at sea. Grace is still sick and uses a traffic cone while talking to Stratt. She takes him over to a room filled with scientists including others on a screen. Grace explains how to breed Astrophage. He is asked if 2 million kilograms can be made of the Astrophage. He is not cleared to discuss Project Hail Mary so Stratt has him stand up and gives him the top secret clearance. She tells Grace that they followed the Petrova Line ended at a star, Tau Ceti, 11.9 light years away. 

Grace wonders why it stopped there. There is a collective "We don't know" from the entire table! They hope to send a near light spaceship to Tau Ceti, using the Astrophage as fuel. Then, collect information, and send it back on "beetle" probes. Stratt says it is a long shot. Which leads Grace to the project name, "Hail Mary." The astronauts will be in a medically induced coma for the journey. Now, Grace pulls the bodies out to give them an informal memorial. He hadn't time to know Olesya and Yao so he uses the photographs to remember them. Yao, Grace says, makes a funny face in every picture. 

He apologizes to Olesya for taking her vodka and her picture sneaking into the Kremlin Grace says is "legendary." He starts to cry as he ejects their bodies out of the airlock and says, "I'll do my best." There is a beautiful shot of Hail Mary moving silently in space against the stars. This is the hard sci fi of the film with spaceships making no sound unlike starfighters racing across the Death Star. Space is a vaccuum so there is no sound or in this film, songs, and the score by Daniel Pemberton. He provided the score for Spider-Man: Across the Universe (2023). 

The camera work and visuals are impressive with cinematography by Greig Fraiser who also worked on Dune Part Two (2024). The computer announces that the engine cut-off as they have reached Tau Ceti. Grace tries to slip into the pilot's seat, but remarks to the computer, "I'm not the pilot!" We see the gyroscope peeking out of the ship like a gopher out of its hole with the film sped up, the awkwardness is funny! Grace sees the break in the Petrova Line. Mary warns Grace and a ship that looks like it is made of gold wires appears! Grace takes hold of ship's joystick to pull the Hail Mary away from this new ship. The Hail Mary has the massive ship follow, Grace accelerates a bit, and the alien ship moves forward. Grace asks Mary, "Shields up!" Funny, very Star Trek, but of course Hail Mary has no shields. A metal capsule is thrown from the new ship. Grace suspects that it might be a message. It bounces off Hail Mary's hull. Mary suggests a space walk. Grace tries to get into the red space suit to go EVA, Extravehicular Activity. He moves over to the hatch, takes one look at the ship, and tries to scramble back inside! 

Five+ Earth hacky sacks out of Five! 

#ProjectHailMary, #PhilLord, #ChristopherMiller, #DrewGoddard, #GreigFraser, #DanielPemberton, #AndyWeir, #RyanGosling, #SandraHuller, #LionelBoyce, #MilanaVayntrub, #KenLeung, #PriyaKansara