Episode #448: 'Project Hail Mary' with Rendy Jones

Ryan Gosling is on a one-man mission to save the universe...but he's not alone. We've got film critic Rendy Jones with us to discuss PROJECT HAIL MARY from directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Then we share some of our favorite science fiction concepts from cinema. What’s Good Alonso - Free airplane Wifi Drea - skin flooding Rendy - taking time to rest Kevin - taking down Christmas decorations ITIDICK-Pop Demon Hunters 2 Is a Big Payday for Its DirectorsLord and Miller to Produce Murder She Wrote Film With Jamie Lee Curtis Staff Picks Drea - Europa Report Alonso - UFOria (available on 4K UHD) Rendy - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Kevin - Warrior Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

We’re capping off a month at looking at different films directed by women with Hannah Berryman’s documentary, Spacewoman. Kevin Smokler, author of Breaking the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers joins us to talk about this close look at the stellar career of astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot, and later command, a Space Shuttle mission. What’s Good Alonso - Calm for naps Drea - getting a doctor’s appointment Kevin S. - Memorizing Oscar winners as a sleep aid Kevin A. - 3 hour Celebrity game ITIDIC AI-Generated Val Kilmer Will Appear in Movie Kilmer Was to Shoot Before His Passing April Wolfe/Chloe Okuno Project Bad Hand Lands at Searchlight Staff Picks Alonso - Late Shift Drea - Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice Kevin S. - Say Amen Somebody Kevin A. - A Teacher Directors Mentioned in C-Block: Patricia Cardoso Debra Granik Amy Heckerling Anna Boden Rose Troche Donna Deitch Cheryl Dunye Joan Micklin Silver Lizzie Borden Wanuri Kihiyu Melanie Laurent Maggie Gyllenhaal Allison Anders Gillian Armstrong Celine Sciamma Lynn Shelton The Wachowskis Penny Marshall Martha Coolidge Vera Drew Jane Schoenbrun Alice Maio Mackay Mira Nair Věra Chytilová Ida Lupino Dorothy Arzner Alice Guy-Blaché Caitlin Adams Susan Seidelman Nia DaCosta Kathryn Bigelow Julia Hart Dee Rees Catherine Breillat Mary Harron Regina King Dyan Cannon Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

We’re taking a good hard look in the mirror with our guest, actor/writer/director Michelle Krusiec as we discuss SXSW;s 2025 Grand Jury Prize winner, Amy Wang’s darkly comedic body horror, SLANTED. Then we’ll share some of our favorite movies that feature the prom, well…prominently. What’s Good Alonso - Alain Guiraudie Poster for Cannes Critics’ Fortnight (Quinzane des Cineastes) Drea - Jessie Buckley singing Sinead O’Connor’s “Troy” (and the Jessie Buckley rabbit hole) Michelle - not getting kidnapped (taking nothing for granted) Kevin - People who come to FYC events for the buffet ITIDICOscars 2026 Recap- Variety's Coverage- Indiewire's Coverage Letterboxd List of our "PROMinent Features" movies Staff Picks Drea - Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die Alonso - It’s Dorothy! and Videoheaven Michelle - All of Us Strangers (also Saving Face) Kevin - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 3/21/26, 7pm: Alonso and Christy’s After Hours Screening at the Gardena Cinema Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Podcaster and writer Harmony Colangelo joins the gang to track the many movements of THE BRIDE! Then we talk about actors we’d love to see paired up on the big screen.  What’s Good Alonso - matzoh Drea - filing (not clipping!) nails Harmony - definitely NOT Daylight Saving Time Kevin - zero degrees of Kevin Bacon?? ITIDIC Disney Releasing Fully Re-animated ASL Versions of Several Movie Songs Annapurna May Be Back A24 Opening a Vegas Wedding Chapel to Promote ‘The Drama’ Staff Picks Alonso - Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains Drea - Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn) Harmony - Baby Assassins Kevin - Promising Young Woman Listen to Harmony and BJ’s show This Ends at Prom Or check out their book, Sleepaway Camp Thanks to Christian Dueñas and Gabe Mara for production support on this episode. Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

March is Women’s History month, and all the movies we cover this month will be directed by women! To kick things off, we’re leaning into the “history” part, and going back to 1953 to cover the most popular film from a truly pioneering director (and prolific actor), the one and only Ida Lupino. It’s The Bigamist, with our special guest, a journalist covering culture and history, Hadley Hall Meares! What’s Good Alonso - Stephen Rebello’s new book Hitchcockian Thrillers Drea - Canada Dry Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale Zero Sugar Hadley - Jane Fonda’s My Life So Far (for Vanity Fair’s Old Hollywood Book Club) Kevin -  Brand new cast iron skillet ITIDIC Lost Melies Film Found in the Library of Congress Alan Cumming, Bowen Yang, Lena Waithe, Adam Goldman Head New LGBTQ Film Initiative SAG’s Renamed ‘Actor Awards’ Air Live on Netflix Movie Quiz Letterboxd List: “The [Blank}ist” Staff Picks Drea - André is an Idiot Alonso - Micki & Maude Hadley - My Favorite Wife Kevin - Bottoms Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

The gang's all here to discuss a new black comedy (sorta) where its Glen Powell's Becket Redfellow in a cat and mouse game to the death with his obnoxiously wealthy family -- a modernization of the 1949 Alec Guinness film Kind Hearts and Coronets. What’s Good? Alonso - Slow TV walks through snowy Helsinki Drea - Dog and Pet advocacy from Isabel Klee and the WeRateDogs guy Kevin - getting really into the last little bit of the Olympics (especially speedskating) ITIDIC K-Pop Demon Hunters & GDT Frankenstein Getting Criterion Releases BAFTA Broadcast Bungles Difficult Slur/Tourette’s Situation Sony Exec Confirms Plans to Reboot Spider-Man Villain Movies Check out our list of "Rags to Riches Movies" on Letterboxd. Staff Picks Alonso - River (2023) Drea - The Ladykillers (1955) Kevin - Top Gun: Maverick Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Romance novelist and filmmaker Alys Murray joins us to unpack Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) opinions are varied! What does the movie have in common with Grease 2? Listen and learn! Plus, we have a Hotline call all about movie characters that need family or couples counseling. What’s Good Alonso - Nathan Rabin’s The Fractured Mirror Drea - Talking Spindle Cove on Reading Smut Alys - The Artful Dodger TV series Kevin - Valentine’s Day romance, courtesy of Avengers: Endgame ITIDIC Bad Bunny Sets First Lead Movie Role in ‘Porto Rico’ With Norton, Bardem Remembering a Trio of of Hollywood Greats We Lost this Week (Tom Noonan • Frederick Wiseman • Robert Duvall) - Alonso recommends The Store as a Wiseman entry point. - Tom Noonan’s The Wife is an adaptation of his play, Wifey. Staff Picks Drea - Emily Alonso - A Useful Ghost Alys - Dangerous Beauty Kevin - Sliding Doors Alys Murray’s new book is A Little Buzzed Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Have you heard about the new A24 movie from writer/director Harry Lighton that’s almost a romantic comedy about gay BDSM biker culture? That’s PILLION, starring Alexander Skarsgaard and Harry Melling, and we’re thrilled to have our friend Nayland Blake (an influential artist and teacher who’s an authority on queer kink, riding with us!What’s Good?Alonso - Trans Girl Scouts you can buy cookies fromDrea - The Milan-Cortina Olympics (also Coach Jackie)Nayland - Midwest Magic Cleaning on YouTubeKevin - Casey Abrams at Hotel Cafe (w/surprise Dave Koz); Bobby Brown at the barITIDICLetterboxd Op-Ed: Is Streaming Making Movies Less Memorable?Kristen Stewart Buys Highland Park TheaterOur ‘Sex-Positive Movie Night’ Picks in a Letterboxd ListStaff PicksAlonso - Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t DieDrea - Nirvanna The Band The Show The MovieNayland - BloodsistersKevin - SecretaryNayland’s Books:My Studio Is a Dungeon Is the StudioNo Wrong Holes: Thirty Years of Nayland Blake  Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Sam Raimi's darkly comedic thriller SEND HELP is a bright spot in the early 2026 movie calendar, and we've got writer and film critic Kristen Lopez with us to discuss it, as well as some of our favorite "Desert Island Movies" -- by which we mean movies set on a remote island, of course.What's GoodAlonso - Super Bowl festivity & foodDrea - Rainbow WoolKristen - good movies in JanuaryKevin - Twilight Zone fundraiser readingITIDICIRON LUNG, YouTube Creator’s $3m Indie, Opens #2 at the Box OfficeLake Oswego Theater Loses Rights to Screen ‘Melania’ After Marquee JokesMST3K and Rifftrax Plan CrossoverCheck out our "Desert Island Movies" List on LetterboxdStaff PicksDrea - The HousemaidAlonso - Office KillerKristen - PillionKevin - The RuinsRead all about Kristen Lopez at her site or on The Film Maven   Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

We’re throwing our whole bodies into this discussion of Mona Fastvold’s epic historical musical biopic THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE. But it’s an audio medium, so you’ll have to take our word for it. We’re thrilled to have Emily St. James back with us!What’s GoodAlonso - Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old ManDrea - The power of “DROWSING” (in Scrabble)Emily - Rewatching 28 Years LaterKevin - Love Thy Neighbor: A Charity Live Reading of The Twilight Zone (Live at Dynasty Typewriter and Livestreamed, 1/31/26)ITIDICOscar Nominations AnnouncedSundance Film Festival kicks off, for the final time in Park CityUnusual Musicals List on LetterboxdStaff PicksDrea - A PoetAlonso - The MomentKevin - Martha Marcy May MarleneFollow Emily St. James on Bluesky or Instagram @emilystjamsSubscribe to EpisodesListen to Podcast Like It’s… Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or LetterboxdWithKevin AveryDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher