PROJECT HAIL MARY
If you came away from 'The Martian' thinking that what it really needed was for the astronaut to lighten up, and to have a creature made of rocks as a companion, then this is the film for you. And if dour Matt Damon is replaced by charming Ryan Gosling then so much the better. Instead of being stranded on Mars, Gosling's character (maverick scientist Ryland Grace) is out in the Tau Ceti star system, trying to work out why that star isn't dimming whilst our Sun is - due to some pesky micro-critters (called Astrophage) appearing from nowhere and taking a one-way trip from the Sun to Venus. The future of humanity is at stake, which is why the jokey tone of this film sometimes rubbed me up the wrong way (yes, maybe I'm the one that needs to lighten up). As an example, there's an early scene where Grace and a companion go to a DIY store to buy some kit with which to conduct an experiment on the Astrophage, and in case the audience might find this boring they of co...