BY JACK CAMERON for WEEKLY VOLCANO 3/20/26 |
This week brings one of the most anticipated movies of 2026, Project Hail Mary. Based on the book by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary is this year’s big space movie. (Think Interstellar, The Martian, Ad Astra, etc.) Weir wrote The Martian, and like that movie, Project Hail Mary features a man on his own far from Earth.
Ryan Gosling plays an overqualified middle school teacher named Ryland Grace (points for a cool name), sent into space in hopes of stopping the sun from dying.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, known for their work on the Into the Spider-Verse movies, and written by Drew Goddard, who also wrote the screenplay for The Martian, Project Hail Mary has everyone working at the top of their game.
Most of Project Hail Mary is Grace alone in space, and the only way to make that work is to have one hell of a talented actor in the lead role. Gosling doesn’t seem to get the credit some other bigger-name actors get for his versatility and talent, but a quick look at his choices shows his range and ability. I’m not sure I’d call this a career best for him, and I don’t expect he’ll get any awards (science fiction movies rarely do), but he gives Project Hail Mary the heart, humanity, and humor that elevate the film beyond its genre.
Both the Blue Mouse and the Grand Cinema are playing Project Hail Mary beginning March 20, 2026.
Also on the evening of March 20, for Friday Night Frights, the Blue Mouse is showing the 1993 horror classic Leprechaun at 10 p.m.
The Blue Mouse is also presenting a live musical, Gutenberg! The Musical! by Anthony King and Scott Brown. The staged reading features Howy Howard and Lola Stephens playing aspiring playwrights Doug Simon and Beth Davenport. Accompanied by Charles (Mac Hansen), a “professional musician,” this funny musical has the two playwrights playing and singing all of the roles, using labeled trucker hats to identify the characters they’re playing. Tickets are $10. There are four performances: Thursday, March 19 and 26 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 21 and 28 at 11 p.m.
Coming in April and May, the Blue Mouse is hosting a series of movies called Wedding Besties, with showings of The Runaway Bride, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Bridesmaids.
In addition to Project Hail Mary, the Grand also has Tow premiering on March 20. Tow is a movie directed by Stephanie Laing and starring Rose Byrne as a woman in Seattle who lives in her car and falls into a legal web when her car gets towed.
On the third Saturday of every month, the Grand has Free Family Movie Day. This month, on March 21, there’s a showing of Alfonso Cuarón’s The Little Princess at 10 a.m.
On Tuesday, March 24, the Grand has a showing of The Imitation Game, a movie about codebreaker Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), as part of its Science on Film series. The showing includes a talk with Erik Tou, Ph.D., associate professor of science and mathematics at the University of Washington Tacoma.
The Exhibition on Screen series continues with director David Bickerstaff’s Turner & Constable. The two biggest names in British landscape painting were J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. They were also rivals. The showings on March 24 at 1:45 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. include a 25-minute talk with the filmmakers.
Whether you’re looking for the latest science fiction, want some live theater, or want to sit back and watch a classic on the big screen, the independent movie theaters of Tacoma have you covered this week.
