This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
From “Star Wars” to Sandra Bullock, the intergalactic rescue mission has become one of Hollywood’s most overworked templates.
So I was skeptical when I settled in for “Project Hail Mary,” a new sci-fi epic adapted from Andy Weir’s novel of the same name. The film stars Ryan Gosling as a scientist on a last-ditch effort to save the world.
The plot is, admittedly, well-worn. And at its weakest moments, the film dips into the prolonged peril and aimless drift of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity.” But ultimately, “Project Hail Mary” succeeds in offering something new. It is a heartwarming story about friendship, sacrifice, and the grace of finding something worth living and risking your life for. It blends the best of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” with Weir’s own “The Martian,” and may be the finest performance of Gosling’s career.
The plot revolves around a mysterious intergalactic organism discovered spreading across solar systems, draining stars of their fuel, and hastening their collapse. This poses something of a problem for humanity, which relies on the sun for energy even more so than the Strait of Hormuz.
With no military solution available, the United States joins forces with the rest of the world to spearhead Project Hail Mary — a literal last-ditch attempt to save civilization. Scientists soon discover that one distant star alone appears immune in an otherwise infected galaxy, prompting a one-way mission to investigate the source of that immunity and relay the findings back to Earth.
One of the film’s strengths is its believable hero. A middle school science teacher with a PhD in molecular biology who flamed out of academia after a controversial but daring thesis sunk his reputation, Grace is a far cry from the roughnecks turned astronauts who save the world in Michael Bay’s “Armageddon.”
Upon awakening from a medically induced coma aboard the interstellar ship lightyears from home, Grace pieces together the mission through a series of flashbacks, alternating between his lonely presence in space and his memories of the events that led him there. The structure works well, gradually filling in both the mechanics of the plot and the contours of Grace’s character without sacrificing momentum.
But what gives Project Hail Mary its heart and distinguishes the film in such a saturated genre is the unlikely friendship that forms between Grace and Rocky — a bizarre extraterrestrial life-form resembling an animated boulder formation he encounters along the way. Following an extended and amusing sequence in which Grace, after mapping Rocky’s range of beeps and rhythms to English words, cycles through voice options ranging from a sprightly Irish gentleman to a seductive phone-sex operator, he settles on a charming, faintly Stephen Hawking-like rhythm redolent of Dug from Disney’s “Up.” Their relationship is the film’s emotional center and by far its most rewarding achievement.
The early moments of contact between them are suffused with genuine wonder. Grace’s first glimpse of Rocky’s alien ship — an elegant, Art Deco-like vessel the size of the Empire State Building gliding through the void — is enchanting. As are the scenes in which the two cautiously learn to communicate, discovering not only each other’s language and biology, but that their meeting is no accident. Rocky is on a parallel mission to determine why this lone star is immune and use that knowledge to save his own world. In a genre crowded with stories about intergalactic war, conquest, and sheer firepower, there is something refreshing about a science fiction film in which survival depends instead on problem-solving, ingenuity, and cooperation.
For all the film’s surface resemblance to “Interstellar” or “The Martian,” its spirit is much closer to Steven Spielberg than Nolan. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, whose backgrounds are more rooted in comedy (“21 Jump Street” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) bring a buoyancy and warmth that keep the material from being bogged down by increasingly abstract and high-concept ideas which have plagued Nolan’s more indulgent works – “Interstellar” was borderline affected but “Tenet” was firmly mired by its own conceptual weight. “Project Hail Mary,” by contrast, conveys the unvarnished and unapologetic sense of amazement seen in the iconic scenes of such Spielberg classics as “Close Encounters” or “E.T.”
That said, “Project Hail Mary” is not without its own indulgences. At a sprawling two-and-a-half hours, it occasionally drifts and feels unnecessarily languid. The lethargic slow burn of the first act is understandable; the film needs time to build its world and its central relationship. By the climactic third act, you are cheering for Grace and Rocky with enthusiasm tantamount to a live sports game. But there are moments that feel unnecessary. The film could excise multiple scenes of Ryan Gosling sleeping, or an extended karaoke sequence that lingers through several verses of a Harry Styles song without losing a beat.
The tension, however, when it arrives, is palpable. One particularly gripping sequence finds Grace and Rocky descending into the atmosphere of a nearby planet to collect samples at the risk of being torn apart by its gravitational pull. Even with the understanding that the film is closer in tone to Disney than to Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” the film still manages to generate gripping suspense.
Speaking of Disney, there are also faint echoes of Marvel in the film’s tonal register, particularly in its impulse toward humor — even amid dire circumstances. But where Marvel’s house style often feels glib or emotionally evasive, the levity here is deployed far more intelligently. With such minimalist casting — this is, for the most part, a one-man Ryan Gosling show — the humor becomes a narrative tool rather than a mechanism for undercutting emotion. Gosling plays Grace as a charismatic, endearing goofball, a man with the intellectual gifts of Oppenheimer but the whimsical comic timing of Ken in “Barbie.”  It is a delicate balance, and Gosling makes it look deceptively easy.
If the film has a weakness beyond its occasional pacing lethargy, it lies in its music. The jukebox choices, including The Beatles’ “Two of Us,” are serviceable enough, but they lack the transporting emotional force a great original score from a talent like John Williams might have provided.
Even so, “Project Hail Mary” triumphs because it understands that spectacle and CGI alone do not make a movie. Its heart and soul lie in the enduring relationship between Grace and Rocky, and in the notion that salvation may ultimately depend less on brute force than on intelligence, loyalty, and the willingness to trust an alien from another world — that he has the personality of a golden retriever certainly streamlines this. At its lowest points, the film drags. But at its highest, it shines. This is populist cinema in the best sense: earnest, crowd-pleasing, and suffused with enough wonder to make even a familiar cosmic premise feel newly alive.
***
Harry Khachatrian (<a href="https://x.com/harry1t6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@Harry1T6</a>) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a software engineer, holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and writes about wine at <a href="https://www.betweenbottles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetweenBottles.com</a>.

PHM_30245_R2_2000x1333_thumbnail-min(1)

Ryan Gosling Breathes New Life Into A Tired Genre With ‘Project Hail Mary’

Hollywood

Movies

Ryan Gosling

Science

Space

Upstream

The Washington Post published an opinion column last week gushing over Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, calling him a &#8220;modern-day sex symbol.&#8221; 
In recent days, Emhoff has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-anchor-dems-want-to-appeal-to-men-who-arent-testosterone-laden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lauded</a> by left-wing media as a new-and-improved modern man who doesn&#8217;t appeal to high-testosterone men. WaPo opinion columnist Catherine Rampell echoed the same in her piece: &#8220;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/23/emhoff-harris-sex-symbol/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Doug Emhoff, modern-day sex symbol</a>.&#8221; 
Rampell explains that Emhoff is dreamy, even topping actor Ryan Gosling, because he is &#8220;secure enough with his own masculinity to sometimes prioritize his wife’s ambitions over his own.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724361346607000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZhyOQfEkxcMH_D1Ago3CQ">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
&#8220;Move over, Ryan Gosling. The modern female fantasy is embodied by the man who might soon become our first First Gentleman,&#8221; the piece reads. &#8220;Emhoff appears to be a genuine mensch with an impressive career. He’s smitten with his wife and supports her ambitions, as is obvious from his convention speech and their sweet interactions on the campaign trail. But most important for this sexy sobriquet: Emhoff is secure enough with his own masculinity to sometimes prioritize his wife’s ambitions over his own.&#8221;
&#8220;What. A. Hunk,&#8221; Rampell emphasizes the point.
The columnist even excuses Emhoff&#8217;s scandalous romantic past with a throwaway line, writing, &#8220;Whatever his previous marital drama, [Emhoff is] the working woman&#8217;s ideal partner.&#8221;
Emhoff has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/second-gentleman-doug-emhoff-admits-affair-during-first-marriage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> to having an affair during his first marriage. He had relations with a teacher at his children&#8217;s school and the teacher became pregnant. It&#8217;s unclear if the woman miscarried the child or had the baby killed via an abortion, though two unnamed sources told CBS News that she miscarried.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-anchor-dems-want-to-appeal-to-men-who-arent-testosterone-laden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, CNN anchor Dana Bash argued that the Democratic Party was appealing to men who were not “testosterone-laden,” contending Emhoff — and Harris VP-pick Tim Walz — can speak to those kinds of men.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724361346607000&amp;usg=AOvVaw20WW7TctHuJrGIoU7DH97E">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
The Democrats are &#8220;trying to put forward male figures, Tim Walz being one of them, Doug Emhoff, last night, who can speak to men, out there, who might not be the sort of testosterone-laden gun-toting kind of guy, who wants to listen to Hulk Hogan, and the kind of players that came out at the RNC, or might want to listen to that,&#8221; Bash said.
&#8220;But also, in addition, understand that it’s okay, in 2024, to be a man, comfortable in his own skin, who supports a woman,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And that’s something that they really are trying to work on, with male voters, beyond the base.&#8221;
<div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body">
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-anchor-dems-want-to-appeal-to-men-who-arent-testosterone-laden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN Anchor: Dems Want To Appeal To Men Who Aren’t ‘Testosterone-Laden’</a>
</div>

2024 Democratic National Convention: Day 1

‘Move Over, Ryan Gosling’: WaPo Gushes Over ‘Sex Symbol’ Doug Emhoff

Washington Post Says Doug Emhoff Is A ‘Sex Symbol’ 

Doug Emhoff

Kamala Harris

Media

Washington Post

Actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ryan-gosling">Ryan Gosling</a> said he’s not taking on certain roles that could affect his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/parents">family</a>.
The 43-year-old Canadian-born <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">actor</a> had previously explored more psychologically complex characters, including roles he played in “The Notebook” (2004), “Blue Valentine” (2010) and “Drive” (2011). But he has a new perspective since becoming a dad.
&#8220;I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,&#8221; Gosling told WSJ Magazine during a recently published <a href="https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/ryan-gosling-fall-guy-barbie-fame-c7c8a5bf">interview</a>. 
&#8220;This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The decisions I make, I make them with [girlfriend Eva Mendes] and we make them with our family in mind first.”
Mendes and Gosling have two daughters – Esmeralda, 9, and Amada, 8. He said after they were born, he started exploring different genres. 
“I think &#8216;La La Land&#8217; was the first,” Gosling told the outlet. “It was just sort of like, oh, this will be fun for them, too, because even though they’re not coming to set, we’re practicing piano every day or we’re dancing or we’re singing.&#8221;
The actor said his daughters helped influence his decision to accept the part of Ken in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a role that nabbed him an Oscar nomination earlier this year.
“They were already making little movies about their Barbies on the iPad when it happened, so the fact that I was going off to work to make one too, we just felt like we were aligned,&#8221; Gosling explained. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714673789152000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0y1UTwuifPf73KnKdAvs6N">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
“I’m trying to just figure out who they are and be there for them in the way that I can,” he went on. “They’re such clear and distinct personalities that it’s sort of becoming obvious.”
The actor is currently promoting his new action comedy, “The Fall Guy,” which hit theaters May 3. 
During a previous interview with <a href="https://people.com/ryan-gosling-reveals-fall-guy-stunt-daughters-asked-him-not-to-do-exclusive-8642135">People</a>, Gosling said his daughters told him they don’t approve of him playing with fire on set.
“My kids didn&#8217;t want me to be set on fire,” he told the outlet. “Even though I said, ‘Well, it&#8217;s actually, technically the safer thing to do because there&#8217;s a lot of protective stuff involved.&#8217; [They] “were like, ‘No. No fire.’ So I didn&#8217;t do it,&#8221; Gosling said.

Ryan Gosling Says Fatherhood Causes Him To Avoid Roles That Put Him ‘In A Dark Place’

Ryan Gosling Says Fatherhood Causes Him To Avoid Roles That Put Him 'In A Dark Place'

Entertainment

Parenting

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/eva-mendes">Eva Mendes</a> says putting acting on hold after having <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/parents">children</a> was not a difficult decision at all. 
The 50-year-old actress has been dating fellow movie star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ryan-gosling">Ryan Gosling</a> since 2011 when they met on the set of “The Place Beyond the Pines.” The couple has two daughters, born in 2014 and 2016.
Mendes mentioned her career pause during an <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1772630680872038651?s=20">interview</a> that aired Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show.
“It was like a no-brainer,” the “Training Day” star said of leaving acting behind. “I’m so lucky. And I was like, if I can have this time with my children – and I still work, I just didn’t act, because acting takes you on locations, it takes you away,” Mendes explained.
“It was almost just like a non-verbal agreement that it was like, okay, he’s going to work and I’m going to work. I’m just going to work here,” she said.
Mendes has been focused on projects off the camera, including launching a cleaning product line and providing voiceover work for the popular animated series “Bluey.” 
Gosling also took a <a href="https://www.today.com/news/ryan-gosling-announces-hes-taking-break-acting-1c8989279">break from acting</a> beginning in 2013 but has since returned and was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Ken in the summer blockbuster “Barbie.” 
Mendes&#8217; statements come just after a source confirmed the pair had moved away from Hollywood to shield their children from “celebrity kids.”
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1711624021971000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1PsD9ubifrvbeusazFoLDO">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
“For them, the most important job is their girls,” the source told People earlier this month, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/eva-mendes-ryan-gosling-leave-hollywood-because-they-dont-want-their-kids-around-celebrity-kids-report">reported</a>. “Everything else comes second. And their girls are thriving. They left L.A. to live a bit further north, away from Hollywood.”
“They didn’t want the girls to grow up around other celebrity kids,” the source continued. “Eva and Ryan love their life. It’s admirable how they’ve been able to create balance and boundaries. They care so much about their marriage and just want their girls to live a happy life.”
Other Hollywood moms have struggled with their decision to balance work life and family. During a recent podcast interview, actress Christina Ricci said her relationship with her toddler daughter was affected by her filming in another country.
“Last year I was commuting back and forth to Vancouver for ‘Yellowjackets.’ [my daughter Cleo] didn’t know me. We had no bond. So that was very upsetting,” Ricci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/christina-ricci-said-she-had-no-bond-with-toddler-daughter-while-filming-yellowjackets-in-canada">said</a>.

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes Says It Was A ‘No-Brainer’ Putting Acting On Pause After Having Kids With Ryan Gosling

Eva Mendes Says It Was A 'No-Brainer' Putting Acting On Pause After Having Kids With Ryan Gosling

Celebrities

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-never-quit-eva-mendes-says-shes-shifting-the-narrative-that-she-left-hollywood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eva Mendes</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ryan-gosling-recalls-weird-sign-he-was-meant-to-play-ken-in-barbie-movie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Gosling</a> reportedly decided to leave Hollywood and raise their kids elsewhere because they preferred not to have their daughters growing up around &#8220;celebrity&#8221; children.
A source close to the &#8220;Barbie” star and &#8220;Hitch&#8221; star said that the superstar couple have moved &#8220;a bit further north&#8221; outside of Tinseltown for the benefit of their girls Esmerelda, 9, and Amanda, 7, <a href="https://people.com/why-eva-mendes-and-ryan-gosling-moved-their-kids-out-of-los-angeles-8607294">People magazine</a> reported.
&#8220;For them, the most important job is their girls,&#8221; the source told the outlet. &#8220;Everything else comes second. And their girls are thriving. They left L.A. to live a bit further north, away from Hollywood.&#8221;
&#8220;They didn&#8217;t want the girls to grow up around other celebrity kids,&#8221; the source added. &#8220;Eva and Ryan love their life. It&#8217;s admirable how they&#8217;ve been able to create balance and boundaries. They care so much about their marriage and just want their girls to live a happy life.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes leave LA, didn’t want girls to &#8216;grow up around other celebrity kids&#8217;: report <a href="https://t.co/4ZmFpbStb7">https://t.co/4ZmFpbStb7</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1767328376459497971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
In August, a <a href="https://people.com/ryan-gosling-eva-mendes-enjoy-family-trips-with-their-daughters-exclusive-7570755">source told the outlet</a> that Gosling and Mendes are &#8220;hands-on parents and have little help.”
&#8220;When they are not working, they are all about their girls,&#8221; the source told the outlet. &#8220;Ryan is such a fun dad. He is goofy and his girls love it.&#8221;
&#8220;He takes them out by himself for various activities,&#8221; the source added. &#8220;As a family, they enjoy visiting the desert and the beach. They are a very active family. Eva and Ryan seem happy. They tend to be flirty and hold hands. It&#8217;s cute.&#8221;
The couple famously has kept their relationship and their lives very private. It has even been fodder for tabloids whether the two stars, who have been together for more than a decade, are married.
In 2022, Mendes sparked rumors when she called Gosling her husband, appearing to confirm longtime speculation that she and &#8220;The Notebook&#8221; actor had secretly wed, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actress-eva-mendes-appears-to-confirm-she-and-ryan-gosling-secretly-wed">reported</a>.
During the actress&#8217; appearance on Channel Nine&#8217;s &#8220;Today&#8221; in Australia, Mendes discussed the warm welcome she and Gosling received in that country and called Ryan her &#8220;husband,&#8221; <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a42015507/eva-mendes-ryan-gosling-confirmed-married/">Elle</a> magazine reported.
&#8220;Everyone is so welcoming here and my husband Ryan is here and we are having the best time,&#8221; Mendes told the hosts Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon.
Mendes and Gosling started dating in 2011.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actress-eva-mendes-appears-to-confirm-she-and-ryan-gosling-secretly-wed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Actress Eva Mendes Appears To Confirm She And Ryan Gosling Secretly Wed</a>

Little White Lies – Premiere: The 5th International Rome Film Festival

Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling Leave Hollywood Because They Don’t Want Their Kids Around ‘Celebrity Kids’: Report

Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling Leave Hollywood, ‘Didn’t Want’ Their Kids Around ‘Celebrity Kids’: Report

Barbie