Hunger Games

Ten sci-fi & fantasy movies coming to theaters this year

Posted on by earthtoshawna

How’s it going, sci-fi fans? Not great? I get it. The news lately is even bleaker than usual. There are so many horrible things happening on planet Earth – but it keeps turning. We can do our part and also be grateful for art – for music and books and film, and the escape from reality they provide, at least for a few hours. 

I already mentioned the upcoming astronaut movie “Project Hail Mary” (in theaters March 20) in my last post. Here are 10 more movies I’m looking forward to seeing in 2026. 

If you can’t get enough of “baby Yoda,” you’ll be happy to know “The Mandalorian and Grogu” are coming to the big screen. Pedro Pascal reprises his role of the Mandalorian, aka Din Djarin. Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White also star.

Jon Favreau created the fresh, original Star Wars series, and there have been three seasons so far. It’s unclear exactly why the producers decided to release a movie rather than a fourth season. The only explanation I’ve seen thus far is that Disney is “pivoting away” from streaming.

The movie’s plot has been somewhat shrouded in secrecy as well. Some fans were annoyed by the Super Bowl ad parodying the Budweiser Clydesdales. (The ad shows Mando and Grogu in a wagon pulled by tauntauns in place of the famous draft horses.) A longer, 2-minute trailer was released about a week later.

The film will be in theaters May 22.

Steven Spielberg is one of the biggest names in sci-fi; he gave us “Jurassic Park,” “E.T.,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and many others. His newest movie, “Disclosure Day,” stars Emily Blunt as a TV meteorologist receiving extraterrestrial communication. The trailer is somewhat suspenseful. I hope the movie isn’t too anxiety-inducing.

Colin Firth, Josh O’Connor, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo also star in the UFO flick, which will be in theaters June 12.

We got a preview of the new Supergirl (aka Kara Zor-El) at the end of Superman (2025), and it was obvious she’s a fun party girl – a stark contrast to her straitlaced cousin. She is played by Milly Alcock (“House of the Dragon”).

Matthias Schoenaerts (who was amazing in “Rust and Bone”) will play Krem of the Yellow Hills; David Corenswet reprises his role as Clark Kent, aka Superman, aka Kal-El; and Jason Momoa plays Lobo, an “alien mercenary from planet Czarnia.” (I guess he’s not Aquaman anymore?) Most importantly, though, Kara’s adorable dog Krypto will be in the movie! Can’t wait!

“Supergirl” will be in theaters June 26.

It has been five years since the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” At the end of that movie, Doctor Strange casts a spell that makes everyone forget Peter Parker (Tom Holland) exists. Even his friends don’t recognize him. He’s now protecting New York City anonymously – no one knows he is Spider-Man.

Zendaya and Jacob Batalon return as MJ and Ned. Mark Ruffalo reprises his role as the Hulk/Bruce Banner. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” will be in theaters July 31.

The film adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, “The Dog Stars,” is coming to theaters Aug. 28. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, and Benedict Wong, the movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future and centers on a pilot (Elordi) and an ex-Marine (Brolin), survivors of a flu pandemic.

The sixth Hunger Games movie, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” will be released in theaters on Nov. 20. Based on Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel, the adaptation is a sequel to “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” and takes place 24 years before the first film. A young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) is chosen to compete in the Hunger Games.

The cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ralph Fiennes, and Glenn Close.

“Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is coming to theaters later this year, and I’m super excited as it will be written and directed by Greta Gerwig (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird,” “Barbie”). The film is based on the sixth book in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” by C.S. Lewis. This will be the fourth adaptation of the series, but the first by Gerwig.

Carey Mulligan, Emma Mackey, Daniel Craig, Denise Gough, and David McKenna will star, and the film will be in theaters Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving. It will be streaming on Netflix on Dec. 25, Christmas Day.

I love the “Jumanji” movies. They’re silly, I know, but also funny and sweet. The series’ newest movie (which is as yet untitled), will be in theaters on Dec. 11. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Danny DeVito, and Rhys Darby reprise their roles.

The new Spider-Man flick isn’t the only Marvel movie coming to theaters this year – “Avengers: Doomsday,” the third film in Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will be in theaters Dec. 18. Tony Stark/Iron Man is gone, but Robert Downey Jr. is playing a new role: Doctor Doom.

Doctor Doom is a prominent supervillain in the Marvel comics, and will face off against an all-star cast of superheroes, including the Avengers, the Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and X-Men. The film is set 14 months after the events of “Thunderbolts” (aka the New Avengers).

The huge cast makes me wonder if my favorites will get enough screen time, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I’m especially looking forward to seeing what happened with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), as he sort of disappeared after “Endgame.”

“Dune” isn’t my favorite franchise, but I’m invested after seeing the first two movies, so I will be going to see “Dune: Part 3” in theaters. Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Robert Pattinson star in the Denis Villeneuve-directed film, which comes to theaters Dec. 18 (bumping “Doomsday” – which releases the same day – from IMAX).

Which movies are you most excited about this year? Let me know in the comments!

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My 10 favorite sci-fi and fantasy films, 2010-2019

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I tried to mash all of my favorite sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero movies into one top 10 list, but alas, it didn’t work. There were just so many great films in the past 10 years, I had to make a separate list for my 10 favorite superhero movies. I’ll post that soon. For now, here are my favorite non-superhero movies of the decade. I’m not going by Rotten Tomatoes or Oscar noms or box office numbers; these are my personal favorites.

1. “The Shape of Water” (2017) is a movie about a cleaning lady who falls in love with the creature from the black lagoon, and it won an Oscar for best picture, which would sound unbelievable if you didn’t know who made it; Guillermo del Toro is known for making films that are works of art. Like all good sci-fi, it asks the big questions. How do we treat “the Other” in our society, whether the Other is a sea creature, a mute woman, a gay man? 

2. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015). The final trilogy in the Skywalker saga recently ended, but this is where it started. The highly anticipated “Force Awakens” introduced us to new characters and reacquainted us with old favorites. You can check out the review I did with my friend and fellow blogger Lavender (nomansland.blog) here: ‘The Force’ awakens two Star Wars fans’ inner Siskel & Ebert

Interstellar_023. “Interstellar” (2014) is an epic outer space drama directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Matt McConaughey leads a team of astronauts who travel through a wormhole to search for a new planet after Earth’s resources have been depleted. The movie is almost three hours long, but I was so absorbed in the movie, I didn’t notice.

4. “Inception” (2010) is one of those trippy, mind-bending movies like the one I was just talking about – “Interstellar.” This one was also written and directed by Christopher Nolan, so I guess that’s no coincidence. Instead of going into space, though, the characters in this film go into people’s minds. Leonardo DiCaprio is an “extractor,” a thief who steals info by infiltrating the subconscious. He is offered the chance to have his criminal record expunged if he can do the opposite: implant an idea into a person’s subconscious. What’s real? What’s not? It can get confusing if you’re not paying attention.

5. “Hunger Games,” 2012. A friend of mine convinced me to read the books not longpora6w964o9iq before the first movie was released. I really liked the books, so I had high hopes for the film, and I was not disappointed. In fact, I contracted “Hunger Games” fever and saw it in the theater twice. The first film was the best of the bunch. Jennifer Lawrence was a perfect Katniss Everdeen.

6. “Elysium,” 2013. Matt Damon stars in Neill Blomkamp’s futuristic morality play, in which Damon’s character attempts to reach a Med-Bay on the luxury space habitat Elysium after being poisoned by radiation on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Even if Blomkamp is a bit heavy-handed with his symbolism, I love his movies. I also love Matt Damon, so this one is a win-win.

7. “Never Let Me Go” (2010). Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley star in the heartbreaking film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s heartbreaking novel in which clones are raised to have their organs harvested. Pass the tissues please.

8. “Gravity” (2013). There has been some discussion about whether this is science fiction. Wikipedia calls it a “science fiction thriller,” so I’m including it. Watching Sandra Bullock and George Clooney float around in space may sound boring, but it’s actually a suspenseful, inspiring story, and I loved it. “Gravity” was written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also wrote another one of my favorite movies, the dystopian “Children of Men.” Cuarón is another filmmaker, like del Toro, who doesn’t just “make movies” – this film is a masterpiece.

9. “Okja” (2017). This Netflix film by Bong Joon-ho (“Parasite,” “Snowpiercer”) is one of those movies where you’re constantly thinking, “What the … ?” Bong sort of reminds me of Yorgos Lanthimos in this way. Is it weird that I still loved it? Maybe I’m biased because I’m a vegetarian; it’s about a giant, genetically engineered “super pig.” Tilda Swinton plays the eccentric CEO of a big corporation and Paul Dano plays a member of the Animal Liberation Front. Check it out, but don’t blame me if you never want to eat pork again.

Alicia-Vikander-Ex-Machina-FilmFad.com_-110. “Ex Machina” (2014). Alex Garland also did the movie “Annihilation,” but I prefer this more subtle, less creepy film. A programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) is invited to his CEO’s (Oscar Isaac) secluded home, and meets an intelligent humanoid robot (Alicia Vikander).  I’ve noticed a lot of futuristic films fall into one of two camps: One vision of the future is an AI takeover. The other suggests we are headed for the apocalypse. I’m fine with either – fictionally speaking – as long as it’s a good story. Like many robot flicks, “Ex Machina” asks the question: What makes us human?

On that note, I leave you. But I’ll be back soon with my Top 10 superhero films of the decade.

Credits: “The Shape of Water,” Fox Searchlight Pictures; “Interstellar,” Paramount Pictures; “Hunger Games,” Lionsgate Films; “Ex Machina,” A24. 

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Postapocalyptica! What to watch while waiting for ‘Hunger Games’ finale

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I loved “Hunger Games” – the books and the movies – and even though I feel cheated that they split the last book into two movies, I’m excited for the final chapter, “Mockingjay, Part 2,” coming out Nov. 20.

Maybe it’s morbid, but I love post-apocalyptic movies, and movies with dystopian societies. Here are some of my faves (in no particular order):

  1. Twelve Monkeys. Terry Gilliam’s trippy movie, about a prisoner sent back in time to collect information on the virus that all but destroyed humanity, also made my list of top 10 time travel movies. While the underground world where the survivors live is dark and creepy, the real horror is the mindfuckery James Cole (Bruce Willis) endures. Also, cool plot twists.
  2. Strange Days. It’s hard to believe “Strange Days” just had its 20th anniversary. The dystopian thriller set in 1999 was released in October 1995, when virtual reality was all the rage in sci fi. Written by James Cameron and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film is somewhat of a murder mystery, with the evidence in the form of discs recorded on “SQUIDS,” which plug into users’ heads and allow them to record memories and feelings. Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, and Tom Sizemore star.
  3. Hunger Games. A friend of mine recommended the books to me before the first movie came out so I read them all, one after another. (One benefit of being late to the party is you don’t have to wait for the next book to come out.) I like that the films stay true to the books, but I have an issue with paying full price for half a movie, which is what “Mockingjay, Part 1” was. I hope the finale is more satisfying.
  4. Never Let Me Go. The book and the movie make me cry like a baby. Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley star in the film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s heartbreaking novel in which clones are raised to have their organs harvested.
  5. The Matrix. Did I mention virtual reality was big in the ’90s? I loved the first Matrix movie – Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in their cool trench coats and sunglasses, battling the powers that enslave humanity. So cool. But I found the sequels annoying and confusing.
  6. Blade Runner. Ridley Scott’s futuristic film noir starring Harrison Ford is arguably the coolest film adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story (there have been about a dozen movies made from his novels and short stories, including “Total Recall,” “Minority Report,” and “The Adjustment Bureau”). Ford is retired police officer Rick Deckard, whose job was to track down replicants (bio-engineered androids) and destroy them. The film also stars Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, and Edward James Olmos.
  7. Children of Men. Based on P.D. James’ novel of the same name, “Children of Men” is set in the year 2027, and the U.K. is the only country with a functioning government. Twenty years of global infertility threatens the human race with extinction. Clive Owen plays Theo, a civil servant tasked with safeguarding the life of a pregnant young immigrant named Kee. The movie was written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and also stars Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Charlie Hunnam.
  8. Elysium. Matt Damon stars in Neill Blomkamp’s futuristic morality play, in which Damon’s character attempts to reach a Med-Bay on the luxury space habitat Elysium after being poisoned by radiation on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Even if Blomkamp is a bit heavy-handed with his symbolism, I love his movies. “District 9” kept me on the edge of my seat, “Chappie” was so much better than the critics gave it credit for, and this one is an entertaining ride as well.
  9. I Am Legend. I’m not a huge fan of zombie flicks, but I like that this one focuses on character, rather than just frenzied zombie carnage. Will Smith’s performance was moving. Plus it has a cute German shepherd in it. And “Three Little Birds.”
  10. Gattaca. Sometimes subtle is better with science fiction. Gattaca is one of those, like “Never Let Me Go,” that lacks the guns-blazing craziness of movies like “Mad Max,” but still manages to shake you up. Vincent (Ethan Hawke) dreams of traveling to outer space, but in the future, only genetically superior people are allowed to do such things. Jude Law and Uma Thurman also star.

(photo: Elysium; TriStar Pictures)