January 2026
Monthly Archive
January 30, 2026
[IMDB link]
RATINGS:
Claire: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 9/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 9/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 4.3/5 stars, IMDB: 8.4/10.
Pretty epic! It didn’t disappoint. We saw it in the IMAX theatre, and it turned out that Eli & Parthena sat near us (a couple of rows behind us and slightly to the right.) It was pretty awesome. We don’t need to go into things. Everyone either saw this, or doesn’t want spoilers.
PEOPLE:
Directed by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek 11-12, Super 8, Mission Impossible 3, 2 eps of Lost, 1 ep of The Office).
Written by Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars 5-6, Raiders Of The Lost Ark), J.J. Abrams (Super 8, Lost, Mission Impossible 3, Armageddon, Fringe, Felicity) and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire, Oblivion).
Starring:
Harrison Ford as Han Solo.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.
Adam Driver (This Is Where I Leave You, 1 ep of The Simpsons) as Kylo Ren.
Daisy Ridley as Rey.
John Boyega (10 eps of Major Lazer, 4 eps of 24: Live Another Day) as Finn.
Oscar Isaac (Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse, Ex Machina, Sucker Punch, Bourne 4: The Bourne Legacy, 10 Years) as Poe Dameron.
Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata.
Andy Serkis (Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings movies, The Prestige, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Inkheart, Clueless, 1 ep of The Simpsons) as Supreme Leader Snoke.
Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley in Harry Potter 7-8, Dredd, About Time, Boy Eats Girl) as General Hux.
Anthony Daniels (C-3PO in all the Star Wars franchise including The Lego Movie, The Lord Of The Rings (1978)) as C-3PO.
Max von Sydow (Judge Dredd, Shutter Island, Minority Report, The Exorcist movies, 1 ep of The Simpsons) as Lor San Tekka.
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.
Gwendoline Christie (Hunger Games 4: Mockingjay Part 2, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, The Zero Theorem, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus) as Captain Phasma.
Simon Pegg as Unkar Plutt. (more…)
January 20, 2026
[IMDB link]
RATINGS:
Claire: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 9/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 9/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 3.2/5 stars, IMDB: 7.0/10.
CLAIRE’S THOUGHTS: OMFG I was so ecstatic to hear about this coming out. I don’t read much, but when I did, Arthur C. Clarke was my favorite sci-fi author. And Childhood’s End was my 3rd favorite Clarke booke, after The City And The Stars and Rendezvous With Rama. So I was SUPER EXCITED for this.
Then I was kinda sad that it was only a mini-series and not a full-on, 13-episode-season-type series. I thought that would make it super-rushed, but it wasn’t really *that* rushed. My memory sucks, but I think they touched on just about everything the book had to offer. And tying it up in something you can digest in 4 hrs really helped me REMEMBER the story. There were very few spoilers when I watched it, because I remembered the gist already… But to be able to refresh the book in my mind by sharing a movie with Carolyn? That was totally awesome. When the hell will someone do Rendezvous With Rama? That seems like such an easy choice!
But yea. This was good. Polished. Slick. Modern production values. Good special effects. Quick, but not rushed, pace. Thumbs up and stuff.
CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: This was a 3-ep miniseries based on the book by Arthur C. Clarke. It was pretty good. Claire had recommended the book to me after we met in high school, and I had reread it in the early 2000s. I still didn’t remember much of the details. It’s an interesting story.
PEOPLE:
Based on the novel by Arthur C Clarke.
Starring:
Mike Vogel (‘Hud’ from Cloverfield, She’s Out Of My League, What’s Your Number?, Grounded For Life) as Ricky Stormgren.
Osy Ikhile as Milo Rodricks, the last human.
Daisy Betts as Ellie Stormgren, Ricky’s new wife.
Georgina Haig as Annabel Stormgren, Ricky’s dead wife.
Charles Dance (Alien 3, Underworld 3, Game Of Thrones) as Karellen, the alien.
Ashley Zukerman as Jake Greggson, Amy’s husband.
Hayley Magnus as Amy Morrel, the pregnant wife.
Charlotte Nicdao as Rachel, Milo’s friend.
Yael Stone as Peretta Jones, the counselor. (more…)
January 10, 2026
[IMDB link]
RATINGS:
Claire: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 10/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 9/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: IMDB: 6.0/10 (not available on Netflix).
CLAIRE’S THOUGHTS: That was a pretty perfect movie, for a scifi-gimmick movie without very many unique plot elements. (Individual man has to unknowingly save world has been done before; Person who can do whatever they want has been done before; Person’s character being judged by higher powers has been done before… It’s all been done before.) Maybe I’m overly-excited by comedic omnipotence?
CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: Another movie with Simon Pegg in it? Written & directed by Terry Jones of Monty Python Fame? Sign me up! It was entertaining and funny, and we both enjoyed it a lot.
PEOPLE:
Directed by Terry Jones (Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Life Of Brian, The Meaning Of Life, Erik The Viking).
Written by Gavin Scott and Terry Jones (Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Life Of Brian, The Meaning Of Life, Erik The Viking).
Starring:
Simon Pegg as Neil.
Kate Beckinsale (Underworld movies, Total Recall remake, Van Helsing) as Catherine.
Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Zero Theorem, 1 ep of Doctor Who (2000s)) as Ray, the coworker.
Rob Riggle (President Of The Navy in NTSF:SD:SUV, The Hangover, Step Brothers, Golan in season 2 of Golan The Insatiable, Let’s Be Cops, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 21 Jump Street movies, Dumb & Dumber 3, The Lorax, 21 eps of Saturday Night Live, 6 eps of Human Giant, 2 eps of The Cleveland Show, 1 ep of Childrens Hospital, 1 ep of Arrested Development, 1 ep of The Office, 1 ep of Drunk History, 1 ep of Ugly Americans, 1 ep of Newsreaders) as Grant, Catherine’s ex-boyfriend.
Robert Bathurst (The Pillars Of The Earth) as James Cleverill.
Eddie Izzard (Monty Python Live (Mostly), Chronicles Of Narnia: 02_Prince Caspian, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen) as Headmaster.
Joanna Lumley (Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous, EuroTrip, Corpse Bride, James And The Giant Peach, Trail Of The Pink Panther, Curse Of The Pink Panther) as Fenella.
Meera Syal (2 eps of Doctor Who (2000s), 1 ep of Absolutely Fabulous) as Fiona, the Ray-worshipping coworker.
Robin Williams as Dennis the Dog.
John Cleese as Chief Alien.
Terry Gilliam as Nasty Alien.
Eric Idle as Salubrious Gat.
Terry Jones as Scientist Alien / Van Driver.
Michael Palin as Kindly Alien. (more…)
Claire's blog 