The Martian

2015 20th Century Fox

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 24min

Adventure ~ Drama ~ Epic ~ Sci-Fi ~ Survival

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover and Mackenzie Davis.

BRING HIM HOME!

The Martian follows astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), who is accidentally left behind on Mars after a violent storm forces his crew to abort their mission and evacuate. Believed dead when struck by flying debris, Watney wakes up injured and alone on the hostile red planet with only limited supplies. Determined to survive, he uses his ingenuity as a botanist to grow crops inside the team’s living habitat, known as the Hab. By turning Martian soil and his crew’s waste into usable farmland, and creating water through chemical reactions, he begins to sustain himself while figuring out a way to signal Earth that he is still alive.

Back on Earth, NASA is stunned to discover images showing Watney’s activity on Mars. Director Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) and mission lead Vincent Kapoor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) scramble to reestablish contact using the old Pathfinder rover, eventually opening a line of communication with Watney. As messages begin to travel between Mars and Earth, NASA faces a monumental challenge, how to rescue him before his limited food and oxygen run out. Scientists and engineers from multiple nations join forces, while the world follows Watney’s struggle in awe and suspense, turning his isolation into a global mission.

Meanwhile, aboard the Hermes spacecraft, mission commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) and her remaining crew learn that their teammate is alive. Torn between orders to return home and their loyalty to Watney, they secretly conspire to go back for him. Astrophysicist Rich Purnell (Donald Glover) develops a daring “slingshot” plan that would redirect the Hermes back to Mars using Earth’s gravity, saving crucial time but putting the crew at immense risk. Against NASA’s official stance, Lewis and her team decide to take the chance, setting off on an unauthorized rescue mission fueled by courage and friendship.

As Watney drives his rover across the Martian landscape toward the Ares IV launch site, the tension builds. Using parts scavenged from old missions, he prepares for the last, most dangerous phase, launching himself into orbit with a stripped-down Mars Ascent Vehicle to rendezvous with Hermes. In an intense and emotional climax, Commander Lewis reaches out to catch him in open space, reuniting him with the crew in one final, breathtaking rescue. Against impossible odds, Mark Watney’s determination and human resilience triumph, making his story one of survival, science, and hope.

Matt Damon’s performance anchors the film and is frequently hailed as one of his best. Carrying most of the runtime alone, Damon portrays Watney with a mix of frustration, charm, and vulnerability that keeps the viewer invested. His humor becomes a survival tool, softening the loneliness and tension of Mars’s desolation. Damon’s ability to blend wit with emotional depth makes Watney feel like a real person, an explorer confronting fear with intellect and stubborn optimism. Critics note that Ridley Scott gives Damon the cinematic space to let audiences truly connect with Watney’s struggle and triumph.

Visually, the movie is breathtaking. Scott’s decision to shoot in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan lends authenticity to the Martian landscape, while Dariusz Wolski’s cinematography captures the vast emptiness of space without losing the intimacy of human emotion. The production’s technical precision extends from set design to space flight realism, creating one of the most scientifically credible sci-fi films of the decade. The music, featuring a mix of Harry Gregson-Williams’s introspective score and Watney’s tongue-in-cheek disco playlist, lightens the mood and grounds the story in personality rather than spectacle.

Ridley Scott’s The Martian is a brilliant reminder why he’s one of sci-fi’s all-time greats, a director who can take you from the shadowy, rain-soaked alleys of Blade Runner to the dusty, lonely surface of Mars without missing a beat. If Blade Runner was Scott’s moody, philosophical masterpiece about what it means to be human, The Martian flips the script with a smart, hopeful survival story that celebrates human ingenuity and grit. Both films boast unforgettable worlds, the futuristic cityscape in one, the stark Martian horizon in the other, showcasing Scott’s knack for creating settings as powerful as the characters. Watching The Martian feels like catching up with an old friend who’s just as comfortable making you think deeply as making you root for a guy growing potatoes on the red planet.

I don’t remember seeing this movie before but I saw it was on Netflix and decided to give it a go. How could you go wrong with Ridley Scott, Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover and Mackenzie Davis. It does not disappoint, the 2 hours and 24 minute runtime went by super quick. It is a really good movie, one I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it. And if you have, watch it again, well worth a repeat viewing.

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie!

Currently on NETFLIX.

The Instigators

2025 Apple TV+

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 41min

Action ~ Crime ~ Comedy

Directed by: Doug Liman

Starring: Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Hong Chau, Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, Toby Jones, Jack Harlow, and Ron Perlman.

I need 32,480 dollars, that’s all I need.

The Instigators, directed by Doug Liman and streaming on Apple TV+, tosses viewers into a frenetic Boston backdrop on the eve of a mayoral election. From the jump, it’s clear this isn’t your average heist flick—the film’s opening moments introduce Rory (Matt Damon), a blue-collar dad hoping for a shot at redemption, and Cobby (Casey Affleck), a jittery ex-con who just can’t catch a break. Their plan? Knock off a crooked politician notorious for hiding dirty cash, Mayor Miccelli of Boston (Ron Perlman). Naturally, things go sideways fast, and what was supposed to be a one-and-done job quickly devolves into bedlam across the city’s tangled streets.

As the hunt intensifies, the duo’s fumbled heist drags an unsuspecting therapist (Hong Chau) into the fray. What starts as pure collateral damage evolves into an unlikely alliance as Rory and Cobby try—often with hilarious ineptitude—to outrun crooked city officials, shambling henchmen, and a grizzled detective who always seems half a step behind. Liman injects the chase with big swings of slapstick humor and a sharp edge of Boston grit, letting side characters and local color breathe life into even the most well-trodden genre beats.

Though The Instigators doesn’t break new ground for crime capers, it thrives on the cracked chemistry between Damon and Affleck. Their dynamic—equal parts desperation, bickering, and reluctant camaraderie—drives both the action and the heart of the film. Whether it’s a barely-in-control car chase, a botched backroom deal, or a misadventure involving bewildered bystanders, the movie keeps its foot firmly on the gas, favoring momentum and laughs over intricate plotting.

If you’re searching for a twist-filled noir or a brooding meditation on crime, look elsewhere. The Instigators leans into chaotic fun, championing its misfit characters and letting the city of Boston be as much a character as anyone on screen. This is a heist movie that’s more about the wild ride than the payoff—and for those willing to hop in for the chase, it delivers a thoroughly entertaining journey without ever taking itself too seriously.

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Make some popcorn

and Stream this movie

On Apple TV+

Oppenheimer

2023 Universal Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 3 hr

Biography ~ Drama ~ History ~ True Story

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Jason Clarke and Kenneth Branagh.

“Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.”

Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer, a Theoretical Physicist in charge of The Los Alamos project and one of the pioneers of the first atomic bombs built during World War II. It follows his life and education leading up to chairing the project to create the world’s first atomic bomb, and his life and career following the first Atomic bomb test. It also chronicles his personal battles dealing with the responsibility of being the man that changed the world with an atomic weapon, and his guilt that he may have ultimately laid the foundation for the destruction of our world.

The movie starts with the 1954 security hearing orchestrated by The Atomic Energy Chairman Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr). It was a kangaroo court orchestrated by Strauss with the express purpose of destroying Oppenheimer’s reputation and credibility, mainly due to Strauss’s jealousy and paranoia regarding Oppenheimer. There is a scene where Oppenheimer is having a conversation with Albert Einstein within eyeshot of Strauss, and Strauss is convinced that Oppenheimer is bad mouthing him to Einstein. But in reality Oppenheimer was discussing with Einstein his fear that in creating the atomic bomb he might have started a chain reaction that could destroy the world.

The movie centers on the 1954 hearing and the 1959 Senate Confirmation Hearing for Strauss where it is revealed how Strauss tried to undermine Oppenheimer and his work. It flashes back and forth between the hearings and the events in Oppenheimer’s life that led up to the first atomic bomb test (which is quite impressively depicted in the movie), and the events after as he grapples with the fallout personal guilt he has. There are a lot of stories going on here and it can be a little difficult to understand and follow. Especially as it flashes back and forth to different times and events, some being in black and white.

One of the main stories of this movie is the power struggle between Oppenheimer and Strauss as Strauss seeks to undermine his influence with the Atomic Energy Commission. Christopher Nolan, the director, uses color and black and white to differentiate between the two men. The Black and white scenes are used to show Strauss’s point of view and thinking, while color was used to represent Oppenheimer’s. That alone is a fascinating viewing if you know that and view the movie with that knowledge.

There is a lot of star power in this movie:

Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer
Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s Wife kitty
Robert Downey Jr. as Atomic Energy Chairman Lewis Strauss
Matt Damon as US Army Colonel Leslie Groves who oversaw The Los Alamos Project
Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, a psychiatrist, Communist Party USA member, and Robert Oppenheimer’s romantic interest
Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence, a Nobel-winning nuclear physicist who worked with Oppenheimer at the University of California, Berkeley
Casey Affleck as Boris Pash, a US Army military intelligence officer and commander of the Alsos Mission
Kenneth Branagh as as Niels Bohr, a Nobel-winning Danish physicist, philosopher and Oppenheimer’s personal idol
Rami Malek as David L. Hill, a nuclear physicist at the Metallurgical Laboratory.
Jason Clarke as Roger Robb, an attorney and future US circuit judge who served as special counsel to the AEC at Oppenheimer’s security hearing.

It is a fascinating look at the man and his accomplishments, his relationships and his guilt at having orchestrated the potential demise of the world. I’ve watched it three times mainly because it took two to fully understand all the stories going on, and then a third to appreciate it with the knowledge and understanding of everything going on. It is well acted by everyone involved, and the cinematography is outstanding.

Some fun facts:

It grossed over 976 million worldwide, the third highest of 2023
It won 7 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography and Best original Score
And 5 Golden Globe Awards
And 7 British Academy Awards
And was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the American Film Institute

An excellent movie obviously but it is a long one coming in at three hours.

But it is a fascinating three hours.

Two Thumbs Up!!