Welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything, a weekly guide to all the new movies out each Friday and where to find them. This week’s buzziest release is Toy Story 5, the latest entry in the iconic 31-year-old Disney-Pixar franchise.
If you’d rather have a movie night at home, you can rent or buy Pressure, the star-studded WWII D-Day movie that elicits tension about a weather forecast.
And on streaming services you’re likely already paying for, the Ryan Gosling sci-fi vehicle Project Hail Mary, one of the year’s biggest box-office hits, is coming to MGM+.
Intrigued? Let’s get into it!
🎥 What to watch in theatersThe biggest release: Toy Story 5
Why you should see it:Â Toy Story 5Â is here and set to become the biggest movie of the summer at the box office, 31 years after the original introduced the concept of a feature-length, entirely computer-animated movie to the big screen. It continues the storied franchise’s tradition of laughs, tears and, frankly, just being damn good movies that both kids and adults can enjoy.
When Bonnie receives a Lilypad tablet as a gift and becomes obsessed, Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang have to go head-to-head with the all-new threat to playtime.
What’s most impressive here is the way the movie understands the multi-pronged threat that technology poses to children: how it changes the very nature of “play” to the point where playing with toys is discouraged, and why using a tablet to communicate with your classmates as the only way to connect, especially for shy kids, can be a big disadvantage.
It took becoming a parent for me to realize that every single one of these movies is, quite obviously, about parenting. In case that wasn’t made clear enough, there’s a shot toward the end of the film that makes it fact, with Bonnie’s parents and Buzz and Woody positioned so we’re watching both sets of “parents” react.
It may not reach the highs of the original trilogy, but it has a renewed sense of purpose that wasn’t quite present in the fourth entry. By focusing on the very real threats children face from our societal push toward “smart” toys and the proliferation of iPads and tablets, Toy Story 5 more than justifies its existence, even if the messaging stops short of going full “analog is better, and tech is inherently bad for children’s development.” Reminding children that nothing can replace face-to-face contact, and that simply hanging out, playing, and using your imagination is the best way to form community, is an important lesson, particularly relevant today. But there is some cognitive dissonance required when the movie tries to have its cake and eat it too about tech’s invasion into our lives — they have to sell Lilypad, after all.
What other critics are saying: It’s getting mostly positive reviews! Nick Schager at the Daily Beast writes: “A cute and funny sequel that treads well-worn territory and yet manages to elicit its fair share of waterworks, it’s not the series’ best but, in most respects, is still better than the rest.” TheWrap’s William Bibbiani, meanwhile, calls it “enjoyable but repetitive.”
How to watch: Toy Story 5 is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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Hugh Jackman in The Death of Robin Hood.
The Death of Robin Hood: The latest film from Michael Sarnoski, the writer/director of the beloved Nicolas Cage film Pig, provides his own take on the iconic character. Grappling with his violent past, Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) finds himself gravely injured after a battle that he thought would be his last. He soon gets a chance at salvation when he meets a mysterious woman and a young girl. I’m technically on vacation and missed this one, but it’s getting strong reviews, with critics calling it both gratuitously violent and thoughtful.
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đź’¸ Movies newly available to rent or buyThe biggest release: Pressure
Why you should consider it: Pressure will either sound fascinating to you, or incredibly boring, and however you feel about it going in will, in fact, determine what you think of it.
In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, the film follows General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) and Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott) as they face an impossible choice — launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.
Essentially, it’s an entire movie relying on the tension of a weather forecast. It’s a movie tailor-made for the stereotypical “dad” viewer, who stand a little too close to the TV and watch movies with their hands on their hips, rapt. It combines two undeniably “dad” interests — World War II and the weather — and attempts to deliver a rousing spectacle.
Despite a terrific lead performance from Scott — and a hammy big one from Brendan Fraser — the movie is simply boring. It’s a lot of people talking about how sure or unsure they are about the weather, and the tension isn’t quite there, given that we all know the actual day D-Day happened. It’s one of the most famous dates on the calendar!
Pressure may satisfy those who think a movie about a WWII-era weather forecast sounds like riveting entertainment, but the rest of us might find it more suitable for background fodder during a nap.
What other critics are saying: Reviews are more mixed. AP’s Jocelyn Noveck writes: “Fraser’s Eisenhower is physically imposing and stubborn too. … But he’s frankly less interesting than Scott’s multifaceted Stagg, a character and performance that elevates an otherwise efficient, well-made war movie into something more intriguing.” IndieWire’s Alison Foreman writes: “There are hints of a far better movie peeking out from [director Anthony] Maras’s dull weather drama, and the Australian director nearly finds it on numerous occasions.”
How to watch: Pressure is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.
Rent or buy
But that’s not all…
Theo Von in Busboys.
Busboys: Extremely successful podcaster Theo Von joins up with comedian/actor David Spade in this independent film that is entirely written, produced and self-financed by its two stars, who put up $3 million of their own money. A pair of clueless friends see becoming waiters as the answer to all their problems, and hijinks ensue. It wasn’t screened for critics in advance, but I’ll be catching up with it soon! Rent or buy.
Deep Water: Renny Harlin bounces back from his awful trilogy of Strangers sequels with this shark attack/plane crash double disaster flick. A group of international passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. The terrified group must work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage. The plane crash sequence itself is the highlight, arguably one of the most and most drawn-out crash sequences I’ve ever seen, but once they’re fending off sharks, the movie’s budgetary constraints start to show. Aaron Eckhart’s hammy performance will either work for you, or it won’t. Rent or buy.
đź“ş Movies newly available on streaming services you may already haveThe biggest release: Project Hail Mary
Why you should consider it: Ryan Gosling and his ample reserve of charming movie-star energy help power the extremely familiar Project Hail Mary to recommendable status, despite some elements that occasionally get in the way.
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction. But an unexpected friendship may mean he doesn’t have to do it alone.
If it sounds like you’ve seen this all before, that’s because Project Hail Mary is essentially a mash-up of several popular works of science fiction, including the decade-old Matt Damon flick The Martian, which was based on a book written by Andy Weir, the same guy who wrote the bestseller on which Project Hail Mary is based.
Gosling does commendable work throughout, carrying the movie on his back so thoroughly that I hope he checked in with a chiropractor after filming. It’s essentially a one-man show, and he does an excellent job of guiding the audience through it all. By the time a spider-like rock creature is introduced, he plays off his scene-partner puppet with gusto. Sandra HĂĽller of Anatomy of a Fall fame is also great in her scenes on Earth as the no-nonsense head of the expedition.
The movie pays lip service to classic sci-fi films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind while simultaneously stealing the plot of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece Interstellar. It ultimately morphs into an E.T.-style story about a human befriending an alien creature and discovering we’re not all that different. There’s also a spacewalk scene that reminded me of Gravity. No, you’re not crazy to reference Armageddon or even Cast Away.
In addition to its plot similarities to The Martian, Project Hail Mary also emulates that film’s Obama-era hopecore ideal that if all the smartest people in the world put aside their differences and work together, nothing is impossible. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Arrival too. Also, am I the only person who remembers that bad Netflix movie Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler, from a few years ago? How did we end up with two movies about a guy talking to a spider-like creature in outer space?! That movie must’ve ripped off this book!
Anyway, as the movie goes on and on (and on and on, it ends about 15 times), it’s as if you’re watching the filmmakers attempt to convince themselves as well as the audience that the movie is an important work of sci-fi grandeur on the level of classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, which it’s somehow longer than.
Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have good reason to want to prove themselves — they became in-demand after the popularity of their 21 Jump Street reboot and The Lego Movie, but were famously fired mid-movie while making Disney’s Han Solo Star Wars spinoff before beloved director Ron Howard took over.
On a technical level, the movie looks great; I was especially taken with the alien creature’s ship. It’s the storytelling that falters. The movie aims to please so much that it undercuts any potential drama; it’s preordained that everything will work out fine. It’s so desperate to entertain that it constantly breaks the tension with jokes, which gets irritating, even if Gosling is good at selling it.
Part of the problem here is the flashback structure, which kills momentum by doubling back to fill us in on the story, which isn’t all that compelling because we’ve all seen the movies it’s ripping off. It is also a reminder of the incongruity between Gosling’s character as presented in space and as portrayed on Earth, where he’s a meek science teacher.
Despite the movie constantly joking about his lack of space captain abilities, he’s able to fly the ship when the movie needs him to, and there’s little point in spending so much time with his character refusing the mission. I’ve seen the future — he’s already there!
In short, Project Hail Mary mostly delivers as an IMAX-sized spectacle, anchored by Gosling’s terrific work, despite the movie’s increasingly derivative nature and protracted finale. And now you can find out how it plays at home on your television.
What other critics are saying: It’s well-reviewed, which is part of why I felt I had to level-set expectations. There’s something so try-hard about it to me! David Fear at Rolling Stone writes: “Gosling can actually sell us on an everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances while still beguiling us with old-school snap, crackle, and pop.” Mashable’s Kristy Puchko writes: “Imagine The Martian meets Half Nelson meets E.T., and you’ll get some idea of the mirthful mash-up that is Project Hail Mary.”
How to watch: Project Hail Mary is now streaming on MGM+.
Watch on MGM+
Another great option: Voicemails for Isabelle
Why you should watch it: A romantic-comedy tearjerker that revolves around a character’s recently deceased sister shouldn’t work, but Voicemails for Isabelle absolutely does, thanks to strong performances and smart, clever utilization of rom-com tropes.
A young woman’s hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar. It plays like a modern update of You’ve Got Mail with a tragic twist, yet it remains charming and funny despite the heaviness.
Zoey Deutch is wonderful, as always, in the lead role, and Nick Robinson does a great job navigating the complexities of the situation his character finds himself in. It’s one of those movies that reminds you that formulaic material can be a comfort, if executed properly.
Voicemails for Isabelle will make you laugh, cry and swoon over a romance that, in lesser hands, could’ve come off incredibly cheesy. Writer/director Leah McKendrick, whose previous feature, Scrambled, is also worth a look, proves herself an exciting new voice to keep an eye on.
What other critics are saying: It’s getting solid reviews. AV Club’s Caroline Siede calls it “the best Netflix dramedy in years.” William Bibbiani at TheWrap was a bit more restrained: “The enthusiasm comes across, and it’s infectious even when the movie doesn’t quite work. Which is most of the time.”
How to watch: Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix.
Watch on Netflix
But that’s not all…
Glen Powell in How to Make a Killing.
 How to Make a Killing: This remake of the 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets stars Glen Powell as a blue-collar man disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family who will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way. Margaret Qualley steals the show as the sexy, menacing femme fatale; anytime she’s onscreen, the movie is electric. When she’s not, it’s fairly limp, and the energy shift to lame broad-caricature comedy about rich failsons that Powell ends up taking out one by one is always disappointing. In this case, you’re better off watching the original, in which Alec Guinness portrays all the victims, a far more clever take on the aristocracy’s borderline inbred nature. Now streaming on HBO Max.
Never Change: If you enjoy comedy with several jokes a minute and a lot of very funny people, this very silly movie might be for you. In 2008, the graduating class of North Meadows High School had their senior year cut short by a devastating tornado. Now in their mid-30s, they’re being forced to return home and finish high school once and for all. It’s got a Wet Hot American Summer-style penchant for silliness and a premise ripe for taking advantage of that. It won’t be for everyone, but those who find it funny will find it very, very funny. Now streaming on Hulu.
That’s all for this week! We’ll see you next Friday, just in time for Supergirl.
Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily list of the most popular movies of the year.