The Odyssey

My View:  The Odyssey  (2026)  R  The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, who goes on a long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War and his encounters with mythical beings as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), before Penelope succumbs to a nefarious suitor, Antinous (Robert Pattinson). Christopher Nolan is one of our best and most prolific filmmakers today. I mean, who else could get people to buy IMAX tickets a year before the film is released, without seeing a trailer or even footage? First, go see this film in a theater; the bigger the better. You may not be one of the lucky ones who live near an IMAX that is showing the movie on IMAX film (there are only 24 IMAX theaters in the US that are), at least see it in a theater that is showing it with 70 mm digital, or if you are lucky, a theater showing it on 70mm film. Do not wait to see this film on a computer or home screen. You need to see this film in a theater where the screen and its cinematography can immerse you in a world that is part horror, part fantasy, and a fantastic, mind-blowing epic journey. While this isn’t a full-out horror film, it has a cyclops that tears off men’s heads, giant armored men that can throw a man off his feet, and a witch that tricks men into eating unspeakable things, dragon-like monsters, sirens that can drive a man mad with their songs, plus numerous bloody battles that are incredibly violent. However, this is the story of Odysseus, a man who so believes in himself and his abilities that he can defy the Gods and make his own way home without their help. Odysseus is a man driven to return home but burdened by his past and his doubts about his ability to get back. He is a man who thinks he can’t be defeated and believes he is almost God-like, but because of this, he is prone to making very human mistakes, some of which he seems never to learn from. Nolan does a masterful job of turning a complex, long tale into a story. I suspect some will be scared off by the three-hour runtime, but the film moves at a pace that keeps the adventures of Odysseus and his men moving from one roadblock to another. The highlight of the film is the Trojan Horse portion (which surprised me by not being at the beginning of the film but about a third of the way in), which Nolan shows us with incredible flair and tension-building. Nolan also gets the most out of his cast, with Matt Damon carrying most of the heavy load of the hero of the story with energy and bravado. Tom Holland does a brilliant job as Odysseus’s son Telemachus, who is left behind by Odysseus when he was a baby and keeps the faith that his father will return to his rightful place as king. Robert Pattinson is perfect as the weasel Antinous, a man who plans to wed Penelope and become king, as he plots to kill Telemachus along the way. Pattinson’s performance is so good that I expected the audience to boo him at times. While they don’t do that, they did laugh at his attempts to get others to do his dastardly bidding. It’s to Nolan’s credit that there isn’t a bad performance in the cast, and it’s going to be hard to pick out which actors should be nominated for Oscars. I predict that, like Nolan’s Oppenheimer, this film will garner a slew of award nominations and be the frontrunner for Best Picture. The Odyssey is a magical film that combines the wonder of the old Ray Harryhausen films with the drama of Homer, Virgil, and Euripides. So put on your helmet and armor and go on an epic journey where one man tried to defy the gods and get back home. The journey is long but worth every step.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Odyssey Website   Now playing in theaters, including IMAX

Indiefest:  Romeria  (2025)  Spanish director Carla Simon gives us a tale of hidden secrets and discovery in Romeria. When Marina (Llucia Garcia) applies for a college scholarship, she learns that her late father never claimed to have a child. The only way she can claim the scholarship is by getting her father’s parents to sign a notarized document stating that she is indeed their daughter. Marina then travels to a seaside town to visit a side of her family that she has never known, as both her parents died when she was a baby, and then she was adopted. Marina soon discovers that her parents' story is a closely guarded secret, and she slowly peels it back through dogged determination to find the truth. This is a film that slowly builds, letting us get to know Marina, and we are along with her on a journey in a new land, guided only by her mother’s diary and a few morsels of information that her relatives reluctantly give. Llucia Garcia gives us a multi-layered performance of a character who is independent, determined, and, while mostly staying in the background at family gatherings, isn’t shy about asking about her parents, especially when alone with a family member. She also isn’t above eavesdropping on conversations about her and her parents when the family members don’t know she is listening. This is a film about how generations deal with grief and shame, trying to keep their troubles hidden behind locked doors, never publicly exposing the truth, and also keeping out any feelings for the deceased. Romeria is a story full of surprises and compassion for lost souls who never found their way back into the light until Marina dug further into their lives.  My Rating: Full Price  Romeria Website  Now playing in select theaters

Indiefest:  The Python Hunt  (2025)   Every year, the state of Florida invites the public to hunt pythons in the Everglades. For 10 nights, a group of hunters from across the states and the world travel across the Everglades in search of the gigantic snakes, risking everything from poisonous snakes to boredom to win a cash prize and say they are python hunters. This documentary concentrates on some unique and bizarre individuals from a man from San Francisco who every day shaves another part of his beard, to a hard drinking 82-year-old woman who just wants the thrill of putting a knife into a pythons brain to a former professional snake hunter who has been suspended from hunting and is now a Door Dash deliver who dreams of hunting the big snakes again with his teen daughter. As you would expect from a documentary set in the Everglades of Florida, the people in this film are rather strange and seem more about being in the hunt than actually getting results. As the hunt goes on, we see people losing interest in going out every night (when the pythons are most active) and driving up and down roads, looking with spotlights for snakes that are hard to find, especially when you stay in your truck. The film embraces how ridiculous this hunt is and how little it accomplishes, while allowing the state of Florida to bring in tourists under the excuse of helping local wildlife. I loved the shots of pythons being illuminated by the searchers’ spotlights, but no one sees them as they move along undisturbed. The film does a great job of showing just how hard it is to hunt these reptiles and how the contest (just over 200 pythons killed in the ten days) is a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the problem the snakes might pose. Or, as the film points out, that man himself is the problem with the vanishing wildlife and not the snakes themselves. So, grab a spotlight, get into your truck, and go out into the night with a strange and funny group of hunters. You might learn a thing or two; just watch where you walk when you get out of your truck.  My Rating: Full Price   The Python Hunt Website  Now playing in select theaters and available to rent on Amazon Prime.

Forgotten Film:  The Golden Voyage of Sinbad  (1973)  G  Sinbad (John Philip Law) goes on a quest to find three golden tablets that will give him access to the ancient temple of the Oracle of All Knowledge. Sinbad picks up a slave girl, Margiana (Caroline Munro), and they race against the evil magician Koura (Tom Baker), who will do anything to get the tablets. The film showcases Ray Harryhausen’s incredible stop-motion animation, featuring amazing, fantastical creatures, including a six-armed Kali statue that comes to life and engages in a sword battle with Sinbad. The storyline is a little weak, and John Philip Law looks great but can’t act, but it’s got the Harryhausen magic and one of the most beautiful actresses in cinema at the time, Caroline Munro, who, when I saw it in 1973, I was in love with. I can even tell you which theater I saw this film in.  My Rating:  Full Price (hey, a Cyclops Centaur, a Griffin, and a six-armed swordsman are worth the rating, don’t you think).  The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Info  The film is available on most online platforms

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Odyssey:  Bambooman

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  The Dink  (2026)  PG-13   The Dink follows a washed-up former tennis prodigy, Dusty (Jake Johnson), who, to survive, has been forced to teach tennis to children at his father’s (Ed Harris) failing country club. After Dusty is injured, his rehab assignment is pickleball, a sport that he thinks is stupid and beneath his talent. Little does he know, pickleball could save both the country club and his self-respect. The cast includes Mary Steenburgen, Ben Stiller, tennis great Andy Roddick, Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Aaron Chen, and Chris Parnell.   The Dink Info  Premiering on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 24, 2026

Until Next Time!

Moana

Familyfaire:  Moana (2026) PG  Moana is about the young, inquisitive daughter (Catherine Laga’aia) of a village chief. Moana has always felt that she was destined to do something great and is summoned by the ocean to undertake a voyage to save her community. She will need help and finds it in Maui (Dwayne Johnson), a legendary shapeshifting demigod who, along with Moana’s dimwitted rooster, Heihei, undertakes a journey that will test her will and belief in herself. I loved the 2016 animated film, saying, “The animation is crisp and gorgeous, taking advantage of the tropical look of the islands,” and loving the message to young girls that you can do anything you put your heart and soul into. So now Disney has decided to bring back the story as a live-action film. Why? I have no clue, other than making money (but with a reported budget of 200 million, that could be in serious doubt). Does this bring anything new to the storyline? No. Unlike the 2025 live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, which did a fantastic job of making changes from the animated film to make it work with live action, Moana is almost a shot-for-shot remake and not for the better. The film feels exactly as if it were shot on a soundstage in front of a green screen. The film fails to capture the beauty, brightness, and fun of the animated film. And it uses animation to bring to life Mona’s pet rooster and piglet, both of which don’t look real and feel like props for the film, rather than bringing fun and life to it as they did in the animated film. And then there’s Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui. I loved his character in the animated film, thinking that, while he can’t sing very well, he is perfect as an animated character, bringing fun and life to the storyline. The problem, like actors like Vin Diesel, Arnold, and Johnson, is that they are larger than life, and you sometimes see them not as their characters but as the actors themselves. The animated film let Maui dance and be a virtual ball of energy, bouncing around as Johnson sang songs like "Your Welcome" to our delight. The problem is that the live-action Johnson can’t match the action of animated Maui, and so the songs become more about Johnson posing than dancing around. Your Welcome song still works, but it’s not as much fun as the animated film song; it just can’t recreate it, no matter how much his animated tattoos move around in this version. The bright light in all this is Catherine Laga’aia’s performance, who shines on screen and has a wonderful, powerful voice that makes her solos worth watching the film for. Kids are still going to like this film, especially watching the rooster do his stupid stuff, but I don’t see them falling in love with it as they did with the animated one. The magic just isn’t there, and that’s a sad thing to say about a Disney film.  My Rating: Cable  Moana Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass  (2026)  R   Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass follows Gail (Zoey Deutch), who is devastated that her fiancé has slept with his “celebrity pass” Jennifer Aniston. She goes to a fortune teller, who tells her that to make things right and go on with the marriage, she must sleep with her own celebrity pass. Gail, along with her best friend, Otto (Mile Gutierrez-Riley), travels to Hollywood to find her own ‘free pass’: Jon Hamm. This is a wild and crazy film that reminded me of those wonderful Zucker and Abrahams films like Airplane! and Top Secret!, where jokes and ridiculous scenes came at you at an incredibly fast pace. This is a film where lines like “We have three years’ experience between us” and “I can make you sick” are just thrown out at you at a rapid pace. Zoey Deutch, who is on a roll this summer, is amazing as the incredibly naïve and earnest Gail, who is determined to sleep with Jon Hamm to save her wedding plans. Zoey plays her perfectly as she greets everyone she meets with a “Hi, I’m Gail” and is amazed by the big city of L.A., where everything seems wonderful to her, even when it’s not. The film is full of incredibly stupid and funny scenes, like an overzealous concierge who gets out a map and shows Gail and Otto all the sights they need to see, which include 7-Eleven, Starbucks, McDonald's, and a back alley where you can meet a guy for a good time. Then we see the two going to all these places and acting as if they have just discovered the most amazing city in the world. You have to see the film to understand the plot, but just say there is the old luggage switcheroo, a gang of bad guys after Gail and Otto, and the quest to find Jon Hamm. The film is if the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrams took the Wizard of Oz and turned it into a sex quest with martial arts and bloody deaths. There are so many cameos in this film, you could get drunk taking shots of when someone shows up that doesn’t even say a line. And wait till you see what Jennifer Aniston does in the film! Can Dorothy, I mean Gail, find her celebrity pass and get her long-awaited marriage ceremony back on track? Not without a lot of help and a few dead bodies.   My Rating:  Full Price  Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Website   Now playing in theaters

My View:  Evil Dead Burn  (2026)  R   In Evil Dead Burn, Alice (Souheila Yacoub) has just lost her husband. Seeking comfort, she visits his family at their secluded home. But grief turns to terror as her in-laws morph into Deadites, monstrous creatures bent on her destruction. Trapped and hunted, Alice’s only hope is a makeshift scrapbook containing the forbidden Book of the Dead. I am a big fan of the original trilogy starring the man, the myth, the legend, Bruce Campbell. The series is now going on without Mr. Campbell, and it loses some of its mojo because of it. This film appears to be using the Evil Dead moniker and the ‘Book of the Dead’ as an excuse for making a film that is incredibly violent (mostly towards women) and almost pointless, other than a knife that the Deadites want to destroy or have (I never quite figured that part out). Not only do the Deadites take a lot of hits (or gunshots), so do the humans they are trying to kill, with an incredible amount of damage that professional wrestlers take fewer hits. The film is worth seeing for one scene in the final ten minutes (kind of right out of the Terminator films) that makes up for most of the mess it is. And yes, by the way, there is a mid-credits scene that is kind of fun. Just wish the rest of the movie was as much fun as its predecessors.  My Rating: Cable    Evil Dead Burn Website Now playing in theaters 

Indiefest:  The Isolate Thief  (2026)  R   The Isolate Thief is set in a snowbound Civil War-era outpost, where a young caretaker, Ada (Mackenzie Foy), isolated from the nearest town,  finds a hidden stash of stolen gold. She must use her wits and perseverance to survive both a deadly winter and a gang of ruthless outlaws who want their gold back. I am a big fan of westerns, a genre that dominated the early days of film but is rarely seen in today’s marketplace. Ada is barely coping with running the outpost because her father, a military man who was in charge of the outpost, has died. This is a film about survival, and Ada uses both her skills and her wits to survive a gang that has come to find a stash of gold. Sean Bean plays the leader of the gang, who at first pose as soldiers, but Ada soon figures out that they aren’t who they say they are. This is a film about surviving in a brutal world where danger is just around the corner, and it takes guts to do so. The story goes on a little too long, but it’s worth seeing for Mackenzie Foy’s performance as a woman who defies the odds to stay alive and Sean Bean as a crafty gang leader who is willing to play the long game to get what he wants.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Isolate Thief Info Now playing in theaters

My View: The Invite  (2026) R   The Invite starts at a point where Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela’s (Olivia Wilde) marriage is going quickly down the drain. When they invite their mysterious neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penélope Cruz), over for a dinner party, the night quickly spirals into chaos in very unexpected places. I am not a big fan of films where I don’t like the main characters, and when this film starts, I hated Joe and Angela. They don’t like each other and aren’t interested in each other at all. They are just one big fight that starts the moment they see each other. Into this mess of a marriage come Hawk and Pina, a beautiful and cool couple that Joe and Angela have been hearing having deafening sex almost on a nightly basis. At first, only Angela seems to want the other couple in their lives, but as the night goes on, Joe becomes intoxicated by this dynamic couple. This is a hilarious film that continues to push boundaries, making Joe, Angela, and us very uncomfortable as the evening progresses. I loved the performances in this film, with Rogan as the combative Joe, who at first just wants them to leave but slowly comes around to enjoying their company while still trying to push his wife’s buttons. Wilde is hilarious as the overeager hostess who sees every slip-up (like serving ham to the vegan Pina) as a crashing ruin to her night. Edward Norton is so much fun as the overly attentive Hawk, the former “firefighter” who seems overly amused at how uncomfortable the other couple seems, especially Joe. And Penélope Cruz is amazing as the almost overly sexy Pina, who, it turns out, is a sex therapist and is willing to analyze everything at a moment’s notice. This is a sex farce as we find out more about both couples, and as the evening becomes more than just a dinner party. So get ready to laugh a lot and squirm a bit in your seat because it’s going to be a bumpy but highly enjoyable night.  My Rating: Full Price  The Invite Website Now playing in theaters

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see when it first came out but have seen recently): Chris & Martina: The Final Set  (2026)  TV-MA  The story of two tennis legends, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who met in tournaments 80 times, with both winning 18 major titles in their careers. Chris was the All-American girl who broke on the scene at age 16 and started winning tourneys right away. Martina was the outsider, having defected in 1975, when she was just 18, from communist Czechoslovakia to the US. Chris was cool, determined, and loved by the media. The media saw Martina as reckless, combative on the court, and sometimes as the villain when they faced each other. What is fascinating about this documentary is that it is not just about their careers but also about their friendship. Chris took Martina under her wing early on, even teaming with her in doubles, and they were friends. Then Martina got serious about winning, and their friendship became combative. Both spent years as the world's number one women's tennis player, and often the other was number two. Then, later in their careers, they became friends again. And then both women had battles with cancer, and that made their bond even stronger. What I enjoyed about this film was watching the two of them together, their matches, and how they get carried away by the emotions of the time. This is a wonderful film about not only two great athletes who changed the face of women’s tennis, but also about friendship and overcoming the obstacles life throws our way.   My Rating: Full Price  Chris & Martina: The Final Set Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform 

Forgotten Film:   The Evil Dead  (1981)  R  Five college students (Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly) go on an outing to a remote cabin in the Tennessee mountains. They find in the cellar a book, “The Book of the Dead,” and a tape recording of an archaeologist. When one of them plays the tape, a legion of demons and spirits are released, and the group starts to suffer from demonic possession. Will anyone survive? Shot on location in Tennessee by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire), the film was shot with almost no money and took over a year to complete, with the cast/crew shooting on weekends and the director turning 20 during the shoot. The film made over 30 million worldwide and spawned a film franchise that is still going today. The film was part horror film, part gore-fest, with a bit of the Three Stooges thrown in. It’s one of my favorite horror films, with some truly stunning scenes and lots of blood splattering everywhere. The Evil Dead is a film that set the standard for the low-budget horror genre with its intense scenes and terrific special effects. The film continues to inspire and amaze film fans and filmmakers worldwide.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Evil Dead Info  The film is available on most online platforms

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Moana:  Tattoo Artist Coordinator

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  The Odyssey  (2026)  R  The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, who goes on a long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War and his encounters with mythical beings as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), before Penelope succumbs to a nefarious suitor, Antinous (Robert Pattinson). The film is written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who shot for the first time completely with IMAX 70mm cameras.  The Odyssey Website   In theaters and IMAX on Friday, July 17, 2026

Until Next Time!

Minions & Monsters

My View:  Minions & Monsters  (2026) PG Minions & Monsters takes place in the 1920s, when the guys, who have stumbled into stardom, are going to make a monster movie in Hollywood. To make a movie, they need a monster, so the guys decide to summon an actual monster. Not their best idea! I am not a fan of the Minion movies and can’t remember much about them, but I know that my experience with them is that a little of them goes a long way, and they are better suited to supporting roles in the Despicable Me films. This is why I was surprised by how much I was laughing during the first third of Minions & Monsters. Now, some of this is because the Minions find themselves in the middle of Hollywood filmmaking during the silent film period, and I loved all the references to the classic films of the time. In fact, even the opening credits give a nod to the early days of filmmaking when shots of dogs or even elephants were being filmed, and somehow the minions got to join in. Unfortunately, when we get to the main plot of the Minions trying to save their Hollywood careers by creating an actual monster, things slow down. The film is further dragged down by a group of Minions who have abandoned Hollywood and have found an alien robot to follow. The robot subplot serves no purpose in the film other than bringing it to an end. And, at least in this film, Minion talk is a combination of gibberish and Italian, which seems a little off from what they have done in the past. Still, kids will enjoy the Minions' antics, and parents will have fun during the first 30 minutes. While there are some funny moments in the closing credits, you won't miss much if you leave early.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Minions & Monsters Website Now playing in theaters nationwide

My View:  Enola Holmes 3  (2026)  PG-13  Enola Holmes 3 follows Enola (Millie Bobby Brown), the youngest of the Holmes siblings, who is about to marry Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). However, there is a problem. Enola’s more famous brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), has been kidnapped and, of course, Enola is on the case. I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and will watch anything that involves the brilliant and eccentric sleuth. I have enjoyed the Enola Holmes series as we have watched Enola grow up from a flighty girl to a young woman who is sure of her talent and her ability to gather clues. Millie Bobby Brown is always fun to watch in this role, as a boundless bundle of energy who gets excited by trying to top her older, more established brother. I just wish that this time the mystery was better. The film tends to lag, letting Enola go off to ponder the ocean or watch so many people get shot without doing much about it. As always, the film gets a boost from Helena Bonham Carter playing Enola’s firecracker of a mom, who is, in fact, a loose cannon. The film feels a little too much like Millie Bobby Brown fan fiction, with much of it centered on Enola’s wedding rather than the mystery. Still, I had fun with Enola, talking to us about her clues and desires, and taking down the bad guys with a stiff roundhouse kick. The film feels like it’s the end of the Enola Holmes series, but I wouldn’t mind going on another mystery or two. Just make sure there are more than just a few clues to follow.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Enola Holmes 3 Website  Now playing on the Netflix platfor

Indiefest:  Lockbox  (2026)  R  In Lockbox, after her mother’s death, Ellen (Carla Gugino) moves to a small town with her cousin, Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci). Trying to put their lives back together, Ellen soon realizes that something evil is in the house, threatening Winthrop. Ellen will have to risk everything to defend her cousin against an otherworldly entity. The storyline takes so long to develop that you lose interest, sapping any intrigue or scares. Carla Gugino gives the film a bit of a boost just by her presence, but the story takes forever to get going, and then when we find out the stakes, it ends with a bit of a letdown. There isn’t enough suspense in the first half of the film, other than a few jump scares and Winthrop just being creepy. By the time we reach the last third of the film, it loses itself in a complex, overly long final act that feels unworthy of the time we put into it. It’s a frustrating and unsatisfying experience that never finds the momentum that it needs.   My Rating: Cable   Lockbox Info  Now playing in select cities

Forgotten Film: The Conversation (1974) PG   Directed by Francis Ford Coppola at the height of his directorial powers, the film is about a surveillance expert, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), who uncovers a possible assassination plot, which takes him on a journey of secrecy and paranoia. Harry is a very private man who has devoted his life to electronic surveillance. He is hired to do the impossible: record a conversation between a couple (played by Cindy Williams and Fredrick Forrest) while they walk through the open, noisy Union Square. When Harry hears the woman say, “He’d kill us if he had the chance,” it sets Harry on a mission to stop the killing. Harry’s past affects his actions, as we find out that a past assignment resulted in murder. As the film progresses, Harry and the audience can’t tell whether he is now the object of surveillance, and he begins a path that can only lead to madness. The film uses cutting-edge sound design by Walter Murch, which earned him an Academy Award nomination and hit a nerve with the moviegoing public when wiretaps were at the heart of the Watergate scandal that shook the White House. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Conversation Info  Available on Amazon Prime and for rent on Apple TV+

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Enola Holmes 3: Daftperson

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass  (2026) R  Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass follows Gail (Zoey Deutch), who is devastated that her fiancé has slept with his “celebrity pass” Jennifer Aniston. She goes to a fortune teller, who tells her that to make things right and go on with the marriage, she must sleep with her own celebrity pass. Gail, along with her best friend, Otto (Mile Gutierrez-Riley), travels to Hollywood to find her own ‘free pass’: Jon Hamm. The film features a large cast of cameos, including “Weird Al” Yankovic, Henry Winkler, Elizabeth Banks, and, of course, Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm.  Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Website The film is in theaters on Friday, July 10, 2026.

Until Next Time!