The Odyssey (2026)

Two things:

1) This is the best version of Homer's Odyssey ever committed to film.

2) This is far from the best telling of this story.

No one was less excited about this movie than me. Even with Chris Nolan at the helm, a 3-hour epic based on a 3,000-year-old text is a big ask. I'm glad to be proven wrong. Matt Damon leads the big budget, all-star cast as Odysseus. Following a 10-year battle in Troy, it details his 10-year journey to get back home to Ithaca, told confusingly out of order. It's Greek mythology conveyed through grounded realism, captured practically for the most part on real-life locations. In order to emphasize its epic scale, it's also the first feature to be shot entirely on 70mm IMAX film, which comes with its own set of caveats. I found the colors on screen to be a bit drab and the sound mixing is absolutely horrendous. I watched it in IMAX, and for half the film the entire theater was rumbling, making it even harder to decipher dialogue. It's an all-out assault on the senses, although it makes the quieter moments stand out. No one would ever accuse Nolan of being a bad director, but he tends to be a little self-indulgent at times. However, there are moments here where you are held at rapt attention. As a fan of cinema, you owe it to yourself to check it out on the biggest screen possible, even though I still maintain it's far from perfect. 

4 gods defied out of 5

Note: If you enjoyed this modern retelling, I highly recommend The Return, which focuses on the final part of this story. 

The Wild Robot (2024)

Instantly bringing to mind the likes of The Iron Giant, WALL·E and Big Hero 6, a helpful protocol droid named Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) washes up on the shores of an uninhabited island. Without any humans to fulfill its design, Roz uses its advanced AI processes to translate the language of the woodland animals, as a newly hatched gosling "imprints" upon it and gives Roz newfound purpose. This uplifting family film looks gorgeous (it's CG, but almost has a traditional hand-painted quality), and its intention is in the right place, despite the familiarity of the plot.

3 broken transponders out of 5

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

Prequel to the popular A Quiet Place franchise. Does what it says on the tin.

One day, without any warning, alien monsters descend from the sky on a mission to wipe out humanity. They are blind, but follow their prey by sound. This film accomplishes pretty much the same task as the original, except it's in an urban setting and not everyone understands what is happening yet. They make easy pickings for the monsters, while one pensive, cancer-stricken woman (and her cat) navigate a path to survival amidst all the chaos and destruction. If you liked the other films, it'll be right up your alley. Not necessarily a bad flick, but prequels often don't add much to the mythology.

2½ pizza places out of 5

THE JUNGLE BOOK [2016]

Joining Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland & Maleficent, director Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book is yet another addition to Disney's growing line of live-action remakes of their own animated classics.
This version mostly follows the plot of the animated film of an orphaned jungle boy being hunted down by a tiger, while leaning more towards the moodier and more vicious tones of Rudyard Kipling's anthology stories.  
It's an astonishingly beautiful film to look at with CGI animals that have convincing personality once you get past the fact that they don't quite look like the real thing.  There's not a whole lot of subtext or plot details to relish in, so it's best to take it with a grain of salt and accept that it's a wonderfully crafted summer adventure film.  

3½ bad ol' mama cuckoos out of 5

STAR WARS - EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS [2015]

After retooling the premise of the Star Trek series, sci-fi nerds were very cautious approaching director J.J. Abrams' much-hyped continuation of the Star Wars saga, coming 38 years after the original film.
Fortunately Abrams & co. deliver the popcorn space opera awesomeness for Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Set thirty years after Return of the Jedi, with the Empire defeated, a powerful new threat rises, known as the First Order and clashes with the Resistance, comprised of faces both familiar and new.
This gorgeous looking thrill-ride captures all the excitement of Lucas' films while capturing Abrams' edgier flavor but never sacrificing any of the fun (or going overboard with his trademark lens flare).  The casting is wonderful and even though I'm familiar with nearly all the names, it's the one who I didn't know that stood out the most: Daisy Ridley as the ass-kicking scavenger Rey.  It mirrors the events of the original film, giving it a history repeats itself feel but as it comes to a conclusion we're promised a brand new direction that's sure to surprise with flying colors.
"Chewie, we're home" indeed.

4 big hairy things out of 5

NON-STOP [2014]

Liam Neeson puts on his highly effective tough-guy pants again in director Jaume Collet-Serra's mystery/thriller Non-Stop.
Filled with enough holes in it's logic, Non-Stop requires you to shut off your brain and enjoy the uneven ride while it lasts.  The tricky photography makes great use of the claustrophobic space and in turn creates a highly effective tension that doesn't let up until the end.  It's numb, dumb fun that's more satisfying than I thought it would be.

3 broken text msg bubbles out of 5

12 YEARS A SLAVE [2013]

Based on Solomon Northup's own auto-biographical 1853 novel, 12 Years A Slave, director Steve McQueen takes up the heavy challenge of adapting it into a powerfully moving film.
Everything about it from the outside screams Hollywood epic tale but once you get past that you find an intimate tale about the power of the human soul in even the worst of times.  Some of the most effective moments are long takes of nothing but silence and allowing the actor's eyes or subtle body movements to do the talking.  Chiwetel Ejiofor deserves every bit of praise he's received for this role but so should Michael Fassbender, as despicable as his character is, one can't deny the impact of his performance.
As difficult as some of the necessary subject material is to watch, it's a film and story that needs to be told, heard and seen.

4 fiddles out of 5