The Odyssey (2026)

Nolan has pulled off a bit of a miracle with his adaptation of The Odyssey. It is a rollicking adventure that sticks pretty faithfully to the source material while packing in a plethora of narrative threads without making them feel too tangled. For a film with an almost three hour runtime, it is very entertaining and engaging. Audiences won't feel bored or strung along at any point. It is also gorgeous to watch with its massive Imax camera filled set pieces and mostly practical effects. Technically The Odyssey is an impressive achievement. However I didn't find it to be emotionally inspiring and so much of its many threads are so thinly woven in that I didn't find it overly impactful. Even its final message, which it takes its time getting to then sort of hits us over the head with, feels a bit tacked on at the end.

Don't get me wrong. Overall I enjoyed The Odyssey very much and I know I will be able to rewatch it and enjoy it again. I loved how Nolan managed to pack into this film everything he wanted to and did so with both a flare that made it artful but also a practicality which made it accessible. This is one for the masses for sure and it deserves it. I believe The Odyssey is a good film that does what it sets out to do so I am not faulting it. 

What keeps me from loving it is that it is sort of a victim of its success. It does such a good job of putting so much of this story in it that it often feels rushed. I know... it's an almost 3 hour movie. But whether its the cyclops, Circe, the dying dog, or the sirens, these come and go and then sort of get forgotten. Worse I think is the way that few characters get fleshed out into anything more than 2-dimensions. How can you build them all out when there are this many? I was willing to forgive a bunch of this but my biggest disappointment was Pattinson's Antinous who often felt like a moustache twirling villain more than any real threat to anyone. His character was paper thin (as were the characters played by Marshall-Green, Goth, Hawkins, Patel, Lee) but it was his character than needed the heft to truly pull off his role. The film just didn't have the time to truly do him justice. Also completely wasted was Travis Scott whose fleeting moments on screen were some of the most electric. I had hoped we'd see him narrating or scoring the adventure but he was in and out in a blink of an eye. 

And this is in contrast to other characters who do manage, with little screen time to be truly fascinating. Despite all the controversy around her casting, Nyong'o is brilliant in her duel roles and her characters do so much heavy lifting for how little screen time she gets. I found Theron's Calypso truly interesting as well. But the real standout is Page's Sinon. His scenes were often the ones that managed to pull on my heartstrings and get me feeling. Really its the internet's most hated casting which save this movie. 

And again I want to point out I felt the movie was really good. Good. Goransson's score is lovely and unobtrusive. It takes its time before it comes to anything resembling a "theme" that audiences will associate with the movie (think Lord of the Rings) so we're not overwhelmed by it over what we're experiencing on screen. 

There is so much plot hopping that it isn't until the end that Nolan gets around to his narrative theme. As Odysseus prepares to confront the suiters and "return home" he begins to wrestle with all that he has done. His story is less about surviving the wrath of the Gods and more about the Gods' punishments being his own wrestling with his acts. He has to confront what he has done before he can be the King, the Husband, the Father, that he wants to be. His return is less about cosmic intervention and more about personal demons. There is a moment where we see her form is taken from one of her priestesses for whose death Odysseus is responsible. I connected to Nolan's perspective here. While I recognize that he builds this on the foundation of so much of what has come before in his film it also feels like a bit of an afterthought perhaps less organically tied to what we have seen but stitched overtop. 

Still, once again, the film is very good. And I recommend it. And I will rewatch it and continue to enjoy it. In many ways, what Nolan does here is remarkable, tackling something this gargantuan at all and pulling it off. So there are thin spots and weaknesses. They aren't bad and it didn't ruin the movie for me. I recognize that if one is going to attempt to make this movie this is a pretty amazing achievement just in itself. 

The Odyssey

Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Bennie Safdie, John Lequizamo, Bill Irwin, Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Corey Hawkins, Mia Goth, Logan Marshall-Green, Travis Scott, Elliot Page, James Remar

Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan 

Heartstopper Forever (2026)

Ending a series, especially one that has a strong following and means so much to its fans, can be an herculean challenge. Add to that the choice to do so in a 2 hour movie instead of a final season, limiting the time available to wrap up story lines and develop characters. But perhaps the biggest challenge is how to end the story of the romance of a young queer (fictional) couple which has come to be an emotional support story for both young queers and older ones that didn't live in a time when this sort of relationship tended to happen. How do you wrap all of this up in a way that is honest both narratively and emotionally for those who have invested so much into this story and these characters? 

Writing at a time when gay love stories just didn't exist, gay writer EM Forster talked about the importance of having a happy ending for his gay love story Maurice, how gay men like him deserved the happily ever after so much straight literature offers its audiences. Today is a very different time, but is the need for the promise of love enduring still as relevant for modern audiences, both the young and those who remember being young? Alternatively how you do realistically deal with the likelihood of teenage relationships lasting. Life after highschool pulls people in different directions and burgeoning adults grow into different people. Is it honest to have the multitude of couples who formed over the course of this story ride off happily into the sunset together?

Okay so I've asked a lot of this little movie... but I think it mostly found its way through this quagmire to deliver for both fans and those who may have come into this film fresh alike. It is about teens in love, and all the hyper drama that comes with that. It is about queer and trans kids not only existing but finding love and community, and all the drama that comes with that. It wrestles with some of these questions and delivers a fairly satisfying set of resolutions. Yes you can watch this as someone unfamiliar with the Heartstopper series and walk away with a positive movie experience. And for those fans who have followed these characters through all the seasons, Forever will offer you the closure that you need. And will likely illicit a few tears. 

Heartstopper Forever finds a lovely way to being affirming for its audiences while also feeling honest and true. There is a scene in the middle with Derek Jacobi which is short and very quiet in what it is doing, but profound in so many ways. Time and again this film reinforces that love stories aren't rote, aren't about destiny or soul mates, but are about finding connection in whatever ways those come, healthy connections that make people happy. 

Forever is easily the most secure chapter in the Heartstopper saga. It tackles the characters growing up. From their being more sex (although still fairly PG-13) to some drinking, it is more about how the film treats its subjects as coming of age finally. They get to start having the sort of agency that only adults get to start to have. Yes they are just starting out on this journey but they are finally taking it on. 

Heartstopper Forever

Starring: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Yasmin Finney, William Gao, Tobie Donovan, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, Rhea Norwood, Derek Jacobi

Director: Wash Westmoreland

Writer: Alice Oseman 

The Invite (2026)

I knew how much I was enjoying The Invite by how uncomfortable it was making me. The way the characters spoke to each other, injuring themselves and each other made me cringe and react. It treated its characters a flawed human beings in imperfect relationships and it did it all with a sense of humour and heart. 

Wilde is an exciting film maker who makes films that are fascinating. Some have worked better than others but The Invite is especially interesting. It has to walk a fairly challenging line. It could have easily fallen into farce or become too heavy. But Wilde and her cast keep just the right balance of humour and pathos to make this story of one eventful evening work. 

I appreciated how much the film treated its characters with respect. While recognizing the inherent humour in their humanness, The Invite still gives each character the space and integrity to be real people with all their flaws and strengths. The smart and funny script by McCormack and Jones has been compared to Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe and that's not much hyperbole. There is sensitivity and insight going on here and it hits more than most films do. It's characters are awkward and sometimes cruel; they are vulnerable and sometimes petty. But they are honest.

The Invite is the sort of film that gets you thinking about relationships, both through asking some challenging questions but also through evoking real emotional stakes. I appreciated that its ambigous ending doesn't attempt to necessarily solve anything but reminds us of the love that we have even when things may be falling apart. 

The Invite

Starring: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton

Director: Olivia Wilde

Writers: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (2026)

This film is ridiculously silly and clearly no one involved is taking it seriously in the slightest. Unlike a lot of comedies, it's not trying to say much about anything (relationships, agency, whatever) it's just a group of people getting together to have a fun silly time. And in that it works. Deutch's charisma and the connection she has with her cast-mates carries this little wacko exercise and makes it funny most of the time and at least charming when the jokes are a bit much. 

It becomes clear part way through this is a bit of a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, in an odd way, from plot beats to direct references. Dorothy Gale and Gail Daughtry... 

Mostly this feels like a group of actors and film makers got stoned one night at a party and laughed themselves silly over this idea and this is what we got. But who's complaining when it's as delightful as this. 

Probably best to watch it stoned. 

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

Starring: Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Ben Wang, Sabrina Impacciatore, Jon Hamm, Michael Ian Black, Richard Kind, Thomas Lennon, Jennifer Anniston, Henry Winkler, Elizabeth Banks, Weird Al Yankovitc, Paul Rudd, Penn Jillette, Elizabeth Perkins 

Director: David Wain

Writers: Ken Marino, David Wain 

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (2026)

There is a simple beauty to this story and how it is brought to the screen. The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo is told from the point of view of a young girl raised in a community of trans/queer sex workers in a remote part of Chile during the AIDS crisis. It explores very heavy issues through the perspective of youth and love. It is a beautiful film that finds joy in the creation of family. 

Chosen family stories are nothing new in queer worlds but they are also not exhaustive. New film maker Céspedes has crafted a new take on this trope that is inspiring and moving. It comes together with its beautiful cast who play a mix of complicated and honest feeling characters. Throughout we are transported to a time and place that evokes so much which has changed but remains relevant to who we are today. Céspedes has made something powerfully surprising in his first film. 

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo

Starring: Tamara Cortés, Matías Catalán

Writer/Director: Diego Céspedes

In the Hand of Dante (2026)

I'm all for big swings. I like it when a film really tries for something bold. But sometimes those swings miss and In the Hand of Dante is a pretty big miss. I admire it for trying but I'm sorry to say it does not land this plane. 

In the Hand of Dante is a mystery mixed with mob film, mixed with historical epic, mixed with romance, and none of it really works. Most of the time you are just reminded of much better films that do what it is trying to do much better. Its attempts at witty, audacious banter feel cringey instead of clever. Its gratuitous violence is missing the sort of playfulness to make it cartoony and missing the sort of gravitas to make it impactful. It is lacking the connectivity to make its two timelines work together to create something bigger than the two halves. 

Again I'll give credit to the cast for trying. No one phones it in here. It is just that what they are working with doesn't give them the chance to shine. There is an overall sense that there is a big, consequantial movie somewhere in this story and this just isn't it.

In the Hand of Dante

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Louis Cancelmi, Sabrina Impacciatore, Benjamin Clementine, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa

Director: Julian Schnabel

Writers: Louise Kugelberg, Julian Schnabel

Wasteman (2026)

First time director McMau has shot out of the gate with this impressive and visceral debut that is raw with emotional vulnerability and manages difficult violence without exploiting it. Wasteman keeps its story tight, hits all the necessary beats, and focuses mostly on the interiority of its characters in a way that makes it a powerful gut punch of a film that will leave its audience with a lot of feelings. 

The cast is great and Blyth really shines here but I'm here to talk about Jonsson who has become one of the most exciting young actors to come along in a very long time. Every time I see him in something he not only stands out but he surprises me. Wasteman is a new high for him, giving a complicated and rich performance that really takes it all to the next level. He has become the kind of actor I will be excited to see a movie just because he is in it. 

Wasteman isn't an easy film despite its short runtime and rather straightforward plot. Its focus on people who are complicated at best and often quite despicable, its refusal to sugarcoat the realities of prison life and (at the same time) refusal to exploit that into melodrama, and its attention to the details of its sad story make it a bitter pill but well worth it. 

Wasteman

Starring: David Jonsson, Tom Blyth

Director: Cal McMau

Writers: Hunter Andrews, Eoin Doran