Zachary Weinberger

Really getting a good dose of Greek mythology in this week. Lots of fun here.  Had an awesome revelation after the screening as I was wondering during my viewing why the actors who played Orpheus and Hades sounded very familiar. Well, they played Spider-Man and Green Goblin in “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,” a 2011 broadway musical around the titular character.  Believe it got negative reviews, but I saw it as a kid and LOVED it. Listened to the soundtrack endlessly, especially one song led by Green Goblin singing about freaks in New York City.  Anyways….this was great! Lol

I think the funniest thing about the “The Odyssey” is Travis Scott being the first actor you see in the film and seeing his name first when the credits roll… Anyways, Christopher Nolan is undeniable. Still have some qualms, but did love this for the most part.  Want to preface, haven’t read Homer’s work, though it has moved up to the top of my TBR (which includes probably every written work known to mankind). So I can’t speak too much of how “well” of an adaption it is, as I’ve heard Odysseus’ characterization is different, etc. Though I’m not sure I want to trust some “purists” opinion on this as they got angry over Elliot Page’s casting. At any rate, can’t speak enough about this technically, which is usually a given with Nolan. He captures how swooping of an epic this story is, just incredible imagery, the practical effects, everything that’s on screen is a treat to watch, obviously helped by DP Hoyte van Hoytema. Was excited to see Nolan tackle something fantastical, though still having a grounded tone. The cyclops, Circe, Giants, sirens, hades sequences were superb.  Everybody can admit not a lot of filmmakers can touch Nolan technically, it’s the writing that has been hotly debated.  I didn’t have too much of an issue in totality, but that first act was choppy. Some of the expository writing with the editing made the first act getting used to. I needed the rest of the movie from the second act to excel, and to me anyways, it absolutely did.  No one was truly bad in the cast, but take it or leave it with some. Damon, Hathaway (!!), Pattinson (!), Nyong’O, Leguizamo, Patel were really good to great, but others felt just there.  Can get behind Holland and Bernthal as Spidey and Punisher, but here was just…fine I guess! Was too immersed, so it didn’t take me out per se, but not marvelous.  What I really loved most though was how this is Nolan’s second straight movie dealing with a main protagonist that regrets his part in future demise. Almost a “spiritual” sequel to “Oppenheimer” here, but how they do the full circle to “Zeus’ Law” in the third act was wonderful.  Can point out the flaws in Nolan’s writing, but that final monologue by Damon was great.  This is weird because it’s flawed, but can’t say they bothered me enough. At 4.5 for now, but room to lower it or increase depending on second watch. Will see if it holds up, could be the IMAX 70mm talking… All that death and destruction due to trade routes…sound familiar?

Around 3.75-4 for this.  The waterworks were WORKING with this one.  Mom recommended this, don’t see it getting a lot of traction, but thought this was really solid.  Found the structure fascinating because it’s set up to be a generic, feel-good type of a film, but it gets a bit different here. Absolutely lacks being obnoxiously contriving like some others.  Not blowing your socks off, but well-done.

Straight to the point, but Leone excels here.