by Josh Sewell
The Odyssey
(Rated R for violence and some language. Opens in theaters on July 17.)
I’m not a diehard Christopher Nolan fanboy, so I’m not automatically in the tank for a movie just because he made it. Still, I was cautiously optimistic when he recovered from his Tenet fumble with the excellent Oppenheimer and announced his next project would be an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.
It’s a perfect combination of story and filmmaker, considering it touches on many of the themes and tropes Nolan has focused on his entire career. If it’s been a while since your high school English class, the film centers on Odysseus (Matt Damon), a central figure in the Trojan War depicted in Homer’s previous epic The Iliad.
Following their victory over Troy, Odysseus and his men head for home, but get lost along the way, encountering various storms, monsters, gods, etc. Meanwhile, during Odysseus’ extended absence, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) are fighting off a host of suitors (including Robert Pattinson and Corey Hawkins) ruining their palace and vying to become the new king.
One of the most wonderful aspects of The Odyssey is how refreshing it is to see a massive summer blockbuster shot on film (entirely in IMAX, as a matter of fact) in actual locations, with minimal use of CGI. Modern audiences are so used to seeing actors in front of green screens in warehouses that it might take them a second to adjust to good, old-fashioned moviemaking.
Nolan’s impressive adaptation, which he also wrote, lends a modern sensibility to an ancient work. That makes sense considering he cites Emily Wilson’s translation of the poem – which I found to be an engaging and surprisingly accessible read – as one of the inspirations for his screenplay.
Despite being almost three hours long, many portions of The Odyssey needed to be altered or omitted to fit a traditional runtime. In that respect, Nolan is smart with his decisions – almost all the changes make sense for a 2026 audience.
The filmmaker also makes some inspired casting choices, giving the globetrotting epic an international feel instead of going for the most obvious actors for each role. Recognizable faces like Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth and Samantha Morton only appear briefly, but they all take advantage of their limited screen time with great performances.
Damon, Holland and Pattinson are all terrific, but I particularly loved Hathaway’s work. Penelope immediately becomes one of the strongest female characters in Nolan’s filmography (which is an admittedly short list), avoiding the usual “damsel in distress” clichés that women are usually saddled with in epic adventures.
Nolan has a reputation for complex, sometimes impenetrable plotting, but The Odyssey is probably his most straightforward narrative since his Batman trilogy. Aside from the usual whining coming from dark corners of the internet, this might be his most mainstream, audience-friendly film in quite a while. (That’s saying something considering Oppenheimer made almost a billion dollars worldwide.)
Grade: B+
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
(Rated R for sexual content, violence/bloody images and language. Now playing in theaters.)
Zoey Deutch continues her summer of pop culture dominance and I’m not complaining – she’s one of my favorite young actresses working today. Her latest comedy, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, is the same blend of earnest, random, and weird that we got from director David Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer and They Came Together, so of course I loved it.
The premise immediately clues viewers into the comedy’s absurdist nature, as well as whether it will be their style of humor. Deutch plays the titular Gail, a small-town hairdresser who is engaged to her lunkheaded high school sweetheart (Michael Cassidy). However, their relationship takes a turn when she catches him sleeping with his “celebrity pass” instead of treating the concept as a hypothetical.
Reeling from the betrayal, Gail decides the only way she can stay with him is to enter their marriage on a level playing field. That means heading to Los Angeles so she can track down her own pass: Jon Hamm.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass feels a little different tonally than Wain’s previous films considering he co-wrote it with star Ken Marino (rather than Michael Showalter), but the vibes are similar. The whole premise is a bonkers riff on The Wizard of Oz, so viewers will likely get a feel for where the story is headed early on.
What makes the film work is how game the entire cast is, from Deutch and Miles Gutierrez-Riley (as Gail’s trusty best friend) to Marino, Ben Wang and especially John Slattery (playing a hilarious fictional version of himself) as stand-ins for the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. Plus, Wain and Marino have plenty of famous pals, so a lot of familiar faces pop up for funny cameos along the way.
Unfortunately, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass tanked at the box office last weekend, which means it should be on streaming soon. If you’ve got a weird sense of humor, I recommend watching it as soon as you can. I could see this one becoming a cult favorite given the right circumstances.
Grade: B+
(Rated R for violence and some language. Opens in theaters on July 17.)
I’m not a diehard Christopher Nolan fanboy, so I’m not automatically in the tank for a movie just because he made it. Still, I was cautiously optimistic when he recovered from his Tenet fumble with the excellent Oppenheimer and announced his next project would be an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.
It’s a perfect combination of story and filmmaker, considering it touches on many of the themes and tropes Nolan has focused on his entire career. If it’s been a while since your high school English class, the film centers on Odysseus (Matt Damon), a central figure in the Trojan War depicted in Homer’s previous epic The Iliad.
Following their victory over Troy, Odysseus and his men head for home, but get lost along the way, encountering various storms, monsters, gods, etc. Meanwhile, during Odysseus’ extended absence, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) are fighting off a host of suitors (including Robert Pattinson and Corey Hawkins) ruining their palace and vying to become the new king.
One of the most wonderful aspects of The Odyssey is how refreshing it is to see a massive summer blockbuster shot on film (entirely in IMAX, as a matter of fact) in actual locations, with minimal use of CGI. Modern audiences are so used to seeing actors in front of green screens in warehouses that it might take them a second to adjust to good, old-fashioned moviemaking.
Nolan’s impressive adaptation, which he also wrote, lends a modern sensibility to an ancient work. That makes sense considering he cites Emily Wilson’s translation of the poem – which I found to be an engaging and surprisingly accessible read – as one of the inspirations for his screenplay.
Despite being almost three hours long, many portions of The Odyssey needed to be altered or omitted to fit a traditional runtime. In that respect, Nolan is smart with his decisions – almost all the changes make sense for a 2026 audience.
The filmmaker also makes some inspired casting choices, giving the globetrotting epic an international feel instead of going for the most obvious actors for each role. Recognizable faces like Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth and Samantha Morton only appear briefly, but they all take advantage of their limited screen time with great performances.
Damon, Holland and Pattinson are all terrific, but I particularly loved Hathaway’s work. Penelope immediately becomes one of the strongest female characters in Nolan’s filmography (which is an admittedly short list), avoiding the usual “damsel in distress” clichés that women are usually saddled with in epic adventures.
Nolan has a reputation for complex, sometimes impenetrable plotting, but The Odyssey is probably his most straightforward narrative since his Batman trilogy. Aside from the usual whining coming from dark corners of the internet, this might be his most mainstream, audience-friendly film in quite a while. (That’s saying something considering Oppenheimer made almost a billion dollars worldwide.)
Grade: B+
(Rated R for sexual content, violence/bloody images and language. Now playing in theaters.)
Zoey Deutch continues her summer of pop culture dominance and I’m not complaining – she’s one of my favorite young actresses working today. Her latest comedy, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, is the same blend of earnest, random, and weird that we got from director David Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer and They Came Together, so of course I loved it.
The premise immediately clues viewers into the comedy’s absurdist nature, as well as whether it will be their style of humor. Deutch plays the titular Gail, a small-town hairdresser who is engaged to her lunkheaded high school sweetheart (Michael Cassidy). However, their relationship takes a turn when she catches him sleeping with his “celebrity pass” instead of treating the concept as a hypothetical.
Reeling from the betrayal, Gail decides the only way she can stay with him is to enter their marriage on a level playing field. That means heading to Los Angeles so she can track down her own pass: Jon Hamm.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass feels a little different tonally than Wain’s previous films considering he co-wrote it with star Ken Marino (rather than Michael Showalter), but the vibes are similar. The whole premise is a bonkers riff on The Wizard of Oz, so viewers will likely get a feel for where the story is headed early on.
What makes the film work is how game the entire cast is, from Deutch and Miles Gutierrez-Riley (as Gail’s trusty best friend) to Marino, Ben Wang and especially John Slattery (playing a hilarious fictional version of himself) as stand-ins for the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. Plus, Wain and Marino have plenty of famous pals, so a lot of familiar faces pop up for funny cameos along the way.
Unfortunately, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass tanked at the box office last weekend, which means it should be on streaming soon. If you’ve got a weird sense of humor, I recommend watching it as soon as you can. I could see this one becoming a cult favorite given the right circumstances.
Grade: B+
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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