"The Odyssey" Reviewed
Plus, other consumables
The Odyssey (USA, 2026) - I saw this on one of the biggest IMAX screens in the U.S. — at the Cinemark Tinseltown in Rochester, NY. The audio-visual experience was worth the $25, but the film itself was “just fine.” Highlights: Anne Hathaway’s acting, the terrifying cyclops, the creepy scene with Circe turning men into animals.
Lowlights: the acting, otherwise, was really so-so, Tom Holland and Matt Damon included. Although I admire Damon’s physical commitment, I don’t think he did much with it, and none of his fellow soldiers stood out in any way: they were just there to be consumed and winnowed.
Also, tangent here: I’ve never liked Christopher Nolan’s fight scenes. They are usually set in dark rooms, with fast movements, aggressively edited, and he lets the sound do most of the work. For an example of that, skip ahead to 5:15 for the fight scene in Batman Begins:
The Odyssey, too, suffers from these fast, jerky, and ultimately unsatisfying martial arts scenes, in which you don’t really see what’s happening. These sorts of scenes are probably way easier to do than wide-shot scenes in a lit room. As a contrast, I’m thinking of “The Bride vs. the Crazy 88” fight scene in Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Even if you lose a bit of realism with a scene like Kill Bill’s, I would have preferred it to the one-second clip scenes of The Odyssey, filmed in almost darkness.
Ultimately, The Odyssey could have been a better action-adventure movie, and frankly, as hard as they tried, it’s hard to get a modern audience to emotionally connect with the lives of people in antiquity, with their gods, myths, and weird cosmologies. B-
The Future Wild update
I am just polishing off my proposal for my prospective book, The Future Wild. I’d say my overview, chapter summaries, and marketing section are pretty complete—another couple of days of edits should get it in just about the right shape. After that, I need to produce a sample chapter and then it’s ready to find a home. More than my past projects, I feel like this one has a good chance to get picked up and earn me a competitive advance. Exciting times..
Ball valuation
Whenever I come home to Western New York, I usually have more time than I usually do, so I find myself looking into things of my past, or, in this case, things of my father’s past.
My dad has had a baseball in his sock drawer since 1986 that is possibly worth a lot of money. Apparently my Uncle Ron was acquaintances with baseball player Sal Maglie (also from Niagara Falls, NY). Ron was invited by Sal to an old timer’s game in New York City, made up of baseball legends. Uncle Ron brought three balls with him and had each ball signed by all the players. These players include Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Billy Martin, plus about 15 other names. I had AI scan the ball, which did a remarkable job reading the faded, cursive handwriting, and price it. I think part of us was thinking my dad might have something work $20K in his sock drawer, but it appears the value is closer to $1.5K, a mere mortgage payment for me. It is nevertheless a prized family heirloom.
Other things I’m consuming
Sordid Little Stories by Antonia Malchik - A terrific piece about growing up poor in Montana. (Antonia will be an Out of the Wild podcast guest soon.)
At 91, he’s hiking the AT again (gift link) by NYT - There’s nothing that annoys me more than the excuse “I’m getting old,” usually deployed to explain one’s inability to perform a physical or cognitive task. Obviously age-based deterioration happens, but people often use their age as a false excuse when the real problem is their unwillingness to properly maintain their bodies (which to be fair can be a never-ending and onerous task). There are enough examples out there, “Grey Beard” being a prime one, that can remind us how the human mind and body can function at high levels into one’s nineties. For a lot of people, the explanation “I’m too old,” should be “I’m too unwilling.”
Paid subscribers below get access to lots of other stuff I’m consuming: podcasts, articles, the most recent Larry David show, future podcast guests and more…
