Saturday 15 August 2026
The summer of 2026! Temperatures sizzle and it’s hotting up too on the Silver Screen, as my quest to see a new movie, at the cinema at least once per month continues. (In truth it is a NY resolution which had modified into seeing one film per month ‘on average’ … more simply put at least12 new cinema films this year.) And I add to the tally in July and August, with three new movies!
July takes us to ‘The Odyssey’, Christopher Nolan’s epic retelling of Odysseus’ perilous voyage home after the Trojan War, confronting gods, mythical creatures, and trials that test his wit and humanity. We really enjoy it! The non-linear storytelling holds our attention and time flies by as we are lost in the big screen action. Some scenes are simply magnificent and some moments unforgettable: the raising of the wooden horse, the descent into Hades, Samantha Morton’s Circe and the menacing scheming of Robert Pattinson and his fellow suitors. I have heard criticism of Nolan’s superficial treatment of women and would agree that they do apply here; Helen of Troy herself as well as Calypso feel almost peripheral to the plot and the complexity of Circe could be explored in far greater depth. That aside, the film overall is spectacular, ambitious, edge of the seat exciting and delivers as a big-screen blockbuster. I definitely recommend.
But as we tip into August, an even better offering emerges in the gem of a film that is Olivia Wilde’s ‘The Invite’
Oh my goodness, I absolutely love this one!
Middle class married life is satirised in the personae of two couples having an excruciating dinner party. A failed musician and his wife, played by Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde (who also directs), extend the invitation of the title to their stylish neighbours, a therapist and ex-firefighter played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton.
It moves from tense and strained to sensual and outrageous as the evening progresses and the notion of who is ‘inviting’ who is turned on its head! And it is frequently absolutely hilarious. The amazing Olivia Wilde is so arkward, she is almost impossible to watch at times, whilst by contract Penelope Cruz is sizzling and lights up the screen. But the standout performance is probably Seth Rogen, who is wickedly funny and also bitingly sarcastic. The ending is ambiguous and quiet and somehow very moving and, without any doubt, this is my favourite film of the year…so far?
And then … just as it was going so well …. we step out to see ‘The End of Oak Street’
Oh dear, what can I say? Well in fairness it starts quite well; interesting family dynamic, general puzzlement and mystery about what has happened to ‘Oak Street’ and its neighbourhood and a real feeling of despair as there seems to be no escape for our protagonists … but then, somewhere between the return of pet pooch ‘Star Buck’ and the glowing light-orb it all fizzles into farce. I think the Guardian review sums it up more eloquently that I can with the phrase
“… suburban dino-survival romp is more turkey than T-rex..”
So… in the words of the late and great Meatloaf.. ‘Two out of three ain’t bad’… and roll on Autumn…
Smashing Single Parenthood 