It’s my last long weekend of the summer. After today (Sunday), it’s back to five day work weeks until Labor Day. First day of school is a week from tomorrow. Time to take a deep breath, I suppose.
The Odyssey – I read Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey to prepare myself for the movie. I’ve known the bare bones of the story for a long time but had never actually read a translation of it. I definitely recommend her translation. I might be curious enough to read another someday but hers was very good.
I had a ticket to the 10 AM showing on Friday, my last Friday off for summer break. I bought myself some popcorn and buttered it up before heading to my usual seat in the IMAX auditorium (top row, aisle). I didn’t see all the trailers but there was one that creeped me out and reminded me that this movie is rated R. (The trailer in question is Other Mommy and it made me jump. Yikes.) I noted the time the trailers ended (around 1025 hrs) and calculated when I could take more than little sips of my water during the movie. I was set.
The movie is gorgeous on the eyes, especially in IMAX. The sound was loud, of course, and there were moments when I wished for captions because there were a few times I couldn’t hear the dialogue. I loved that the movie didn’t ignore the gods but there was enough to rationalize them away, if you so chose. (I did not so choose.)
The movie did a FANTASTIC job of interpreting such a vast story. I think every moment was used to the fullest and I don’t think I’d take any second away from the whole. The cast was quite amazing and those who had “small” parts certainly took advantage of their screen time with great results. Even though it is a long movie (2 hr 52 min), I think I’ll probably watch it again quite willingly. It’s no RRR but it’s very still very good. 😉
The cast:
- Matt Damon (Odysseus) – Honestly, his performance surprised me. I sometimes forget that he is a good actor and he played Olysseus with much heart and pain and grief and tenacity.
- Anne Hathaway (Penelope) – She was magnificent. She played the queen so steady and clear eyed, her heart never turning. She played her with such strength and dignity and I love the depth she brought to the queen. SO GOOD.
- Tom Holland (Telemachus) – He did a decent job as the son of Odysseus and Penelope. The character is in that in-between place, no longer a child but not quite a man. He played it well and he did almost make me cry at one point, so there’s that.
- Zendaya (Athena) – Was Athena real or was she Odysseus’ guilt manifesting? I like that it could go either way but I prefer to think of her as real. And I think that Athena appeared throughout the movie in other guises (like in the story). Zendaya was a good personification of the goddess of wisdom. She almost made me cry as well, darn it!
- John Leguizamo (Eumaeus) – He did very nicely as the swineherd, bringing such heart to the character.
- Robert Pattison (Antinous) – I really did not like this character at all and that’s a testament to Pattison’s portrayal. He was so good that I pretty much hated his character and couldn’t wait to see his eventual fate. So good.
- Eliot Page, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, and so many others also added so much in their roles. I could probably say something about all of them but maybe I’ll save that for another time. Suffice to say, they were all stellar.
Whenever they showed Agamemnon, they never showed his face. I found that utterly intriguing. I suppose he was meant to represent war and how kings never get their hands dirty. Lo, his helmet! It was oddly satisfying when he made it home and faced the consequences of his actions. And still we never saw his face.
I won’t be surprised when The Odyssey ends up getting nominated for all the awards. I’d say they could win them all but I’m going to be cheering for Project Hail Mary, if given the choice. 😉
I took out one of my grandmother’s photo albums and scanned some random photos. The one above is shot from my grandparents’ anniversary. I think it’s their 30th, seeing that my sister is a likely nearly a toddler in the photo. I like the smiles and laughter in the moment as my grandfather kisses my grandmother. I am not paying attention, it seems. It’s kinda wild looking at a photo and seeing myself in it but I have not real recollection of the moment.
My grandmother had a lot of photos that I either hadn’t seen in ages or never saw. It’s fun trying to figure out where certain photos were taken. I’m going to guess that the photo above was taken in Alameda, sometime in the 70s. They all look so dressy compared to our fashions these days.
The shot above was definitely in Alameda. A different day from the other photo, as our grandmother is in a different dress. And that’s my cousin Daisy. Of course, I don’t remember this at all but I do love that there’s a picture of my grandmother holding me. I love that she’s wearing a green dress.
I’m thinking of my Auntie Julie and her laugh and how she called me Val. Except it sounded like Vall (all instead of al). She had this spirit and a touch of over the top. She loved to gossip and she had such stories. We had sleepovers at her house all the time and she let us stay up late. She liked her wine and her cigarettes and one of the things I remember about her was she watched baseball. I thought it was boring at the time then I fell in love with the game too.
Auntie Julie liked going out and looking good. She had interesting friends, like Max the Elvis impersonator. We visited her work place a few times and I remember her doing taxes at home. She was the one who typed up her father’s Love Stories (basically stories of his girlfriends). She was loving and caring and full of life and laughter. This is how I remember her.
My concerts for the year are set! Tyler’s show at the Hard Rock Sacramento was announced and OF COURSE I had to get tickets! They were decently priced. Hopefully we get to say hey to Tyler (and Sabina) and I get a picture with the both of them. 🙂
I’m glad that our concerts aren’t in the heat of summer. Heck, I might actually get to wear long sleeves to Tyler’s show! If I can wear a hoodie to Riley’s show, that would be pretty cool. 😉
And that’s all for this week’s post.
