I feel beautifully ambivalent towards Nolan's Odyssey; a movie of unspeakable grandeur and staggering audio-visual spectacle that often felt too convoluted and emotionally distant to fully win me over, yet still captivated me from start to finish.
It surprised me not that the overblown culture war surrounding this film feels even more ridiculous when you finally see it in its entirety; Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong'o reach a combined screentime of *maybe* 10 minutes and both deliver great performances, with Page's in the second half of the movie being a real stand-out.
My criticism of it lies elsewhere. Through the course of its epic journey, The Odyssey does not lose me for a second, but it did become a movie of endless buts.
I find its world-building approach of showing a failing, bleak post-war society that has to grapple with the crimes of its warriors and the decline of its cultural values deeply fascinating, BUT I do not love many of its costumes and the cold, brutalist architecture of its cities and palaces. (I love Benny Safdie's Agamemnon's terrifying look and his Darth Vader-esque entrance. Great characterisation with little words that beautifully enhances the movie's core themes).
I love its relatively strict adherence to Homer's Odyssey, the way it adapts so much of it faithfully, BUT I believe some of its individual episodes should have had more weight and I felt especially disappointed by the brevity of the Scylla and Charybdis chapter.
I loved how much it relies on its great ensemble cast, with career-best performances by some of its actors, BUT I struggled with some of the biggest names on this list. Tom Holland fails to live up to the mantle of Telemachus, one of the original text's most fascinating characters. Charlize Theron feels like she is sleepwalking throughout a narrative that, admittedly, gives her little to work with. My biggest issue, however, is Odysseus himself. I like Matt Damon well enough as an actor, but the feeling that he was the wrong choice to portray this character never left me. Nolan's Odysseus lacks the complexity of the literary figure and Matt Damon never fully morphed into the character for me, which made it very difficult to connect with this film emotionally. He does turn it around a lot in the last third of the film (the Siren scene, his reunion with Penelope!), but I still wasn't entirely satisfied with what he brings to the table here. He never managed to convey Odysseus' deep sadness and longing for home to me, which as the core of the character, I find too important to gloss over. Hathaway's Penelope shines where Damon's Odysseus falters, bringing true emotion and pathos to this narrative.
Despite my many issues with the way this film played out, there are some scenes I found unequivocally brilliant. The Cyclops episode - despite its lack of puns and dialogue by Polyphemus - was incredibly effective because Nolan went all in, creating a fantastic sequence of pure horror that beautifully illustrates Odysseus' folly and the overarching theme of the destruction of xenia, the ideal of hospitality / guest-friendship.
My favourite sequence in the entire movie involved Samantha Morton's Oscar-worthy performance as Circe. The way Nolan decided to frame the transformation of the soldiers into swine was one of the most horrifying sequences I have seen all year. Visceral, disgusting and one of the most thematically interesting moments of the entire movie.
As with so many of Nolan's movies, the third act is what really brings it all together and I think no movie of his has ever hinged as much on its final hour as The Odyssey does. The recontexutalisation of the sacking of Troy was an utterly heartbreaking, terrifying and brutal sequence that really drove home the thematic richness of this script. It is in this final third of the movie that it really finds its footing in my eyes and drives home the messages it so carefully built up in its first two acts. (Continued)
🚨Jose Mourinho on Japan’s 4-0 World Cup demolition of Tunisia:
🗣️ “I’ve coached for so many years. When I see a good team, I know it. Japan are one of them.
“One truth never changes — the most dangerous teams are the ones everyone overlooks. Japan have crossed that line. They’re not underdogs anymore.”
“A 4-0 at a World Cup doesn’t come from luck. That’s planning, tactical discipline, quality, and 11 players thinking as one.”
“What impressed me most wasn’t the goals. It was the mindset. No fear, no doubt. They played like a team that believes it belongs with the elite.”
“Before the tournament, all the talk was Brazil, France, Argentina. Meanwhile Japan worked in silence, building chemistry away from the spotlight.”
“Big names don’t win tournaments. Teams do. Teams that trust each other, cover every blade of grass, and fight to the final whistle. Japan ticked every box.”
“The scary part? They’re getting better every 90 minutes. That’s what separates contenders from participants.”
“When I watch Japan I see 3 things: hunger in the press, structure in the shape, sacrifice in the work rate. Those win championships.”
“Some still won’t call them favourites. Fine. But if they keep playing like this, that debate ends fast.”
“Every World Cup has that one team that catches fire. Right now, Japan have the belief, momentum, and form. The fire is spreading.”
“If I were still in the dugout, I’d circle Japan as the last team I want in knockouts. They don’t just want to participate. They’re chasing destiny
“I have no danger from others but I feel endangered from my own people.”
Ambedkar was aware of the stock of his followers and that could be seen in his Agra speech that reflected all his agony:
To Leaders : “If somebody calls you to his palace, you are free to go. But do not set your hut on fire. If tomorrow the owner of the palace throws you out, then where will you go? If you want to sell yourself, you are free to sell yourself but do not harm your organisation in any manner. I have no danger from others but I feel endangered from my own people.”
To Government Servants : “Our society has progressed a little bit with education. Some persons have reached high posts after getting education. But these educated persons have betrayed me. I expected that they would do social service after getting higher education. But what I see is a crowd of small and big clerks who are busy in filling their own bellies. Those who are in government service have a duty to donate 1/ 20th part of their pay for social work. Only then the society will progress otherwise only one family will be benefitted. All hopes of society are centred on a boy who goes for getting education from a village. An educated social worker can prove to be a boon for them.”
To Students : “My appeal to the students is that after completing education instead of becoming a petty clerk they should serve their village and nearby people so that exploitation and injustice arising out of ignorance may be ended. Your rise is included in the rise of society.”
To the Landless Labourers : “I am much very much worried about landless labourers. I could not do enough for them. I am not able to bear with their sorrows and hardships. The main cause of their vows is that they do not own land. That is why they are victims of insults and atrocities. They won’t be able to uplift themselves. I will struggle for them. If the government creates any hurdles in it I will give them leadership and fight their legal battle. But I will make every possible effort to get them land.”
Today I am just like a pole which is supporting huge tents. I am worried about the moment when this pole will not be in its place. I am not keeping good health. I do not know when I may leave you people. I am not able to find a young man who could defend the interests of these millions of helpless and disheartened people. If some young man comes forward to take up this responsibility I will die in peace.”
#AmbedkarJayanti2026
He's Varun Chakravarty, a KKR legend and Backbone of Ict Bowling Attack.
In 2021 he debuted for Ict against Pakistan, unfortunately India lost the game And the main culprits were batters. He conceded runs with 8 eco almost same as everyone.
He got abused, was made scapegoat, dropped from Squad and wasn't picked for years even after consistently performing in IPL.
Later he was retained by KKR but had an average season for the first time and Almost everyone except few KKR fans trolled him, called him Mistri bowler and cursed him.
In IPL he's been best bowler since his debut. He has only one average season.
Still Rohit-Dravid duo didn't pick him and did bad with him.
When Gautam Gambhir was appointed HC of India he instantly brought him and since then he's number 1 bowler. Now cooking in t20 WC. He was also highest Wicket taker in CT 2025.
What did we learn? Whenever we go down we should take inspiration from Varun Chakravarty and come back like him. He fought with system and WON.
Sir @rupamislam74 I'm truly grateful to you for finally releasing the full version of this track. But as an ardent fan of yours, can you release the acoustic version of this piece? The raw nature of your voice could make this song more scintillating, I believe. Thank you.
It’s a Wonderful Life is one of those films that introduced me to cinema. I’ll never forget watching this in first grade right before Christmas Break. I think the power of this film is its ultimate message, which is that every life carries meaning, regardless of who you are.