The Furious: This recent release in 2026 was filmed in Bangkok but set in Southeast Asia without a specified country. Directed by Kenji Tanigaki, it stars unknown actors to me Xie Maio as a mute father and Joe Taslim as the husband of a missing reporter. I will admit that I am not an avid or frequent watcher of martial arts movies. So I have a limited experience with this genre. This adds in crime and thriller, but in truth it is the martial arts, with the choreographed fights that are the selling point. The key is whether you belive, are engaged and feel entertained overall.

The story is a basic revenge story with a father searching for his kidnapped little girl. Children have been missing in the city, and Joe Taslim’s wife was investigating. She got too close. The bad guys involved are engaged in a heinous crime for which there is an ultimate family Boss, who we learn has as son-in-law who has a multi-leveled crime organization. Our hero, the mute father handy man with incredible martial arts skills, has put a monkey wrench into their operation. The plot continues with multiple well crafted and violent fight scenes. There is very little dialog. I will say that the last fighting scene is incredibly intense, long and very violent. This isn’t for the squeamish. But despite that, the fighting involved is very well done, with complex moves with multiple combatants. It is fun to watch and satisfying. The father takes a beating along with many, many others on both the bad guy side and good side. It’s much the same as a John Wick story, but with fewer guns, more knives and hand to hand combat. There is slow motion moves and plenty of blood. Of course there is an element of disbelief with the number of head shots and blows to each individual, like you need to let it pass that someone who takes a sledgehammer to the head will live to fight yet another battle. I can recommend this for those who appreciate this genre as well as those like me who don’t watch many of these movies.

Backrooms: This newly released psychological thriller stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and also Renate Reinvse. He is a divorced and angry furniture salesman, unable to become an arcitect and addresses this failing by drinking to excess. Renate plays a psychiatrist with a new book out for sale who counsels Chiwetel but also has her own addiction to deal with. The cheesey store in which Chiwetel works is having power issues, along with an apparent lack of real customers. Things happen when Chiwetel goes to investigate the power at the breaker source which are unusual to say the least. He discovers a labrynth of interconnecting rooms which he chooses to explore. There is at least one dark presence in this vast space he comes to learn.

That is about all the plot that needs to be shared at this stage. There were elements of The Blair Witch Project at play here with the first person camera perspective looking around in strange places along with fits and starts to surprise. There also is more than a little in the look and feel from Severance with ideas of a parallel universe, one in which a human character can choose to remain or not. They don’t exist simultaneously or anything. I found this very difficult to follow as it was quite strange. I also struggled with what happened to some people within the alternate rooms. It seems the human can manipulate things somewhat but not completely, living here at risk to oneself. It has been quite some time since there has been a mind fuck as complete as this one, where I finished as thought “what did I just watch?” and then “how on earth am I going to write about it”? Both ring true. The performances are decent but I do wish that there was more for Renate to do with this. She is a good actress. As I have been told, the concept of this movie came from an internet blogging idea, where one person provided a scene set up, while then others would take it on and fill in the details before handing it over to others. Conceptually it is interesting idea as not one person is expected to contribute fully to the outlook, but they build on what has been written before. In practise, what resulted was one strange movie that left me scratching my head. I was thankful that I didn’t see this in the theatre.

The Odyssey – Second Viewing: I went to see this movie again with a high school friend who had not seen it. I had known that for me seeing this another time would be a good thing as I would be picking up on a lot more than the first time. I liked this very much on first viewing and I like it even more now upon second viewing. I noticed more of the details since I wasn’t as focused on paying attention to the plot, along with being confused as to who some of the characters were (like Zendaya as Athena and Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Odysseus’ wife). Watching the details within this, I was intrigued by all the themes that are at play.

Such themes include, the arrogance of men who feel that they can defy the Gods. By defying the Gods, then there are consequences. At this time, there were Zeus’ laws and time after time those laws were being betrayed. The defiance of the Rule of Law echoed all through this film. Sometimes there were fleeting gains that were accomplished (like the falling of Troy through the means of deceiving the inhabitants by putting an army inside Athena’s gift of a horse) but it didn’t last. Those who were successful in breaching those laws for persoal gain were all punished one way or another. Throughout there is Goddess Athena (Zendaya) appearing before Odysseus and to speak with him, correcting him and challenging him. There is a theme of man, despite being given direct consequences of acts, will still act in a way that runs contrary to their best interests. Man has a difficult time seeing beyond the immediate situation, even when given orders by a superior. We also see the trials of leadership, and even a well respected leader can have his own men turn on him. Man’s alliances and allegiances can change with the tides. As well, leadership isn’t always in the form of a man, as Penelope points out that she had been running Ithaca without her King and husband for twenty years. So many tried and true themes which resonate just as loudly today as in the time of Homer. Time after time, there is acknowledgement about how “smart” that Odysseus is, from his men, his servants, his fellow leaders. Interestingly, [spoiler alert!] Odysseus is the only one of his party who survived his passage back home and yet still had to fight further battles to have any peace at home. A relatively short journey home geographically was turned into this epic journey filled with unexpected challenges at each turn.

One thing I will note is the quality of the production. From the sets, the production design, the ships used on the ocean, no expense was spared for authenticity. For example the armour used. Save for John Boorman’s King Arthur story Excalibur and its armour, I think that this is some of the most striking armour on film. In particular I will comment on the armour worn by Agamemnon. It exudes leadership, strength, protection and demands respect. It is in pristine condition as opposed to the armour worn by Odysseus and his men. I do think that the resemblance to Roman armour is distracting but never mind that.

The ships on the ocean are real, and you can sense the power of the ocean (and Poseidon) as the craft is fighting the waves. The details in the trojan horse and how it was made, left in the sand and transported to Troy was all well executed. The scenes in Ithaca with Penelope and her son keeping the suitors at bay were all well done. All of which bring together an epic tale with universal themes which reveal why Christopher Nolan wanted to make this story to begin with.

Overall this now blockbuster (surpassing $1.4B worldwide as of today) is worth your time and should be seen in the biggest and loudest theatre that you can find. My high school buddy’s reaction as a first time viewer was that he liked it, and “it was LOUD”. Yes it definitely is that.