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adamwatchesmovies · 2 months

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Dune (2021)

Even upon a rewatch, 2021’s Dune: Part One is spectacular. The memorable, foreboding score by Hans Zimmer, the costumes that bring this world to life, the scale of the action and the unique sets, ship & weapon designs all come together to complement a story of mythical scale. After seeing this film, two thoughts start competing for your brain’s attention. 1) If Frank Herbert’s Dune was adapted this successfully, then no work is unfilmable and 2) the sequel can’t come soon enough.

In 10191, the universe is ruled by an Emperor who assigns the exploitation of planets to powerful ruling houses. Interstellar travel is possible through “spice” a substance found exclusively on the harsh desert planet of Arrakis. For 80 years, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and his house have overseen the harvest of spice. Now, Duke Leto I (Oscar Isaac) of House Atreides is the new steward of Arrakis but only for as long as the flow of spice continues. This shift puts House Atreides, particularly the Duke’s son, Paul (Timothy Chalamet), in danger.

At 155 minutes, you’d think this movie would feel long, but it doesn’t. One of the reasons is that there’s a lot within to keep your mind busy. What’s a Freman? What’s a Kwisatz Haderach? What’s “the voice”? If director Denis Villeneuve tried to cram this story into 90, or even 120 minutes, it would move so quickly that all these questions would leave you in the dusty sands of Arrakis (that’s the planet, right?). By taking its time while moving at a good pace the film allows you - in time - to answer all of your questions. Since you understand what’s happening, you’re engaged. It helps that if you can’t remember what each name means, the visuals pick up the ball. The grotesque, scheming Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is clearly a villain. It's particularly obvious once you see his nephew, the psychotic and childish Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista). You know you can’t trust the Bene Gesserit because their leader, Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) makes Paul take a painful, life-threatening test to prove he isn’t a threat himself. These are only a few of the many examples I could choose and they show how the story is both complex and easily digestible.

Even without the gripping story filled with backstabbings, political intrigue, violence, quests for revenge and harrowing struggles for survival, Dune would still have you tightly in its grip. Throughout, Paul’s psychic abilities give him visions. They foretell the future… sort of. They give hints of what’s coming but hints are not the same as clear answers. These all tie to this planet he’s on; a world that doesn’t end where the screen does. The details in the dialogue, sets and costumes make you wish the Harkonnens would just chill, and save their grudge for later. This way, you’d have time to see House Atreides befriend the Fremen and familiarize themselves with their customs.

There’s so much happening in this film that some of it you won’t “get” until later. For example, the early assassination attempt on Paul’s life. The would-be killer? A Harkonnen cutthroat, hidden in a bedroom wall. What kind of wealth, power and/or terrifying influence could persuade someone to take on that sort of assignment, knowing they would have to wait in darkness for weeks, slowly starving to death, just to kill a boy?

The passion within Dune is as clear as its ambition. You’re only getting half of a movie with it, but this choice feels like a necessity, rather than a Breaking Dawn-type of cash-grab or an attempt to start another franchise for a money-hungry studio. It certainly doesn’t feel presumptuous. Everything we see feels important; like it’s building up to not just one, but many bigger character arcs in a world that contains hundreds of stories. You know the threads that are left hanging will be tied up - that’s the kind of confidence all of the artists at work instill in you. Dune/Dune: Part One is a film that’s going to be remembered. (March 1, 2024)

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expendablemudge · 6 months

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FOR DUNEheads: Two 2023 titles about Dune & its impact

No one denies that DUNE and its universe have been hugely influential in the almost sixty years the stories have existed. Many love them passionately, and would love a trivia and facts book about the whole DUNEiverse. https://expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2023/11/for-dune-heads-two-2023-titles-about.html

#book blog #book review #book tumblr #booksgiving #dune #dune 2021 #dune 2024 #plume books #motorbooks #trivia #sci fi

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lilsfilms · 2 years

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G2K the Owner (PS. They're Pretty Cool)

Hey, thanks for checking out the blog! (& if you're new, welcome!)

I felt the best way to start up my blog would be to introduce myself in classic bullet point, word vomit, lowercase-text-for-ease fashion, obviously.

i'm lil, lily or lj - if you ever refer to me, use any/either/or of these!

my pronouns are she/her and i identify as female

this blog, as you may have guessed, is primarily for me to discuss and attempt to review films which i have enjoyed! (is it film or movies? i honestly have no clue)

alongside reviews, i hope to build up and establish a community which shares a passion for cinema - whether it be upcoming releases, trivia or anything which interests me or you!

i'm by no means a "film buff" and i will establish now in full jest i have never seen a quentin tarantino film.

my favourite directors are christopher nolan and wes anderson! i grew up on fantastic mr fox, and find nolan's cinematography ethereally stunning (& existential)

some of my favorite stand-alone films include: triangle of sadness (2022), dead poets society (1989), dune (2021) and rocketman (2019)

Reading that list back, I now see it is rather scattered and random. So, let me clear a few things up:

Films are my passion, and my long term aspiration is to become a Film Critic. This blog is something I have created to help aid that dream. Whilst documenting my reviews and progress as a writer, this platform will help me share my thoughts with others and provide me with an outlet to express my feelings around different media. I hope to review more than just movies, as I enjoy theatre and TV to an extreme extent also.

I want to take a moment to establish that this blog is a safe space for any and all members of the LGBTQ+ community. Any hate or intolerance will not be accepted, and will be removed immediately. Please be kind to one another, and yourselves.

If this blog gains any success (in terms of following and discussion) I hope to create an external blog alongside this tumblr account. Arguably to make me feel more professional, but also to potentially reach a wider audience.

Thank you for being here. I'm excited to get started!

Feel free to send in any recommendations, questions, review requests or just general chat, anytime!

All the best, Lil.

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allthingsheardandseen · 1 year

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The Review Point: Masterlist

Concept

Latest

Tin & Tina (2023)

The Black Phone (2021)

Reviews

5 stars

Vivarium (2019)

4 stars

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Not Okay (2022)

Tick Tick Boom (2021)

3 stars

Dune (2021)

The Spectacular Now (2013)

The Spectacular Now: Movie vs. Book Review

2 stars

Eternals (2021)

Pan (2015)

Coming Soon...

Whiplash (2014)

Kill Boksoon (2023)

American Animals (2018)

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

And more... Leave your recommendations down below.

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everythingfilmandbooks · 1 year

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Estoy releyendo dune porque me regalaron el segundo libro de la saga. Me está gustando más esta vez 💙

I’m re-reading Dune because I got a copy of the second book. I’m liking it better this time 💙

#dune 2021 #dune book #muad'dib #paul atreides #book blog #book review #bookworm #booklr #bookish

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guardianreadersofthegalaxy · 2 years

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My July ‘21 - July’22 film ranking:

1. Last Night In Soho (AKA ‘The Great British Stabbing Bee’) – A young medium moves to London to study fashion but experiences disturbing visions from the 60s. I’m mad at myself for being so on the lookout for foreshadowing. It spoiled some of the reveals, but that’s not Edgar Wright’s fault. The director makes the Soho setting enticing and then increasingly terrifying, with flourishes that are creative but not obnoxiously so. Tomasin McKenzie’s Elouise could have just been an audience avatar, but she’s great in her own right – by turns naïve, driven and damaged.

2. Dune (AKA ‘Spice World’) – In the far future, the powerful house Atreides are sent by the Emperor to plunder the desert planet Arrakis. Dune is sort of like Game Of Thrones in space, complete with just-about-comprehensible lore and sudden twists where things go very bad very fast. And, like ‘GOT’, Dune is at its best when awing you with its staggering special effects and production design. Director Denis Villeneuve does most of the heavy lifting, creating an intoxicating sandbox for the simple yet vivid characters to play in. The third act does feel a bit like the first act of a sequel but I’m sure it’ll all balance out in part 2.

3. The Lost Daughter (AKA ‘Mamma Mia! But Sad’) – While on a solo holiday to Greece, Leda meets a young mother who reminds her of her own struggles as a parent. This could have been a slow burn, but an early reckless choice by the protagonist infuses the film with simmering tension. It’s a great character study, and director Maggie Gyllenhaal gets brilliant performances from Buckley and Colman as the quietly abrasive Leda, who’s unpredictable without seeming inconsistent. I like Gyllenhaal’s use of quick edits and closeups to deliberately disorient the viewer, as well as Dickon Hinchliffe’s score which swings from melancholy to surprisingly upbeat, ensuring things never get dull.

4. Ali & Ava (AKA ‘Disc-eo & Folk-iet) – An EDM-loving landlord and a folk-loving teaching assistant find common ground. For every film where a man and a woman bond over their love of music, I always hope it won’t muddy the waters by having them get together. Never mind. Director Clio Barnard finds magic in the drizzle and concrete of the urban North. There’s some great use of symbolism: a glance at a rocking chair or a pair of boots can tell you everything you need to know about a character. Barnard’s script deals with a lot of different issues (a few too many), and maybe should have zeroed in on the themes of mental health and the power of music.

5. Spiderman: No Way Home (AKA ‘Arachnids Assemble’) – Peter Parker meets friends and foes from other dimensions. While recent instalments have gone a bit too easy on him, ‘No Way Home’ puts Peter Parker through the wringer right from the get-go and gives him real lasting consequences at the end. His insistence on rehabilitating villains at any cost makes him easy to root for and gets to the core of why people love the character. Standout performances by Tom Holland and Willem Dafoe.

6. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (AKA ‘The Power Of The Doc) – A sorcerer has his ex-girlfriend’s wedding interrupted by a multiversal war. This was really entertaining! The action was occasionally hard to follow and the plot, while coherent, was little more than a vehicle for increasingly bizarre set pieces. But what set pieces! I know MCU directors often feel handicapped by studio interfering but, in this case, it seemed like Sam Raimi was able to make the film his own by leaning into the goofy soft-horror he’s best known for. And the, now obligatory, fan-service cameos were wisely confined to one scene.

7. Everything Everywhere All At Once (AKA ‘Racocoonie’) – A laundry owner has her tax audit appointment interrupted by a multiversal war. Co-directors ‘Daniels’ should be applauded for their boundless creativity, though I do have notes. There’s an incredible 100 minute film in there somewhere, but many moments dragged out for way too long. EEAAO rises above other Matrix knockoffs by remembering to have fun, with plenty of ‘Rick & Morty’-style comedy to complement the competently handled emotional story. By turns surreal, hilarious, tedious, and genuinely moving. And too long.

8. The House (AKA ‘There’s A Moose Loose Aboot The Hoose!’) – Three generations of cats, mice, and humans try their best to settle into ‘the house’. I mean, I just love stop motion so maybe this had an unfair advantage. Design and direction are both on point to make ‘The House’ as beautiful as it is unsettling. Thematically though, it suffers from ‘French Dispatch syndrome’: with neither the variety of an anthology miniseries like ‘Inside Number Nine’, or the coherence of a standard 90-minute film. The first and last parts had decent messages, but I never felt like Jarvis Cocker’s mouse estate agent was getting his just deserts.

9. The Power Of The Dog (AKA ‘Doctor ‘Straight’ In The Closet Of Sadness’) – A macho cattle-rancher takes against his brother’s new wife and her aloof teenage son. I thought Jessie Plemons’ understated performance was the highlight. His tearful relief at finding an alternative to his bullying brother really struck a chord, and it’s a shame that he faded into the background later on. The actors convey a lot through physicality, like Dunst’s shaking hands as she sits at the piano, or Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee’s gait as they respectively strut and mince around the farm. Dialogue schmialogue.

10. RRR (AKA ‘Rajamouli’s Ridiculous Romp’) – Sparks fly in 1920s India when officer A. Rama Raju meets the revolutionary Komaram Bheem. They don’t make films like this in the West any more, and I think that’s a shame. RRR is camp and earnest, always somewhere between ‘so bad it’s good’ and just genuinely good. While there were literally hundreds of moments of unintentional comedy, I couldn’t help but get swept up in the epic drama and spectacle.

11. Don’t Look Up (AKA ‘Leostorm’) – Two astronomers desperately attempt to warn the world’s governments about an approaching comet. This was a really tense watch. It felt like a modern update of ‘Dr Strangelove’, where the people with the power to avert Armageddon are too inept to do so. There’s a hefty dose of Black Mirror in there too, with humanity’s stupidity on full display. That being said, I didn’t leave feeling like we deserve annihilation, which might have been some consolation. Instead, I was angry that we put our lives in the hands of the Musks and de Pfeffel Johnsons of the world, and that’s not as cathartic.

12. Turning Red (AKA ‘Meilin, Wailin’ & Big Fluffy Tailin’) – A thirteen year old girl turns into a giant red panda. I feel like, as with the MCU, Pixar films have somewhat reached a point of competent homogeneity. I could copy and paste most of this from my last two Pixar reviews: the animation’s beautiful; good insights are made about the human condition; the message is hindered by over-specific lore. And that’s fine, I guess.

13. Pig (AKA ‘They Took My Peeerg’) – A former expert chef turned lonely truffle hunter searches for his stolen truffle pig. I felt like there could have been something profound going on in 'Pig'. The juxtaposition of a dirty, bleeding man sat in a fancy restaurant probably signifies… something. But there were just too many off-putting elements, like the random fight club scene, for me to grasp what it was all about. Cage does your standard 'Sadman McDeadwife' performance, but I much preferred Alex Wolff's nervous yuppie. The scene of him trying to psych himself up in the mirror only to be cut off by the editor was the highlight of the film.

14. Shang Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings (AKA ‘The Lord Of The Rings’) – A former assassin reunites with his family and returns to China to confront the man who trained him. Though I didn’t care for the mystical mumbo jumbo or tai chi air-bending, I was pleasantly surprised by ‘SCATLOTTR’. The story wasn’t that compelling but Marvel did a good job with the design of the film’s world, costumes and CGI creatures. Awkwafina was a delight, the martial arts were great and, unlike ‘Black Widow’, sincere moments weren’t undercut by jokes.

15. Black Widow (AKA ‘The Marvel Cinematic Pugh-niverse’) – A former assassin reunites with her family and returns to Russia to confront the man who trained her. Well, I came for Pugh, and I definitely got some quality Pugh. Also a few really exciting action scenes and creative flourishes, courtesy of director Cate Shortland. However, even at 135 mins, it feels rushed. Ray Winstone’s short changed and, though Harbour & Weisz get plenty of screen time, it’s all setup for character arcs that don’t pay off. Meanwhile Johansson’s Natasha treads water between Avengers films. But like I said, Pugh!

16. The Batman (AKA ‘Twi-knight’) – Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler. Director Matt Reeves draws on the serial killer films of David Fincher, emulating their tone but unfortunately also their three-hour runtimes. I’m afraid I found The Batman to be heavy on plot and light on theme, leaving me with little idea of what it was ‘all about’. Paul Dano’s a brilliant actor but he’s only really given one scene and, sadly, I think he botched it. Still, I enjoyed the action, the cinematography and Michael Giacchino’s already iconic score.

17. Eternals (AKA ‘Zhou-er Rangers’) – A team of immortal heroes reunites to protect Earth from the predatory Deviants. Better than I expected. The dialogue was godawful, I cringed every time they stood in a line, and the characterisation, while present, is spread veeeeery thin. But, to its credit, Eternals raises some interesting issues about when and when not to challenge the status quo. And for a franchise often accused of visual homogeny, Chloe Zhou did bring a distinctive style that I, if not loved, at least liked. And the jungle fight was cool.

18. Kate (AKA ‘I’ve Been Poisoned By The Japanese… I Really Think So!”) – After she’s fatally poisoned, a ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge. Honestly, I doubt I’ll remember ‘Kate’. It’s a pretty by the numbers Netflix film with a very predictable plot. That being said, there were a few moments of action that were so fantastically violent I sat up, went “Oh!” and rewound to watch them again, and that’s definitely worth something.

19. The Green Knight (AKA ‘It Was A Joke, Gawain. It Was A Christmas Joke’) – The young Gawain seals his own fate when he rashly beheads the fabled Green Knight. I liked the music, design, and some of the performances, but otherwise TGK is waaaay too arty farty for its own good. The overuse of montage and slow motion made David Lowry look like a hipster Zach Snyder. You could maybe enjoy it on the level of a music video, but one that's two hours and ten minutes long.

20. Ennio (AKA ‘The Good, The Bad & The Long) – A documentary celebrating the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Honestly, I love Morricone but after two and a half hours I was sick of the old codger. Insights are made into the great man’s process but they’re drops in an ocean of runtime. I wish, instead of trying to cover every film Morricone ever composed, director Giuseppe Tornatore had just picked a few ‘greatest hits’. Or at least devoted more than 60 seconds to the scoring his own ‘Cinema Paradiso’.

21. The French Dispatch (AKA ‘Les Newsies’) – A French-American newspaper publishes three stories concerning an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef. Anderson delivers all his usual Anderson-isms and doesn’t demand the audience invest too much in these stories… perhaps he should have. Structurally, making an anthology film of three forty-minute segments is an unfortunate choice, as I think it’s long enough to bore you but not long enough to tell a satisfying story. Also, the random use of black & white hurt my eyes.

22. The Worst Person In The World (AKA ‘Nor-way Home’) – I’m sorry, so little happens in this film that I’m not sure that I can summarise it. My favourite part was finding out, to my relief, that my wife didn’t like it either. Perhaps I shouldn’t have had a couple of drinks before watching something where I’d have to read both subtitles and actors’ facial expressions. Either way, I mentally checked out after the first hour. TWPITW uses a prologue to establish Julie’s personality before instantly contradicting it, introduces numerous disparate plot elements that didn’t go anywhere (drugs, families, offensive cartoons) and has basically nothing happen for two hours.

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paigebbooks · 2 years

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So.....4 stars for this. I think I am being generous with that rating cause it has body, it has depth, its just dry in spots. I sped read many parts but it had enough in it to keep my attention. I went in blind, not really knowing what it truly is about. I never saw the movie so I went in blind. Truly only wanted to read it because some friends were reading it and said it was good.

I was skeptical when going in as I heard many of my friends say that it is slow moving and dry and not very good and a few say the opposite. Me I would say it is 50/50 of each side. It is dry but I never really found it slow moving. It was good but was not truly great. Would I keep it in my small library? That I am still on the fence about. 4 stars but not a 3 and not a 5. 5 I don't often give out. This completes my book challenge for the year of 15 books and it was a thick enough book to celebrate that. Lets see if I can double it before the end of the year.

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goodjohnjr · 2 years

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Dune (2021) Review | Spicy Worms Edition™ | Smack Talk

Dune (2021) Review | Spicy Worms Edition™ | Smack Talk What Is It? The YouTube video Dune (2021) Review | Spicy Worms Edition™ | Smack Talk by the YouTube channel Voxis Productions. Here is the description for this video: It’s time to review Dune (2021) Part1, directed by cheese eating Denis Villeneuve and based on Frank Herbert’s classic novel Dune. What’s it all about? Is it good? The…

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#Arrakis #Denis Villeneuve #Dune #Dune (2021) Review | Spicy Worms Edition™ | Smack Talk #Dune Part One #Frank Herbert #Review #Science Fiction #Timothée Chalamet #Video #Voxis Productions #Zendaya

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mostlygibberish · 1 month

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I liked the part with the bagpipes.

Re-watched ahead of part two, and my opinion of it has remained largely unchanged. It's a great movie. It adapts a piece of media I've come to love and does a damn fine job of it.

I maintain that there are places it should have been weirder, especially with the Harkonnens, guild navigators, bene gesserit, and mentats. One thing I hadn't remembered was how damn good Rebecca Ferguson is in this. Her performance was so strongly emotive, I was thoroughly impressed. I'd also forgotten a few of the neat visuals of the battle sequence, like that swarm of missiles that rained down or the giant laser beam cutting things apart.

I noticed that they were using Fahrenheit to refer to the temperature of Arakkis and measuring things in feet (abhorrent and detestable), but then randomly also using metric units for things like the length of sandworms and the altitude they were flying. It's such a minor complaint but like, what's the deal with that?

The biggest weakness of Dune (2021) is that the action and drama peak well before the movie actually ends, and those final 20 minutes or so are just not as interesting. I don't think ending any movie by introducing major characters and immediately saying "This is only the beginning." is a good idea. At least this time I got to follow it up with the sequel right away.

#dune #dune 2021 #movie review

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afabstract · 2 months

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Dune Part One - Stunning, Snooze-y

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) When “Dune: Part One” came out in 2021, I was visiting relatives in a small town that doesn’t even have a movie theater. Anyway, after I wasn’t able to watch “Dune” on its release week, I lost interest in the title, until it finally came on Netflix. We picked it for family night on a weekend and one of us tapped out within 15 minutes to go sleep. To say it…

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#dune 2021 movie review #dune one review #dune part one review #dune review #Entertainment #Reviews #sci fi fantasy #sci fi movies #sci fi movies with great special effects #Timothy Chalamet #Zendaya

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menequillos-review-blog · 5 months

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Rewatched dune yesterday and it is honestly incredible that Denis Villeneuve does not have unlimited acces to money. I notice more and more cool shit everytime I watch that masterpiece

#movie posting #dune 2021 #menequillo reviews

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stuff-diary · 1 year

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Top 10 movies watched in 2022

With this second 2022 in review post it's finally time to announce the best 10 movies I watched this year. Before we properly begin, I must explain that I included all the movies I watched for the first time in 2022. This means some of the movies in the ranking might have been released in earlier years (although I admit most of them are from 2022).

With that out of the way, let's begin:

10-Encanto (2021)

Beautiful animation, great characters, an important message and an iconic soundtrack. What more could one ask for?

9-The House (2022)

I know a lot of people disliked this move, but I found it haunting and weird in the best of ways. The stop-motion is really unique and takes the eerie vibes of the stories to the next level.

8-Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

This movie is just so charming. It made me feel so much nostalgia for a time in which I didn't even exist yet. I think most people can relate to the story and the characters, even if you didn't grow up in the 60s.

7-Shiva Baby (2020)

I don't think I've ever seen something quite like this movie. It's pretty much a comedy, but with the cinematography, directing and the music you'd find in a horror film. It's hilarious, claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing. Truly one of a kind.

6-Dune: Part One (2021)

Villeneuve is a science fiction master and one of the best filmmakers in the world. Incredible production values, great acting and an absorbing story make for an unforgettable experience.

5-Drive My Car (2021)

It's slow paced and long in that way that Japanese directors have mastered, but this goes the extra mile and becomes something truly special. It's not for everybody, but if you're on the same wavelength you'll love it.

4-Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Rian Johnson does it again and reinvents the whodunnit genre with another surprising, hilarious and thrilling movie. Let's hope he keeps making sequels for a really long time, cause I could watch a thousand of them.

3-Turning Red (2022)

The animation is delightful and refreshing, and the story is relatable for anyone who has gone through puberty. It just perfectly captures what it's like to be 13. Also, kudos to the soundtrack too.

2-Everything EveryWhere All At Once (2022)

What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said alrady. It's relentlessly original and an audiovisual marvel. And, on top of that, it wears its heart on the sleeve with a beautiful underlying message that makes sure the movie has as much substance as style.

1-Flee (2021)

What an incredible movie. It takes a very refreshing approach to documentary filmmaking, but it never forgets how important its story is and makes sure to give it the focus it deserves and needs. A must-watch.

Bonus:

Tbh, if I had seen it for the first time this year, Better Days (2019) would have probably been number 1. When I first watched it, I was not in my best moment and I found the movie too heavy and grim, so it didn't even make my yearly top 10. I rewatched it in 2022 and I was just floored by how good it was. So yeah, it deserrves a mention.

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