Films II : The Filminator

[Maryokutai]

Alright, let's go. First time cinema since the Sonic movie.

 

[Maryokutai]

So Dune was good. Really good. But it's not Villeneuve's best movie and I think whether it will be looked upon fondly in a decade or two à la Lord of the Rings will entirely depend on Part II (which I presume will get made, the movie seems to be en route for a success). Maybe don't read the rest if you haven't read the book, I'm making a comparison here and there (no obvious spoilers though).

 

Coming right off reading the book there are moments where it almost recreates dialogue 1:1, but also some big departures (Kynes being a woman caught me a bit off-guard and felt unnecessary). The beginning is very much streamlined and completely ditches a subplot of internal intrigue between the Atreides house. I missed that aspect a little, but I think the reduced amount of time talking about politics makes it easier to follow as a movie. There is, however, one character who's severely underdeveloped considering how important his role is in getting the actual plot started. Considering that I feel the last third dragging on a bit due to one narrative element recurring maybe a tad too often, I wish they had given that storyline more room to breathe.

 

Just like in the book, characters feel very distant and emotional scenes are few and far between. I have zero problems with that but maybe something to keep in mind when going in if you're unfamiliar with the source material. There's refreshingly little humour as well, bar a one-liner from Brolin and another from Momoa. Visually it's very grounded in almost every aspect, from its (IMO excellent) ship designs, to how the shields and weapons and even fight choreographies are presented. The Harkonnens are slightly more exagerrated but don't feel out of place. It's a wonderful movie to look at, as expected from Villeneuve I suppose, and definitely made for the big screen. I'm contemplating going in a second time, maybe around the time it launches in the US because that's when a lot of talk will pop up again.

 

If I had to pick out one thing they did exceptionally well I'd have to say the whole Bene-Gesserit (probably misspelled) order. The mind control power they wield, which just randomly pops up without prior notice after hundreds of pages in the book, is not only introduced in the very first scene to avoid confusion, but also portrayed in a frighteningly powerful fashion.

 

Acting was good I felt, but the movie focuses very much on Paul and Jessica. You barely see Brolin for example and both Zendaya and Bardem juuust made it into the movie before the credits roll. Depending on how you look at it that could be an issue, but again, this might be how they pave the way for part II.

 

Great pick to return to the cinema in any case. There were around 40 people in the room which I thought was decent, too, for a midweek evening during a still ongoing pandemic. Got a nice little poster as well (didn't take a picture, but it's this one).

[one-armed dwarf]

That sounds good, definitely not going to a cinema tho. I might try and look into what it takes to pay for HBO on a vpn. Maybe someone can point to how to do that (I have the VPN but you need american billing information I believe)

[Maryokutai]

Don't you have some niche artsy low-fi cinema near you where you'd be basically alone? Because I'd definitely recommend seeing it on the big screen. There are some phenomenal shots in there, particularly during the Ornithoper flight scenes, that probably wouldn't be as impressive on a TV.

[one-armed dwarf]

Right now I'm back with my parents and there's definitely no niche lo-fi cinema options like that, just the one. In fact I just checked and they don't even have Dune at all. They do have the latest Marvel tho, yawn

[OCH]

No Time To Die

 

Without a doubt, one of the best Bond films in years. In my opinion, Daniel Craig's second best after Casino Royale. Bold to reference OHMSS in it's OST too. This is perhaps the first time they have truly been able to merge the sensibilities of Classic Bond with Modern. It is also probably the first time ...ever, a Bond has ended their tenure on a high. 9/10

[shinymcshine]

The Green Knight (2021)

 

Dev Patel stars in this adaptation of the 14th Century Arthurian poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight".

 

When a mysterious Green Knight appears at Arthur's court, Gawain takes on a challenge and a journey for self actualisation.

 

The film feels somewhat like Aronofsky's "mother!" with a hint of Wheatley's "A Field in England", with the latter part of the movie somewhat reminiscent of "Shadow of the Colossus" (bleak travelling, rather than monster slaying), as Gawain seeks to fulfil his bargain. I've put these comparisons as it's an odd one to categorise - I've seen it described as a 'horror' which isn't really it, whilst neither is it as frantic as John Boorman's 1981 "Excalibur".

 

It's an odd one for sure, but as the source material, it's layered with analogies, interpretation and reflection - overall quite enjoyable.

 

On selected cinema release and streaming on Amazon Prime.

[mfnick]

Free Guy 

 

Heard some positive things about this. Got to say I was disappointed. Not that it was a bad film, just boring and way too cheesy at times. 
 

Annoyingly I paid for it before finding out it was on Disney+. Fucking shitbags. 
 

Kate 

 

Really enjoyed that. Think Kate Wick and you’re most of the way there. Has 24 hours to live and goes on a murderous revenge gun-fu spree on the ones who poisoned her. Great fun. + it has Mary Elizabeth Winstead in it. Always a positive. 

 

 

[HandsomeDead]

Just watched Nobody and it's really legit.  It's got Bob Odenkirk as the unlikely lethal bastard and he sells it really well.  It's also low-key legitimately funny but still played completely straight.  It's a tight 90 mins too.  Great stuff, can't go wrong with it I reckon.

[mmmark]

Yeah I said before I enjoyed it more than any of the John Wicks. 

[Whiskey_chaser]

No Time to Die

Hammy, tedious and simultaneously trying too hard to be a Bond film whilst trying really hard not to be a Bond film?

It's a shame, as the opening was brilliant, and there were a few great characters introduced for a fleeting few minutes but the whole thing just seemed too contrived in the end. And Malek was easily one of the worst Bond villains ever.

Think it's time they put this franchise to bed. 

Edit - there was also a line where M, upon learning of bad things happening, says 'get me the Prime Minister' as if Boris would have any idea how to handle a situation more complex than tying his own shoes.

[OCH]

5 hours ago, Whiskey_chaser said:

And Malek was easily one of the worst Bond villains ever.

You'll notice when I talked about the film, I didn't mention the villain. Craig's run had one really good villain, in Le Chiffré. Then you got Boring Mr Green, Lame Mr White, Discount Joker Silva, a completely botched Blofeld and lastly.. Safin. Unfortunately, Craig's Bond suffered the same fate as Brosnan's - started great, then they ran it into the ground. Brosnan's lowest point was Die Another Day. Craig's was Spectre. Which this film tries to redeem but settles on calling time on his run instead. 

Hopefully with the next Bond they will try to not make their debut the pinnacle of that era. Considering none of the prior Bond's debut films were their best. It seems to be a modern writer problem.

[OCH]

@Nag...

[Maryokutai]

Kind of wanted to stop watching the trailer at "every story has a beginning". At this point I think that sentence pops up automatically when you boot up the "generic script writerTM". Also, what the hell was with that song choice? And why does the monster at 2:04 look like it's from a PS2 cutscene? And why am I even surprised about all that?

[HandsomeDead]

 

Nah, RE looks like it could be fun.  I'm up for it.

[one-armed dwarf]

I mean this film looks like what people have been asking for for 20 years. Yes, it looks bad, but what was expected exactly. 

[OCH]

26 minutes ago, Maryokutai said:

And why does the monster at 2:04 look like it's from a PS2 cutscene?

The Licker looked ok. That thing looked dreadful. To be fair, when the truck flips on it's side, that looked like really wonky CG too.

[Nag]

Looks decent enough, far better than what's come before in any case...

[Whiskey_chaser]

21 hours ago, Maryokutai said:

Also, what the hell was with that song choice? 

 

[shinymcshine]

On 07/10/2021 at 17:48, one-armed dwarf said:

I mean this film looks like what people have been asking for for 20 years. Yes, it looks bad, but what was expected exactly. 

 

I'm still not sure - noting I've not played the recent remasters, but the essence of the survival horror in the original RE 1 & 2 felt more about never quite having enough ammo & hardware, and avoiding/running away from unnecessary combat, as the vulnerability added to the tension - whilst that trailer seems all about spraying ammo & big explosions.