Dune (again)

[Drunk Monk]

I might. 

Then again, I might just work and do chores like always. That's what I've been doing so far today...

my life is in a pandemic rut

[Greg]

Omicron is here to help.

[thatguy]

--tg

[thatguy]

--tv

[thatguy]

Muppets Take Arrakis



--tv

[King Bob]

Saw it. They did a better job with the politics than the Lynch movie (but they didn't mention the Guild at all, so there was no reason presented for the value of the spice). Lady Jessica was ridiculous, constantly having emotional outbursts. That totally ignored all the Bene Gesserit stuff in the book, and was my biggest gripe. And Chalamet was way too scrawny for someone who had been doing martial training most of his life. The other characters were fine. Momoa acted fine but didn't look right; I still think they should have gotten someone who looked more like an athlete or even a dancer and less like a bodybuilder. Zendaya was barely in it - all she did was say "Paul" (many times) and smile. It sounds like I didn't like it, but it was enjoyable and I was sorry to see it end.

It looked great. The sound design worked poorly for our home setup; I had to keep turning it up for dialogue and down for the very loud droning music.

[Drunk Monk]

Seen. Enjoyed. Luved the vision it presented - the ornithopters were particularly nice. Lots of sword fights which always makes me happy.

I didn’t remember the book that well but the film reminded me of the major plot points as it progressed. It seemed to capture the spirit of it, at least what I remember.

Chalamet was ok. Zendaya was too skinny. Momoa didn’t work for me because he’s always Momoa, even more so than Brolin is always Brolin. I liked Oscar. Ferguson was too wimpy. Bautista was just muscle like always. Rampling was spot on - the best of them all but I felt short changed on how the Bene Geserit were depicted. I’m glad that they didn’t dwell on the details but I remember them as more powerful.

I wanted the Baron to be fatter, more Jabba like, and concur with the Apocalypse Now vibe.

The whole Arabic metaphor struck me as fresh - I don’t remember that from the books but I wasn’t very aware of the Middle East when I read these in high school.

I hope they green light part 2.

I’d say D00M recommended but I’m one of the last D00Mers to see it, except for our award winning sci-fi writers ironically.

[Greg]

Dune 2 has already been green-lit. Production starts soon. There is also a TV show in the works about the rise of the Ben Geserit.

[Drunk Monk]

My big review still sits in the draft category. Maybe DM should go see Dune this weekend while he is footloose and fancy free....

So, I’ve seen it now. Where’s your big review?

Ah… to be footloose and fancy free again… that feeling seems so far away now.

[Greg]

Completely forgot I had it?

[Greg]

How did a guy in a distant galaxy get the name Idaho? Why won't the people wear their masks? How long is this film?

The battle of the MC and DC and SW universes was kind of a bore. I only read the book once and that was when the Yeti recommended it to me at Clean Well Lighted Place for Books. I didn't read the sequels because the same Yeti didn't recommend those books. Well, they weren't as good. It's been a long time since I was familiar with the plot. According to tQ, the movie was very faithful to the book. God, I hope not.

I didn't like Timothy Chalamet. I want my heroes to be a little more forceful and heroic. He just seemed to be pushed around by events. He wasn't very proactive. Must be nice to be the Chosen one.... Jason Mamoa seemed like every other Jason Mamoa. His delivery is always the same in every role he does. I spent a hell of a lot of time trying to remember Josh Brolin's name. I would look it up and then promptly forget it. That might be my problem not the movies. It would also be nice for Zendaya to talk with something different than her Spiderman High School voice. It's good her entire acting for this movie was her looking back over her should at Paul.

Sword fights! So many sword fights! Why does this advanced civilization use a sword as their primary weapon? I loved Thanos running at the head of the defenders towards the attackers waving his sword. "WITH ME!" That wasn't silly at all. Couldn't they find any defensive positions to fire at the invaders from? Oh, right. Swords.

Did I mention the sound? The score was great. The dialogue was horribly mixed. I think the most frequently heard sentence was " What did she say?" Lots of garble. I'm sure the sound was better in IMAX.

How about some dramatic tension? There was none. Hey look we are on Arrakis. Hey look the Harkonnen's are attacking. Hey look I'm lost in the desert looking for the Frenemon. The scenes all seemed disconnected. And maybe this is in the book, but why did the emperor kick the Harkonnens off Arrakis for the Atreides only to allow the Harkonnenss to attack the Atreides? If there was a stronger reason for this manipulation maybe, I don't know, tell it. You told everything else. So much exposition. So much. Which I understand. Lots to get through. But if in one scene, you talk about walking across the sand in a disconnected way so as not to attract the sandworms you don't have to give the exact same explanation in a later scene. We saw it the first time.

It did look pretty. the production design was good throughout. I liked the depiction of Baron Harkonnen. I liked the scene with head of the Jeseret. (Yes, when Timothy Chalamet asked what's in the Box, I immediately flashed to Brad Pitt screaming the same question from the movie Seven) I could sense the big scope scenes the director wanted us to see on the big screen. But there were plenty of small scenes that didn't require it.

To recap. There was a lot of dumb. It was tedious. Boredom is the mind killer.

[Drunk Monk]

Let the Greg flow!

[Greg]

Embrace the hate.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I think G-Man has been saving it up

[King Bob]

They ignored Lady Jessica's Bene Gesserit training totally and made her overly emotional, which didn't work at all for me, since that training is central to the book.

Greg - it didn't come across in this movie or in the original one, but as I remember the Duke was getting too popular, so the emperor decided to get rid of him, using the Harkonnens to do it.