Movies - General Discussion

[Cody_Russell]

“Dune: Part Two” is really good and builds off the first film.
See it in your best local theater because it’s hard to beat this from a technical (cinematography, music score, sound) perspective. Grand epic sci-fi adventure mixed in with Game of Thrones-style political players. I can understand why people thought the book would be impossible to adapt given everything that goes on. Denis Villeneuve did a damned good job. Perhaps a few flaws and something in particular that I wanted more of. At least they fixed the issue where you could hardly hear Rebecca Ferguson in part one.

Bro.. That's one of the best movies that I've seen in awhile. It really sucks you in with emotion. Wow.

Ageed, nice.
I will only watch this film once, but it’s one that can stick with you.

[CGVT]

“Dune: Part Two” is really good and builds off the first film.
See it in your best local theater because it’s hard to beat this from a technical (cinematography, music score, sound) perspective. Grand epic sci-fi adventure mixed in with Game of Thrones-style political players. I can understand why people thought the book would be impossible to adapt given everything that goes on. Denis Villeneuve did a damned good job. Perhaps a few flaws and something in particular that I wanted more of. At least they fixed the issue where you could hardly hear Rebecca Ferguson in part one.



Ageed, nice.
I will only watch this film once, but it’s one that can stick with you.

I enjoyed part one, although I thought there were parts that dragged on longer than they should have in a over dramatic Lord of the Rings sort of way.
"We get it. The spaceship is huge. Let's move on..."

I am looking forward to the second, but I think I might have to rewatch 1 to get back up to speed.

[Mainevent]

I thought there were parts that dragged on longer than they should have in a over dramatic Lord of the Rings sort of way.

That’s Denis Villaneuve’s thing.

[Cody_Russell]

I enjoyed part one, although I thought there were parts that dragged on longer than they should have in an over dramatic Lord of the Rings sort of way. "We get it. The spaceship is huge. Let's move on..."

I am looking forward to the second, but I think I might have to rewatch 1 to get back up to speed.

Would definitely recommend it as that’s what I did. The film is on Netflix and HBO Max. Also YouTube searching “Dune: Part One recap” could be helpful. The story is very rich and it’s helpful to have an understanding of the character motivations. House names. Etc.

I avoided spoilers in the post above, but if anyone sees it… click on the spoiler button below for expanded thoughts:

SPOILER

- The acting is incredible all around. The newcomers with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Christopher Walken all perfectly casted. Javier Bardem stole the show with every moment he’s in. Some funny moments.
- Austin Butler villain in particular. The 20 minute segment where they spend time on his planet is so cool. Set the foundation for the final clash. Very menacing and creepy. I didn’t realize Sting played this character in the 80s film.
- Interested to see where they would go with a 3rd movie. Battling the other houses and expanding on Florence Pugh’s character could be awesome.


Flaws:
- Felt like the 3rd act is a little rushed. The battle at the end is so damned epic. However, I wish they added more of it. Could have been 5-10 minutes longer and it would live up to those LOTR: Two Towers comments by movie critics.
- Couple deaths were underwhelming. Dave Bautista and Suoheola Yacoub’s characters in particular. I know they’re minor characters, but it ended up flat.

Overall very happy to see it in theater. Up there with Oppenheimer as best new films in the last few years. The Dune movies dwarf anything Star Wars has done since the original trilogy. Take some notes, Disney.

[Tom]

I watched Dune today. It was hard for me to get into it. Did anyone watch the 80s version of Dune?

[El Axe]

I watched Dune today. It was hard for me to get into it. Did anyone watch the 80s version of Dune?

I've been a big Dune book fan since the 70s. It is considered to be one of the very best sci-fi series in history, if not the best. The earlier movie version was very disappointing. A very different take, but felt, to me, like a director who wanted to tell his own story and loosely based it on the original material.

I saw Dune II yesterday and loved it. It isn't perfect, but it's always been understood to be one of the most difficult books to translate to a movie and Villeneuve does an amazing job. I don't know if "perfect" is possible. The actor playing Baron Harkonnen, Stellan Skarsgard, one of my absolute favorite actors (Andor ftw) said that he did not even read the book and it was probably a good choice given the nature of the book and his character.

So much of the books takes place in the minds of the characters. There are specific reasons for this due to the nature of the water of life transformation. I like that Villeneuve chose to let you see it via the acting and not via some weird technique.

Don't read this spoiler if you haven't seen the movie. I do discuss a major plot point:

SPOILERThe water of life literally opens your mind to the minds of all your ancestors -- that is they all fight for your attention and you can have direct dialogs with them. The book talks about which ancestor the characters choose to be their primary mentor. Alia, Jessica's not yet born daughter, has already had her mind opened while in the womb. She eventually make a really interesting choice of the ancestor who guides her.

To answer Cody's question. The second book is Dune Messiah. It's a bit shorter than Dune. There will undoubtedly be a 3rd movie and it will follow Dune Messiah -- and your guesses as to its direction are very good :-)

The books that follow Dune Messiah are also amazing, but might be even harder to translate to a movie.

[jaadam4]

The first installment a few years back was hard for me to follow but it was visually awesome. I'll probably watch Dune II this week.

[El Axe]

Sorry for so much, but this movie is truly epic and I'm so happy as a Dune fan. Many, myself included, are considering it one of the best sequels of all time. It gets compared to Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight. You should see it in a theatre on IMAX. The soundtrack, ty Hans Zimmer, needs the best speakers you can get.

I do recommend reacquainting yourself with the first movie if you haven't seen it in awhile. There is a lot to unpack.

One more thing to add: Zendaya & Florence Pugh not only crush their roles, they give more personality to their characters than the books do. They actually elevate the already impressive story. All the actors of this all-star cast do a great job, but the books really didn't do those two characters justice.

Here's The Ringer's exit-summary of the movie. It contains a ton of spoilers, so only read if you've already watched.

SPOILERhttps://www.theringer.com/dune/2024/...wo-exit-survey

[jaadam4]

I downloaded the one in 2021 to do just that.

[CGVT]

I felt there were too many scenes like this in the first half.

[Mainevent]

I’m telling ya, with Dune he was actually somewhat restrained. Go watch Blade Runner 2049 - that movie was at probably 20 or more minutes longer because shots that should last 3-5 seconds would last forever. Dude loves his visuals.

[froot loops]

Anyone filming in the desert is always trying to replicate Lawrence of Arabia and that means huge epic shots. If they aren't it is a dereliction if duty.

[Forsh]

Dune 2 was epic saw in iMax yesterday

[jaadam4]

I rewatched the first one and it was really good. Looking forward to II

[Coop]

As much as I can no longer stand Marvel movies after Disney acquired and wrecked it, I am very much looking forward to Deadpool 3. Have no clue how they will explain Wolverine's part in it as he technically died at the end of Logan, but at least it is Hugh Jackman playing the part, he's broken the mold, can't see any other actor filling those shoes..err claws....