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Dune (21st century edition) review

When I heard my local cinema was going to do a double bill of the two parts of the new Dune, I booked tickets ASAP, because who wouldn't? It was quite a late one as the 2nd part started just after midnight, but definitely worth it.

I don't recall if I wrote a review of part 1, so I'm just going to do the whole thing now. Both parts are stunning - visually and aurally. There done 😁

It isn't completely faithful to the books. I noticed one glaring omission, namely in the book when Paul kills Jamis, he inherits his household, including his wife, whom he takes on as a servant. It doesn't overly affect the plot but I guess it is kind of sexist, viewing the wife almost like property, so I can see why it was left out. There are other differences, but they're very much plot relevant so I won't mention them.

Overall it feels so much more like the book than the previous attempt did tho. It is a lot more coherent for a start and manages to convey the deeper meaning easily without bogging us down with exposition or just throwing it at us in a confusing fashion. I wonder what Frank would have thought of it - he was apparently pleased with the 1984 version.

I also wonder if Villeneuve will carry on and film the other books?

Madame Web review

Sony's latest offering in the Spiderverse is a character I'm heard of, but knew absolutely nothing about prior to watching it. Not that I know much more than what the movie tells us - she's a spider bite victim with precog abilities, but none of the fun wall crawling, super strength or web powers. A super Mystic Meg if you will. And it is that ability that is the core function of the movie - she sees or experiences something bad and then relives it with the knowledge to avoid or stop it.

I also have no idea how the movie fits in the grand scheme of things. It is set before Spiderman exists and no other mention of superheroes is mentioned, so whilst it is a colab with Marvel, I can't tell how adjacent to the MCU it is. Maybe Sony are planning on yet another Spiderman reboot? Or maybe since they've introduced us to some new characters, they'll spin a whole new Spiderfranchise around them?

Anyway, it is a very enjoyable movie. But I can imagine the cheetos munching basement dwellers are getting their tighty whiteys in a knot over yet another female led superhero movie diluting the vastly male dominated genre.

Anything But You review

"Anything But You" has joined an ever increasing number of movies that have a specific set of traits that I appear to enjoy. They're all romcoms and modern adaptations of Shakespear plays. I didn't know the latter about ABY before I went and saw it - the trailer looked like any other romcom. But it became very apparent as the movie progressed because they kept having quotes from the Bard popping up on the scenery and props - like on a wall or the spine of a book - very much like chapter headings. Plus there are some scenes that look like they could have been lifted from a play where 2 characters talk loudly and pointedly knowing full well they're being overheard by one of the protagonists. Not that it means much to me, but it's based on Much Ado About Nothing - despite the aforementioned love of the niche genre, I don't know much about the original plays. But Shakespear knew his stuff and the modern remakes keep enough of the good stuff to make them very enjoyable.

My thoughts on Argylle

I really really enjoyed Argylle. I don't tend to try and over think movies to work out their twists, so naturally was surprised by the various twists in this one. And there were an awful lot of twists. And lots of cool action shots too. Henry looked a little odd with his weird Guile-like square shaped buzz cut thing going on with his hair, but he's clearly having fun being an action spy book character doing outlandish things. Also Bryce was awesome 😍

This is definitely on my list of movies to grab when it comes out on shiny disc.

The only thing I wasn't impressed by was the cat. The poor thing spends most of the film stuck in a backpack looking out through a glass dome, which gave the impression it was all done with CGI - like when you see a character pasted badly onto a window as the camera pans backwards. And there was the really out of place "designed for 3d" shot of the cat being catapulted upwards when the protagonists land on the crash mat next to it. The cat does get let out of the bag (chortle) and it looks like a real one, maybe there really was an actual cat involved.

A review of Poor Things

I watched Poor Things the other week. Based on the trailer I had expected a zany reimagining of the Frankenstein with a bit of role reversal and a lot of feminism. I should have probably paid a small amount of attention to the censors' warnings as I did not expect the vast amounts of nudity and sex. Which I didn't have a problem with, but I'd invited a friend along based on my analysis of the trailer and suddenly seeing a naked Stone riding cowgirl without warning was definitely a surprise.

Other than that, I think I wasn't too far wrong about the film. I'd say that the creation (Stone) was definitely not the monster - instead it was the male characters that tried to use and control her for their own ends that fit that bill. From the hideously disfigured scientist who brings her back to life, to the many men who only see her as a beautiful woman to take advantage of because she has the knowledge and wonder of a child. Stone plays the part perfectly, as her child like wonder leads her to explore all the world has to offer - food, travel, drink, dancing and of course sex.

I am also curious about the setting. It's clearly in some alternative version of the Victorian era, but not quite steampunk. The vehicles look sleak and modern, but belch forth thick clouds of greenish smoke, so I wonder if they've found something other than coal to power things with. Plus the medical tech is completely fantastical as even in this modern day, we can't bring back the dead to life.

Anyway, we both enjoyed it and I can certainly see plenty of awards heading its way.

PS yes, I am very far behind on writing about my cinematic adventures...very very far behind 😮