I used to subscribe (& probably will do again st some point). I agree with your comment on the film content: the films that interest me are usually those that don’t always do the general rounds and this is a good way to catch up with them.
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Most modern films are trash. Hollywood these days mostly churns out superhero crap, failing franchises and “cinematic universes”, sequels, reboots, CGI-led dreck and woke garbage. British cinema is going through one of its periodical slumps. That’s without the so-called “stars”, a more simpering, out of touch and overpaid bunch you wouldn’t wish to meet; and perhaps the most distressingly untalented buch of directors and writers ever.
You have to go outside the Anglosphere to find good pictures.
There’s one direcxtor whose films get me off the couch and into cinemas and that’s Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda, the most interesting movie maker working today.
His latest picture, Monster, follows on from previous masterpieces such as Our Little Sister, Maborosi, I Wish, After Life and Shoplifters. It has all the Kore-eda hallmarks: visual beauty, attention to detail, intimacy, breath-taking cinematography, fluid camera movement, shifting narrative perspectives, deep compassion and sympathy for all the characters, intelligence and superb acting. Saw it at my local Picture House in London over the weekend – gratifyingly for a film with sub-titles, it was packed!
Lovely score from Ryuichi Sakamoto (his last work) too.
Highly recommended.
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Dune 2 Vue Cinema / Cribs Causeway / Bristol
This was an epic film in every sense, with a soundtrack that often rumbled very deeply, pounding the visuals into the viewer like a sledgehammer!
If you enjoyed the first film, then this should not disappoint and despite the 2.75 hour runtime it never dragged its feet - unlike the best way it shows us to walk in deep sand dunes with things lurking below!
The story was large scale, but it was full of character details that humanised the inhumans - both good and bad - a trait that apparently a certain Mr Lucas had noted from the books, before he brought his own visions of far off galaxies to the screen.
My feeling on re-entering the real world was that this was one of the best movies in this genre that I have ever seen - highly recommended!
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The Fall Guy
My wife thoroughly enjoyed it.
There is no doubt in my mind that the HUGE strength of the film is the screen magic between Blunt and Gosling.
For me the film is about twenty minutes too long, and could easily have been resolved earlier.
The minor issues are modern screen writing tropes, including:
- Star Wars trooper levels of shooting accuracy, with machine guns;
- Women going toe to toe with fit men, not aged and soft men such as I;
- No woman can be assisted or saved by a man;
- Men being given the emotionally vulnerable and delicate story-line.
I do notice these things, but they were not so bad as to ruin an enjoyable romantic comedy.
Silly fun with filmic references throughout, including in a mid-credit sequence.
M
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Hmm. Dunno. Left me sort of underwhelmed, despite several visually impressive set-pieces. A bit expositionary. Not as much of a roller-coaster as part one. Worth a look though.
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I agree , left me underwhelmed - significantly
To be blunt there was a feeling that the studio had hacked it to bits and put out a much shortened film.
It’s years since I read the book , but the ending seemed to remove Paul’s sister from the equation , whereas using YouTube the other versions put her at about five.
Dune 2
Yep, took me a while to get there, but saw it in an empty cinema.
For me the most impressive thing about Dune 1 was the script. However, this left a LOT of heavy lifting for the second movie; did they succeed?
In part they managed the process by making a decision to simplify the story. In this telling there is NO Spacing Guild, at least they do not appear. This reduces the intrigue, politics and power structure; as well as removing a lot of story telling.
Another simplification is the removal of ‘The Wierding Way’, and the advantages that Atreides and Bene-Gesserit training had given Paul.
The last change I will mention is the virtual removal of Alia as a physical presence. I did enjoy the ‘conversations’ between mother and daughter.
The pruning of the complexities gave them space within this telling, and they used it to: deepen the Chani/Paul storyline; and, give us more Irulan backstory.
I very soon decided to park my knowledge of the source material. This is a variation on a theme. There is a LOT here to enjoy, but I think you will only get the maximum enjoyment from the experience of you park any expectations you may have from the book.
Were there missteps?
For me there were two that I found a bit irritating:
Paul
As with Jackson’s Lord of the Ring they decided to have the hero deny his path. This does exist in the book, but not because he doesn’t want the power, he very definitely does. He just fears the Jihad - an aspect that, I am glad to say, that still exists here ; and
Battle Sequences
I DO wish film makers would engage some military experts. Having large groups of people running at each other is just poor.
I had read somewhere that Chani’s fate had been changed in this telling, it has not; thank goodness.
Overall, I enjoyed this film and did not feel there was any fat, despite the long running time; which I did not feel.
Good movie.
M
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In case anyone is interested, BFI Southbank is running a season of films from the great Lindsay Anderson in May. They are showing This Sporting Life, If , Britannia Hospital and my personal favourite, O Lucky Man! ( partly because of the fantastic songs by Alan Price)
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Adds nothing to the franchise, 3 hours I wont get back, luckily it only cost a couple of my 35 Picturehouse ‘free’ tickets I have accumulated. 7 people at the showing, 2 sat directly in front of us for some reason and another coughed all the way through. On a plus point, ‘the trouble with jessica’ caught my eye for the next visit.
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The reviews have been pretty meh.
I re-enlivened my Odeon card to go see Dune 2 last week. There is such a dearth of films that interest me I may stop it again.
I’ll give it a couple of months.
One equally old lady and me for the afternoon performance at our local cinema.OAPs £7.00
It’s more Mad Max.
I really went for the sound. I can replicate the screen in my own little cinema. As you can see we are not quite at IMAX level. I sat in the second row back in the middle seat. Wonderful.
/
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Love the cinema! Where is it?
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Harwich.
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Deadpool & Wolverine
Saw it last night, loved it.
Great cameos, action and fun. As long as you don’t mind gratuitous violence and bad language.
Very much in keeping with the first two.
Lots of jokes, including at Disney.
Need some knowledge of the earlier Marvel movies, and those made by Fox.
I loathed it , my guess is that it is a Marmite film , Hugh Jackman and Emma Corrin were very good .
I really disliked the script, the dog and Ryan Reynolds plus the predictable ending
Hi Ian,
I completely get your reaction. My wife thought it was OKish. We knew that it would be far more for me than her.
There is a barely functioning narrative. It is an excuse for Deadpool to do meta jokes, which had me chuckling from beginning to end. In fact the action sequences were as much about humour as octane factor.
If you can get on board with this side it is a blast. If not, I can understand the less than stellar reviews.
As you say, a marmite movie.
I will be seeing it again.
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Thought it was better the deadpool 2 but not as good as the first film… luckily i have seen the loki tv series so the tva plot line was familiar. Some good one liners, especially the minions dialog coach and the mcu/studio digs. Am not a big fan of the superhero ’team’ style of films such as X men and The Avengers so the group fights were abit boring to me.
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