Sci-Fi Dune

[Prison Mike]

Have you forgotten about the film of the decade: Justice League Snyder Cut.

That movie is in a league of its own

 

[OutOfBoose]

Never mind Dune and Tenet, I’m still trying to wrap my head around Hulk’s line about changing the past from Avengers Endgame

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Don't try to understand it. Feel it.

Spoiler

 

[king666]

Watched it yesterday and really enjoyed it. Not my favorite from Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049 is perfect imo) but it's pretty good. It's a slow burn (which I love, btw) and the production is top notch. It does end abruptly, though; they should've marketed this as Dune - Part One.

 

[Drizzle]

It does end abruptly, though; they should've marketed this as Dune - Part One.

I agree but I think WB was afraid that general audiences might be skeptical about seeing it if they marketed it as Part One. I imagine they went through a similar thing with IT back in 2017 but the difference there is with that film the sequel was greenlit before it was released, "Chapter One" only appeared at the start of the end credits and not to mention it also felt like more of a complete film than Dune does in terms of how it ends.

 

[henzINNIT]

It's a little deceptive how WB marketed this, but I'd guess they thought 'Part One' might have turned off audiences, and that might be true.

I'm going to do my duty and give this at least one more watch. Worth an imax viewing for sure.

That's because Dune is more of a political drama than an action-adventure sci-fi series.

Anyone expecting something like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings here would be way off the mark.

I'm hoping part 2 is a little more interesting as a political drama. I didn't get much out of those tensions and relations in this.

Spoiler

Cause so far for me it really boiled down to Oscar Isaac's people taking on a terrible job at a leader's behest, only to be slaughtered by the obvious villains who used to do it. I loved the creeping dread I felt as House Atreides arrived on the planet and started to work things out. It seemed like they were in for a long, painful defeat. I was quite disappointed when the other faction just attacked.

 

[Tony Stark]

10/10 This is the best adaptation of the Novel BY FAR. Visually this film is a masterpiece and if this film doesn't win best cinematography at the oscars it's a crime!

This film really navigates what was the best parts of the existing adaptations. Take the Gom Jabbar scene, which is from the books and was shown in all three films. This movie knocks it out of the park. There's a scene where Paul endures the pain and stares back at the Reverend mother as if to say "bring it on!" there is a look on the Reverend Mothers face behind the veil of pure fear. In the Lynch version and in the novel the Reverend Mother says "Kull Wahad" meaning "I am profoundly stirred". The film efficiently moves through the story, showing the viewer what was done through exposition and inner monologue in the Lynch film. I actually have defended Lynch's use of the inner monologue as it comes directly from the books, but Villenueve's method works better for a visual medium.

The film focuses on the central aspects of the film and while a few moments take place in a different order in the film than the novel, the story as a whole stays true to the source material.

This is truely the film that fans of the book have been waiting for. I can't wait for part 2 to come out, and I hope they continue to produce the other books as well.

 

[OutOfBoose]

In defense of the movie's shortage of politics, the book doesn't really have much of it either. There's plenty of world building, guessing, but political action (which is the most important for visual media) is rather scarce. And if boiled down to essentials, it's very close to what we see in the movie.

 

[Filmfreak]

Oh, I was talking about the script. I had no problem hearing the dialogue in Tenet because I watched it at home. Impressive spectacle, but the plot was hard to follow and I'm pretty sure I'm in the majority when I say that.

If anything, I thought Tenet's problem was the combination of relatively incomprehensible sci-fi mechanics and too basic spy plot and characters. It felt he emphasized too much on trying to confuse and impress the audience with a great idea, while not putting the same love in the rest of story and protagonists (no pun intended). I still think it was a great cinematic experience and a pretty underrated movie, though.

 

[Weather Witch]

In defense of the movie's shortage of politics, the book doesn't really have much of it either. There's plenty of world building, guessing, but political action (which is the most important for visual media) is rather scarce. And if boiled down to essentials, it's very close to what we see in the movie.

Finally reading the books now and after years of people mentioning the politics, I was very surprised of how very little there actually is. The dinner scene so far is the main exception and even that is more focused on character building, tying together some of the plots, and Bene Gesserit skills.

 

[Man in the Suit]

Best opening for Villeneuve. Biggest 3-day opening for WB since Joker in 2019.

 

[Mysteryman]

The second weekend dropoff shall tell the tale.

 

[Weather Witch]

The second weekend dropoff shall tell the tale.

A lot of tale has been told, but an epilogue might tie a final bow. I can't remember where I saw it, but apparently WB is considering announcing Dune 2 this week as a marketing tactic to drive the second weekend.

Edit: I realize this is very "source: trust me". I'll see if I can dig it up.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

If anything, I thought Tenet's problem was the combination of relatively incomprehensible sci-fi mechanics and too basic spy plot and characters. It felt he emphasized too much on trying to confuse and impress the audience with a great idea, while not putting the same love in the rest of story and protagonists (no pun intended). I still think it was a great cinematic experience and a pretty underrated movie, though.

I can agree on the relative neglect of the story and protagonists but I think a standout aspect for me is that the mechanics of the sci-fi element has the issue that Nolan displays now and then, despite otherwise coming across as very meticulous as a filmmaker, and that's the issue of logical incoherence. To take one example, it makes no sense how inverted people are supposedly affected by that the air moves backwards, despite that air has no movement of its own, while light doesn't affect them in the same way despite that light does move on its own. I've stopped being surprised when this happens in Nolan's films but I still find it odd that it keeps happening as he generally seems to put so much thought into details.

 

[henzINNIT]

I wouldn't credit WB with the foresight for this, but I think the lack of a confirmed sequel might have helped this film a little bit. It's like it has made people more concerned to support the film and voice a desire for more.

Glad it is off to a solid start, and fairly confident this is getting a sequel. A great result that almost takes the pain away from BR2049's performance, almost.

 

[Weather Witch]

I wouldn't credit WB with the foresight for this, but I think the lack of a confirmed sequel might have helped this film a little bit. It's like it has made people more concerned to support the film and voice a desire for more.

Oh yeah, "you need to see this in theaters" and "we need a sequel" are two of the most effective marketing tools this movie has.

 

[Tony Stark]

In defense of the movie's shortage of politics, the book doesn't really have much of it either. There's plenty of world building, guessing, but political action (which is the most important for visual media) is rather scarce. And if boiled down to essentials, it's very close to what we see in the movie.

Agreed. The politics at it's basics are that the Harkonnens and Atreides have a centuries long feud, (Kanly as it's stated in the books), the Emporer is growing worried of the Atreides gaining popularity, the Emporer has no male heir, the Atreides and Harkonnen do (Feyd who we have yet to meet). The Emporer risks the spice flow because of his jealousy, which angers the Spacing Guild, to which he forms the aliance of convienence with the Harkonnens (enemy of my enemy). It really is no more or less complicated than that, and most of it is shown in the film with the Spacing Guild taking a back seat. In the first book the Spacing Guild are only mentioned in reference. They are only revealed in the book at the very end.

The concepts of Paul's struggle with "destiny" and the fact that there will be a war in his name, is very prevalent in this version and is the backbone of the story. The ending of part one with him taking his first life, is both profound and a pinnacle moment in the story. It's the loss of innocence to putting him on the path by as many that revere him as a savior and equal that view him as tyrant.

 

[Tony Stark]

Oh yeah, "you need to see this in theaters" and "we need a sequel" are two of the most effective marketing tools this movie has.

I really hope this is the final end to same day streaming. I watched this in IMAX on Friday and over the weekend twice. it's incomparable. This is an absolute MUST SEE in a theater. I have a 75" TV and it doesn't do the film justice.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I really hope this is the final end to same day streaming. I watched this in IMAX on Friday and over the weekend twice. it's incomparable. This is an absolute MUST SEE in a theater. I have a 75" TV and it doesn't do the film justice.

I was in a company of friends when we watched it for the first time back in September, one of them said "I feel like the screen wasn't big enough for this". We watched in a regular theater. I didn't watch it in IMAX.

 

[Weather Witch]

I really hope this is the final end to same day streaming. I watched this in IMAX on Friday and over the weekend twice. it's incomparable. This is an absolute MUST SEE in a theater. I have a 75" TV and it doesn't do the film justice.

I still loved it at home, but I'm definitely very happy I got to see it in theatres first time around. What I love about this movie is that there are so many small things I'm only noticing on subsequent rewatches, plus added context since I'm also reading the book right now.

 

[Filmfreak]

‘Dune’ Opening Weekend HBO Max Viewership Topped ‘Justice League,’ ‘In the Heights’ - Variety

 

[DarkKnight88]

I’d hope so.

That’s interesting. Its opening was bigger than The Suicide Squad in theatres but less through streaming.

 

[Filmfreak]

I’d hope so.

That’s interesting. Its opening was bigger than The Suicide Squad in theatres but less through streaming.

I guess Dune marketing screamed it's a film for cinemas while The Suicide Squad gave more of a streaming vibe anyway.

EDIT

I'm more surprised that with all this hype, talk and drama regarding the Snyder Cut, the film was still only the sixth more watched film in HBO Max this year, despite the fact that it was the only one that was exclusively released for streaming. And people still wonder why WB didn't have any interest in investing another 200-300 million for a hypothetical sequel.

 

[DarkKnight88]

To be fair, other than us nerds on the internet, most regular folks don’t know the behind the scenes drama of these things and probably thought it was the same film with some extra scenes.

 

[Drizzle]

Never mind Dune and Tenet, I’m still trying to wrap my head around Hulk’s line about changing the past from Avengers Endgame

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That was a convoluted monologue that Hulk had, wasn't it? All he had to say was "When you change the past, instead of changing the future, it creates a separate timeline." It took me a few times hearing it to fully decipher what he was saying.

 

[shauner111]

I would say Denis is better than Speilberg in his modern form. Prime, different discussion. Scorsese is amazing, but Denis's work I think stands up to Scorsese's most recent work. Again, prime is a different discussion

For me Villeneuve is the best filmmaker working today. He crushes Spielberg in any point of his career (not a Spielberg fan besides his Jurassic Park). And I'm not into Scorsese's modern work.

Villeneuve's winning streak is more on the level of Carpenter & Scorsese in their prime. 76-90