@InvaderJim I think it’s definitely a toss up between Eternals, Thor 2 and Iron Man 2 and 3 for the worst Marvel movie. Funnily enough it felt like a movie that Zack Snyder would have made several years ago and was dug up by Feige and utterly destroyed. Which is eerily similar to exactly what they did with the original comics as Kirby came back to Marvel and essentially copied his New Gods work from DC.
Finally got around to watching the new Dune on HBOMax.
I have to say I’m a little disappointed. I didn’t particularly enjoy it. First off, I found the 80’s film to also be a little weird and not particularly enjoyable. And I never felt compelled to read the books as a result.
In this new movie, the end result was the same for me as was the older movie — the telling of a classic Sci-Fi book that seems to lend itself to a very poor film adaptation. There were aspects of the movie that were really well done, but it failed to really hold my attention. It has this weird combination of long sections of slow methodical art-house theatrical treatment of a Sci-Fi story, coupled with long sections of excessive and empty feeling action. It has several grade A actors, all of which seem to be mailing in their forgettable performances and the newcomer — Timothee Hal Chalamet — outshines them all on screen. He’s actually quite good as the protagonist. And visually the movie looks really sharp and the production value is high, but I couldn’t get into the story or really understand it very well. The first 30 minutes it seems to be making sense and setting up a good world and storyline, and then it just gets more confusing and convoluted and as a result I really didn’t end up invested in the characters or the outcome.
While watching the movie I kept thinking of Blade Runner 2049 and how the movie has a similar feel and tone, and only found out after the fact that it’s the same director, Dennis Villanueve. For some reason his style worked miles better in Blade Runner. Dune feels like a boring slog by comparison.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Interesting. There is a growing opinion that Dune is impossible to successfully translate to the big screen. Word is that this new attempt only covers half the story, and that a sequel to finish it isn't guaranteed, either. That alone made me doubt whether I should bother watching it, and your impressions up there are certainly steering me towards not. Thanks for sharing; sorry you didn't enjoy it.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger Yeah, if you have a love for the source material then it might resonate better with you. The story is probably really good, and I’m sure they tried to break the first book into two movies so as to flesh out its confusing narrative more clearly, but instead we got a lot of unnecessary action scenes some really cool quiet introspective 2001 A Space Odyssey style cinematography, and still not enough exposition or character development.
@Th3solution@RogerRoger I enjoyed the film, I read the book maybe a year or so ago so they have pretty much stayed faithful to the source material. That was the disappointing part that it ended just as the story gets good. Pretty much all set up in part 1, so part 2 should be pretty special and it's been greenlit for an October 2023 release so there is hope that it could be the best fantasy book adaptation since LotR. But it won't be to everyone's taste as there were a few people who walked out of the screening I attended. Very slow film but that's deliberate!
@Th3solution I've never read Dune, nor seen any of its previous adaptations, but I know of its reputation and so was mildly curious about this modern take.
Sounds like, if nothing else, it'll help TV stores sell a few fancy home cinema systems!
@MightyDemon82 Ah, at least the sequel's been greenlit. That might help this first film in future, but I reckon it'll also make a lot of people (myself included) sit back and wait 'til the second arrives, to see what the consensus is on the "complete" story. I wasn't gonna risk watching an unfinished project. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, despite the walkouts! I don't think I've ever seen anybody do that before!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Quite Place Part II. Solid horror sequel which should receive praise for not being rubbish. Well directed with solid performances all round, especially the two young stars. And Cillian Murphy who really needs be in more stuff. Great opening too. Slightly preferred the first film.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Watched the new Dune last night. That's almost three hours of my life I'll never get back. Bloated, self-serious to a fault, and a very flat tone to it. Also, it's one of those films where everyone is whispering most of the time. I feel like it was trying to be moody and capture a sense of mysticism, but if that's what it was going for, it disappointed.
I did get a good laugh when we first see the base of the villains in this film, though. Their civilization (or what we see of it) has a cartoonishly macabre vibe to it. All it was missing was skulls and nazis.
@Ralizah Good to see I’m not the only one who was underwhelmed by Dune. I agree with your assessment. Had you seen the older film from the 80’s? It also had a weird tone to it. I can’t imagine the books give off a vibe that would require such a moodiness in order to bring it to the screen, but I could be wrong. I’m surprised at how popular the books have been, if so.
Contrasting The Lord of the Rings film adaptation — a book series with a very slow tone and contemplative deep narrative that likes to veer off into wanton pondering but Peter Jackson was able to catch the essence and gravity of the message, yet not make it seem so self-serious and boring.
As I mentioned before, the directing style worked well for Villanueve’s Blade Runner 2049. But here with Dune it felt trapped in its own overindulgence.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution This is actually my first experience with Dune. Although I watched it with a family member who helpfully explained some of intricacies of that universe. Which is another thing: this doesn't feel like a film designed to introduce people to a universe. It doesn't explain itself well.
I was kinda wondering the same thing about the books. I've owned the first novel since forever, but now I'm questioning if I even want to read it at this point.
I actually completely forgot this was the Blade Runner 2049 director! And Sicario. And Arrival. He's directed several films I really, really like, but, I agree, for whatever reason, his style was a mismatch with this material. Blade Runner is meant to moody and mysterious. That tone also fit well with the material in Arrival, to the point where I actually liked it a lot more than the original novella it was based on. And Sicario's gritty realism was cool given the deconstructive nature of the material.
Overindulgent is a good word for this. The directorial style detracted massively from the experience for me. Looking up scenes from the Lynch adaptation just now, I have to wonder how much inspiration this version took from it, considering that one also seems to have been over-stylized and featured an excess of moody whispering throughout.
@RogerRoger The first half hour of Soul is absolutely superb and then it went from one of my favourite Pixar movies to become one of my least favourites. I hated 22 with every fibre of my being. It also funnelled the plot towards a typical Pixar ‘let’s go on an adventure’ structure which is apparently the only movie they can make these days. It’s so frustrating because the opening sections are great. I’m glad you got more out of it than I did 😂
@nessisonett Well, yes, I did specifically say that it was my favourite Pixar film, so it was never gonna surprise me with its outcome (although I was wondering how they were gonna tastefully present the notion that Jamie Foxx's character had to effectively commit suicide in order to save 22 and thought they just about got away with it). You should also know that my previous favourite was The Good Dinosaur, which I gather was an underwhelming bomb, so I'm not really a reliable yardstick!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@nessisonett All great movies, no question, but I liked The Good Dinosaur better, and then I liked Soul better than that, so... um, yeah! Although I can't binge-watch Pixar movies. They have an odd effect on me, so I'm very behind. I still haven't seen Brave, Toy Story 4, Onward or Luca.
Did watch Coco recently, can't remember if I posted about it or not. That was very good. Definitely a contender to round out my top three, or duke it out with a re-assessment of The Good Dinosaur.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger I'm the same with any kind of Disney, Pixar, Illumination etc film. Onward is probably my favourite out of the ones you mentioned, but I've not seen em all.
My fave similar films of recent times are Kubo and the Two Strings, Zootropolis/Zootopia, The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@RogerRogerSoul is a great one. Of the four you have left, I’d rank them:
1) Brave, 2) Luca, 3) Onward, 4) Toy Story 4.
TS4 isn’t quite as bad as it’s reputation is though. I think it’s just that TS3 was so good that most people felt the Toy Story arc would have been best left on a high note.
As far as favorite of all Pixar… I mean, it’s tough to beat Up. And Monsters, Inc. is in the running.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Toy Story 4 is the best one I think. And I love all of the other movies. The films grow up with you if you are the right age and each one seems appropriately poignant for that exact stage in your life.
I think the best example I can give to demonstrate this is in the first (possibly second) film. There is a bit where Woody loses his hat for a while. I just couldn't deal with it as a kid, the idea of being incomplete or losing something so integral to yourself. It was a great relief to me when he got that back.
Fast forward to Toy Story 4 and he literally gives up his voice box and draw string. I don't think there is a better way to demonstrate the difference between childhood and adult outlooks. Sometimes you just gotta give stuff up and move on, either for your own or somebody else's benefit. Just dealing with and accepting change and loss while also appreciating what you gain.
But yeah, easily my favourite Pixar series and even one of my favourite Disney series and frankly just one of my favourite film series anyway. I love Toy Story, it's awesome!
@JohnnyShoulder@Th3solution@ralphdibny Am grateful for your input, guys! Definitely did have some reservations about Toy Story 4 after the third film ended things so beautifully, so I'm glad to see that addressed without prompting, as well as a post in its defence. Will keep your thoughts in mind when approaching my leftovers, and look out for those non-Pixar recommendations, as well. Cheers!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger I honestly had the same reservations. When 4 got announced, I just thought "why?". 3 was a brilliant end!
But I'm so glad they made it. It's been some time since I've watched those films so I'd fail to go into more detail about the different ways they hit me in the feels but it is definitely one of my favourite film series and none of the 4 films are a dud in my opinion!
Forums
Topic: The Movie Thread
Posts 5,981 to 6,000 of 8,935
Please login or sign up to reply to this topic