The Movie Thread

[FatherAlabaster]

2 minutes ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

I've only read the first three. I want to see it, but now it sounds like I'm going to be disappointed compared to the David Lynch one from the 80s. Sting made a great Fayd Rautha and I'm curious to see who they picked for this one, if he's even in the movie considering you're saying that it only goes through the first half of the novel.

I'm a big fan of the books thusfar. I was going to start reading God Emperor of Dune, but I actually want to finish William Gibson's sprawl trilogy first because I feel like those books are more pertinent to the world that's being created before our eyes, what with raw corporate power becoming more powerful than governments and whatnot just the way it is in Neuromancer & Count Zero. I have a copy of Mona Lisa Overdrive, I just haven't started it yet. I used to read a lot more than I do now because I'm almost always listening to music when I'm not at work.

I've noticed that there is a lot of Dune stuff at my town's Books a Million now. Posters, graphic novels, Funko pop figurines... typical tie-in stuff that is plastered all over the store every time a big movie comes out. I went there looking for Punisher graphic novels last week and completely struck out on them. Not a single Punisher trade paperback to be found but plenty of Dune stuff.

No Feyd-Rautha in this one. Rabban was good though, and the Baron was spot on. I'm looking forward to the second half and I hope they give it the epic treatment it deserves, there's a lot of potential there. Honestly they could have gone a bit more epic with this half, too. You should check it out, it's definitely worth seeing.

I dislike the David Lynch movie, I felt like it didn't do justice to the intricacy of the book. I remember liking the cast, but the plot was so butchered I couldn't bring myself to watch it again.

God Emperor is a great book but the pacing seems to throw people off. It's slow-moving, philosophical, and kind of weird. I don't know if Frank Herbert was thinking of the pace in artistic terms, echoing "Leto's Peace" - a period of enforced stagnation - but it works that way. The last two original novels are a treat though - great characters, great intrigue, and lots of action. I'm sorry to say I fucking despise the final ones that his son co-wrote. Maybe they followed the plot outline that Frank Herbert laid down, but I felt like they got everything else wrong. 

[NokturnalBoredom]

3 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

You should check it out, it's definitely worth seeing.

Since I read and enjoyed the first three books, I probably will at some point. The thing is-- I don't really watch that many movies (or TV shows). I lack the patience these days to sit down and watch a movie. Just sitting down to watch the recent Dave Chappelle stand up felt like a chore despite the fact that it was pretty funny. I think it's because I would rather have music going than have to dedicate time to sitting down in front of the TV and put in an hour to three hours of the little free time that I have.

Amazingly enough though, I can watch documentaries. I have no problem laying in bed and watching those (the most recent one I watched was Until the Light Takes Us last night but I fell asleep halfway through it). I can't do movie theaters anymore though, I want to be able to lay down in bed and watch something... which is why I usually fall asleep.

I'll see about getting it this week on my days off. I legitimately do want to see it.

[FatherAlabaster]

Just now, NokturnalBoredom said:

Since I read and enjoyed the first three books, I probably will at some point. The thing is-- I don't really watch that many movies (or TV shows). I lack the patience these days to sit down and watch a movie. Just sitting down to watch the recent Dave Chappelle stand up felt like a chore despite the fact that it was pretty funny. I think it's because I would rather have music going than have to dedicate time to sitting down in front of the TV and put in an hour to three hours of the little free time that I have.

Amazingly enough though, I can watch documentaries. I have no problem laying in bed and watching those (the most recent one I watched was Until the Light Takes Us last night but I fell asleep halfway through it). I can't do movie theaters anymore though, I want to be able to lay down in bed and watch something... which is why I usually fall asleep.

I'll see about getting it this week on my days off. I legitimately do want to see it.

This is one of the few times I feel like I would have missed out if I hadn't seen it in the theater. The sound has to be felt to be believed. It's very immersive. And there's something to the scale of it. Not 100% thrilled with every narrative choice but it gets high marks as a cinematic experience.

[NokturnalBoredom]

11 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

This is one of the few times I feel like I would have missed out if I hadn't seen it in the theater.

I don't think I'm going to be able to see it in the theater, our theater is shut down because of Covid19. So I'll have to rent it at home.

[FatherAlabaster]

3 minutes ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

I don't think I'm going to be able to see it in the theater, our theater is shut down because of Covid19. So I'll have to rent it at home.

Ah, that's a bummer. Understood. Hope you dig it, anyway.

[Sheol]

On 10/30/2021 at 3:25 PM, FatherAlabaster said:

Just went out to see Dune last night. I'm a huge fan of the books and I wasn't disappointed - I liked it a lot - but I left hoping that they'll release a director's cut with a few more scenes. It's a two and a half hour movie, it only went through the first half of the story in the novel, and the narrative still felt compressed and almost rushed at times. I get the sense that they cut some character development to keep the plot moving; I think a little more character development would have helped the plot feel more emotionally coherent. I guess that's a testament to just how much is really going on in the book, and how much of it is difficult to film. Ultimately my feelings about all of it will be determined by how they finish it up in the next film.

But there's a lot they got right! The visuals and sound were beautiful, stunning, shocking at times. There were a couple curveballs in the casting but they all worked. Jason Momoa made a surprisingly great Duncan Idaho. I wonder if they'll make another 10-15 Dune movies starring him as they cover the rest of the series? I bet that green light is just around the corner...

That's good news, I have pretty much accepted that there's parts that will be cut due to how complex the book is. The sequal has been green lit though, so there's that! I think Villaneuve has afantastic visual sense and a good understanding of human drama, so that's what I most look forward too. The movie will show up on HBO Max soon, so I'll watch it there, still don't think it's safe going to the cinemas. I think the virus-rates will continue climbing towards Christmas, but sine Sweden has decided to not test people who are vaccinated we'll never know (very conveniant!).

[JonoBlade]

On 10/31/2021 at 2:57 AM, FatherAlabaster said:

This is one of the few times I feel like I would have missed out if I hadn't seen it in the theater. The sound has to be felt to be believed. It's very immersive. And there's something to the scale of it. Not 100% thrilled with every narrative choice but it gets high marks as a cinematic experience.

You're not kidding. I saw it in IMAX and both daughter and wife were covering their ears half the movie. It was LOUD. 

I am no Dune fanboy. I am pretty sure I read the first few books years ago but can't recall any of it. My childhood was formed by the David Lynch does Dune movie. Sting: "I will kill you!"

It was ridiculous but fun.

This new movie is good although it takes itself very seriously. It could have been a lot more violent and freaky but you get the feeling they cut away from the violence just to get a 12A rating. Perhaps there will be a director's cut with an R rating.

 

[zackflag]

Lol, I watched a pirated version that my roommate obtained somehow. Both movie theatres in my town are closed indefinitely (covid) and HBOMax isn't available in Canada, so I guess piracy or waiting until it hits streaming services were my only options.

Overall, I thought it was about as good of an adaptation as you can get. I'm a pretty big Dune nerd and I really enjoyed it. My only criticism, and it is a minor one, was that despite cutting the first book in half and being 2 1/2 hrs long, was that it still felt a little rushed somehow. 

[FatherAlabaster]

5 hours ago, Sheol said:

That's good news, I have pretty much accepted that there's parts that will be cut due to how complex the book is. The sequal has been green lit though, so there's that! I think Villaneuve has afantastic visual sense and a good understanding of human drama, so that's what I most look forward too. The movie will show up on HBO Max soon, so I'll watch it there, still don't think it's safe going to the cinemas. I think the virus-rates will continue climbing towards Christmas, but sine Sweden has decided to not test people who are vaccinated we'll never know (very conveniant!).

It was the human drama that I felt could have been brought to the fore a little bit more. A lot of the interpersonal relationships got rendered in shorthand. But what they left in was good, it rang true. Definitely psyched for the sequel.

4 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

You're not kidding. I saw it in IMAX and both daughter and wife were covering their ears half the movie. It was LOUD. 

I am no Dune fanboy. I am pretty sure I read the first few books years ago but can't recall any of it. My childhood was formed by the David Lynch does Dune movie. Sting: "I will kill you!"

It was ridiculous but fun.

This new movie is good although it takes itself very seriously. It could have been a lot more violent and freaky but you get the feeling they cut away from the violence just to get a 12A rating. Perhaps there will be a director's cut with an R rating.

 

I loved the sound and the score. It was so effective in surround, with all that deep bass... Usually I don't care one way or the other about it but it was just such a great part of the experience for this.

The book is so serious, I guess I hadn't even thought of "ridiculous but fun" being applicable. I did like Sting in that role though. The way they handled at least some of the violence was more old-school, leaving some of it to the imagination. I thought it was pretty effective. More gore would have seemed gratuitous to me. 

8 minutes ago, zackflag said:

Lol, I watched a pirated version that my roommate obtained somehow. Both movie theatres in my town are closed indefinitely (covid) and HBOMax isn't available in Canada, so I guess piracy or waiting until it hits streaming services were my only options.

Overall, I thought it was about as good of an adaptation as you can get. I'm a pretty big Dune nerd and I really enjoyed it. My only criticism, and it is a minor one, was that despite cutting the first book in half and being 2 1/2 hrs long, was that it still felt a little rushed somehow. 

Same. The only thing that bothered me was the way they dealt with Paul's visions, I felt like it was heavy-handed and a bit cheesy. Still ok though. 

[NokturnalBoredom]

Does anyone know if they plan on making an entire series of movies of the Frank Herbert novels? I've never (and probably will never) read the Brian Herbert ones because I hear nothing but awful things about them, but I own the 6 Frank novels and have read the first three thusfar and really enjoyed them.

I'd like to see movies made out of William Gibson's "sprawl trilogy" (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive).

[Thatguy]

I don't care for horror movies of any type.

I saw DUNE today. It was excellent. I read and re-read the book when I was a teenager and I think this version was great. It's a shame it will be 2 years to see the second half.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

49 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

I don't care for horror movies of any type.

I saw DUNE today. It was excellent. I read and re-read the book when I was a teenager and I think this version was great. It's a shame it will be 2 years to see the second half.

What's the matter, afraid you won't still be around in 2 years?

I almost clicked on Dune the other night, it's on Prime for a fee but then I decided I wasn't in the mood to watch a long movie so I held off. Never saw the first Dune film back whenever that was and I've never read the books or anything but the trailer looked mildly interesting so I'll probably have a whack at it one of these days.

I too don't bother with horror movies of any type. Or superhero movies of any type. All this time I thought I was maybe like the only one.

[Thatguy]

13 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

What's the matter, afraid you won't still be around in 2 years?

Ha.

I want it now. Better on the big screen. My daughter was with me - she has never read the books and still loved it.

[FatherAlabaster]

I'd go see Dune again in IMAX if I could. I could almost go just to listen to it again. Beautiful surround sound experience. And I get wanting to see the rest now - it'll rise or fall for me depending on how well they bring the story home. I want more character development, dammit.

[Dead1]

15 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

 

Or superhero movies of any type. All this time I thought I was maybe like the only one.

 

99.9% of superhero movies are worthless garbage not worth my time.  I only enjoy superhero movies/shows when they deal with off kilter stuff (eg Logan which is more about mental illness) or stuff like Umbrella Academy which is really just a family of dysfunctional broken losers and other than one, none really use their superpowers (and when they do it's bad).

 

Also enjoyed Punisher and Daredevil shows.  Punisher's not really a superhero, just a psycho war vet with a lot of guns and is more in line with Death Wish.  Daredevil's almost similar - he's obsessed with fighting crime to the point of sacrificing his friendships, relationships and everything else.   Both mainly fight against normal criminals and thugs.

-----------

In other news, my daughter just watched Terminator 2 for the first time!  And she enjoyed it! Great success!

[FatherAlabaster]

1 hour ago, Dead1 said:

In other news, my daughter just watched Terminator 2 for the first time!  And she enjoyed it! Great success!

Love that movie. Somehow my parents were ok with me watching it when I was 11 or 12. I've been thinking about/looking forward to showing it to my son too, but he's not there yet.

[Dead1]

1 hour ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Love that movie. Somehow my parents were ok with me watching it when I was 11 or 12. I've been thinking about/looking forward to showing it to my son too, but he's not there yet.

Mine's 9.  I forgot there was swearing in the movie!  But then I swear a lot anyway...

I grew up watching violent flicks - westerns, WW2,  James Bonds and kung fu flicks starting from age 6 and then Arnie and other action hero movies as well as a bit of horror by the time I was 10.

And I'm a well adjusted human being...aren't I?  

 

(To be honest growing up with abusive parents in poverty in crime ridden suburbs and then living through a war probably affected me far more than any Clint Eastwood spaghetti western or James Bond movie ever could).

[FatherAlabaster]

1 minute ago, Dead1 said:

Mine's 9.  I forgot there was swearing in the movie!  But then I swear a lot anyway...

I grew up watching violent flicks - westerns, James Bonds and shaolin temple and then Arnie and other action hero movies as well as a bit of horror.  

My parents were opposed to anything super violent, but I was never really drawn to that kind of stuff anyway. My son is 9, too, but he wouldn't get much out of it right now, he's still into Garfield and Pete The Cat... I think seeing someone's stepdad impaled through the brain by a shapeshifting liquid robot would probably make him feel pretty horrible. 

[Dead1]

51 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

My parents were opposed to anything super violent, but I was never really drawn to that kind of stuff anyway. My son is 9, too, but he wouldn't get much out of it right now, he's still into Garfield and Pete The Cat... I think seeing someone's stepdad impaled through the brain by a shapeshifting liquid robot would probably make him feel pretty horrible. 

My daughter was fine with that scene.  We didn't let her watch the creepy licking scene with the psych orderly.

She can't stand overtly kids movies.

 

My parents didn't give a shit what we watched except for one exception -  "You Can't Do That On Television", which I was not allowed to watch on the threat of actual physical violence (which my mother meted out often and with implements).

 

They were going to let my youngest brother watch South park and play Manhunt (snuff movies) and Grand Theft Auto when he was 8.  My other brother and I fought many a battle to keep my youngest brother from watching/playing these.  They just thought all cartoons and video games were for kids.  

[blaaacdoommmmfan]

I saw "the batman film". I enjoyed it. Interesting new look. It was different yet somehow familiar. And what is it with batman films. Why do the baddies always want to destroy Gotham city. Surely just some other plot would work too. 

[AlSymerz]

26 minutes ago, blaaacdoommmmfan said:

Why do the baddies always want to destroy Gotham city.

For the same reason aliens only want to land in America.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

14 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

For the same reason aliens only want to land in America.

That's just because they want to make sure they land someplace that speaks English and has a lot of moviegoers. Because everyone knows that most aliens speak passable English. I think that's because most other countries wouldn't have the budget to make inane, vapid, uninventive blockbuster sci-fi special effects movies as big and cheesy as we Yanks can.

[AlSymerz]

We've been making cheap-er US movies and streaming series here for quite a few years now. During covid we happily(?) accepted a shit ton of American actors and movie people into the country whether they had covid or not because apparently some of our state governments are willing to let Hollywood bend them over and fuck them up the arse in return for a bit of cash.

You reckon with the way we speak and act here we'd be a shoe in for the alien movies!