MARCH WATCH PARTY - Dune: Part II (2024), Knock at the Cabin (2023), South Pacific (1958)
"Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family."
- IMDB
Wow wow wow. This met expectations and then some.
I know a movie is good when I keep commenting about the technical aspects, which I don't often do as much as I should - the use of lighting and shadow, coloring, cinematography, costume and set design. All the pieces are put together perfectly once again to make this a beautifully immersive cinematic experience. This world feels so lived in. The use of fictional languages with amazing line delivery by the actors goes such a long way. The music was amazing and really felt a character on it's own. It's power to create tension and emotion is the purpose of a good soundtrack, but some movies do it better than others - thanks Hans Zimmer. The cast!!! Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, Dave Bautista, Florence Pugh, Léa Seydoux, and even Christopher Walken and Stellan Skarsgård. The on-screen talent is astronomical and equally as impressive as the off-screen talent. This was film at it's finest. Dune will certainly snag Academy Awards for many of the technical achievements for sure.
The story overall was surprisingly easier to follow. The first part did a decent job cramming much lore to us as Paul's journey was beginning. With less set up, we were able to role right into part two seamlessly and got right to the main plot. Knowing there is a part 3, I'm quite curious as to where Paul is going. I vaguely remember details of the original book and film - I'll be happily surprised as I hardly remember anything. I get so much Lelouch ViBritania vibes with Paul towards the end. If you've seen Code Geass, you might know what I mean.
Overall, this was as much of a great movie experience as the first film. It did not feel like 2+ hours at all and I need part 3 as soon as possible!
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆
"While vacationing, a girl and her parents are taken hostage by armed strangers who demand that the family make a choice to avert the apocalypse."
- IMDB
Wow. Okay.
(and another Dave Bautista film for today's post)
So I saw the trailers and thought "oh this is one of those movies that has a lot of potential but could also be really bad." Nah. It's actually good. Honestly it was one of the more better Shyamalan films I've seen lately. It was solid from start to finish and it had a good ending. This was an apocalypse movie, but I'd categorize it more as a drama before a thriller or horror film. I feel like the trailers gave the idea that this was some slasher movie in the woods or something but the slashers were slashing themselves instead, releasing the "plagues" upon their deaths. Spoiler alert, in the end, Jonathan Groff died for our sins. Blessed be his name. The rest of the cast was on pointe as well. Harry Potter fan here to say I'd like a whole movie with Rupert Grint as Redmond. Dang... his 5 scenes... He was captivating in a "woah didn't expect this form him" kind of way.
Not the best movie you'll see, but for what it is, it works. And I fairly enjoyed it.
My Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
"On a South Pacific island during World War II, love blooms between a young nurse and a secretive Frenchman who's being courted for a dangerous military mission."
- IMDB
It is a musical about racism.
That's it. That's all you have to know. They literally have a song about how racism is taught to you - there was no beating around the bush, it was a blatant call out and way ahead of it's time. I wish more people discussed the cultural significance of this movie. Not that I'm an expert, it seemed pretty culturally appropriate for it's time as well. It's a romantic film in a beautiful setting. There are a couple songs that are still stuck to my head. Give it a chance. You might enjoy it.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
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