At the beginning of the year, I shared the 10 films I was most anticipating. Number 3 on that list was Dune: Part Two. A little further down that list at number eight was Mickey 17. That film is Bong Joon-ho’s follow up to Parasite, which won Best Picture four years ago. It was originally scheduled to be released in four weeks, but was removed from the release schedule in January, only to be placed back on the schedule a couple weeks ago with a new date. That date is January 31st, 2025. Right in the heart of the Dumpuary season. I’m really hoping this is just a case of Warner Bros continuing to make stupid decisions, and not a sign that it won’t be great. We will find out the answer to that query in the new year. As for what I thought of the plights of Paul Atreides, on to the reviews!
Back in 2021, I gave Dune: Part One a 3.5/5, and I’m not sure what I was thinking then. Since then, I’ve watched that film at least a dozen times, and if I were to grade it again, it would probably be at 4.5/5. It was quite the blow to my excitement when Part 2 got pushed back last year to this past weekend. So what did I think about Part 2? It was awesome. After Part 1 set up all the groundwork, Part 2 starts minutes after, and never stops. That isn’t to say it’s mandatory to watch the first installment before this, but really, you definitely should watch the whole story to fully get it.
The scope of this film is immense. The cinematography is breathtaking, and really pulls you into the story. The first hour is about Paul’s integration within the Fremen, and also his growing relationship with Zendaya’s Chani, who actually gets something to do this time. The main thing to watch in this section is Paul’s reluctance to be seen as the Lisan al Gaib, but everything he does only grows his legend among the believers. He also has a mother stoking the flames of a fire that will end with what Paul fears will be a Holy War. That storyline is really the main thread through this film and it works so well. Chalamet has never been better than he is in this one. That is true for a lot of this stacked cast. While Chalamet, Zendaya, Ferguson, and Bardem are all back, and with much more to do, we are introduced to new characters this time. We finally see the Emperor, played by Walken, and he was fine. Also ok was Pugh’s Princess Irulan, though her character should have more room to grow in a future installment. Finally, Butler is great as Feyd-Rautha. He has a psychotic ruthlessness that Sting didn’t really have in the Lynch version.
I have seen some people compare this to Empire Strikes Back, and the whole saga so far with Lord of the Rings. I agreed to that after watching it the first time Thursday. I really get it after seeing it a second time on Saturday. It is obviously set up for a third part, and Villeneuve has said Dune: Messiah is what it will be depending on the success of Part 2. So, Part 3 is coming at some point. As long as Villeneuve is driving the car, I will be there for the ride every time. Go see this on the biggest screen possible. There are films that need to be seen in the theater. Films like Oppenheimer, Avengers: Endgame, and Gravity. This (and Part 1) is one of those too. It will also be a big film next year at Oscars. It might not win Best Picture, but it sure will pick up the technical awards that night. Part 1 did in 2022 (and Oppenheimer will next weekend too). As for now, this is already a great film for me, and after I watch it a dozen times like the first, and watch them back to back, this should be right up there with Lord of the Rings and Star Wars as the greatest science fiction/fantasy sagas we have ever seen.
Sandler is back with another Netflix film. However, unlike almost his entire catalog there, this one is a dramatic turn for him. Her he is playing Jakub, who is currently in the middle of a year long space mission to collect a space dust that I must have missed the purpose of if they said why at all. His wife, played by Carey Mulligan, is pregnant and leaving him. So Jakub is in the middle of space alone, while his life is falling apart without him knowing as NASA is purposely not telling him. In his loneliness, he discovers an alien on board that is very interested in learned more about Jakub. That alien though is a talking space spider, so my fear of spiders did not allow me to really enjoy this film. Spider aside, Paul Dano voicing it worked for me. His calm tone was just so welcoming until I saw where the voice was coming from. Overall, the film was just boring. If the point was to get Jakub to see more to life, I’m not sure that came across. Also, are we sure the Hanuš was even real, and not something Jakub in his extreme loneliness just imagined to cope. In the end I just didn’t care. Sandler was pretty good here, and so was Dano. It was really every other character that really didn’t add to the story in anyway. This was a little disappointing for me.
A romantic comedy that usually so many sport puns. This seems like something designed to try and get the fellas to watch it too. It just feels like a movie I seen so many times, except this time our main character is female. I’ll admit this is a subgenre of films that I am not a fan of, but this was chore to get through. This had the thinnest of a story. Rodriguez’s Mack wants a guy she hooked up with one night (Ellis’s Nick) and wants her friends to help her get him to see her as girlfriend for him. Add in so many sport references. It is a lot. I swear a quarter of the movie is sports story that have part of plot. Real thought I wrote done at the 45 minute part: “Nick is going to find the research of him.” Also, since I’ve seen this type of movie before: “Mack with end up with Adam”. I got one of those right.
I’m going to start something new on these posts and predict what the Box Office will look like this upcoming weekend. The new films that will be out in theaters are Cabrini, Imaginary, and Kung Fu Panda 4. So something for everyone. Dune will be there too…
1. Kung Fu Panda 4
2. Dune: Part 2
3. Imaginary
4. Bob Marley: One Love
5. Ordinary Angels
So March is coming in as a lamb it seems. Next week is the first of back to back Monday Mystery movies. Tomorrow’s edition is PG, so it really has to be One Life. There aren’t really any other options. As for Thursday night’s movie, one word: Skadoosh.
Mitten Film Nerd 
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