Dune (1984)

Dune (David Lynch, 1984)

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Rating: Q=4, P=4 / Average OJ

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Fantasy, Science Fiction, Based on Book, Adventure

After seeing the new, fantastic Dune by Denis Villeneuve it was interesting to go back in time to the first cinematic version of the Dune story. The 1984 film is fun: colorful, silly, creepy, full of 80's sci-fi stuff, and definitely keeps you engaged. It has problems--from the film's preface, to the narrated thoughts of the characters (which works in a book but not on screen), to a lack of character development. It is a wholly different experience from the ethereal, immersive, and very emotional 2021 Dune.

That being said, though, I still enjoyed the escape. And I would watch it again.

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SPECIAL: Spider-man Films Ranked

Well, the next phase of my comic book/superhero film spree is Spider-man films. I hadn't seen any, weirdly, except for snippets of some of the Tobey Maguire films from my college days. So, who is my favorite Peter Parker? Definitely Tom Holland. No question. I much prefer his quirky sense of humor, his nerdiness, and his youth. And my favorite love interest? Well, I really disliked the overly sappy love story between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. It does NOT work for me AT ALL. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's relationship was more believable and I could actually stomach it. But I prefer how the most recent Marvel films wrote it for Tom Holland--best friend Ned and then some crushes on first Liz and then MJ.

Best villain? That is a tougher question. Probably has to be Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming with a close second going to Otto from Spider-Man 2. But all the villains in the franchise are kinda...weird. I find the back story and family relationships that Peter has much more interesting.

Below I've ranked the Spider-Man films in order from my least favorite to favorite. Rather than write about each one, again, I will just include my ratings this time.

8. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Rating: Q=3, P=3 / Worst of the Worst

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7. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Rating: Q=4, P=3 / Thanks But No Thanks

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6. Spider-Man (2002)

Rating: Q=5, P=3 / Thanks But No Thanks

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5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Rating: Q=5, P=4 / Average OJ

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4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Rating: Q=5, P=4 / Average OJ

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3. Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ

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2. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Average OJ

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1. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Rating: Q=6, P=7 / Comfy Old Standard

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Dune (2021)

Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021)

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Rating: Q=8, P=7 / Obsession

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Fantasy, Science Fiction, Based on Book, Adventure

Mesmerizing. Beautiful. Evocative. I loved every minute of Dune and I am beyond excited to see more of this epic. Denis Villeneuve fully immerses us in the worlds of Caladan and Arrakis. The atmosphere of each place was created with painstaking detail and the effects are awesome. I truly felt like I was there--the lighting (so good), the sounds (oh, the tension and suspense from the score), the architecture, the sand and storms, everything. Glorious cinematography! Some reviewers have pointed out that there isn't enough story. It is true that much isn't explained. But I would argue that the story is absolutely there, it is just being told visually and is revealed slowly and while our main character learns it. I found that fascinating and gripping. Timothee Chalamet is incredible, as always, as Paul Atreides. And he is joined by an all-star cast, including Javier Bardem who is utterly brilliant as Stilgar, a Fremen leader. Of course this film is different from the books (I've only read some of the first book) and that doesn't and shouldn't matter. I'm still a firm believer that the two are separate and can't be compared. GO see this. It is fantastic.

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Invictus

Invictus (Clint Eastwood, 2009)

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Rating: Q=5, P=6 / Average OJ

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Biopic, South Africa, Apartheid, Rugby

Such a moving film with an incredible performance by Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. It is hard to imagine the conviction and strength of character and spirit that Mandela had in order to endure imprisonment for so many decades and then forgive his enemies when be became the nation's leader. And his wisdom on how important rugby would be to unify the country (at least begin to) is amazing. This is a compelling story to watch and an important one to remember.

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