Some Short Movie Reviews

[aggienaut]

   Time for some more (short) movie reviews

No Time to Die
   I recently noticed the most recent Bond movie was available to rent via Youtube, which is apparently a thing these days. I had wanted to see it, so on a recent evening I watched it. What I'm about to say is jsut slightly a spoiler so skip the next sentence if you're really concerned .. but in the beginning when they were kind of making it seem like a Spectre plot I was preparing to be disappointed because I've always found that particular world-conspiracy plot of Bond stupid and comic-booky, but then when they just kill off all of Spectre all of a sudden all at once that was proportionatly that much of a pleasant surprise. In a more general sense though, haven't all the Bond movies for the last 20 years made a big thing about him being culturally out-dated and feeling redundant? I felt like that part of the plot was a bit, no pun intended, but getting old. What really made me groan about the movie plot though was how more than once he makes major life changing decisions based on taking as absolute truth something a dying bad guy said. I would kind of like to believe our supposed world's best subterfuge agent would at least consider that the dying bad guy might be lying to fuck with and misdirect him, I dunno, just a thought.
   Also his love interest clearly lives in Norway, why does she appear to primarily speak French? Did the producers think Norway the more beautiful exotic location but French the sexier language and so just decided to have their cake and og spis det også?
   And that ending.. I guess I can't really talk about it since I try to write these spoiler free, but.. such sauce! Anyway I give it an A-


Dune
   I think I also watched Dune via noticing it was available on the youtube movies. I read the Dune books back in like elementary school, which is of course longer ago than the Butlerian Jihad is from the Dune timeline and I barely remember any details. Well okay actually recently I read one of the books by Frank Herbert's son (The Butlerian Jihad) and it was terrible just terrible.
   But the movie was visually very nice and from what I can recall true to the books ... in fact I googled for differences from the books and they're apparently only very minor. I weirdly don't feel like I have a lot of critiquing for the movie. Feel free to critique it in the comments, I'm suspicious I may have just watched it in a very uncritical mood or something, it's not like me to be so uncritical ;) But anyway I suppose I have to give it an A then. (:

Comments

[waitingman.livejournal.com]

I haven't really kept up with the Daniel Craig Bonds... I saw Skyfall, but that's about it. I think, for me, it's kind of like Dr Who - something I've grown out of needing to watch (haven't watched any of the 'new' Dr Who at all... though it's now been going almost as long as the 'original' did... or so it seems sometimes!). After the last Pierce Brosnan Bond movie, which was so cynically awful, I kind of gave up on the franchise & became a 'Bourne' fan instead

Like you, I read the Dune books (well, the first 3 & 1/2) back when the Dead Sea was only mildly ill, but I must get around to seeing this latest attempt to film it (the less said about David Lynch's attempt in the 80s the better)

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yasss I love the Bourne series! Or at least the first one and I think the second was fairly alright and the third not bad, but then they made a fourth with a different actor and at that point I felt like they were really pushing it.

[bearshorty.livejournal.com]

I read Dune 12 years ago and really really disliked it. But I watched the movie since it got praise and I had access to it. And I really enjoyed the movie. I think it actually fixed some of the things that were problematic for me in the books and the style of the movie was nice.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

This is apparently the newer Dune movie and not the David Lynch one

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

I want to see that for Duncan Idaho. I love Jason Momoa, and I heard he's fabulous in it.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see both of those, and probably will eventually. We're still staying away from movie theatres, although I might have to break down for Minions in a couple of weeks.

- Erulisse (one L)

[sea_thoughts]

Also his love interest clearly lives in Norway, why does she appear to primarily speak French?

Because the actress, Léa Seydoux, is French, and so is her character, Madeleine.

Did the producers think Norway the more beautiful exotic location but French the sexier language and so just decided to have their cake and og spis det også?

No, Madeleine was living in Norway because that was the location of her father's safehouse, where she spent part of her childhood as per the prologue. She wanted to keep her daughter safe and the house was as off the grid as it's possible to be nowadays.

I enjoyed Dune but I did think it was weird how the film kept pointing out that Timothée Chalamet was small and skinny. Even making a joke about it in the scene with Jason Momoa. We get it, he's young and skinny, you don't need to keep making a big deal out of it.