Tag: Jason Momoa

Dune Review: A Cinematic Epic. One Which Has to be Experienced in Theaters.

For quite a few years, friends were telling me that I should read Frank Herbert’s Dune, calling it one of the best science fiction stories of all time, and one that inspired generations of stories from that genre, like Star Wars, for instance.
However, for whatever reason, I did not take my friends’ advice and read Dune.
Then, I saw the trailers for Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 adaptation of the novel.
These trailers blew me away and Villeneuve is one of my favourite directors working today, so, knowing how dedicated he was to making Dune, I finally sat down and read the book.
I could not put it down.
The novel enthralled me from start to finish and, ever since finishing it I have been eagerly anticipating the film’s release to theaters, and was finally able to see it yesterday.
Did it disappoint?
Absolutely not.
Dune is not just an incredible adaptation but I already think it’s one of the best movies I have ever seen, even though I only first saw it yesterday.

Dune is a masterful, cinematic experience.

The film tells the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a young noble born to Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and his Bene Gesserit concubine Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).
Duke Leto is the ruler of the planet Caladan, however, the Pardishah Emperor mysteriously decides to order the Atreides family to take stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis, the only planet in the universe where the substance known as Spice can be found.
Spice not only has various benefits to the user but is also the reason interstellar travel is possible, so it is the most valuable resource in the universe.
You would think this would put the Atreides in an excellent position but, in taking over Spice production on Arrakis, they are taking over the position of the previous rulers of Arrakis, their rival family of the Harkonnens, lead by the cruel Baron Vladamir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård).
With the threat of the Harkonnens and even the Emperor’s displeasure hanging over their heads, the Atreides seek an alliance with the native Fremen, among them Stilgar (Javier Bardem).
However, at the same time as this is happening, Paul is having strange dreams, many of which feature a woman named Chani (Zendaya), and these dreams may point to a brutal future for not just Paul’s future but also the future of the entire universe.

Paul’s dreams hold a lot of meaning to them.

Yes, this is the story’s basic opening hook and it is a lot to take in.
Thankfully, Villeneuve presents this information to the viewer perfectly, with only a few things being left out, like the explanation of Mentat powers.
Helping this presentation of information is the incredible acting, cinematography and score.
Speaking of the acting, every single member of the cast brings their A-game, whether their roles in the story are small or major.
I already spoke of most of the characters, but two who I especially enjoyed are Paul’s mentors Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa).
In fact, I would say that I actually liked the movie’s interpretation of Duncan more than the first novel.
The movie shows the friendship between him and Paul a lot better, making later scenes where the two share screen time much more impactful.

Rewatching the trailers after finishing the book got me excited for more Paul and Duncan interactions, and the movie did not disappoint.

As for the cinematography, it is absolutely beautiful and Greg Fraser did an amazing job.
I had a massive grin on my face almost the entire way through the film because of how gorgeous almost every single shot looked.
What made this grin even wider was Han Zimmer’s brilliant score, his best one to date, in my opinion. 

The cinematography and score often combined to create stunning scenes, like this shot of the villanous Baron Harkonnen.

Pair this excellent acting, cinematography and score with Villeneuve’s direction, and you have a masterful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel that needs to be seen in theaters. 
Seriously, I am so glad I decided to watch this for the first time at the movies instead of on HBO Max.
It just provides an experience for this film that cannot possibly be matched on the smaller screen.
I just wish that the studios had realised what they had and agreed with Villeneuve’s wish to film the sequel at the same time, so both parts could be released closer together.
Well, at least we are getting a sequel, with hopefully more on the way, since I have also read the sequel novel Dune: Messiah and loved that as well.
I cannot wait to read the rest of Dune novels now that I have finally finished The Wheel of Time books, and it would be great to see those get future adaptations as well, given how excellent Villeneuve’s Dune was.
In regards to the future of Dune as a movie franchise, I only have one thing to say.
Let the sequels flow.   

Aquaman: Good Old Cheesy Fun.

3 and a half stars
It is kind of funny how much of a reversal the character of Aquaman in the DC Universe is compared to his comic book counterpart.
The comic version of Aquaman is often made the butt of a joke by most people, while the film version of Aquaman makes the jokes.
Directed by James Wan, Aquaman is the second film in the DCU to achieve the status of good and, much like the even better Wonder Woman, is a step in the right direction.
The film follows Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, the Aquaman, who is called to Atlantis to stop his brother King Orm (Patrick Wilson) from attacking the surface world.
Momoa steals the show as Aquaman, breathing new life into the character.
He both manages to make Arthur funny and feel real to the viewer.

Arthur
Jason Momoa is great as Aquaman delivering both heart and laughs in his performance.

One particular scene where he contemplates whether he is worthy to be king is a standout.
However, one thing to note about Aquaman is that it is a very cheesy film… but this works to its advantage.
Aquaman knows it is cheesy and fully embraces it, creating a much better experience.
That said, there are a few cringe inducing moments but these are few and far between.
James Wan has created a spectacle here with amazing action sequences and special effects to draw you into the world of Atlantis.
Although, the hair effects do look a bit weird but that is a minor detail.
Helping build on this undersea kingdom is the characters that inhabit its world.
For example, the love story between Arthur’s parents (Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison) helps build the world and is genuinely sweet.
Not all the characters are great though because Orm is a pretty one dimensional villain that held little interest.
This is made up for by Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who stood out as a compelling enemy for Aquaman during the brief screen time he had.

Black Manta.jpg
It felt like Black Manta should have been the main villain since he was more interesting than King Orm.

The thing Aquaman is above all else though is a fun movie.
It does not deal with any complex themes and sometimes the movie can get a little cringe worthy but it is still a good time with fun performances, great CGI and epic action sequences.
It will be interesting to see where this goes in the future.