Category: Fantasy

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★1/2GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

Rating: M

Directed by: Adam Wingard

Screenplay Written by: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater

From a Story by: Rossio & Wingard & Barrett,

Based on the Character, Godzilla owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd.

Produced by: May Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric Mcleod, Thomas Tull and Brian Rogers

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns and Fala Chen.

‘Aggression is his love language.’

The next instalment of the Monster verse, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire opens in a familiar green.

Fluorescent crystals rise towards the sky.  And somewhere in Hollow Earth, Kong runs.

Old timey music plays.

The world tilts.

That feeling of vertigo persists throughout the film as Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) continues working for Monarch with adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last of the Iwis, to monitor Kong in his new home.

The only way to stop Godzilla and Kong fighting was to keep them apart: Kong in the Hollow Earth and Godzilla on the surface, where he, ‘can fight battles we can’t.’

Monarch monitor Godzilla because he’s the alarm for any threat from a titan.

So when signals start registering that can’t be explained, and Jia starts dreaming while awake, like something’s calling her, they know when Godzilla starts charging from a nuclear reactor that something big is about to threaten the surface.

Without giving too much away, Kong and Godzilla must unite to face the threat that lurks even deeper within the earth.  Within the Subterranean Realm.  Uncharted territory closed off.  Until now.

It’s a little cheesy.

But there’s tongue-in-cheek humour sprinkled throughout, note the return of Trapper (Dan Stevens) now vet / dentist to the titans, and Podcaster Burnie (Brian Tyree Henry) who comments to Trapper, ‘I think there’s something seriously wrong with you.’

Sometimes the humour hit, sometimes it didn’t.

There’s a lot of gooey green stuff, including Kong tearing a death jackal apart over his head to cover himself in its gizzards.

And there’s a lot of blasting action trapezing across the globe, scenes shot in Hawaii, Brazil, Marocco and Iceland, the scenery spectacular to watch on the big screen.

This instalment is directed by Adam Wingard who also directed Kong Vs Godzilla (2021), so there’s a similar feeling to the action, yet there’s a refresh to the cast with Jia taking a lead role who’s enchanting in her silence.

I just didn’t warm to the story to really get behind the drama.

Kong’s facial expressions were more nuisance and there’s a lot of communication conveyed through sign and expression.

A highlight when Burnie is confronted by a tribesman, where it’s polite to make real close eye contact, the expression of the eyes the communication.  Burnie did not like the forced eye contact.  I’m still giggling at the memory of it.

I re-read my review of Godzilla Vs Kong to recall a comparison and found I was using the same language to describe Godzilla x Kong: rollercoaster, cheesy, worth seeing on the big screen.

So if you liked Adam Wingard’s previous Kong / Godzilla movie, you’ll like this one.

 

Dune: Part Two

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★1/2Dune: Part Two

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Based on the Novel by: Frank Herbert

Screenplay Written by: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts

Produced by: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick

Executive Producers: Joshua Grode, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Richard P. Rubinstein and John Harrison.

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård and Javier Bardem.

‘Power over spice is power over all.’

This is the mantra of the Harkonnens and the basis of the political intrigue in the Dune series.

It’s now the year 10,091.

Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), the daughter of The Emperor (Christopher Walken) creates a voice memo, introducing Dune: Part Two, where the entire House of Atreides have been wiped out over-night. No warning, no survivors.  Except a few.

The Harkonnens now control the harvesting of spice with the ever-present influence of the Bene Gesserit.

The extent of the Bene Gesserits’ power becoming more apparent as the prophecy of the son, known by the Fremens as Lisan al Gaib, gains momentum.

It’s Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) they believe to be the Bene Gesserit’s son, the Mahdi of the Fremen whom they believe will lead them to paradise.

An ideal originally conjured by the Bene Gesserit and encouraged by Paul Atreides’ mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) as her pregnancy continues and her daughter grows in her belly.

Paul doesn’t fail in his fulfillment as he adapts to the desert and Fremen way of life with the help of Chani (Zendaya).

Even though he’s an outsider, Chani grows to love him – he’s different to the other outsiders.  He’s sincere.

My initial thought at the end of Dune: Part One of, I hope it doesn’t get cheesy, was unwarranted because despite the glimmers of light between Paul and Chani, this is a dark journey filled with moments like the sucking of water out of the dead and… Almost dead.

The Harkonnens’ are particularly brutal, the young nephew of The Baron (Stellan Skarsgård), Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), is known by the Bene Gesserit as psychotic but manageable.

It’s a fight for survival as the Fremans sabotage the spice harvesters with the help of Paul, each success building his reputation as the Lisan al Gaib, confirming Stilgar’s (Javier Bardem) faith.  Stilagar gives him his Freman name, Paul Muad’Dib.

The build of belief catches fire, fierce stories spread about Lisan al Gaib, ‘Our resources are limited.’  Paul explains.  ‘Fear is all we have.’

Nothing can live down south without faith.  And now, instead of friends, Paul has followers.

There’s A LOT to unpack here, but at its foundation, Dune: Part Two has a heavy layer of religion and how religion is used to gain power – the ultimate power: to control the harvest of spice.

Parts of the story were glossed over, like the return of Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin).  And it’s easy to get lost in the intricacies of the story and characters, but there is absolutely never a dull moment in this film (editor: Joe Walker).

This is a vastly entertaining journey, ‘you will see the beauty and the horror,’ all in the dance of shadows over rock, the disappearance of a mother’s face into shadow after seeing her son forever changed – there’s black and white film used to portray the stark and evil of the Harkonnens alongside the red desert and solar eclipse (director of photography: Greig Fraser), flying black suits and pit fighters with black horns like insidious devils (costume designer: Jacqueline West).

All to the beat of a thumper that blends the desert and call of the worms with the beat of intrigue and violence in the capital (composer: Hans Zimmer).

This is a brutally entertaining film that lives up to the hype and is absolutely worth seeing on the big screen.

Better than Part One which is a big call because Part One was brilliant (winning six Academy Awards) and I’m guessing everyone will walk out of the cinema asking, when’s the release of Part Three?

 

Wonka

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★★Wonka

Rated: PG

Directed by: Paul King

Screenplay Written by: Paul King, Simon Famaby

Story by: Paul King

Based on the Character Created by: Roald Dahl

Produced by: David Heyman, Alexandra Derbyshire, Luke Kelly

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant.

‘A place to escape to.’

The origin story of Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) is delightful with attention to detail and a wry humour that is the trademark of director and writer, Paul King (creator of Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017)).

The story of Wonka follows Willy as he disembarks from aboard a ship to land in England to create and sell his amazing chocolates, a skill he learned to love from his mother (Sally Hawkins).

Whistling is heard before the singing begins as Willy stands atop the ship’s mast, ready to embrace the world while brandishing his hat full of dreams.

I freely admit I’m not a fan of musicals, so I was bracing myself.

But I liked this one.

I was grinning all the way through this movie; the particular brand of Paul King humour had me laughing out loud, the timing and facial expressions and ‘surprisingly good form,’ of these unique characters added to the delight of this movie as Willy makes chocolates that don’t just taste good but have the added bonus of flight or the feeling of a night out or creating a choreographed day like being in a cabaret.

But for Willy to sell his chocolates, he must first get past the establishment of the Chocolate Cartel: Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) honest to the point of being obnoxious (and then incredibly funny), and Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton) who can’t say, ‘poor’ without becoming nauseous.

The cartel manages to keep their position as the top purveyors in town by paying off officials with chocolate, including the Chief-of-Police (Keegan-Michael Key) who’s girth continues to expand the more bribes he consumes.

Willy also manages to find himself trapped working in a washhouse, run by, Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman), after signing a contract without reading the fine print.

Trapped but not down, Willy meets his fellow inmates, Noodle (Calah Lane), an orphan and cynic with a mysterious past who tells Willy that his belief in the kindness of strangers landed him in a room in the staff quarters (where the sink is also the toilet).

Then there’s ex-account Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), the never-speaks Miss Bon Bon (Freya Parker), Piper Benz who knows the underground (Natasha Rothwell), and aspiring comedian, Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher) who can speak like he’s underwater.

A rag-tag team, a kid wanting to make chocolate and singing does not sound like my cup of tea, but there’s an irresistible charm here, think Rowan Atkinson as a chocoholic priest.  Then High Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, described by Willy as a small orange man who’s green hair shines in the moonlight.

But what really got me giggling was the villainous Bleacher (Tom Davis) in his dungarees made to show a bit of thigh.

The aspiring comedian character should not have been funny with his try-hard jokes, but the detail and facial expressions like a small poke of the tongue just before cutting to the next scene added that surprising bit extra and that’s what made this movie such a delight to watch.

Instead of a tired re-wash, Wonka is a refresh of Roald Dahl’s classic character: it’s magical and all very sweet (excuse the pun), and gets away with that sweetness because it’s just so funny.

 

Barbie

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.7/5)Barbie

Rated: PG

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Written by: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach

Produced by: Tom Ackerley, Robbie Brenner, David Heyman, Margot Robbie

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Dupa Lipa and Helen Mirren.

Because Barbie can be anything, women can be anything – right?

Set in a world where every day is the ‘best day ever,’ Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) wakes up every morning with a smile on her face and tiptoes.

It’s all hanging out with the girls, impromptu musical numbers, Ken (Ryan Gosling) obsessed and only alive in the gaze of Barbie and Barbies’ ruling the world and perfect sunny weather with nothing but blue skies day, after day, after day…

Until those irrepressible thoughts of death invade Stereotypical Barbie’s peace of mind.

It’s time to go visit.  Weird Barbie, AKA Gymnast Barbie (Kate McKinnon).

An outcast in Barbie Land, Weird Barbie is forever doing the splits and keeps a dog that pooh’s hard plastic pellets (this is an actual creation where you lever the tail and the dog pooh’s – tee hee).

Gymnast Barbie knows what’s wrong because that’s how she became, weird.  Once upon a time her owner, a young girl going through a punk phase, decided her Barbie should have her hair hacked and face… changed.

Stereotypical Barbie’s human must be doing something similar but instead of angry, this human’s world is falling apart and the emotions are starting to influence the Barbie.

The only way to stop the dark thoughts and get Barbie’s feet where they should be is to find the person who’s having the thoughts.  It’s time to leave Barbie Land and enter the human world.

But Barbie?  In the real world?  It’s not going to end well.

‘It’s a repeat of Skipper in Key West,’ says CEO (Will Farrell) of Mattel (which for some reason still cracks me up).

It’s not long before Barbie is arrested and of course Ken’s along for the ride because he can’t be without Barbie.

And she might need someone who specialises in ‘Beach’.

Instead of the idealised matriarchal world they expected, Barbie and Ken soon realise that men are raised to a far higher level of power than in Barbie Land.

And Ken loves it.  If only he was qualified to do anything more than stand on the ‘Beach’.

At its foundation, Barbie the movie is a feminist comedy – a strong description, but the script doesn’t pull punches as Barbie tackles the patriarchal society of the real world.

One of the all-male Mattel executives says, ‘I’m a man without power – does that make me a woman?’

So Barbie is faced with the idea of death and a world dominated by men.

The discussion of the awkward position of women in society is refreshing.

I get the, damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don’t scenario.

And I’ve never heard the difficulties declared in the way the real human woman character, Gloria (America Ferrera) who’s a Mattel employee and mum of teenage-full-of-angst Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), describes to Barbie: what it’s like to be a woman who can’t be fat, can’t be too skinny, has to say, ‘healthy’, while actually be skinny.  Has be assertive but grateful.  Be a sexy partner but caring like a mother but not a replacement for a mother.   Has to have a career but not be selfish.  Has to be successful but not so successful to make other people uncomfortable.  And it goes on.  And it all has the ring of truth about it.

It’s almost like the Barbies are the women born in the 50s who opened up the world in the 70s so women could become career women, and have babies – but in reality, there’s still a cage built of expectation.

Sometimes the message of the movie is a little dated like the idea of construction workers all being men.  And the only-alive-when-you-look-at-me-Barbie, Ken is an unbalance in the other direction.

But there’s a fresh outlook here.  That has genuinely funny moments.

The film was well-cast with Ryan Gosling as Ken helping keep it endearing as he too tries to understand his position in a patriarchal society versus a matriarchal society, then to find a place that understands the individual.

Then the message gets deeper as the idea of patriarch and the creation of Barbie is a construct created to intellectualise a confusing world; to try to control or understand, before we die.

As if I wasn’t already depressed in the middle of a Melbourne winter.

But then, it’s about girls and women, mothers and sisters and daughters all just being themselves.

So I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the message, with the added funny moments and a lasting feeling that tapped into a space unexpected – to feel good about myself and other women.

 

Three Thousand Years of Longing

Rated: MThree Thousand Years of Longing

Directed by: George Miller

Written by: George Miller and Augusta Gore

Based on the Short Story, ‘The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye’ by: A. S. Byatt

Produced by: Doug Mitchell and George Miller

Starring: Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.

‘Whatever it is, I’m sure it has an interesting story.’

Three Thousand Years of Longing is a film about stories, about a narratologist, Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) and her fateful discovery of a bottle containing a Djinn (Idris Elba).

Alithea lectures about stories, the old mythos, the science, the metaphor; how people have told each other stories to escape the chaos of the world.

Alithea’s a solitary creature who finds her feelings through stories.  And she’s content with that.

So when the Djinn asks what she desires – she has no answer.  Alithea wishes for nothing.  Besides, she’s read all the stories, she knows that with wishes granted, there is always a cost.

She recites the story of the magic fish discovered by three fishermen, who grants them one wish each.  The first fisherman wishes to be home, his wish is granted, and he disappears.  The second fisherman wishes to be playing in a field with his children – his wish is also granted.  The third fishmen becomes lonely and wishes that his friends were there with him…

Even the jokes about wishes end badly.

But if the Djinn is ever to escape his prison, Alithea must be granted three wishes of her deepest desires.  To convince Alithea that she must desire something even if she doesn’t realise it, the Djinn begins his story.

There’re stories within stories in this film as the Djinn weaves his narrative into a fantastical tale of queens and kings, of sultans and love.

Each chapter is given a title such as, ‘Two Brothers and a Djinn’ and, ‘A Djinn’s Oblivion’.

He’s had a lot of bad luck over his thousands of years of imprisonment.

It’s a sweeping tale with decadent settings of harems and bazaars full of colourful glass bottles, gadgets invented by a hidden third wife who’s frustrated by her bridled genius.

It’s a colourful escapism which is the point of the film (stories within stories).

In the production notes, director and writer, George Miller (Babe (1995), Happy Feet (2006) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)) is quoted: Alithea Binnie is a narratologist. She studies stories throughout the ages. “We seemed to be hard-wired for story” poses Miller. “Why?”

Miller read British author A.S. BYATT’s 1994 short story ‘The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye’ in the late 1990s. “It’s a story that seemed to probe many of the mysteries and paradoxes of life, and so succinctly” Miller states.

The Djinn laments his idiocy of finding himself trapped because of his love of a woman’s company and Alithea finds she has a desire afterall.  There’s a letting go, coming together, letting go to be together.

It just takes a few circles in the film to get there.

I kept thinking, Oh, OK, that’s the end.  But then there’s another part, another chapter.

It felt, ambitious.

But it all comes back around in a satisfying way.

Alithea is free, she’s solitary, she can be and want without losing herself; the reaching out lets her know herself by understanding the Djinn, by the two of them discussing life.

It’s a magical film but also grounded because the characters are genuinely relatable: delightful.

 

The Northman

Rated: MA15+The Northman

Directed by: Robert Eggers

Written by: Sjón, Robert Eggers

Produced by: Mark Huffam, Lars Knudsen, Robert Eggers, Alexander Skarsgård, Arnon Milchan

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Björk.

‘We thirst for vengeance but cannot escape our fate.’

The Northman is set in a time when the gods are worshiped with blood and villages are plundered, the people chattel, either killed or taken as slaves.

Only the strong ones survive the pillaging.  And if they live to arrive at their next destination, most wish they’d died in their homes.

The film opens with stencil against the grey imagery of ash billowing, belching from a volcano.  It’s a brutal black and white world until a child, young prince Amleth (Oscar Novak) calls out: his father, King Auvand (Ethan Hawke) has returned home.

The King and Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) reunite, but not for long.

After King Auvand is betrayed and killed by his half-brother, Feng (Claes Bang), Amleth escapes, swearing to avenge his father and to free his mother.

The film runs in chapters so Amleth grows, becoming a wolf (Alexander Skarsgård).  Now he’s the brute, pillaging villages and talking slaves.  Until he’s reminded by a Seeress (Björk) of his promise of vengeance.

There’s a touch of magic in the story telling by Robert Eggers, with expansive scenes of Nordic grasslands, black sand with running rivers and the quiet of snowflakes falling.  The constant play of colour sets the mood of the film, with the black and white, the stark, to show the harsh fight for survival, to the red of fire, to a rebirth of green and new life.

The thread of the gods runs through the film like swords run through guts and throats and already cut-off noses; the Valkyrie rides a white horse into the heavens and the white-haired Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), whom Amleth is destined to meet, can talk to the earth and evoke the wind.

The story’s about fate and the gods and family, betrayal and survival.

There’s a flair of the dramatic that needed strong performances to hold the push of violence and drama and magic.  And Eggers achieved his vision – Kidman and Skarsgård particular highlights, with Willem Dafoe made for the role of Heimir the Fool – who’s, ‘wise enough to be the fool.’

The dramatic scenes have flair but are played with just enough restraint to add the right gravitas to the dialogue.

The violence too was intense but held back enough so as not to be disgusting but to allow a harsh reality.

Overall the best way I can describe, The Northman is a film of vengeance that is both brutal and beautiful.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Rated: MFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Directed by: David Yates

Screenplay Written by: J. K. Rowling & Steve Kloves

Based on the Screenplay by: J. K. Rowling

Produced by: David Heyman, J. K. Rowling, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram and Tim Lewis

Executive Producers: Neil Blair, Danny Cohen, Josh Berger, Courtenay Valenti and Michael Sharp

Starring: Eddie Redmaye, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston and Mads Mikkelsen.

‘No one can know everything.’

A quietly rocking train.  Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) sighs.

Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) comments, ‘They like to chatter, the muggle friends.’

Grindelwald thinks of muggles as animals.

‘But they do make a good cup of tea.’

Dumbledore and Grindelwald were going to take over the world when they were young.  They made a blood pact, a powerful spell meaning they could not harm the other.

Now that Grindelwald wants to destroy the muggle world and take control of the wizarding world, it’s a pact Dumbledore regrets.

The Secrets of Dumbledore continues on from the previous instalment of Magic Beasts.  And for me, this is the best one yet.

I was absolutely delighted, there’s no other way to describe the feeling of seeing Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) along with the Pickett, the Bowtruckle and Teddy the Niffler.

Newt describes Teddy as frankly a nightmare but what would he do without him?  Remembering Teddy’s also the critter who managed to steal back the pendant holding the blood of Dumbledore and Grindelwald – he’s a very clever Niffler still obsessed with gold and still hilarious.

Queenie (Alison Sudol) still resides with Grindelwald as does the darkly disturbed Obscurial, Credence (Ezra Miller) – the only wizard powerful enough to attempt to kill Dumbledore and used by Grindelwald because the pact dictates he cannot kill Dumbledore himself.

A wanted criminal, Grindelwald wants to be free. He wants to take over the world.

To fight back, Dumbledore calls upon: Newt along with Newt’s brother, Theseus (Callum Turner), Head of the British Auror Service; Newt’s assistant, Bunty (Victoria Yeates), ‘No one can know everything.  Not even you,’ she tells Newt.

Muggle baker Jacob (Dan Fogler) is called back, even though he’s heartbroken and doesn’t want to, he can’t resist saving a dame in distress; introducing, Eulalie Hicks (Jessica Williams): ‘Well, you do know I’m a witch, right?’

And finally, there’s Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) of an old wizardly bloodline quietly adding his graceful loyalty while he morns for his half-sister, Leta.

They all look at one another, so this is who’s going to save the world?

There’s a different tone to his instalment, less of that 1920s feel and more dungeons and deep dark forests, temples on clifftops and snow falling from the sky as Credence uses the Obscurian to tear the streets apart.

Newt with his fantastic beasts adds lighthearted moments, his crablike dance to pacify, well, killer crabs had the entire audience in the cinema giggling.

Again, the beasts were a strong feature in the film, and what I also really enjoy in, Fantastic Beasts is the use of objects – the pendant holding the blood pact, the snake wand, Newt’s case holding the magic beasts.  The attention to detail is thoroughly absorbing.  Every detail balanced, the storyline, well-paced.

There’s a perfect play of darkness and light in, The Secrets of Dumbledore as the story starts digging deeper: it’s funny, sometimes confronting, it’s explosive, dramatic and heart-warming.

I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Dune

Part OneDune

Rated: M

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Based on the novel written by: Frank Herbert

Screenplay written by: Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts

Produced by: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Joe Caracciolo and Villeneuve

Executive Producers: Tanya Lapointe, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Thomas Tull, Jon Spaihts, Richard P. Rubinstein, John Harrison and Herbert W. Gains

Director of Photography: Greig Fraser

Costume Designer: Jacqueline West

Composer: Hans Zimmer

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Stephen Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, with Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.

The film opens with, “Dreams are messages from the deep,” written across the screen.  A thread that flows through-out the film lending that magical touch to a film that at its foundation, is political intrigue.

Based on the novel written by Frank Herbert, Dune (Part One) is a story of the desert, greed, vengeance, witches and blood.

I was reminded at times of the previous adaptation directed by David Lynch, Dune (1984), immediately taken back with the spit scene, the device used so well then and used again here like a nod of respect to the previous film.  There’s also John Harrison’s 2000 miniseries, “Frank Herbert’s Dune.” And the 2003 sequel miniseries titled “Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune,” starring James McAvoy. However, I’m reviewing Dune (2021) without comparison, preferring to take the film as it stands.

It’s 10191.  The House of Harkonnen has been mining spice from the desert sands of Arrakis for the last 80 years getting obscenely rich, while the people of Arrakis are given nothing by the Outsiders but violence and pain in return.

It’s a system that has worked well.  So why does the Emperor decide to give The House of Atreides the right to move into the desert city and take over the mining?

House of Atreides is powerful.  Too powerful.

‘When is a gift not a gift?’

The Duke’s son, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) has to learn about the politics of the Empire quickly.  He’s been trained to fight by Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), he’s been counselled by his father, The Duke (Oscar Isaac), he has been shown The Path by his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).

So he trains, he listens to his father.  And he dreams.

I liked the serious tone of, Dune, offset by the warmth of Paul’s friend, Duncan (Jason Momoa) and his father.

‘What do they say of Arrakis?’

‘To shower, you scrub your arse with sand.’

But mostly, Dune is a dark film.  The waking life of Paul sometimes the stuff of nightmares with giant worms shifting the sand from beneath like the waves of an ocean, their massive mouths filled with teeth to suck anything that makes sound into their abyss; and the cruelty as the innocent are beheaded without actually seeing the gore – you don’t need to see the dead to know the deed is being done.

This is more about the foreboding build of tension that Denis Villeneuve does so well.

The film begins with the sound of a thudding heartbeat.

And here, Villeneuve’s trademark usage of the soundtrack is layered with the sound of different languages spoken and the silence of hands moving in sign language like the thread of the story pulled together into this web of intrigue from the Emperor and his games, the brutal Harkonnen made rich from mining spice, the mystery of the people of Arrakis and the dangerous power passed from Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica to her son.

What threw me was the introduction of hope into the film.

I enjoyed the desert aesthetic and tribal feel of the Arrakis people, but the hope of the people was pushed into dramatic territory and the build of tension began to fade.

But wow, I was awed by this film, with mouth dropping open at the scenery, the use of light, the pattern of rock, the flowing yellow fabric of Lady Jessica’s dress in the desert wind, the explosive bombs dropping from spaceships, desecrating the landscape below and the story of betrayal, political play and intrigue.

Definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

Mortal Kombat

Rated: R

Directed by: Simon McQuoid

Produced by: James Wan

Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Ludi Lin, Chin Han and Mehcad Brooks.

Death is just another portal.

The Tournament is coming.  Where worlds send warriors who have unlocked their arcana, their power of the soul, to fight.

The Outworld has won the last nine tournaments against Earthrealm, and is set to win the tenth by any means, giving them domination over the Universe.

Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), a Cryomancer, is determined to end the bloodline of Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada ) – dating back to Japan 1617, where Hanzo is seen living his day-to-day life with his family.  He says to his wife, ‘I am grateful and blessed to be with you.’

He’s a good guy.

Sent to hell.

His family left frozen amongst the flowers.

The film shifts to modern times, a jolt to MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) getting a pep talk from his coach before walking into the cage.

He carries a mark he doesn’t understand.  A mark making him an Earthrealm champion.

He’s also a family man, about to take a beating.

I braced myself for the cheesy asides and family drama while Cole dodges Sub-Zero, Cole unaware of his heritage dating back to that fateful day in Japan where a baby is somehow overlooked and survives (how was this overlooked, I wondered at the time?).

But while Outworld’s Emperor, Shang Tsung sends his warriors to take down Earth’s champions before the high stakes battle even begins, the film introduces a pleasant (well, maybe pleasant isn’t the right word) surprise: chained-up rogue mercenary, Kano (Josh Lawson).  An Aussie meat-head that immediately disarms with comments like, ‘You don’t have the mongrel in you.’  And, ‘No skin off my sack.’ Ha, ha!

I wasn’t expecting crude humour in this video game inspired action fantasy, and was thankful for the risk, lightening the mood, adding to the already entertaining bloody action-packed fights.

Then the film got a little more serious with the good versus evil, or Earthworld versus the Outworlders as Cole finds the temple of Lord Raiden to train, to find his arcana.

Mortal Kombat is an entertaining action movie with good effects: frozen swords and triple, quadruple kicks and getting sawed in half and arms-frozen-off action.

Good on the big screen that gets bloody, with a splash of humour – while entertained in the cinema watching, immediately forgotten – I have to blame some of my distraction on the hellish (ha, ha, excuse the pun, those fans of Scorpion) – day.

There’s a few holes in the story that got me wondering about the why (fans of the video game franchise will notice nods to the game and get more out of the storyline).  But there’re enough surprises, laughs and satisfying wins to make Mortal Kombat (the movie) a good entertainer.

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train

Rated: MA 15+Demon Slayer

Directed by: Haruo Sotozaki

Written by: Ufotable

Produced by: Akifumi Fujio, Masanori Miyake, Yūma Takahashi

Voices: Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitō,  Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Hiro Shimono, Akira Ishida

Early in the film, a motley band of friends is racing to jump aboard a steam train that has already begun pulling away from the station. They are hampered by their swords which they need to keep hidden from the other passengers. Even so, they all bring their swords aboard because, ‘You never know when a demon might appear.’

Their plan is to meet up with the revered Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku (Hiro Shimono), and join him in the Corps of Demon Slayers. Forty passengers have recently disappeared off the Mugen train and there are suspicions that demons have infiltrated the line.

One of the essential differences between this film and its western counterparts is the way that the bad guys are conceptualised. In the west the baddies are stars and their backstory and motivations are often the focus.

Whereas in the Japanese film, demons do not act according to reason. The Japanese demons are almost solely defined by their appearance and their actions. This, of course, switches the role of their heroes also.

I noticed this in particular when I compared Mugen Train with Wonder Woman 1984. While both films are about vanquishing demons there are some significant contrasts.

In Wonder Woman, the evolution of the villain from smarmy snake oil salesman type to world conquering demon is far more nuanced in comparison to the personal journey of the exceptional being graced with magical powers who swoops in to save humanity from a demon who is manipulating the population through their wishes.

In Mugen Train the aspiring demon slayers all hail from humble backgrounds. Even the Flame Hashira Rengoku has come from a modest home and has risen above some heart wrenching setbacks.

The demon slayers could be you or me if we were that devoted to a cause, with Inosuke (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka), the boar-headed one appealing to the lustier side of our natures.

While ravening demons that immediately regenerate may have an unfair advantage in battle, at least until they are beheaded, the demon slayers each have a spiritual core which aligns them to the vast elemental forces of the earth.

Rengoku is able to call upon the Blooming Flame Undulation and Blazing Universe forms to pit against Destructive Death: Air Type of the demon.  Life hangs in the balance as the monster Akaza (Akira Ishida) confronts him with his own mortality, ‘Strength isn’t a word to describe a body . . . If you refuse to become a demon I’ll kill you. You’ll die while you are still young and strong.’

In this film dynamic action sequences and epic battles with a slew of hideous, soul slurping demons, but there is also a deep reverence for the fragility of life this planet and the elements that support our being. This is a film that ends with the question, ‘What’s more important than grief?’ It is a question the film asks so delicately we barely notice that we have been asked, and yet it is asking us to identify what it is that we will fight to the death to save.

Whenever I think of adult animations I usually feel that I have outgrown them so I was in for a surprise. The animation is so sensitively wrought, visually rich and poetically resonant in a piece of filmmaking with subtlety and depth.

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