MST3K, RiffTrax, and Beyond: Cinema Playground Journal 2024: Week 9 (My Cinema Playground)

Multiplex Madness

Dune: Part Two

⭐⭐1/2

Genre: Science Fiction

Director: Denis Villeneuve

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

I guarantee you that nobody wants to read what I have to say about Dune, so it's best if you move along.

I'm trying so hard with this franchise. It's lovely to look at, but the further into the Dune story I get, the less interesting it becomes. The first one started off well enough, but just kept stumbling about in a bored drone as it went on forever, without even a climax to conclude it. I give it a little bit of leeway because the urgency of an upper-class family seeing their privilege shatter around them was at least exciting. Dune: Part 2une continues on from that, and now Timothée Chalamet must learn to use his big boy voice and establish himself as Sandworm Jesus. That's pretty all this movie has to offer. There might be some extra coating of the exploitation of faith for one's own goals, but the movie doesn't explore it in any enticing way and I just found the whole thing superficial. And it plays out in a jumpy timeframe where passage of time is alluded but feels inconsistent throughout, as some events feel like months have passed, while others feel like days. It's a film that has confident presentation, but upon closer inspection feels as if it could crumble at any minute. A lot of the visuals are nice, I love the costume design, the action sequences are exquisit, and Rebecca Ferguson looks really hot with super-blue eyes. I just wasn't that compelled. I probably could have watched Madame Web twice during this movie's runtime and got more out of the experience.

Art Attack

The Promised Land

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Director: Nikolaj Arcel

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Melina Hagberg, Kristine Kujath Thorp

Denmark's submission for International Oscar was domestically titled "The Bastard," which is fucking hardcore. No doubt somebody thought the simpler title of "The Promised Land" would sell better to the arthouse market. Both titles adequately describe different aspects of the movie, so pick your poison. The Bastard Land stars Mads Mikkelsen as a retired, impoverished captain who talks the royal court into allowing him to build a farm on the king's land. With little resources at his disposal, he faces hardship in putting forth a successful harvest, which includes a magistrate who claims the land he's farming on belongs to him. The film tells a story of a man who seeks out respect from those who look down on him, but accidentally builds a family of his own out of outcasts he hires as farmhands. And yet, he is faced with difficult choices in the face of discrimination based upon who he is and who he keeps around him, often with violent repercussions. It's a film that is somehow both beautiful and ugly at the same time, weaving a tale of people with modest and peaceful goals and those who refuse to let them. It's also a lot more intense than you might expect, and it's a film I find myself eager to revisit. Perhaps very soon. As soon as I got out of my screening, I bought it digitally, so that should probably tell you something.

Oscar Nominees

20 Days in Mariupol ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The ABCs of Book Banning ⭐⭐1/2

The After ⭐️⭐️⭐️

American Fiction ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

American Symphany (N/A)

Anatomy of a Fall ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

The Barber of Little Rock ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Barbie ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Bobi Wine: The People's President (N/A)

The Boy and the Heron ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

El Conde (N/A)