Dune

A thriller, more action-packed, possibly the best of the trilogy, shot on film, Paul is bald, depressed, and crazy, Pattinson and ATJ joining the cast, Denis saying it’s his most personal installment— the trailer yesterday genuinely blowed my mind. Anyone who’s been following me for a bit or has read some of my reviews knows just how much I’m obsessed with Dune— both the films and books— and Messiah (I guess I need to get used to calling it Part Three) looks absolutely, unbelievably incredible, with entire set pieces that look just as I imagined them in my head. I have so many theories and thoughts, so I think, after I rewatched Part One earlier today, this feels like a very fine opportunity to use this review as my overall thoughts: • Fucking Rob Pattinson as Scytale— I just know that the masses (me included) are not ready. He is Paul's most formidable and dangerous enemy in the books, and even the trailer makes it clear that Villeneuve will show even more scenes with him and make him a true, morally ambiguous devil. As Pattinson perfectly said: “I wouldn't say he was a kind of conventional bad guy as such. I don't think he is. He might even be a good guy. Who knows? I will also find out when I see the movie. It's an extremely fun character to play and the look for it is quite incredible.". • Greig Fraser is one of the greatest living cinematographers and both Parts One and Part Two looked utterly incredible through his lens, and even though I was quite skeptical, the trailer proved that Linus Sandgren is the perfect change for Part Three. It looks like he’s taken the abstract, philosophical dread of the novel and translated it directly into cinematic language. His visual language completely strips away the traditional heroic framing seen in typical sci-fi epics. His cinematography perfectly sets it apart from the first two parts, but in a way that still feels both extremely exciting, fresh, and new, and also completely in line with the world Denis and Greg established. • ATJ is the casting of my lifetime. Aside from the fact that she looks exactly how I imagined Alia and carries that same ethereal, otherworldly presence, she’s simply also arguably my favorite actor playing arguably my favorite character. Anya said: “She (Alia) carries the weight and the wisdom of generations and generations in her head. She’s never in a singular conversation. It’s kind of everything everywhere, all at once. And the one thing that she really feels most strongly about is her love and devotion to her brother, because that is the only person who’s ever made her feel like she makes sense.”, and the fact that she understands her on that level makes me feel like we’re in VERY good hands. • Also, Alia with dark hair?! I’m currently rereading the series and there’s that very beautiful passage in the first book that Jessica says when she and Paul are with the Fremen: “And what of the unborn daughter she had carried these few weeks? What of a dead Duke’s daughter? And she permitted herself to face fully the significance of this other child growing within her, to see her own motives in permitting the conception. She knew what it was—she had succumbed to that profound drive shared by all creatures who are faced with death—the drive to seek immortality through progeny. The fertility drive of the species had overpowered them.” Man, the concept of Jessica, knowing that Leto would die on Arrakis, impulsively conceiving Alia with dark hair out of a sense of grief and, by that, essentially creating another piece of Leto to hold on after his death. Like… I’m gonna fucking kill myself. • I’m so excited to see how the film will explore the themes of religious decay and disillusionment of some of the Fremen post The Jihad. The same Fremen who were once Paul’s most devoured followers, after now 17 years of war, will now become his strongest enemies. After the ashes of carcasses come questioning, resentment, and betrayal. There are these 2 beautiful quotes from Messiah: “Empires do not suffer emptiness of purpose at the time of their creation. It is when they become established that aims are lost and replaced by vague ritual.” and “No matter how exotic human civilization becomes, no matter of life and society, nor the complexity of the human/ machine interface, there always come interludes of lonely power. When the course of humankind, the very future of humankind depends on the relatively simple actions of single individuals.” I hope Denis makes it horrifying, polarizing, grotesque, evil, depressing, and epic. I trust my goat, and in the meantime, I’ll be rewatching & studying each frame of that trailer for the next 9 months. I’ve seen enough— Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Casting, Best VFX, Best editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best cinematography, Best Sound, Best Hair & Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best production Design. JUST GIVE IT ALL!!!