DUNE

Timothee Chalamet     Rebecca Ferguson     Oscar Isaac     Zendaya     Jason Momoa

Stellen Skarsgard     Stephen McKinley Henderson     Javier Bardem     Chen Chang

Sharon Duncan-Brewster     Dave Bautista     Charlotte Rampling

            I would say it’s just glorious to be enthralled by the sensory extravaganza that Dune presents.  The vistas and patterns of shimmering sand in the desert (Greig Fraser, Cinematographer), the elegance of the aircraft, the fascinating production design (Patrice Vermette), the eeriness of the music (Hans Zimmer) and sound effects—Denis Villeneuve and his collaborating filmmakers mesh together so well, the film is like a living tapestry that is spellbinding.  

            And the cast!  Beginning with Chalamet as an ideal Paul Atreides, a duke’s son trained in a comprehensive framework of arms, politics and government, and prophecy.  His eyes, his bearing, his obvious sincerity all convey a special person—let alone his handsome looks.  All the casting choices are spot on.  We get Oscar Isaac as Paul’s father and Duke of Atreides cynically awarded a planet in the Imperium by jealous calculating emperor Shaddam.  He portrays nobility and a genuine sense of fairness in the universe. Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s mother sees that he is physically/mentally/emotionally prepared for an expected destiny.  She demonstrates the power of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood which is intimidating physically and emotionally and keenly perceptive.  Jason Momoa as Duncan the Atreides’ swordmaster, Josh Brolin as the Atreides’ weapons expert, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar the leader of the desert Fremen all demonstrate their characters’ particular skills and their mentoring attachment to Paul.  Sharon Duncan-Brewster as the ecology-aware Dr. Liet Kynes; and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam, from the exclusive sisterhood Bene Gesserit aptly fill out a stellar cast.  In a departure from the book, Dr. Kynes (played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster) is a female, presumably a nod to contemporary times.

            For those not familiar with the story, the universe consists of a number of planets, each with its own head.  Over all is the emperor of the conglomerate, the Imperium, which has a huge army, the Sardauker.  In the mix is the planet Arrakis, which is extremely valuable for its “spice” found in the sands of its desert.  This spice, mélange, promotes youth, vitality, and lifespan, is a valuable resource.  Planet Harkonnen has held its sway on Arrakis for years, exploiting the crop of spice for its own benefit, along with cooking the books to favor itself.  Now, the emperor is not only worried about his revenue from this planet, but he is jealous of Lord Atreides of Caladan.  

            Thinking he will win by pitting the two against each other, the emperor appoints Lord Atreides to the Arrakis planet in direct opposition to Harkonnen.  (The fact that he will eventually favor Harkonnen over Atreides is part of the story.)  But he hasn’t taken into account the Atreides’ humanitarian bent.  The Duke is committed to good governance, which includes diplomatically engaging the Fremen, masters of the desert, whom the Harkonnens have mistreated.

            This account of Dune ends with Paul and his mother Lady Jessica being rescued from the desert by the Fremen who are wondering if he is their messiah.  This is Villeneuve’s Part One; Part Two is planned for a later release.

 

Thrill to the story of interplanetary competition mixed in with mystical realism in an epochal battle for the good.

 

Grade:  A                              By Donna R. Copeland 

MY SPY

Dave Bautista     Kristen Schaal     Parisa Fitz-Henley    Chloe Coleman    Kim Jeong

     This mildly entertaining “spy story” is formulaic and predictable, although it’s the kind of movie many families love, with a cheeky kid, a little romance, some danger, and an uplifting message.  The bad guys are truly evil, the hero is flawed but teachable, and there are enough tense situations to produce a bit of sweat.

     Dave Bautista as JJ, a CIA agent, is charged with protecting a widow and her daughter after the woman’s husband is killed and his brother is likely to come after them, looking for valuable information hidden in a missing external drive. This is a comedown for JJ, who has just taken out a whole cluster of criminals in Paris the CIA was hoping to get information from—a mistake of overkill, literally.  Moreover, in this new assignment, he is sent to partner with Bobbi (Schaal), a tech backup who has a bad case of hero worship and aspirations to become a full-fledged spy.  JJ is disdainful of such foolishness.

     But JJ is unprepared for the child and mother he is supposed to protect.  Nine year-old Sophie (Coleman) is shown to be cagey beyond her years, and immediately identifies something her dog uncovers in their apartment—a camera (heh-heh; thank you, Internet!). The rest of the plot thereafter involves JJ’s and Bobbi’s management of the case and the appearance of a real threat.

     Young Chloe Coleman as Sophie is the best part of the movie, primarily for her acting skills, not so much for the script, which has her spouting out lines that are obviously written by an adult.  But despite the artifice, the actress pulls it off and is entertaining throughout.  

     As a former wrestling champion with ups and downs, Bautista easily conforms to the brawny, slightly wooden CIA character with a grieving heart who can be manipulated by a smart kid.  Kristen Schaal and Parisa Fitz-Henley are given roles that first present as softies, but I appreciated the fact that the writers and directors gave them some aggressive tools to use at critical moments.

     My Spy is clearly a family film meant to inspire without getting too far into controversial issues.  It’s mainly a light, fun film for those looking for just that.

A film meant for those wanting a feel-good story with some excitement.

Grade:  C                                                            By Donna R. Copeland

HOTEL ARTEMIS

Jodie Foster     Sterling K. Brown    Sofia Boutella     Jeff Goldblum

Jenny Slate     Dave Bautista     Charlie Day     Brian Tyree Henry

     There is no honor among thieves—true most of the time.  But that adage is disproven now and again in Hotel Artemis.  The hotel was created as a gesture of honor years before 2028 when this story takes place, one among many interesting twists in the narrative about a kind of hospital for wounded criminals, administered by The Nurse (Foster). Riots about the shortages of water are flaming in Los Angeles, which makes the hospital very busy.  But a few clear-cut rules have been designed to establish order, e.g., only paid members admitted, no cops admitted, no weapons allowed, no serial killers or pedophiles admitted, no real names used, etc.  Each person is called by the name of his/her room, e.g., Waikiki, Honolulu, Acapulco, Nice. (One of the clever little features that elicits a smile from us.)  Nurse runs a tight ship aided by her trusted Everest (Bautista), who towers above everyone else, is completely devoted to his job and to Nurse, and is handy in managing the electrical generators and being a bouncer when called upon.    

     On a particular Wednesday night during the riots, only one room is vacant when Nurse is handed a dilemma that will cause her to break one of her own rules, and coincidentally, other infractions happen for various reasons, and then suddenly a call comes from the owner of the establishment needing to be admitted. This happens to be Wolf King (Goldblum), crime boss of the city.  Beyond the main events, sub-plots are interwoven involving activist Waikiki (Brown) and his brother Honolulu (Henry), the assassin Nice (Boutella) and her fluctuating relationships with Waikiki and Acapulco (Day), a loud-mouth American full of bluster and entitlement, and a mysterious patient (Morgan) with a significant past connection to Nurse.

     Drew Pearce, writer/director, and his team have produced an unusual take on a crime story with elements of mystery, suspense, and intrigue; colorful but entirely believable, complicated characters (the most complex being Foster’s “Nurse”); Cliff Martinez’s expressive score; Chung-Hoon Chung’s guiding cinematography; and all the others involved in making the film a work of art.  And we must not omit the many, many modes of humor and plain laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled in here and there. Quotable quotes run rife. “You work with what you got; not what you hoped for.”  [My dad] lives in Florida; life took him out already.”  “They bought your death; don’t give them your dignity for free.”  And finally, “Getting out is always tougher than getting in.”

     This is likely to be another star in Jodie Foster’s star-studded acting crown, easily measuring up to a host of award-winning performances in Silence of the Lambs, The Accused, Taxi Driver, and Contact—just to name a few.  It was personally gratifying to see her physical appearance reflecting her life of grief and servitude rather than her being “prettied up.”  Gray-haired and wrinkled, and relying on inspirational tapes to manage her anxiety, asthma, and other maladies, Foster delivers on-point perfection in giving us an in-depth look at her character with a significant past.

     Also notable are Sofia Boutella (always mesmerizing), Sterling K. Brown as an honorable “criminal” loyal to his brother to a fault, Dave Bautista as a bouncer with a heart, Charlie Day as an American stereotype who talks too loudly and too much, and Jeff Goldblum as an astute crime boss who’s disappointed in his youngest son for being too soft.

Hotel Artemis:  A place like you’ve never seen before, with goings on that thrill, chill, pull the strings of your heart, and make you chuckle.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Chris Pratt     Zoe Saldana     Dave Bautista     Vin Diesel     Bradley Cooper     Kurt Russell

Michael Rooker     Karen Gillan     Pom Klementieff     Elizabeth Debicki     Sylvester Stallone

     The complex action, visually capturing special effects, dry humor, and honest human emotions that were in the first GOTG are just as present here.  Director James Gunn co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Abnett, based on Marvel’s Comics, with credit given to the creators of certain characters.  Tender or heated dramatics with Quill’s curious circumstances around his history help balance the story with ferocious, fast-action battles and the, sometimes, hilarious arguments between protagonists.

     To open, we see a snippet of Quill’s parents during their courting days 34 years earlier in Missouri, his dad showing his mother a special plant that has great promise for him.  Jump to 2014, and Captain Quill (Pratt) and his team [Gamora (Saldana), Drax (Bautista), Baby Groot (Diesel), and Rocket (Cooper)] are being congratulated by Ayesha (Debicki) for doing good work.  Unfortunately, there is a kink in the good will when she discovers that some of her special batteries were stolen.  Feeling betrayed, she and her army are on their tail before long, and when that is a failure, she hires another group led by Yondu (Rooker), Quill’s father figure, to join the posse.  Adding complexity to the plot include mutiny, the resurfacing of Gamora’s evil sister Nebula (Gillan), and the appearance of Stakar Ogord (Stallone) to remind Yondu of his going against the code and the reason for his exile.

     Of course, the pièce de résistance is the arrival of a weird-looking spaceship that no one recognizes.  Out comes Ego (Russell), claiming to be Quill’s biological father who takes him and his crew to his very own planet.  As expected, there will be explanations, exclamations, and struggles as Quill tries to cope with this information and his father’s plans.

     The combination of entertaining characters and their interactions with one another made this film for me, although I did enjoy the special effects, especially the stunning weapons greeting a group of predators who thought they had Quill and his team captured.  The flirtatious teasing between Quill and Gamora and Drax and Mantis, along with Rocket and Groot becoming friends with everyone makes this a fun view.  But it’s more than that; it comments on the human condition in a most entertaining way.

     Chris Pratt shows his talent in combining the traits of a hunk with a genuine, caring regular guy (as he does here and recently in Passengers).  Kurt Russell is on a roll with this, The Fate of the Furious, Deepwater Horizon, and The Hateful Eight; but this role seems more substantive, and should win him more deserved recognition.  As well, the rest of the cast adds color and depth to their characters, contributing to a remarkable film.  And I would like to underscore the artistic merit of the music by Tyler Bates and cinematography by Henry Braham. 

Delightful entertainment balancing emotional valence with impressive special effects.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland