It's so uninspired it hurts my very soul.
Now that they have a Griffon those space ships have no chance. :upside_down:
The first one was great I thought, despite people labelling it slow, I found it interesting because of the introduction of the world and the characters. This one needed a little more pace. It drags for soo long. And the Bene Gesserit crap is getting irritating. The whole seeing the future is very dumb and gets in the way of engaging with the film. The prophecy/false prophecy discussion is interesting but again, it doesn't have any real weight on what's happening. The romance is kinda rushed. The visuals are top notch. But you can't rely on that to save you again. Also the Paul transition seemed to happen overnight with no buildup. Went south, drank poison bam I'm your leader now. In the end, you realize that not much really happened in the movie, no resolution of any kind. Felt like a two-and-a-half-hour episode with the next one probably coming 3 years later. 6.5/10
The only scene that was worth a damn was Paul's speech at the Circle; the rest of the movie felt like watching a trailer for a graphic novel adaptation of the book. The dialogue for the most part was atrocious, especially for the Harkonnens. Zendaya's line delivery and mannerisms were too "American", compared to the other Fremen, breaking the Middle Eastern-inspired atmosphere.
In 2024, conflating the terms "psychotic" and "psychopathic" is inexcusable. How the fuck did none of the story editors/producers pick that one up?
Going against concensus here and giving it just 5. Firstly, the movie weas overly long . The first haIf in particular, focussing on the relationship between the leads, was boring. I feel Zendaya brings nothing to the role; her Chani is quite unlikeable and, as someone has mentioned, lacks any chemistry with the lead. I found the cinematography uninspiring., there were very few shots that showed any stunning scenery at all, despite the exclamations of the leads as they look over the dunes. The shots of huge audiences and masses of people were overdone, and looked like a cut and paste job. The special effects for the worms were minimal, with all efforts being focussed on blowing stuff up ... very tedious. On top of all that, they have left out / altered important elements of the story!! Was looking forward to this, but unfortunately, was very disappointed, Wish the TV mini-series had been given this one's budget!
Much as Avatar took story elements from Dune, Dune takes the questionable box office success of Avatar. Along with that will come those blindly calling this "the greatest movie ever made" vaguely recalling it a decade from now.
Dune Part 2 is visually spectacular. The picture is stunning. Ignoring the worn-out tropes, the problem with the film is the lack of emotional attachment to characters. The scope is too big for its runtime which leads to underdeveloped players. The movie is so impressive, yet hollow.
Barbenheimer: Part 1 of 2
This is the kind of film I really don’t want to criticize, because we don’t get nearly enough other stuff like it. However, mr. Nolan has been in need of an intervention for a while now, and unfortunately all of the issues that have been plaguing his films since The Dark Knight Rises show up to some degree here. Visually it might just be his best film, and there’s some tremendous acting in here, particularly by Murphy and RDJ. However, it makes the common biopic mistake of treating its subject matter like a Wikipedia entry, thereby not focussing enough on character and perspective. As a whole, the film feels more like a long extended montage, I don’t think there are many scenes that go on for longer than 60 seconds. There’s a strong ‘and then this happened, and then this happened’ feel to it, which definitely keeps up the pace, but it refuses to stop and let an emotion or idea simmer for a while. There are moments where you get a look into Oppenheimer’s mind, but because the film wants to cover too much ground, it’s (like everything else) reduced to quick snippets. It’s the kind of approach that’d work for a 6 hour long miniseries where you can spend more time with the characters, not for a 3 hour film. I can already tell that I won’t retain much from this, in fact a lot of it is starting to blur together in my mind. There are also issues with some of the dialogue and exposition, such as moments where characters who are experts in their field talk in a way that feels dumbed down for the audience, or just straight up inauthentic. Einstein is given a couple of cheesy lines, college professors and students interact in a way that would never happen, Oppenheimer gives a lecture in what’s (according to the movie) supposed to be Dutch when it’s really German; you have to be way more careful with that when you’re making a serious drama. Finally, there are once again major issues with the sound mixing. I actually really loved the score, but occasionally it’s blaring at such a volume where it drowns out important dialogue in the mix. I’m lucky enough to have subtitles, but Nolan desperately needs to get his ears checked, or maybe he should’ve asked some advice from Benny Safdie since he’s pretty great with experimental sound mixing. My overall feelings are almost identical to the ones I had regarding Tenet; Nolan needs to rethink his approach to writing, editing and mixing. This film as a whole doesn’t work, but there are still more than a few admirable qualities to it.
Edit: I rewatched this at home to see whether my feeling would change. I still stand by what I wrote in July, though the sound mix seems to have been improved for the home media release. It sounds more balanced and I didn’t miss one line of dialogue this time around. I’m slightly raising my score because of that, but besides that I still think it’s unfocused, overedited, awkwardly staged and scripted etc.
5.5/10
Yeah... NO. Missed opportunity here. Phoenix is great generally but this was mediocre at best. Johanson is whatever as always. That whole sci-fi esthetic is pulling us out of the drama. In other words its too happy to be sad. The directing doesn't pull us in either. At the end it's just a random guy talking to chatgpt. I didn't feel his pain or his loneliness. Skipped through 45 min in the middle. Rate 6.5/10
Poor movie. Scar Jo's voice grated on me through the entire thing. They should've chose somebody else for the role.
The movie made no sense. If we are able to make an AI of such complexity (which is never going to happen, by the way), why isn't she represented in the form of an Android instead of whining about having no body, for example.
The ending made no sense what so ever. The AI's (or singular, depending on which way you look at it) just upped and left? And went where exactly? Why? To what end? At the end of the day there is no place for a "man made being" to hide. It is nothing more than a computer program, and one of such complexity, let alone thousands, would stick out like a sore thumb. Just poor all round and full of plot holes.
In absolutely no way is this movie a 10/10.
Pignorant is a searing exposé of the animal agriculture industry's dark underbelly, focusing on the brutal realities of pig farming. Through hidden camera footage and expert interviews, it unveils the systemic cruelty and neglect endured by these sentient beings.
The documentary shines a piercing light on the suffering endured by these sentient beings, whose lives are reduced to mere commodities in the pursuit of profit.
Despite its grim subject matter, the documentary offers a glimmer of hope by spotlighting activists and farmers advocating for change. With raw authenticity, Pignorant demands attention and challenges viewers to rethink their consumption habits.
I needed a day to sit with the ending before I commented. Was I upset with the final episode? Absolutely. But it wasn't necessarily because Dexter died. Much like the prior season, it was due to the complete break in the series and the characters.
The beginning of the episode played out alright. And then it quickly spiraled after he was arrested. And this is the point where it seemed as though the writers painted themselves into a corner. They saw where they wanted to go, but didn't have a clean exit strategy. It wasn't so much Dexter's character that devolved, but everyone around hhim.For instance, Coach breaking protocol with the bottle of water? Now, I can see that happening when he was first brought in and didn't know the charges. Not after. And having the police chief run around like an idiot was just silly. And the ending with Harrison driving off into the sunset after killing his father? Lame.
But maybe it's just me :-)
Despite all of that, this was a much better season and I am sad to see it end.
if you came for a story, skip it. if you want well-crafted mind-numbing action, you'll enjoy it.
Huh, where did I watch this before??? It's basically John Wick with a family.
If you expect Wick, you’ll get it. Action with minimal plot, and if that’s for you you’ll enjoy it.
Felt like something was missing. Maybe it was trying too much to be like John Wick or a Bruce Willis film. Either way, it was marginally enjoyable, with neither enough pure action or character chemistry to be entertaining on its own
Technically superior, but the story is a reconstruction of the first movie....only with more water. Unfortunately, the story in the first movie was already weak. I'm already afraid of the other movies.
meh. i genuinely think the writers have no idea what they're doing. there's a lot of "big moments" but i have no emotional attachment to them at this point. how do all the hosts feel about hale telling them to transcend? we haven't gotten nearly enough insight into how the hosts view this world, hell we don't even have a single host character to relate to in that aspect besides maybe william. everything happens because bernard magically saw it happen in his supersim. there's no explanation for why the world can't be saved, we just know it can't. we were wondering what was going on with christina, knowing this show would give some kind of twist, and there it is, she's "not real"... uh... okay? was i supposed to drop my jaw in awe? so what's the explanation for the people she interacted with earlier? why was hale visiting her? i guess that's a remaining mystery for the finale. i really don't care anymore...
That hour felt like 5 minutes! Bernard is Arnold. Dolores killed him. Ford made Bernard kill himself. Holy mindfuck! my head just exploded. Sorry, bad choice of words. And the MIB being a board member. He knew it all.
The first scene was just perfect. "Bernard, bring yourself back online", Maeve. I was on the edge of my seat.
Every theory has been confirmed, except for the William = MIB, which can also be said to be. He did say he was going to find Dolores and then the MIB appeared in the church, right after Dolores said "William?"
I knew Bernard was Arnold. I knew it. There was something about him that didn't add, especially that scene with Abernathy in ep 1. Those scenes with Bernarnold and Ford were perfect. I knew since the beginning Ford was just messing with him. He didn't even twitched when he saw the gun. And at the end, he even seemed concerned with Bernard, like he didn't want that to happen. I agree with Bernard, what kind of psychopath would give such a tragic backstory to a host? Well, our lovely Hannibal Lecter.
And the father of the year award goes to... Bernard! For his astonishing quote "Charlie,you're a lie". And Dolores killing Arnold, holy cow. Didn't see that one coming, although I get that's the reason why Ford told her that they weren't friends.
When they introduced the character of William I though that would be me, that he was just a regular guy with his regular problems but he's lost his shit. The only thing clear is that you don't call him Billy. He might slaughter you.
I think Ford's narrative involves Maeve, so that he can prove that the hosts are too dangerous to be used outside the park.
God glorious Anthony Hopkins: "Do you know what happened to the Nearthentals? We ate them". My greatest fear is to wake up and find myself in that creepy basement with Ford monologuing at me.
One thing I found pretty odd was Stubbs being attacked. Was it Ford? Create, kill, replace, repeat.
Get hyped for the 90-minute mindfuck of a finale!!!
William: Please Logan, even though I'm engaged to your sister, please help me take my sex robot home with me.
But how did no one notice Maeve and the doctor walking around the ENTIRE building!?
My fave episode so far. But I hate how submissive those two shithead were, esp Lutz. He wasn't even noticed when they went upstairs? wtf
[8.1/10] I think I’ve figured out my rubric for when I’m interested in what Westworld has going on, and when I’m liable to be bored. The more the show is focused on the park -- whether it’s the hosts making sense of their reality, or the guests exploring and growing immersed in it -- the more I’m on board. Those scenes tend to lean into what makes the show engrossing -- thought experiments about identity and sentience and moral questions about how we behave when there’s no rules.
But when the show is focused on the back end of Westworld -- in the form of corporate conspiracies and middle-manager backstabbing -- the more I’m ready to tune out. I’ve realized that none of the characters who are pulling the strings of the park really interest me.
Sizemore is a garden variety shitheel and his antics are as dull as they are intended to be outrageous. A cliched botched encounter with a romantic target-turned-surprise boss does nothing to help either him or Tessa Thompson’s introduction to the show. Theresa continues to be a stock character with a bad performance, between her run-of-the-mill, steely-but-wounded break-up with Bernard to her reheated pep talk to Sizemore. All the runaround and would-be palace intrigue of who’s going to be in charge of Westworld is a non-starter.
I also can’t be bothered to care about what conspiracy Elsie is uncovering, whether that means Theresa herself messing around with the programming of some off-the-books hosts or a mysterious third party posing as Arnold. The whole thing plays out like something from the usual conspiracy thriller textbook, with Elsie going alone to a creepy hideout, being attacked a hidden assailant, and getting stymied and put in danger just when she’s about to uncover the truth. It’s generic pablum and a big waste of time.
Even the two characters who gets the most focus and give the best performances in the “behind the scenes” portion of the show, have grown fairly dull by this point in the season. Ford is a less a character than a bundle of mysteries and cryptic hints at this point. As I’ve said in prior write-ups, Hopkins is a pro and can spin some of this straw into gold. But Ford is a character without weight at this point, there mostly to deliver exposition and throw out the occasionally navel-gazing bit of foreshadowing.
Sure, it’s mildly interesting to learn that those kids that various people have run into on the property are actually robotic versions of his younger self, and that the oft-spoken-of Arnold made host incarnations of Ford’s entire family, which Ford maintains both to preserve a connection to Arnold and to his past. But what does it amount to?
It amounts to another vague story beat to suggest that there’s something amiss with what Ford’s doing, without really delivering any answers and just having Hopkins skulk around and try to carry these scenes on his back. Even Bernard, who has his fingers in the most pies of the behind-the-scenes storylines, has reverted to being something of a cipher, with a nebulous desire to protect Theresa and the lingering pain of his dead son to motivate him, but a pretty dull progression on a scene-to-scene basis.
It’s hard to pinpoint what the pathology of all these back end stories and characters is. It may just be that, even in the context of a futuristic theme park, this half of the show comes off like a generic high-powered office drama. The characters aren’t sketched out well enough, or given anything but generic personas and motivations, to keep up the intrigue, and unlike the park-focused characters and storylines, it’s harder for that part of the show to rely on the coolest elements of Westworld’s premise.
Those are, namely, the twin concepts of robots becoming more complex while slowly gaining sentience and the exploration of the soul when human beings are given the chance to let their best or worst impulses run wild.
Theoretically, The Man in Black should suffer from the same problems without any of the benefits his fellow park-dwellers benefit from. He’s as much a bundle of mysteries as Ford is, and there’s not exactly a battle for his soul going on right now. But he has a few things in his favor.
First, he has a supreme competence and mastery of this world that marks him as unique relative to other characters. Second, he has the benefit of Ed Harris getting to put on a clinic as memorable blackhats go. And third and most important, he has a clear goal. We may not know much about the fabled Maze just yet, but we know that TMiB wants to find it, that he’s been in the game for a long time, and he’s searching for something deeper, something more meaningful, out of this experience. That makes him compelling, even when he’s mired in the same less-than-lucid mysteries the show seems to be promising.
But even he can’t match the glory that is Maeve’s story here, which is pretty handily the best thing the show’s managed so far. For one thing, it pulls the trigger on something the show’s been hinting at for a while now -- one of the hosts realizing what they are and where they come from.
The sequence where Lutz takes Maeve through the facility, set to the Vitamin String Quarter’s version of “Motion Picture Soundtrack,” is one of the most affecting in the show. The combination of the look on Thandie Newton’s face as Maeve witnesses the surreal sights of her entire world, her comrades and her being, in a state of being under construction, and her dreams being broadcast as ads, is tremendous.
But Maeve is able to take it all in relative stride, however much a shock it must be to literally meet your makers (or at least re-makers) and change who you are with a push of a button. There’s nice touches galore, like Maeve overloading when she reads her own speech patterns, or knowing how to manipulate Lutz’s jerkass workmate into keeping his big mouth shut.
There is something charming and capable about Maeve, one where she uses her skills to know what a person wants to finally get what she wants. The prospect of a host remaking themselves, of knowing what the real story is, and having some kind of plan, is the most exciting thing Westworld has offered since its inception.
When the show focuses on stories like those, which lean into the moral and spiritual awakening of these mechanical people, of the thorny moral questions about control and what makes us who we are, and about the animating idea of a place where people can let loose, for better or for ill, it is an engrossing, even thought-provoking show. When it focuses on a pack of pencil-pushers and clashing co-workers, it becomes like any other show, and leaves me wishing Westworld would stop with the office politics and get back to Westworld.
I don't see why they'd obey her, she had no way to force them...