Watch it just for the cinematography. I sat in the 2nd row in IMAX so the images filled my vision.
YES a bit blurry, but it feels more like I was actually riding a sand worm. 😀
Dune (1965) is one of my favourite books. I read it for the 4th or 5th time in advance of seeing part 2 of the Denis Villeneuve adaptation.
The best character in Dune 2 is not my (alleged girlfriend) Zendaya, but Feyd-Rautha, Baron Harkonnen’s younger nephew. Perfectly played by Austin Butler.
What a transformation from Elvis to the epitome of evil.
Chalamet was inspired by Austin’s commitment to the role.
Casting is all good, however.
Javier Bardem as Stilgar, is better than in the book. And he’s great in the book. 😀
Stilgar given a larger leadership role on Arrakis in future books. So he’ll likely be back in the 3rd film.
As nearly all books were in 1965, the roles played by women are quite cliche. Powerful — but mainly in devious, backroom scheming.
In this movie, Zendaya is more independent than in the book. And she rides off into the sand at the end. Alone.
In the book she meekly follows Paul as his concubine.
Of course no film can include EVERYTHING in the book.
For the most part, I liked the changes.
It was better — for example — that Chani didn’t get pregnant. That’s quite confused in the books anyway.
In the Lynch, Paul’s sister Alia was one of the most interesting characters. She’s only hinted at in the Villeneuve – part 2. I suspect she’ll be central to the 3rd movie in the series.
Cal Hooper is a retired Chicago police detective who bought a derelict cottage in the west of Ireland precisely so he would never again have to chase down criminals or use his service weapon.
And things are quiet until the return ofJohnny Reddy, the absentee father of Trey, Cal’s now-15-year-old protégée and de facto child.
Johnny is a grifter. Gift of the gab but it’s all bullshit.
This time Johnny proposes a con to fleece a rich British nob named Cillian Rushborough.
He convinces his former neighbours to salt their river with gold — in order to convince the Brit to buy mining rights in their rural properties.
If interested, definitely get the audio book to enjoy the Irish lilt and local slang.
Nobody Walks (2015) is a completely independent novel even though its MI5 is the same as the one in Herron’s Slough House series. Jackson Lamb is mentioned.
Like the rest, the audio book is narrated by the excellent Gerard Doyle.
The suspicious death of his son brings an undercover spook Tom Bettany for MI-5’s Special Ops out of retirement with a vengeance.
Maybe it’s the guilt he feels about losing touch with Liam that’s gnawing at him, or maybe he’s actually put his finger on a labyrinthine plot, but either way he’ll get to the bottom of the tragedy, no matter whose feathers he has to ruffle.
But more than a few people are interested to hear Bettany is back in town, from incarcerated mob bosses to those in the highest echelons of MI5.
He might have thought he’d left it all behind when he first skipped town, but nobody ever really walks away.
… a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy named Beth Harmon from the age of eight to twenty-two during her quest to become the world’s greatest chess player while struggling with emotional issues, with drug and alcohol dependency. The story begins in the mid-1950s and proceeds into the 1960s.
The Queen’s Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years—for the pure pleasure and skill of it. — Michael Ondaatje (cover of Vintage paperback edition, 2003)
I’ve always felt Canada is one of the best nations in handling immigration.
We welcome those who can fill necessary jobs.
The USA still uses a lottery. And mostly fills their quota with families.
Click PLAY or watch part 3 on YouTube. Episode 582 — Why Is Everyone Moving to Canada?
Canada recently reduced their immigration target numbers. Not good for the economy. But there simply isn’t enough affordable accommodation for new citizens or foreign students.
Finally, the ReTrumplican GOP in 2024 is anti-immigrant. The opposite of Ronald Reagan.
A (2016) video purportedly showing the presidential candidate saying that his campaign had been an April Fool’s Day prank all along was actually created for a comedy TV show.
Rick McCharles 