Andrewmcal
Joined Sep 2010
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There are 3 film versions of Frank Herbert's "Dune," I'm aware of: the 1984 David Lynch, the 2000 Sci Fi Channel mini series, and this one. This one is fourth maybe fifth best, in my opinion.
I'd heard Dune part 2 was better than Dune part 1 and it was just as bad, in a slightly different way. But, it was stunningly beautiful to view.
The casting was just awful. With a few exceptions, all the major roles had the wrong actors playing roles they were fundamentally unsuited to performing. Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Christopher Walken, and Josh Brolin were hugely miscast. They are all decent to above average actors, but had no business in these roles. There is unfortunately nothing imperial about Walken, nor messianic about Chalamet.
The writing was atrocious!! I've never wanted to send writers to The Hague for war crimes before, but after watching both Dunes... The writers don't seem to understand people, conflict, politics or how to tell a story. Made worse because they were adapting an existing work. Seriously, Herbert gave them most of the words already!!
The only point of redemption was the visual and that was amazing! Someone should write a proper screenplay, dub in good actors, and re-release this movie, the visuals are that good! The only let down visually was the ending. An epic movie deserved an epic conclusion and the ending here belonged on television.
Overall, if you've seen Dune part one you should see Dune part two. But, if you want to watch the story of Dune, pick any other version... you will thank me.
I'd heard Dune part 2 was better than Dune part 1 and it was just as bad, in a slightly different way. But, it was stunningly beautiful to view.
The casting was just awful. With a few exceptions, all the major roles had the wrong actors playing roles they were fundamentally unsuited to performing. Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Christopher Walken, and Josh Brolin were hugely miscast. They are all decent to above average actors, but had no business in these roles. There is unfortunately nothing imperial about Walken, nor messianic about Chalamet.
The writing was atrocious!! I've never wanted to send writers to The Hague for war crimes before, but after watching both Dunes... The writers don't seem to understand people, conflict, politics or how to tell a story. Made worse because they were adapting an existing work. Seriously, Herbert gave them most of the words already!!
The only point of redemption was the visual and that was amazing! Someone should write a proper screenplay, dub in good actors, and re-release this movie, the visuals are that good! The only let down visually was the ending. An epic movie deserved an epic conclusion and the ending here belonged on television.
Overall, if you've seen Dune part one you should see Dune part two. But, if you want to watch the story of Dune, pick any other version... you will thank me.
Remember the final season of Game of Thrones? If you thought that was awesome, you'll like House of the Dragon.
I had mixed expectations going into House of the Dragon. The trailers had potential. George R R Martin was onboard. And, the Targaryen family was maybe the most interesting of the major Game of Thrones families. But, I really hated the storytelling in later seasons of Game of Thrones and HBO seemed intent on continuing in that vein.
Well... HBO didn't disappoint. They went to the dark side, dropped the mike, and gave me the middle finger in every episode.
The writing is abysmal. People don't behave the way characters should behave in House of the Dragon. Instead of acting the way their characters are written, their behavior seems dictated by whatever the episode needs. My disbelief wasn't suspended, so much as assaulted like Tysha, Tyrian's first wife, in Game of Thrones. The actors try and do their best, but with nonsensical dialogue, there is only so much an actor can do. The production values are good. It's a solid show visually, ruined continually by the words spewing forth from badly written characters mouths.
At the end of the day House of the Dragon is like the first bite of plastic fruit. My advise, unless you're looking for a poorly written soap opera, give House of the Dragon's Droppings a big miss.
I had mixed expectations going into House of the Dragon. The trailers had potential. George R R Martin was onboard. And, the Targaryen family was maybe the most interesting of the major Game of Thrones families. But, I really hated the storytelling in later seasons of Game of Thrones and HBO seemed intent on continuing in that vein.
Well... HBO didn't disappoint. They went to the dark side, dropped the mike, and gave me the middle finger in every episode.
The writing is abysmal. People don't behave the way characters should behave in House of the Dragon. Instead of acting the way their characters are written, their behavior seems dictated by whatever the episode needs. My disbelief wasn't suspended, so much as assaulted like Tysha, Tyrian's first wife, in Game of Thrones. The actors try and do their best, but with nonsensical dialogue, there is only so much an actor can do. The production values are good. It's a solid show visually, ruined continually by the words spewing forth from badly written characters mouths.
At the end of the day House of the Dragon is like the first bite of plastic fruit. My advise, unless you're looking for a poorly written soap opera, give House of the Dragon's Droppings a big miss.
I didn't expect to like "One Piece," Netflix has published so many egregiously bad movies and series. But, this series was solid, even above average at times.
It took me 2 episodes to finally decide to commit to "One Piece." I like manga, but have rarely seen it brought to a screen, big or small, with anything I liked from the comic still attached. This series was the exception. Everything I like was still there and it was weird, in a nice, fun way to see it come to life.
The young cast were excellent. They inhabited the roles and walked the super fine line between character and caricature. Inaki Godoy and Morgan Davies stole every scene. Emily Rudd unfortunately drifted between outstanding and indifferent. And, Mackenyu, Taz Skyler, Jacob Gibson were like Goldilocks tea... just right.
The writing was solid... for the most part. A huge improvement from the usual Netflix dross. And, that was as pleasant as it was a surprise. Still not enough to get me to renew my subscription, but a few more "One Piece" quality series and I might be wooed back.
Overall, even if Manga isn't your thing, this could be a good series for you, especially if you're looking for something to watch with your young people. It's solidly good, but not great. So, adjust your expectations accordingly. You won't be disappointed. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2... a rarity, these days.
It took me 2 episodes to finally decide to commit to "One Piece." I like manga, but have rarely seen it brought to a screen, big or small, with anything I liked from the comic still attached. This series was the exception. Everything I like was still there and it was weird, in a nice, fun way to see it come to life.
The young cast were excellent. They inhabited the roles and walked the super fine line between character and caricature. Inaki Godoy and Morgan Davies stole every scene. Emily Rudd unfortunately drifted between outstanding and indifferent. And, Mackenyu, Taz Skyler, Jacob Gibson were like Goldilocks tea... just right.
The writing was solid... for the most part. A huge improvement from the usual Netflix dross. And, that was as pleasant as it was a surprise. Still not enough to get me to renew my subscription, but a few more "One Piece" quality series and I might be wooed back.
Overall, even if Manga isn't your thing, this could be a good series for you, especially if you're looking for something to watch with your young people. It's solidly good, but not great. So, adjust your expectations accordingly. You won't be disappointed. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2... a rarity, these days.