DUNE : Tuesday 7th December 2021.

'DUNE' which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week is an M Rated American epic Sci-Fi film Directed, Co-Written for the screen and Co-Produced by Denis Villeneuve whose previous feature film offerings take in 'Incendies' in 2010, 'Prisoners' in 2013, 'Sicario' in 2015, 'Arrival' in 2016 and 'Blade Runner 2049' in 2017. This film is based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert and is the first instalment in a planned two part adaptation with 'Dune : Part Two' now slated for an October 2023 release. Originally scheduled for a late November 2020 release, the film was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, instead having its World Premier at the Venice International Film Festival on 3rd September this year ahead of its international release in mid-September. It was then released in US cinemas and streaming on HBO Max on 21st October, and went on general release in Australia only last week. The film has so far generated largely positive critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$383M off the back of a US$165M production budget. 

Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) of House Atreides, the ruler of the planet Caladan, is assigned by the Emperor of the Universe Shaddam Corrino to replace House Harkonnen as fief rulers of the planet Arrakis. House Harkonnen have presided over Arrakis for the past eight hundred years and so this news comes as a bitter disappointment to them needless to say. Arrakis is a harsh desert planet and the only known source of 'spice' in the universe, a valuable substance that bestows its users greater vitality and expanded consciousness. It is also critical for interstellar travel as it allows Spacing Guild Navigators to use a limited form of foresight to safely navigate through interstellar space. The reality is however, that Shaddam is scared and jealous and intends to have House Harkonnen stage a violent and bloody coup to retake the planet with the aid of the Emperor's Sardaukar troops, eradicating House Atreides once and for all, whose influence threatens Shaddam's control. Leto is reluctant but but can see the political advantages of controlling the spice planet and forming an alliance with its native population, skilled desert dwelling fighters known as the Fremen.

Leto's mistress Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is a disciple of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive sisterhood whose members possess advanced physical and mental capabilities. As part of their centuries-long breeding regime, the Bene Gesserit instructed Jessica to bear a daughter whose son would become a male Bene Gesserit, a messianic superbeing with the power of second sight necessary to guide humanity to a better future. Instead she gave birth to a son, Paul (Timothee Chalamet). Throughout his life, Paul is trained by Leto's aides, Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), and the Mentat Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson), while Jessica trains Paul in the ways of the Bene Gesserit. 

Paul confides in Jessica and Duncan that he has recurring dreams of the future. Because of these dreams, the Emperor's Truthsayer the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) visits Caladan and subjects Paul to a deadly test to assess his impulse control, which he passes. Mohiam instructs House patriarch Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) to spare Paul and Jessica during his coup on Arrakis, to which he responds that he, will not harm them. 

Some two weeks later, House Atreides arrives at Arrakeen, the fortress stronghold on Arrakis, where Duncan and an advance party have been learning all they can about the planet and the Fremen. It is unknown who remained on Caladan to oversee and protect the Atreides home planet in the meantime. Leto negotiates with the Fremen's chieftain Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and meets the Imperial ecologist and Judge of Change Dr. Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster). Kynes informs Leto, Paul, and Halleck of the dangers of spice harvesting, including giant sandworms which can grow up to four hundred metres long and which travel under the desert sands and are attracted by vibrations and sounds on the surface. During a flight, they spot a sandworm approaching an active spice harvester with a stranded crew on board. Leto and his team rescue the workers with barely minutes to spare before the sandworm swallows the harvester. Paul's exposure to the spice-laden air triggers more intense visions of the future.

After an attempt on Paul's life by a Harkonnen agent, Leto places his army on high alert. Suk doctor Wellington Yueh (Chang Chen) disables Arrakeen's protective shields which allows Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops to overwhelm the Atreides forces, and ultimately destroy Arrakeen. Yueh incapacitates Leto and tells him he had no choice but to make a deal to deliver him to the Baron Harkonnen in exchange for freeing his captive wife. Yueh replaces one of Leto's teeth with a poison gas capsule and is killed by the Baron after delivering the Duke. As Leto lies naked in  chair at the end of a long table and in an incapacitated state he murmers, and the Baron leans in to listen. Leto bites down on the fake tooth and releases the poison gas, killing himself and members of the Baron's court almost immediately, but the Baron survives. 

Duncan escapes and steals an ornithopter (a flying machine with the body of a helicopter but the wings that oscillate rapidly like a dragon fly). Harkonnens soldiers capture Paul and Jessica and take them into the desert where they will be dumped to die. However, Paul and Jessica overpower and kill their captors using a Bene Gesserit ability known as 'the Voice', a means of controlling the actions of others through verbal commands. Finding a survival kit left for them by Yueh, Paul and Jessica spend the night in a tent, which by daybreak is buried under the sand. Paul experiences more dreams, this time of a 'holy war' raging across the universe in his name. The next morning, they make their way out of the buried tent and continue their journey in search of the Fremen.

The Baron, recovering from the poison gas attack, gives command of Arrakis to his over zealous nephew Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista) and orders him to sell spice reserves while the price is still at a peak and restart production to recover the cost of the coup. Paul and Jessica are found by Duncan and Kynes and head to an old unused aquifer station but are quickly tracked by Sardaukar. Duncan and a number of the Fremen sacrifice themselves to allow Jessica, Paul, and Kynes to escape the aquifer on foot. Kynes separates and is ambushed by three Sardaukar soldiers, so she lures a sandworm by thumping with her fist on the sand. The sandworm duly arrives and quickly devours them along with her. Paul and Jessica escape in an ornithopter and fly through an 800kph sandstorm, ultimately crash landing deep in the desert. 

Running to a rocky outcrop they manage to evade a sandworm and there meet a group of Fremen, among them Stilgar and Chani (Zendaya), the girl seen by Paul's in his dreams. Fremen warrior Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun) protests their admission into thier encampment and is killed by Paul in a ritual duel to the death. Against Jessica's wishes, Paul insists on joining the Fremen to fulfil his father's goal of bringing peace to Arrakis, and preventing a holy war spreading across the universe in his name. 

'Dune' is an epic film in just about every sense of the term. From the stunning visuals, the action set pieces, the character development, the cinematography, the ensemble cast, the world building and the Hans Zimmer composed thumping soundtrack this ticks all the boxes and must be seen on a big cinema screen to truly appreciate the scale and spectacle of what Director Denis Villeneuve has delivered. At over two-and-a half hours in length, sure the movie lags in places but it moves along at a swift pace and never leaves you wanting, and whilst some critics have commented that it only covers half of Frank Herbert's novel, that is the Director's intention as the opening credit says 'Dune : Part One'. Aside for being a Sci-Fi spectacle for the ages and all ages, the film has emotional heft and delves into the human psyche as much as it does the grandeur of the set designs and the manner in which the action scenes play out. For a universe set some eight thousand years into the future however, one thing that left me scratching my head was why, oh why, with all their advanced technology, world building prowess and interstellar travel capabilities, do they still go into hand to hand battle with swords and daggers? Clearly, ours is not to reason why . . . ! Bring on 'Part Two'.

'Dune' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SWEET GIRL : Monday 23rd August 2021.

With Greater Sydney still in COVID lockdown now until the end of September at least, and as a result all cinema's closed until sometime after this date, I've been reviewing over the last few weeks some the latest feature films released recently onto Netflix. One such film that I watched from the comfort of my own home this week is the American action thriller 'SWEET GIRL' Directed by Brian Andrew Mendoza in his feature film making debut following his only other foray into film making with the 2009 short film 'The Via Monterey'. He has however, in the intervening years been kept busy with a number of Producer credits on such films as 'Road to Paloma' Directed, Co-Written and starring Jason Momoa, 'Braven' with Jason Momoa, on three episodes as Executive Producer of 'Frontier' with Jason Momoa, and the upcoming 'The Last Manhunt' Written by Jason Momoa. It will come as no surprise therefore, that this films headlining star is none other than Jason Momoa, who also takes a Producer credit here. The film was released on Netflix on 20th August and has generated mixed or average Reviews. 

The film opens up with Ray Cooper (Jason Momoa) and his wife Amanda (Adria Arjona) and their young daughter Rachel (Milena Rivero) enjoying peaceful and loving family time on a forest camping trip. Sometime later in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Amanda falls ill with life threatening cancer. Doctor Wu (Reggie Lee) comes to Ray with the great news that a soon to be available new drug will halt the cancer's progress in its tracks, which lifts his spirits considerably. Soon afterwards when there is no further news on this groundbreaking drug, Ray learns from Dr. Wu that the potentially life saving drug has been pulled off the market, due to the BioPrime CEO Simon Keeley's (Justin Bartha) new business move. Watching Keeley on a live debate on the TV with Congresswoman Diana Morgan (Amy Brenneman), Ray calls in to question Keeley live on air. He threatens Keeley, saying if he doesn't reverse his decision, that he'll personally kill him with his own bare hands. Keeley needless to say doesn't take the threat seriously and sometime shortly thereafter Amanda passes away, devastating both Ray and Rachel.

Fast forward six months and Ray one day out of the blue gets a phone call from a reporter Martin Bennett (Nelson Franklin) who tells him he can help him get justice for Amanda. After a goose chase, they meet on a subway train, having been unknowingly followed by Rachel (now played by Isabella Merced). Bennett tells Ray that BioPrime has been bribing anyone who questions their dirty deeds, including the company that made the drug Amanda needed to save her life. Before he has finished and Ray is trying to take all of this in, a hitman named Santos (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) attacks and kills Bennett. Ray fights back and as the train stops at a station, Santos stabs Ray and knocks out Rachel, leaving them both lying on the platform as he makes his getaway on the train.

Fast fast forward two years and father and daughter are living in some dead beat apartment. Ray has been keeping tabs on, and investigating Keeley in the meantime. He sneaks into a lavish charity fund raising event honouring Keeley, posing as a waiter. He eventually gets Keeley on his own with two of his bodyguards - one of which he thwarts with a CO2 fire extinguisher to the face and the other gets accidentally shot in the head when Ray and Keeley tussle with a gun. Holding a knife to Keeley throat, he questions him about the hit on Bennett and the bribes. As Keeley tells him it was the Chairman Vinod Shah (Raza Jaffrey) who signed off on all hits, Keeley is able to break free and in the ensuing fight, Ray wraps a sheet of plastic wrapping around his face and holds it tight from behind suffocating the CEO. 

Ray and Rachel need to abandon their apartment and quickly for fear of reprisals. They book into a motel somewhere outside town. Rachel, now growing increasingly concerned about her father's pursuit for revenge calls FBI Agent Sarah Meeker (Lex Scott Davis) and advises her to look into BioPrime. Early the next day two gun totting heavies break into the motel and Ray dispenses with them both, only adding to the tensions between the pair. They go on the run, and Meeker puts out an APB on Ray's car. They pull off the road up a dirt track in the snow and out of sight. The next day Ray plans to go after Shah alone, leaving Rachel behind but she convinces him to take her with him.

They ambush Shah's car and its convoy of two others carrying a contingent of bodyguards. Ray disables two vehicles using nails to puncture the tyres of one and a bulldozer to upturn the other leaving Shah's car stranded on a tree trunk that Ray had cut down earlier in the day blocking the exit from a tunnel. Santos has meanwhile arrived on the scene all guns blazing. He takes out Shah's one remaining bodyguard and as Ray tries to interrogate him in the tunnel, Shah is shot and killed by Santos who's also been following him. Ray and Rachel make a hasty retreat with Santos shooting out one of the tyres. Rachel recognises Santos as the man who attacked them on the subway train. They abandon their vehicle and steal a breakdown tow truck. Driving past a diner, they spot Santos' Volkswagen Kombi Van, and the three meet up there on neutral territory, with four Police Officers sat in a booth at the other end of the diner. Ray gets Santos to tell him his employer is Diana Morgan. Upon leaving, Santos calls after Rachel saying that they'll meet up again in Pittsburgh. 

Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, they're spotted by the FBI helicopters and a convoy of Police vehicles in hot pursuit. Ray gets out of the truck and heads into a baseball stadium where the game has just ended and the crowds are exiting. A foot chase ensues through the crowds and the FBI catch up with Ray on the roof of the stadium. As Meeker attempts to talk him down, it is revealed that Ray is in fact Rachel. It seems that Ray died from the stab wound at the subway station two years previously and since then Rachel, suffering from PTSD, has been on her own journey for her own brand of justice. She jumps off the rooftop into the river below. She is found and arrested by Meeker, and strapped down with her neck in a brace in the back of an ambulance. She successfully manages to thwart her captors, gain control of the steering wheel so crashing the ambulance and flees the scene.

Determined to finally get some form of justice for her Mum and Dad, Rachel breaks into Morgan's office. However, she is greeted by Santos and a knife fight breaks out. Rachel crashes through a window and clings to a set of scaffolds and clambers down several levels. Santos reaches her and the pair fight once again ending up in a fountain. Santos gains the upper hand by strangling Rachel under the water where she looses consciousness. The voice of her father telling her to wake up sees Rachel spring into action against an unsuspecting Santos, and this time it is she who has the upper hand repeatedly stabbing him in the chest finally killing him until the water runs red. She returns to Morgan's office and confronts the Congresswoman and secretly records her admitting she was bribed by BioPrime and ordered the hit that killed Bennett and in turn her father. Rachel boards a plane to an unknown destination and an uncertain future as the voice recording is received on Meeker's email. 

Ultimately there's nothing sweet about this sweet girl - more of a sour puss really who's hell bent on revenge at any cost for those no good conniving big pharma types who seem to have hitmen and politicians planted firmly in their very deep pockets. That said there does seem to be a screen presence between Momoa and Merced that carries the film forward, and Momoa shows that he's capable of portraying real raw emotion as well as the physical aspects of his prior big and small screen outings. The plot twist at two-thirds in adds a new dimension to the film that almost takes it into the realms of fantasy, but to get there Ray/Rachel has to climb up onto the roof of a baseball stadium, just so that he/she can jump of it (reminding me of the closing scene in 'The Bourne Ultimatum') - plllleeeease! The fight sequences are realistic and well choreographed but after the first couple of rounds it's more of the same, repetitive shoot 'em, knife 'em, kick & punch 'em fare with an eighteen year old girl winning the day against a far deadlier and more heavily armed foe, that thanks to that plot twist makes you lose all credibility in what went before. 

'Sweet Girl' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

JUSTICE LEAGUE : Tuesday 21st November 2017.

'JUSTICE LEAGUE' which I saw earlier this week is here finally after all the hype, the media attention and the speculation surrounding this long awaited and eagerly anticipated fifth film in the DC Extended Universe following hot on the heels of 2013's 'Superman', 2016's 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice', and 'Suicide Squad', and 'Wonder Woman' earlier this year. Zack Snyder Directed 'Man of Steel' which grossed US$668M, and 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' which grossed US$874M, with David Ayer Directing 'Suicide Squad' which grossed US$746M and Patty Jenkins on Director duty for 'Wonder Woman' which grossed US$822M. Once again Zack Snyder is back in the Directors chair for this collective Superhero offering featuring a cast of DC characters thrust together for the first time in a live action instalment, an ensemble cast and a price tag of US$300M to bring to the big screen, making 'Justice League' one of the most expensive films ever made. But, I guess on the strength that the first four films cost a combined US$800M and grossed a collective sum total of US$3.1B, then this fifth film should represent a sure bet for the numerous Production Companies involved. A sequel to this film was scheduled for a mid-2019 release date, which has subsequently been pushed back to make way for a stand alone 'Batman' film. At the time of publishing this Post, 'Justice League' had taken US$308M at the Box Office.

This story then follows on several months after the end of 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice' in which Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) who is now inspired by Superman's selfless act to sacrifice himself for the greater good of all humanity, teams up with new ally Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to fend off a new threat, with the help of a few others yet to be recruited to the Team.

That threat comes in the form of Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds) - an alien high ranking military officer who is immortal and possesses superhuman strength, speed and stamina from the planet Apokolips, and who has a very specific mission on Earth that could have catastrophic consequences for our humble little green planet. He leads an army of winged flying Parademons who extend into their countless thousands, are fiercely loyal to their leader, have heightened strength and high pain tolerance, carry powerful weapons and resemble giant pesky flies only twice as ugly and much more menacing! Steppenwolf wants to capture three 'Mother Boxes' and combine their energy source into 'The Unity' to remake Earth into the hellish domain he can call home and rule over. Back in the day Steppenwolf and his legions of giant pesky flying armed creatures were thwarted by the combined forces of Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlantians, Green Lanterns and humans, and the three all powerful Mother Boxes secreted away in various places of hiding around the world to lie dormant for thousands of years . . . . until now!

Following the death of Superman, the Mother Boxes are all triggered back into life which prompts Steppenwolf's return to Earth to retrieve them. The first such box is housed underground in Themyscira, the island home of Diana Prince, which he successfully overruns and escapes with his Parademons in tow. Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) sends a warning to Diana Prince that Steppenwolf is on his way. This prompts Bruce and Diana to try and muster the support of other known metahumans Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) which Bruce goes in search of, and Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) which Diana searches out. They fail to convince both Curry and Stone to join their Team, but Allen is very enthusiastic and enlists immediately, giving the young lad some purpose in his otherwise meandering wasteful life. Stone joins the group after his father Silas (Joe Morton) is kidnapped by Steppenwolf searching out the Box left to the humans. Curry also joins too after Atlantis is attacked and the second Mother Box buried deep within the ocean is retrieved by Steppenwolf.

Commissioner James Gordon (J.K.Simmons) advises that he has learned that the Parademons are underground. Surmising that the only location is a long abandoned facility under Gotham Harbour, he advises Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash, now joined also by Cyborg and they converge on the facility and engage with Steppenwolf and his Parademons. In the ensuing close quarter fight, the walls of the facility are ruptured allowing torrents of water to flood into the underground chamber.  Aquaman comes to the rescue and holds back the water so allowing the others to escape.

Stone has been in possession of the third remaining Mother Box, as it was the energy from it that allowed his father Silas, to develop the power to rebuild his son into the Cyborg he is today. Batman hatches a plan to resurrect Superman using the same energy from the Mother Box. This would enable them to fight Steppenwolf on another level and overcome this formidable enemy, whilst at the same time restoring some hope in the world that all is not lost.

Reluctantly Prince and Curry agree although are not too happy with the prospect. Stone and Allen exhume Clark Kent's body and take it to the Kryptonian Ship with the Mother Box. Kent is laid in the incubation waters, and with Allen generating enough electricity they are able to bring Clark Kent back from the dead. However, Superman (Henry Cavill) is suffering from some memory loss and makes a sharp exit out of the ship and into a nearby park where he attacks The Flash, Cyborg who inadvertently tried to kill him, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Batman. With Superman as expected gaining the upper hand in any battle, things don't go so well for the group or the gathered Police. Until that is, Batman brings out his secret weapon - Lois Lane (Amy Adams), at which point his memories come flooding back. While the Team are distracted with all this in-fighting and Clark and Lois reconnecting, the third Mother Box is left unguarded and easy pickings for Steppenwolf, which he claims from right under their noses.

Cyborg tracks Steppenwolf and the heightened seismic activity from the three Mother Boxes now drawn together, to a remote Russian Village - the scene of a nuclear disaster some decades earlier and where a small enclave of people still reside. With Steppenwolf commencing The Unity, time is fast running out for the world as we know it. The Team of five make their way via the supersonic Bat Jet arriving with a plan to distract the Parademons while Cyborg sets about separating the three Boxes. The team of the remaining four are no match for Steppenwolf and his hordes of Parademons, who are unable to provide sufficient distraction to allow Cyborg to be effective. Until that is, Superman arrives and beats the crap out of Steppenwolf; saves the lives, with The Flash too, of multiple families trying to flee the conflagration; and helps Cyborg separate the Mother Boxes successfully so stripping Steppenwolf of his power. Seeing their leader overcome with fear, the Parademons descend on Steppenwolf just like flies on a freshly laid turd, and transport him instantly back to the world from whence they came.

In the closing scenes we see Alfred (Jeremy Irons) escorting Bruce and Diana to the burnt out shell of Wayne Manor. They agree to rebuild it as the centre of operations for the new Team, with room for future expansion as more metahumans join. The newly formed Team then all default to what they do best - Curry returns to his home of Atlantis; Stone works with his father on developing his cyborg technology and abilities; Prince take her place in the spotlight as a hero of truth and justice; Kent takes up his former role as Superman; and Allen gets an official job with the Police Department of Central City impressing his imprisoned father Henry Allen (Billy Crudup). Remain seated for the mid-credits sequence which sees The Flash race Superman to the Pacific coast, and the end credits scene in which Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) breaks out of Arkham Asylum with a new and deadly ally.

I enjoyed 'Justice League' perhaps more than most Critics who seem intent on bagging the Hell out of the DCEU in favour of the MCU. Sure this film is not perfect, and the MCU still has the upper hand in the Superhero stakes - both singularly and collectively, but this film is moving the DCEU in the right direction that's for sure. There is more levity in this film from the principal cast members which makes them more grounded, approachable and human; the action sequences are well executed; the storyline whilst a little thin is relatable; and in particular Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa steal the show, whilst Ben Affleck's Batman often looks bewildered and confused by all the going's on. After all he should be centre stage as the corner stone, the originator of the forming Justice League, but is sidelined by his colleagues who do (unlike him) possess real super powers - he's just super 'rich' after all! As an origin story for The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg there is just enough back story to set the scene (remembering that a standalone 'Aquaman' film has just wrapped production, and arrives in our cinemas in December 2018), but Steppenwolf as the big bad villain in the piece is very one dimensional and he just barks orders as his Parademons and beats up anyone or anything that gets in his way, until Superman arrives on the scene. The film is fun and fast paced, and holds promise for future DCEU instalments - I wish it well, and in giving those guys at the MCU a run for their money!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-