Out of the Blue

I got to see Dune last night, and my one word review is that it is brilliant. I get the viewpoint of those saying this film demands the theater experience, but as has been discussed here, that's not a comfortable option yet for many of us. Also, pandemic notwithstanding, I am already one of those for whom the absence of other patrons is a huge positive, as it eliminates all the distractions caused by talking, phone use, wrapper crinkling, bathroom trips, etc. On the other hand, making the second part of the movie is dependant on the success of the first, and it will be a tremendous disappointment if this doesn't come together. HBO has reassured Denis Villeneuve that a successful run on HBO Max is all it will take to greenlight the follow-up. I hope it will be easy to tell how this is all working out. I'm probably on board if I need to go out and buy a ticket that I'm not going to use. Also, we all said this was impossible, but he made it seem easy. Denis Villeneuve should probably just make all science fiction movies going forward. I'd love to see his take on Star Trek and Star Wars. Or Battlefield Earth for that matter!

Brilliant Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Links

Stories

Science
Thanks Max.

Media

Follow-ups

View : : :
65 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  3  4  ] Older
65.
 
Re: OotB: Dune is Brilliant
Oct 26, 2021, 15:14
65.
Re: OotB: Dune is Brilliant Oct 26, 2021, 15:14
Oct 26, 2021, 15:14
 
The new Dune erases the old Dune from existence. No one will talk about or remember the 80s Dune except some greybeards. It's over. Bless.
64.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 25, 2021, 11:30
64.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 25, 2021, 11:30
Oct 25, 2021, 11:30
 
It may won't be necessary to purchase a ticket that goes unused.
Dune pulled $40.1 million in the US on opening weekend, $220 million globally.
A- cinemascore
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
Avatar 58135
63.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 25, 2021, 02:00
63.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 25, 2021, 02:00
Oct 25, 2021, 02:00
 
RedEye9 wrote on Oct 24, 2021, 15:23:
Keeping up with the movies was not difficuIt and i have never read the books.
I definitely preferred the 1984 version and how they showed space travel and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Plus Sting.

in terms of main plot, yes, the new movie did an adequate job (can't believe they didn't show the emperor at all, or his early scene with the guild navigator. that would've increased the political tension a lot i feel). but there was so much rich backstory that was completely glossed over. what are mentats? i don't remember even hearing that word. who are the bene gesserit and what role do they play in politics? what even is the landsraad? that word crept up a few times with no explanation.

spoilers if you haven't seen it: zero tension building with Yueh. he's the house atreides doctor, and then suddenly he's a traitor without there even being a hint of a traitor. that didn't work for me at all. i imagine that had to be somewhat jarring and confusing for someone new to Dune. also i thought lynch dune handled the escape from arakeen much better. 10 minutes to get to the rocks and lets move on. the stop in between was completely unnecessary.

overall i thought 2021 Dune was a masterclass in modern cinema (esp. since i saw it in IMAX) but the screenplay was inferior to lynch Dune. it was longer, covered half the material, and yet somehow explained even less. maybe it's just me, but i've always been an information sponge so more backstory almost always means richer storytelling. mystery is overrated when the information is well known in universe, just withheld from the viewer for no good reason. which is to say, i'd still give it an A-. the screen play is sufficient to tell the story, it just could've been better. but not so bad as to drag the whole experience down. the designs especially were phenomenal and imaginative; from the ornithopters to the wardrobes. all so thoroughly well done and filmed it's hard to believe everything onscreen was just temporary. if i was on that cast i would've wanted desperately to steal my costume. just gorgeous.
62.
 
Any Dune video gamers?
Oct 24, 2021, 21:32
Ant
 
62.
Any Dune video gamers? Oct 24, 2021, 21:32
Oct 24, 2021, 21:32
 Ant
 
I loved Dune 2, 2K, and Emperor: Battle for Dune. I didn't like Dune 1 adventure game though since it wasn't my genre. "The spice must flow." I need to check out this new movie soon. I wanted to see it this weekend, but had no time.
Avatar 1957
61.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 24, 2021, 15:23
61.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 24, 2021, 15:23
Oct 24, 2021, 15:23
 
Keeping up with the movies was not difficuIt and i have never read the books.
I definitely preferred the 1984 version and how they showed space travel and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Plus Sting.
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
Avatar 58135
60.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 24, 2021, 15:01
Tom
60.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 24, 2021, 15:01
Oct 24, 2021, 15:01
Tom
 
My impression was that both movies would be mostly impenetrable for those without prior familiarity, so that is interesting. So much is left entirely unexplained. What is there is often just hinted at or explained poorly. I wouldn't expect a movie to cover the whole book accurately, but it would be nice to form SOME sort of coherent story. Did they really do that? Difficult for me to tell.
59.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 24, 2021, 14:26
59.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 24, 2021, 14:26
Oct 24, 2021, 14:26
 
Respect your opinion, but disagree. As a cult fan of the original, and a bigger fan of the mini series, I thoroughly enjoyed the new movie.

Of more importance to it's eventual success, and the release of part 2, is that I'm hearing from a lot of friends who are completely new to Dune, who say they understood the story, and loved the movie. I wasn't sure how it would come across to people unfamiliar with the novel or earlier movie, but apparently they nailed it.

The first movie was, overall, very hard for people unfamiliar with the book, to digest.

The first will always have a special place in my heart, but this one stands on it's own merits IMO.
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
58.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 24, 2021, 14:15
Tom
58.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 24, 2021, 14:15
Oct 24, 2021, 14:15
Tom
 
Late to this thread but just wanted to go on record ...

In my apparently uncommon opinion, this new Dune movie sucked compared to the 1984 one. Yes, it was very pretty. Exquisite lighting, spectacle, very moody. But the casting, writing, and acting was sub-par in comparison. And that's what really matters to me in a movie.

Patrick Stewart gave an absolutely flawless performance as Gurney Halleck back then. Josh Brolin was a trainwreck. UGH! The other characters didn't fare much better.

The 1984 movie sure had its fair share of faults, no doubt. There was every opportunity to surpass it. But these folks couldn't pull it off, even though they're aiming to split it into two parts. Tragic.
57.
 
Re: Bad ads
Oct 24, 2021, 09:26
57.
Re: Bad ads Oct 24, 2021, 09:26
Oct 24, 2021, 09:26
 
MxxCon wrote on Oct 22, 2021, 19:06:
Blue, whenever this banner ad shows up, my cpu usage jumps to 100%
https://imgur.com/a/C2WzPBm
I'm sorry this is causing a problem. I haven't seen this myself or seen other reports like this, so it may be hard to figure out. However, I also just received an email from our ad provider saying that entire type of ad unit has been redesigned. It will now appear at the bottom of the screen among other changes to make it more user-friendly. I haven't seen the new version appear yet, but I'll cross my fingers this will just solve your problem by itself. Please keep me posted if this happens again (whether the ad appears at the top or the bottom of the screen). Thanks.
Stephen "Blue" Heaslip
Blue's News Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, El Presidente for Life
Avatar 2
56.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 18:31
56.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 18:31
Oct 23, 2021, 18:31
 
Part of the problem is the way people are reporting this. In technical terms ANY loaded gun on a film set (blanks or live ammo) is considered a "live gun".

The report I read was that the stunt double "misfired" and fired two "live" rounds the day before, when the gun should have been empty. We don't know if they were real bullets or blanks because of this hazy "live" definition, although there are some reports that they were real bullets that whizzed over crew's heads and this is one of the reasons the stage hands walked off in protest the next morning.

It certainly sounds like there was a real bullet in Baldwin's gun that fired the fatal shot. Although there ARE ways a gun with blanks in it can fire a projectile. In the famous case of Brandon Lee, it was determined that the slug from a dummy round (used when someone needs to be filmed handling or loading a gun on camera) broke loose and stayed in the barrel when it was unloaded, and when the gun was fired with a blank cartridge, the dislodged bullet was propelled.

It's a very good question as to WHY there would be ANY live ammo on a film shoot. Sure, for a western you have to show a real looking bullet for the camera, and show an actor loading a revolver, but I just assumed these were dummies with no primer or gunpowder.

As a stage hand in the 80s I never worked on a film or TV show (just theater) so I'm not familiar with protocol, and I'm sure that protocol would be stricter today. However they're out in the desert, on a dude ranch, and I wouldn't be surprised if maybe the gun aficionados on the crew and among the actors do some target practice with real rounds during their breaks, so there might be real ammo around, but I honestly can't understand why any real ammo would be anywhere on set. Nor can I understand why the armorer would load any gun used as a prop with real ammo.


"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
55.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 17:46
55.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 17:46
Oct 23, 2021, 17:46
 
The Flying Penguin wrote on Oct 23, 2021, 10:39:
.

The previous day, Baldwin's stunt double was handed what was supposed to be an unloaded gun and wound up firing two rounds accidently. That should have shut down production for a safety review right there, and if they had, a needless death would have been avoided.
Are you suggesting that there was live ammo on set? What would be the purpose of that?
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Avatar 22024
54.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 14:18
54.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 14:18
Oct 23, 2021, 14:18
 
I grudgingly have to agree. I watched a very good interview with an armorer who was also part of the investigators hired for the Brandon Lee incident. He explained the standard safety procedures that are supposed to be followed, and he feels at least 3 rules were violated, which includes never pointing a weapon (live, unloaded, or dummy) at another person.

Baldwin should have received some firearms safety training (standard on all films now) and has been around long enough to know the rules. However, we've also all seen plenty of horsing around with guns in older behind the scenes video of films, to know that actors do stupid shit sometimes.

Legally Baldwin bears at least some responsibility. Ultimately it's the armorer's job to ensure gun safety, though. Above that, there is some blue suit whose job it is to ensure overall safety during filming.

Not sure if it's normal for the armorer to just put a gun (loaded or unloaded) on a table and the assistant director to pick it up and hand it to the actor. I would have thought that the armorer or their assistants would be the one handing the weapon to the actor.

This comment was edited on Oct 23, 2021, 14:40.
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
53.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 13:44
Dev
53.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 13:44
Oct 23, 2021, 13:44
Dev
 
Also the armorer on the set was apparently new at the job and doubted her abilities.
https://nypost.com/2021/10/23/woman-who-handled-weapons-on-baldwin-set-nervous-about-ability/
I'm going to predict that if there are any charges filed it will be on her as the responsible party for the guns. It's unfair, because apparently the whole set sucked and had crappy safety, and prior incidents. Also Baldwin still had to have been the person who pointed a gun at someone violating that gun safety principle.
52.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 13:00
52.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 13:00
Oct 23, 2021, 13:00
 
TheBigVlad wrote on Oct 23, 2021, 11:55:
The Flying Penguin wrote on Oct 23, 2021, 10:39:
The previous day, Baldwin's stunt double was handed what was supposed to be an unloaded gun and wound up firing two rounds accidently. That should have shut down production for a safety review right there, and if they had, a needless death would have been avoided.

If that is true, then it makes me wonder if that kind of mishap happens from time to time and we just never hear about it because it doesn't result in injury. Like you said, I would think that it would have been taken very seriously the first time and resulted in a review of safety procedures. Maybe it did, and it still happened again anyway. It might be a while before we get the full story of what exactly happened.

Some of the details here: Link

I don't buy the description of a 'misfire' being that a gun went off without pulling the trigger. That is incredibly unlikely. I'd say impossible. Revolvers don't just go off. MAYBE if you drop it, but that's it. Other reports say the stuntman fired what he thought was an unloaded gun.

At any rate, it sure sounds like gun safety was very lax on this film.
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
51.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 12:54
51.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 12:54
Oct 23, 2021, 12:54
 
Jivaro wrote on Oct 23, 2021, 12:42:
I am here for the Denis Villeneuve remaking Battlefield Earth petition.

You've got my vote!
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
50.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 12:42
Jivaro
 
50.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 12:42
Oct 23, 2021, 12:42
 Jivaro
 
I am here for the Denis Villeneuve remaking Battlefield Earth petition.
Avatar 55841
49.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 11:55
49.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 11:55
Oct 23, 2021, 11:55
 
The Flying Penguin wrote on Oct 23, 2021, 10:39:
The previous day, Baldwin's stunt double was handed what was supposed to be an unloaded gun and wound up firing two rounds accidently. That should have shut down production for a safety review right there, and if they had, a needless death would have been avoided.

If that is true, then it makes me wonder if that kind of mishap happens from time to time and we just never hear about it because it doesn't result in injury. Like you said, I would think that it would have been taken very seriously the first time and resulted in a review of safety procedures. Maybe it did, and it still happened again anyway. It might be a while before we get the full story of what exactly happened.
48.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 10:39
48.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 10:39
Oct 23, 2021, 10:39
 
Some more details on that movie shooting came out today.

This was a low budget production with a lot of issues.

IATSE union stage hands walked off the set the morning of the same day over safety concerns, and pay issues. Non union employees were brought in to replace them. BTW: I used to be in the IATSE as a stage hand in the 80s. Things have to be pretty damn egregious for them to all show up at 6:30am, pack up their shit, and walk off. That's a major statement.

The propmaster union released a statement that no union propmaster was working on the film that day. Reports say he walked off with the union stagehands, and a non union replacement took over his duties that day.

The previous day, Baldwin's stunt double was handed what was supposed to be an unloaded gun and wound up firing two rounds accidently. That should have shut down production for a safety review right there, and if they had, a needless death would have been avoided.

"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
47.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 10:24
47.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 10:24
Oct 23, 2021, 10:24
 
Burrito of Peace wrote on Oct 22, 2021, 22:43:
Dune was fucking awesome!!!!!!

Saw it last night with the wife on my big HDTV. Another thumbs up. Outstanding cinematography. I thought everything was explained clearly without boring us to death with exposition (as in the older movie). However I know the story very well. I'd be curious what someone who's never seen or read Dune thinks of this.

Pity we have to wait for the 2nd movie, but they did pick a logical place to end this one.

Oh, and sorry Frank Herbert, ornithopters are stupid. But the movie embraced the idea and made it look good and believable.
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
Avatar 22380
46.
 
Re: Out of the Blue
Oct 23, 2021, 01:14
46.
Re: Out of the Blue Oct 23, 2021, 01:14
Oct 23, 2021, 01:14
 
How Radiohead Wrote the Perfect Bond Theme.

"Creep?"
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Avatar 22024
65 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  3  4  ] Older