Blog:Top 20 Best Movies of 2021: Part Two



The first part is done, and now, we are heading to second part.

Number 10
One of the examples how the classic director is back.

The Last Duel




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Ridley Scott is back to directed another great films. He challenges audience by presenting the film in a non-traditional narrative structure broken into three segments showing us the story from the perspectives of Damon, Driver, and Comer's characters. Harry Gregson-Williams composed a very neat medieval-ish soundtrack for the film, the crowner possibly being "Celui Que Je Désire"

Matt Damon and Adam Driver's performance as Sir Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris is fantastic, while Jodie Comer's performance is the best that steals every scene in the movie. One supporting cast, Ben Affleck's performance as Pierre was largely praised as an unexpected and welcome source of comic relief in the movie, to the point that him getting nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award elicited reactions of He Panned It, Now He Sucks! towards the Razzies.

Breathtaking storyline. Showcasing a scenario from three different perspectives has always been a genius idea, its interesting, intriguing and overall always feels like it makes for a rather unique experience and draws inspiration of Rashomon, despite having been done countless times.

The rape in question is portrayed as extremely brutal with Marguerite fleeing in terrified panic from Jacques, trying desperately to stop him, screaming "No!" repeatedly and clearly in pain the whole time. If Jean loses the duel against Jaques, Marguerite will be tortured and burned alive and it's mentioned that it can take as long as twenty to thirty minutes of unimaginable agony to die in such a way.

Number 9
We can go to quiet mode for worst movies.

A Quiet Place Part II




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Once again, the series still give some amazing ideas of a quiet post-apocalyptic horror film franchise throughout the movie. Emily Blunt still gave an amazing performance along with the rest of the cast, and she does have a lot of great character development. We introduced Cillian Murphy's brand new performance in this movie.

Most of the flashbacks look very, very horrifying to look at, especially the street panic throughout the town scene, and as well car on camera during the panic. The sound designs are still in a top notch. As mentioned, some of the scenes are still extremely suspenseful, scary, or even dramatic, especially the flashback scene.

Just like the first film, the CGI designs for the alien monsters are still realistic, and it is as terrifying and true nightmare fuel as the previous film. It still retains much of its charm and its horror movie genre from the first movie, and it did exactly well. The cinematography is still absolutely chilling, and creepy to look at, just like the previous film.

Number 8
And my most underrated movie of the year is...

Ghostbusters: Afterlife




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It returns to the main series of Ghostbusters when were left off and completely ignores the non-canonically infamous 2016 "reboot". It has a lot of respect for the original Ghostbusters movies. The idea of a Ghostbusters film taking place outside of New York City is very interesting. It has nice nostalgia tone that connects the movie for certain scenes.

Despite having a new cast in the third film, we finally bring most of the original cast members from the first two films even Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, and Annie Potts. In addition, even though the new characters are different, the new characters still retain some of their charisma from the previous films, like the first two movies. On the subject, the acting is pretty great that were step up of the reboot. Mckenna Grace, in particular, does an great and entertaining performance as Phoebe. Amazing visual effects, that were major improvement of other films for the franchise.

Nice soundtrack that was performed by Rob Simonsen. In fact, the theme song is also reused, especially in the mid-credits. Some of the humor is pretty funny, and amusing, much like the first two Ghostbusters films. Jason Reitman did a fantastic direction throughout the film. Amazing and magnificent cinematography, which improves up to the first two Ghostbusters films. Good action scenes, much like the other films in the franchise,

The mid-credits scene with Dana; not only is it nice to see Signorney Weaver back, it's one of the very rare examples of something that calls out something from a past franchise entry that hasn't aged too well, without coming across as sanctimonious and insulting towards both the past entry and its fans. Its nice to see Harold Ramis' scene after the end credits that pays tribute. Good pacing.

Number 7
And my most funniest movie of the year is...

The Suicide Squad




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This movie is a major improvement over its predecessor, as it has a sensible and understandable plot, and it even feels realistic, not to mention how it fixes the problems from the 2016 film with the character development and editing. The R-rating fits very well in this film.

This film takes many bold risks and executes them very well. The movie isn't scared to show the problems with the US government, such as censorship and US soldiers killing innocent civilians. One of the rare movies (and probably the first superhero movie) where the Americans are the villains. Various members are killed off, even ones who returned from the 2016 predecessor, and ones who the audience has followed throughout the whole film. The Project Starfish story is another step in the DCEU's creative direction. More than one villain in the movie, but each gets a big role. The movie itself is a standalone sequel to an awfully received movie, showing that sometimes bad movies deserve a second chance.

James Gunn makes a return to directing and Warner Bros. has given him a lot more freedom than Disney, which led to him creating a unique movie. Margot Robbie continues her great performance as Harley Quinn, and her design is more faithful to the comics. Pete Davidson is perfectly cast as Blackguard. Sylvester Stallone (voice) and Steve Agee (body) were the perfect casting choice for King Shark. Idris Elba is a great replacement for Will Smith. John Cena did a great job as Peacemaker to the point that he got his own spin-off/sequel show.

You don't need to watch the original Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey to watch this movie, and despite this, the movie still follows the continuity from both movies unlike other movie sequels that either retcon or ignore its prequel. The action scenes, like the rest of DC movies, are really entertaining and fast-paced. For example, there is a scene where Harley Quinn manages to kill a bunch of policemen in the most incredible way, then later a beautiful special effect comes out after she shoots the guards and then takes out a stick.

Number 6
Perhaps it can beat the live-action remake Mulan movie is.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings




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It explores another origin story for Marvel, this time, its Asian with Shang-Chi in this movie. Simu Liu's performance as Shang-Chi is fantastic and fits the role for the most part. He also did most of his own stunts. Emil Blonsky / Abomination from The Incredible Hulk returns in this movie after not appearing during Phase Two and Three. The choreography of the action sequences are perfect, much like other MCU as well as non-MCU movies, especially the bus scene. Excellent musical score. Unlike a similar Disney movie that also came out in September, this movie does a good job at representing an accurate representation and staying true to the Asian culture. It fixed the problems of Ben Kingsley's character, Trevor Slattery, the fake Mandarin from Iron Man 3. Shang-Chi's father is really entertaining and fantastic villain as Wenwu/The Mandarin, who is a sympathetic character who often leads the Ten Rings from the first Iron Man film. Just like Nakia from Black Panther, Xialing isn't the type of female character that always needs rescuing and is a very capable warrior. The ending is somewhat extended and sad, given the fact that in most fantasy films, the other characters on the good side who have died are brought back to life, making it less formulaic. Good direction by Destin Daniel Cretton. Decent pacing.

Number 5
Do I need to explain this one?

The French Dispatch




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Its yet another film of Wes Anderson that keeps the charm and did a impressive job for directing it. Ensemble cast gives very amazing performances from Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. Even supporting cast features several of Anderson's recurring collaborators, including Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston, among others. The theatrical release poster pays homage for the album cover for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. The comedy, like many Wes Anderson movies, is hilarious and awesome that doesn't overused of gross-up, nor pop-culture references. Fantastic score of Alexandre Desplat, who is known for being Wes Anderson's current composer. It connected perfectly three storylines of anthology films, which is useful.

Number 4
And my most favourite movie special is...

Bo Burnham: Inside




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Its very interesting of how Bo Burnham was making film without having any chews involvement. The music is so timeless, catchy, unique and jam packed, which is contribute very well to the plot. "Content" is the first song sets the tone perfectly with the core theme of the next 90 minutes, lighting up a disco ball with a light strapped to his head as he belts out. "All Eyes on Me" is oddly soothing, and the lyrics are a sly manifestation of the sometimes-inviting nothingness that depression can offer. The vocal distortion on Burnham's voice in this song makes him sound like the manifestation of depression, a force that's trying to convince us to sink into the comfort of inertia. "Welcome to the Internet" luring you down a poisonously designed Internet K-hole, "Welcome to the Internet" plays like Burnham's villain song in the musical theater production that is inside and captures the mania and dissonance and addictive qualities of the internet while explaining to you the malicious ethos underlying today's online culture and the businesses built up around it. "Look Who's Inside Again" manages to be one of the most profound pieces of music Burnham writes. It's one of the times that you feel like Burnham isn't putting on a character, but is singing from the depths of his vulnerable inner-self. "30" gallows humor of it all is painfully catchy, tapping into the memes millennials have been making about wanting to die for many years now. "Comedy" takes on the persona of an ego-driven, white male comic with the first parody song in his special, amping up his well-established style of being a self-aware entertainer. Not only does this song show off how much Burnham's vocal chops have advanced since his first viral parody song he wrote when he was 16 years old, but it also keys into the musical style of the whole special. The use of pop-culture reference are really fun and enjoyable, which is not unnecessary. Bo Burnham's performance and directing is excellent. Much like with Bo Burnham's movies, the cinematography is still awesome for the most part.

Number 3
Spider-Man prepares to go on the journey for the most favourable MCU movies.

Spider-Man: No Way Home




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This film, as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is a love letter to the fans of Spider-Man. It features not one, but three amazing, interesting, and engaging never before seen premises for a Spider-Man film: Peter Parker going on the run to clear his name and prove that Mysterio lied about him ordering a terrorist attack and also having to face different villains from other universes after ruining a spell that would cause everyone to forget him. Tom Holland gives his best performance as Spider-Man yet and goes through a major character development, once again.

The original villain cast, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans and Jamie Foxx reprised their iconic roles as Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard and Electro. In Foxx's case, his portrayal is more accurate to the one from the comics and gives a much better and convincing performance than in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Unlike in Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this film managed to handle multiple villains at the same time and each of them gets their time to shine. This is due to all of these villains appearing in older movies before so they have their time to shine. Green Goblin is fantastic as the main villain and is even more threatening than in Spider-Man (2002). The movie also got rid of Green Goblin's mask, which many people thought looked very bad, allowing the audience to see Goblin's facial expressions and making him more terrifying.

Awesome and epic action sequences especially the fight at the bridge, the attack at Hogan's house, the skirmish in the Mirror Dimension and, of course, the final battle at the Statue of Liberty. The way the film managed to connect with Sam Raimi and Marc Webb's franchises was clever and effective. The emotional moments are pretty intense and well-done. Especially Aunt May's death, Peter and MJ's farewell and when Peter meets his alternative versions.

'''It features the so anticipated return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men. All without stealing the spotlight from Tom Holland's Spidey.''' Not only they're in the movie for a good part, but they also contribute to the story in a good way. The interactions between the 3 Spider-Men are a delight to watch as they have amazing chemistry. Every time these three share the screen is a blast as they share pretty amusing and emotional moments. There's this very wholesome moment when Tobey's Spidey encourages Andrew's to think he's amazing after the latter keeps downing himself. It's a scene that also feels self-aware, considering there were many who didn't like Andrew's Spider-Man saga. "I always wanted brothers", "I love you guys"; those lines are so cute they feel improvised when you think the actors must have had a great time shooting the movie. This movie made the Sam Raimi trilogy and Marc Webb's duology films much better and acts as a continuity by helping each Spider-Man resolve their fears and traumas. Andrew's Peter redeemed himself by saving MJ from her falling to death, just as he couldn't save Gwen and it ate him up entirely inside never being able to overcome it and move on. He let himself go and lost sight of what Spider-Man was supposed to symbolize. Tobey's Peter redeemed himself when he stopped Tom's Peter from killing an unmasked Green Goblin with the glider. He couldn't let him go through with it when he couldn't let the father of his best friend be killed again. Not only would it not make things better for either one of them, but it would've also lead to his best friend hating him and trying to kill him. Something that Tobey's Peter came to regret in his movies. This movie wasn't just about curing the villain's and have them redeemed. It was also about redeeming the other Spider-Men, and compensating all their faults and failures from their own respective movies.

The end credits is amazingly animated, like the previous two Spider-Man movies. The soundtrack by Michael Giacchino is still excellent, which is another step up from the previous movies. As expected from Marvel Cinematic Universe and Spider-Man movies, the cinematography is awesome. The relationship between Peter and MJ is very deep and well-handled.

The acting is still great, mostly from Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire. Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau and Marisa Tomei are also great as well. Even the villain actors, such as Willem Dafoe who still kills it as the Green Goblin that it feels as if he never left.

It has the nice dark and light tone, much like other MCU and previous Spider-Man movies. This is the first MCU Spider-Man movie where the movie and Peter's development isn't focused around Iron Man, since both Vulture and Mysterio were villains who were tied to Iron Man and the previous movies focused on Peter being accepted by Tony and taking up his mantle, making this feel more like an actual Spider-Man movie.

The ending is pretty moving and devastating, perhaps the most emotional in a Spider-Man movie so far. Doctor Strange during the climax warned about the severe and tragic consequences of Tom Holland's Peter to be completely forgotten as if he never existed in order to save the Multiverse from being torn apart, and it shows when he completed the request of Holland's Peter. Spider-Man as a superhero is still remembered as someone who fought with the Avengers at major battles from Infinity War and Endgame while previously fought against personal villains in Homecoming and Far From Home, but the identity of Peter Parker himself is now totally vanished as his loved ones and allies cannot remember him. What makes this ending all the more devastating is the fact that everything happened as a consequence of Peter's actions as he was the one who asked Strange to perform the spell. It all happened because of him and now he is paying the consequences.

It has become so popular that fans are now begging Sony to properly finish Tobey and Andrew's franchises making Spider-Man 4 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3.

Number 2
And my most favourite animated movie of the year is...

Luca




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Compared to the other films, like Cars, the rules of the universe are in no way complicated: sea monsters turn into humans when dry and back into sea monsters when wet, which is very original idea for Pixar standards. Simple as 1-2-3, right? Along with the rules of the universe being simple, the plot itself is also very easy to follow due to it simply being about two sea monsters who turn into humans whenever they reach the surface trying to win a motorcycle to travel the world. It's a much more simple story than most Pixar films who, while great, feel the need to be emotional, substantial masterpieces by having stories than can be hard to follow at times due to their enormous amounts of complicated worldbuilding and symbolism. But here, it's just a slice-of-life stories about a pair of sea monsters living life. By similar to Ratatouille, that simplicity manages to be it's own artform.

Just like Brave, Coco and Soul, the story and settings are fantastic which takes place in a different country, which, of course, is Italy between the 1950s and 60s. The voice acting is awesome, with two major standouts being Jack Dylan Grazer as Alberto and Saverio Raimondo as Ercole. Some of the actors even reprise their roles in the Italian dub, including Raimondo, Giacomo Gianniotti, and Marina Massironi. The animation is unbearably fantastic animation, giving the visuals a style reminiscent to the Studio Ghibli films for Pixar standards. The Italian dub is near-perfect, since the movie takes place in Italy.

The designs of sea monsters characters look impressive. Need do we say? They're creative, detailed, and make use of traits generally found on humans by making them instead things you would generally see on sea monsters like scales or fins.

The characters are very likable and sympathetic, like Luca Paguro, who is a 12-year-old curious sea monster protagonist about the world above the sea, Alberto Scorfano, who is a 14-year-old sea monster and Luca's best friend who is enthusiastic to explore the human world, and Giulia Marcovaldo, who is a 13-year-old Italian girl who befriends Luca and Alberto amd an "outgoing and charming adventurer with a love of books and learning". Apart from that, Giulia and Luca have perfect chemistry together, like exploring and studying the solar system, the city of Rome, and Da Vinci's flying machine.

Ercole Visconti can be an bit predictable, unlikable and one-dimensional, but he is a great antagonist, who has two followers, Ciccio and Guido, who are ready to do his bidding. He also proves that he can truly become a genuine treat towards the main characters when he tries to kill Luca and Alberto upon discovering the two's true identities as sea monsters. He is like Chef Skinner from Ratatouille of Italian.

The director of the film, Enrico Casarosa, was born in Genoa, Italy, and declared that the film's core is a celebration of friendship. The movie is basically Pixar's version of Stranger Things, The Goonies, Stand by Me, Stephen King's IT, and Super 8. The climax during Portorosso Cup is entertaining. As it's stakes are incredibly high given how Luca and Giulia are now on their own to win after Alberto leaving prior to the competition beginning.

When Giulia found out about Luca and Alberto's true identities as seas monsters, it at first seems like they were going to do the "Liar Revealed" cliche, but it instead subverts the trope by having Giulia be concerned for the boys' safety due to the town's hatred for sea monsters rather than having her get angry at them for lying to her.

Number 1
You would've know this is my favourite movie based on novel is.

Dune




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Out of all of the books, Dune is one of my dad's favourite book. A couple of years later, Dune was officially released as the movie for part one, and it is actually nice that it follows the plot of the book. Also, if you think Dune is impossible to adapt, you never see this coming.

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.

Compared to the 1984 film, it perfectly adapted Frank Herbert's novel, through some parts have been changed and added to fit the narrative. The film also features aesthetic elements that were introduced in the 1984 adaptation. Paul Atreides is an amazing and interesting protagonist, who is an son of Duke Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica and begins experiencing vivid visions of the future in the form of dreams, including an attack on Arrakis, and a yet-to-come relationship with Chani Kynes. Haunted by visions of a mysterious girl and an inevitable future, he is called to leave his childhood homeworld behind for a new life on the most dangerous planet in the Known Universe, where he must confront his innermost fears if he is to realize his true destiny. Timothée Chalamet was practically born to play the role of Paul Atreides. He was drawn to the novel's religious and environmental themes, but also Paul's internal struggle, as he contemplates if and how to use his power, such as the Voice.

Some scenes have very tear-jerker and emotional moments. When Paul and Jessica are safe in the Stilltent after escaping the Harkonnens, Paul is already reeling from the devastating loss of his house and his father when he gets a whiff of Spice inside, triggering a prophetic vision in which he becomes the figurehead of a holy war that costs the lives of billions. When Jessica tries to comfort him, Paul lashes out using the Voice, blaming her and the Bene Gesserit sisterhood for making him a tool for one of their labyrinthine conspiracies. Leto's death. While in this version, Leto, using the poison gas tooth, actually manages to severely injure the Baron besides killing Piter, the scene in its entirety is nothing short of heartbreaking; the paralyzed and naked Leto is put in a chair opposite the Baron, who taunts him and falsely tells him that Paul and Jessica are dead. The fact that Leto dies right under the bull head, which is a reminder of the death of his own father, doesn't make it any better. Paul tells his father that he's worried he's not good enough to be the future of House Atreides. Leto reassures him that regardless of whether Paul is able to step up as a leader, he will still be Leto's beloved son, and that's all that matters. The interactions between Paul and Duncan, including one with a Bear Hug, implying Duncan was like a Cool Uncle to him. Which makes the loss of Duncan all the more tragic for poor Paul. In general, the interactions between Paul and other members of House Atreides, like when arriving on Arrakis, Paul forfeits any etiquette to run to Thufir and hug him. You can see that beyond the ranks and grades, they are family to him first and foremost. Leto never even hesitates to do everything in his power to save everyone on the spice harvester - explicitly stating he doesn't give a damn about the spice as long as he can save his men. Paul paying his respects to the body of Jamis after killing him in a Duel to the Death even considering the disdain Jamis had for him and his mother, proving his respect towards the Fremen and cementing his worthiness to become one. Paul meeting Chani for real comes out as this. For the entire story, he has seen her as some beautiful, almost ethereal creature, his soulmate for life. However, when they meet, she turns out to be just a Fremen like any other, practical and completely dismissive of him, and the only thing she has to say to our hero is wishing that he dies quickly so they may continue on their way. You can see the pain in Paul's eyes, when he thinks of all the things that he should tell her, and knows that she won't understand it... at least, not yet. Duncan Idaho's sacrifice; he salutes his young Duke, who, realizing Duncan's plan, rushes to stop him, only to arrive too late, leaving Paul fruitlessly pounding on a door, knowing that he's about to lose yet another friend who was like a Cool Uncle to him. Duncan's Last Stand is an awesome moment, but his death is a devastating moment for both Paul and the audience. You can pinpoint the exact moment Paul's childhood gets ripped away from him for good: when Duncan Idaho, his beloved surrogate uncle and mentor, kneels before him and addresses him as "my lord duke". In one fell swoop, he loses the old relationship he had with Duncan (because now he's Duncan's liege lord), and it finally becomes real that his father is gone and nothing will ever be the same, and that he has no choice but to grow up and be responsible right now, no matter that he's only fifteen. The conclusion of Paul's duel with Jamis manages to be this on three levels. First is Paul's remorse for having killed a man, knowing there wasn't even a good reason for it. Second, because of Paul's visions in which Jamis was more of a mentor or a big brother figure for him, the tragedy gains an extra layer thanks to Paul knowing for a fact that he killed a potential lifelong friend. The third level is more meta: the framing of Paul's visions of Jamis as a friend juxtaposed against the hostile man who challenges Paul to a duel to the death comes across as a commentary on the tragedy of all violence that takes place between two strangers from two different ways of life, simply because they didn't stop to try understanding one another. Following that, on a fourth level, Paul refusing to be smuggled offworld and choosing to live with the Fremen, because his father wanted to cultivate their power. This is Paul's first step on the road to what will become a galaxy-spanning holy war, and Paul knows this.

Many of the characters, apart from Paul, are loveable. Jessica Atreides goes through the help with Paul. Duke Leto Atreides is a Duke of House Atreides. Gurney Halleck is a Warmaster in service of Duke Leto of House Atreides, and he trains the Duke's son Paul. Thufir Hawat is a Mentat and Master of Assassins for Duke Leto of House Atreides, and he trains the Duke's son Paul. Chani Kynes is a member of the Fremen of Arrakis and she becomes close with Paul. Duncan Idaho is a swordmaster in service of Duke Leto of House Atreides, and he too trains Paul.

Not only there are perfect and wonderful soundtrack provided by Hans Zimmer, similar to Interstellar. There are also that his passion for the books meant that he wrote no less than three soundtrack albums. In fact, one major reason he was brought on was because he is a big fan of the novel. The first trailer concludes with an epic choral cover of "Eclipse" from Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Two tracks, "Paul's Dream" and "Ripples in the Sand", were released early, and offered a taste of the thunderous chanting and choral voices that would define the music for the movie. From the sketchbook album (created as extended explorations of ideas for the final score), the House Atreides theme, with bagpipes and a booming orchestration, is a perfect fit for a regal ruling house, but with a melancholy undertone that hints at the Atreides' tragic fall. Meanwhile, "Song of the Sisters" uses massed female voices to signify the Bene Gesserit, shifting from eerie whispers to practically shouted chants, turning the distinctively human instrument of the voice into something alien. The main score has plenty of great moments, such as the vocal motif of "Song of the Sisters" being developed into the shorter but ever-so-Creepy Awesome "Bene Gesserit", and the triumphant-but-mournful "Leaving Caladan", which builds as the Atreides prepare to venture to Arrakis. "Arrakeen" uses a purposeful drum-roll motif which recalls the sound of ornithopter wings; the motif is also linked to the Harkonnens (playing over the scene introducing them), adding an undertone to danger as the heroes enter the city. "Armada" blends multiple leitmotifs from the score; it opens with female voices that hint at the Bene Gesserit's manipulations that have led to the Harkonnens' attack, a theme song power up with the Atreides bagpipes as Gurney rallies his troops and charges into battle, and the unearthly growl of the Sardaukar throat-singing that accompanies their arrival to slaughter the Atreides forces. "Blood for Blood" is pure musical tear jerker; playing over Leto's death, the choral voices that come in during the middle evoke a funeral chant, culminating in a chilling shriek. The film ends with this track, reprising the motif from "Leaving Caladan" with the musical textures associated with Arrakis, signalling the next stage of Paul's journey away from home as he joins the Fremen. It was so fresh and best that it was nominated at Best Original Score at the Academy Award.

It is so good that after decades in relative obscurity outside science-fiction enthusiasts, the Dune franchise is drawing in new fans at a rapid pace, considering how fans might know about Denis Villeneuve. The Ornithopter is an awesome vehicle. Imagine a literal combination of a dragonfly and a helicopter - instead of having rotary blades, the four wings beat at an ultra-fast rate, providing lift and thrust. Many of the planets, like Arrakis, also known as "Dune", are highly realistic and amazing.

Many epic and intense scenes. Paul's response to flying through a dust storm powerful enough to shred metal is an ingenious one: instead of fighting the storm, he allows the craft to be buffeted by the wind until it's carried to a higher dust-free zone, showing that he is beginning to adapt to the desert power of Arrakis. After making their way into the desert, Jessica and Paul get surrounded by a group of Fremen warriors. Stilgar says that Paul is young enough to learn their ways, but Jessica is too old, so she has to die. Jessica whoops his ass and afterwards the only Fremen who dares to even say anything bad about her is Jamis, a man with very poor impulse control. Paul's survival of the box very effectively foreshadows why he will later be considered a huge threat to the Imperium and the Bene Gesserit. While he does whimper and cry very early on in a subdued fashion, he never makes a full-throated scream (he did in the first trailer, but that didn't make it to the final cut). Instead he crosses some threshold beyond which the pain no longer even touches him. He aims a calm and intense Death Glare at Gaius Helen Mohiam for the entire rest of the trial while in the novel, he only thinks about the pain. Even Mohiam seems a bit unsettled by it. According to Denis Villeneuve, the moment when Paul turns his eyes up toward Mohiam is the first foreshadowing of Paul's true nature as the Kwisatz Haderach. He doesn't just power through the extreme pain — the experience brings something in his subconscious closer to the surface. And considering what Paul ends up bringing to the known universe canonically, Mohiam is right to be afraid. In the Harkonnen throne room, there's an eight-legged black ... thing which looks like it escaped from one of H. R. Giger's nightmares, which seems to be kept as a pet by the Baron or Piter. The Harkonnen servants—who are all bald and eerily thin, with white skin, no fingernails and solid black eyes — also look distinctly alien. Some wear strange gags over their mouths, and react twitchily and deferentially to the Harkonnens' actions, implying a history of brutal treatment from their superiors. Speaking of the "thing" above, it is possible that the creature is not an alien, but a mutated human. It has no features (eyes, mouth, nose, etc) but an oddly human-shaped head, and at the end of each limb is a humanoid hand. Considering how depraved the Harkonnen family is, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that their “pet” is either: A) A genetically manipulated human clone, or B) A human who was turned into that thing (especially considering it understands human speech enough to be affected by Gaius Helen Mohiam's Compelling Voice). In a later scene, Dr. Yueh says that the Harkonnen "took [his wife] apart like a doll". This might be what it looked like when they put her back together again. The depiction of Giedi Prime itself goes beyond stark and straight into terrifying. A completely industrialized world, every scrap of green and life has been chewed up and replaced by stone, concrete, and metal. Smoke and smog hangs over everything and while the palace of Caladan looks regal and stately, the gigantic ziggurats of the Harkonnen look like looming mausoleums. We get a shot of a Harkonnen agent who was bricked up into a wall, just so that he could release a hunter-seeker drone in an attempt to kill Paul. Claustrophobia (a character states that the agent was cemented into the wall for six weeks) and the Paranoia Fuel of a hidden attacker anywhere within a building, all in one package. For that matter, the hunter-seeker itself. It looks less like a drone and more like a gigantic mosquito, even more so when it flies right up to Paul's eye, and then it darts extremely quickly straight at Shadout Mapes when she tries to enter the room unaware of its presence. Fortunately, this gives Paul the opening he needs to crush it.

Funny moments throughout the movie. The film is quite upfront about how Timothée Chalamet isn't exactly the most physically intimidating action hero around (the best part of the scene is that Paul actually looks at his own arm, slightly confused, as if expecting to see some new muscle there). Also, there's a chuckle-worthy lampshade of early on. When receiving The Emperor's emissary, Duke Leto Atreides urges Gurney Halleck to smile. Gurney insists through a typical Josh Brolin scowl that he is smiling, despite his face not doing much to show that. Also, Leto doesn't look at Gurney to notice that he's not smiling. He just assumes, based on experience, that Gurney is scowling behind him. Once Leto stamps the Emperor's decree with his signet ring, indicating his acceptance of it. There is a long pause before he somewhat uncomfortably asks the emissary if that's it. Jessica is training Paul in the Voice, thus begins a running gag of her telling him his pitch is off every time he attempts it. When he finally uses it successfully against a Harkonnen soldier, Jessica tells him his pitch still isn't where it needs to be. Paul's line from the book about how he'd rather hear a song from Gurney than combat training is kept in, despite the film's version of Gurney being a far more serious and stern soldier. The mental image of him still having book Gurney's musical habits is amazing. Adding to that is Gurney's response, where he flings a knife at Paul, embedding it in the table right next to him. Rather than call him out for throwing a knife so close to him, Paul simply says "That's rude!" as a retort. During the battle in the palace grounds, Duncan makes his way to the airfield and kills several Harkonnen troops guarding an Ornithopter. The remaining Harkonnens raise their hands and get out of his way so he can take off in the ship and use it to lay waste to the other Harkonnen forces on the flightline. In a bit of actor allusion, Leto confides to Paul that before becoming Duke, his real dream was to become a pilot. When Stilgar is welcomed by Duke Leto Atreides as ambassador of the Fremen, he spits in front of Leto, who reacts as if this was an offense (not helped by how gruff Stilgar seems to be). Duncan, who lived among the Fremen for some time beforehand, is quick to explain him that he actually sacrificed humidity from his body (water is the most precious thing on Arrakis besides Spice) as a salute and sign of trust, then everyone does the same. Stilgar either doesn't understand court customs, or more likely expressly doesn't care. Upon being allowed into Leto's council chamber, he ignores Gurney's repeated order to advance no further, marching straight up to stand a few feet away from the Duke. His lack of concern for the mortal peril he seems to have put himself in by the misunderstanding makes Duncan's urgent interjections to defuse the tension that much funnier. Leto looks very uncomfortable flinging a loogie onto his own desk. After all this, Stilgar glances at Paul and says "I recognize you." Then walks away. That's his reaction to meeting his Messiah. Chani does not seem overly impressed when she first meets Paul. After he disarms one Fremen warrior and fights his way past several others to seize the high ground and threaten them with a gun, he only discovers that she's already up there after Stilgar orders his men to stand down, having parked herself right behind him with a knife at the ready. Also, he evidently found the most difficult way to climb up the rock, and she offers to show him an easier way down. When Paul has to duel Jamis, Chani offers him her knife, a family heirloom. She notes that it will be a great honor for Paul when he dies while holding it. She also tells him that Jamis is a great warrior, he will make sure Paul doesn't suffer much. All this build up of Jamis’s skill as a fighter means it can be darkly humorous to see Paul thoroughly outclassing him: attempting multiple times to get Jamis to yield, while barely suffering a scratch in return. Stilgar has to verify with Jessica that Paul is not in fact toying with Jamis in a traditional duel to the death.

The acting is excellent, especially the all-star cast. Timothée Chalamet is fantastic as Paul, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac are great as Lady Jessica and Duke Leto Atreides, Zendaya is amazing as Chani, while Jason Momoa is really entertaining as Duncan Idaho. For Zendaya, her performance is well improvement over Lola Bunny from Space Jam: A New Legacy, although she does a decent voice performance.

The visual effects are absolutely well done and creative, especially the sandworms. In one of the subtlest occurrences of this, this film finally gets the Eyes of Ibad right, after the David Lynch version had to use a post-production effect that made the eyes appear to glow blue, the first installment of the miniseries embraced the glowing blue (so the glow was drowned out in direct light), and the second installment of the miniseries just use blue iris contact lenses. Here, the eyes do look just fully and entirely blue.

Amazing villains. The Sardaukar were already a Badass Army in the novel, but the film reimagines them as a psychotically devoted proud warrior race who speak in black speech and practice human sacrifice rituals accompanied by Mongolian-style throat singing. From their introductory scene they immediately come off as more badass and intimidating than the Harkonnens. Also, in Lynch's adaptation and in the 2000 miniseries, they were barely acknowledged and for the most part looked goofy (wearing black hazmat suits in 1984, then black armor offset by large puffy hats in 2000) disappointing many readers. In this adaptation however, they are reimagined as a warrior cult who make human sacrifices, look like Vikings when unmasked, talk in Black Speech, and wear white bodysuits which make them like Stormtroopers on steroids. Their introduction scene in Salusa Secundus with throat-singing and their weird rituals cemented them as fan-favorites and made them popular in the old and new fanbase, especially the Sardaukar muezzin, who has received a lot of memes and fan art for a character who is literally in the movie for less than 30 seconds. The Bene Gesserit are more morally ambiguous than outright evil, but they have a wonderfully intimidating aesthetic, with most of their representatives being covered head to toe in flowing black robes and Reverend Mother Mohiam herself coming across as almost a Wicked Witch with how she's able to push Paul around with the Voice. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård's character), despite his less screen-time, is an interesting and useful antagonist, being established the head of House Harkonnen and the nemesis of House Atreides, who want to take over them, thanks to his genuinely unsettling appearance, as well as Stellan Skarsgård's performance perfectly portraying the ruthless and cunning schemer that he was in the novel. Skarsgård also achieved the not small feat of making fans accept a stark adaptation personality change, as his portrayal of the Baron gives the character a gravitas and dignity than his novel version lacked.

The ending scene has interesting tease for Part Two where Paul and his mother, Jessica, joins the Fremen, after the former defeats Jemis in the Duel of Death. As the first half of the book, we get to know about the world building and characters, since it was mainly focus instead of action scenes. The film begins with a phrase in an alien language is heard as a caption with the English translation on a black background, "Dreams are messages from the deep.", before it starts with the opening Warner Bros. Pictures logo.

There are tons of memorable and excellent dialogues, such as, "This is my Dune. Kill them all.", "GET OFF ME!!! YOU DID THIS TO ME!! YOU BENE GESSERIT MADE ME A FREAK!!!", "God in heaven.", "Get everything with guns off the ground! Go!", "This is only the beginning."

The world-building and epic scope are what impress everyone most here; not only the flawless visual effects, otherworldly lore and impeccable production design, but the attention to detail in the smaller aspects of this imagining of the future.

Denis Villeneuve gives incredible direction choice. Since it was even better, the movie made over double its budget ($399.4 million compared to its $165 million budget), and it is the most successful movie in Denis Villeneuve's filmography. The action scenes, although less, are still perfect, much like most of Denis Villeneuve's movies, which puts into great used, like Duncan Idaho is fighting the bad guys.

The cinematography is excellent, like the rest of Denis Villeneuve's movies, most namingly Interstellar. Some who enjoy the prerelease title card have praised it for spelling out "DUNE" with one character in different positions. The movie overall is just beautiful looking, with fantastic cinematography managing to bring the alien setting of Dune to life.

That scene where the Harkonnen army demolishing the House Atreides forces with the Sardaukar is really damn badass. The battle itself shows why the Harkonnens needed the Sardaukar's help, as the Atreides soldiers are shown to be more than capable of outmatching the Harkonnens in one-on-one combat, with small groups of Atreides household troops making mincemeat of larger groups of Harkonnens until outmatched in turn by the Imperial troops. When Harkonnen dropships begin disembarking troops on the airfield, the Atreides troops charge right at them, with the score changing to the Atreides' bagpipe-heavy theme. "WITH ME!!! WITH ME!!!" Also, the ship explosions are a sight to behold. To punctuate the final fall of House Atreides (for now, anyway), a Harokonen ship unleashes one of the most spectacular and brutal Macross Missile Massacres ever seen. Despite being caught off guard, Duncan's leap into combat is a sight to behold. He manages to take out multiple Sardaukar with ease, and without armor of his own.

This film is a amazing love letter to the fans of Dune series. Part Two is coming in 2023, so we need more love for this.

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That's all for now, time for 2022 in late December in 2022 or early January in 2023.