I saw Dune, Part Two

Like director Denis (Blade Runner 2049) Villeneuve's Dune: Part One, the second slice of Frank Herbert's epic novel comprises another taste of appetizing lore, which most know like the back of their hands; so why rehash it? Then again, a wee setup can't hurt.

For Part Two, savior-apparent, Paul Atreides, played by Timothee Chalamet, and his charming cohort, Chani, played by Zendaya, seek out the Harkonnens for having murdered his father. In this respect, Dune Two is a revenge tale set on Arrakis and beyond, with whale-sized worms; youth-sustaining Spice Melange; explosive battles and a pressing, Shakespearean commitment to set all things right for the freedom-fighting Fremen. 

My prime interest in this cinematic retelling was to witness Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen's entrance. He's played by Sting in David Lynch's adaptation and by Matt Keeslar in John Harrison's. The colorful character is now portrayed by Austin Butler, who made quite a pop-cultural splash as Elvis Presley. 

Come-and-go shots of Butler's Feyd over the months referenced Sam Britton, the Washington, nuclear official and luggage thief who denied responsibility for the criminality; but upon full inspection, Butler's Feyd is much more stylish and glowering in his insolence, exuding a Mick Jagger swagger, crossed with Max Schreck's raptorial stealth.  

This pervasive, villainous portrayal differentiates the new Dune, while most of its ingredients are as expected. That's acceptable, since there was no need to reinvent the Herbert wheel beyond the fun of it and of course, letting it re-roll with its occasional nuances, fortified along the way by Hans Zimmer's hallucinogenic score and Grieg Fraser's phantasmagorical photography. 

As implied, this three-hour event delivers full, exotic avidity, never getting too sappy in its progression and for a refreshing change, telling the tale without apology or nip-and-tuck appeasements, thanks largely to a respectful, no-nonsense script by Villeneuve and Jon (Prometheus/The Mummy 2017) Spaihts.

On this convenient front, its cast and characters are, therefore, allowed to thrive without restraint, which in addition to Chalamet, Zendaya and Butler, includes strong, anticipated performances by Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Charlotte Rampling, Stellen Starskgard, Rebecca Ferguson, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Alison Halstead, Souhiela Yacoub and a host of others. 

In the end, one should find Dune Two a super-solid offering. As with its first half, it creates a preordained, cinematic classic, but then the same can be said of those prior, movie versions. I suppose the deserved credit goes to Herbert for authoring a perennial fable that will probably be remade yet again in a few decades. Hey, that's just the way it works with any form of influential mythology. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2018!!!

I saw Deadpool's Second Coming...

Awright!!! Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson/Merc the Mouth, is back and not too soon. His garrulous presence stands in direct, abrasive defiance of all the teens who'd have once flocked to the anti-hero's big-screen adventures, but now scorn such storytelling in the name of goose-stepping "sensitivity". 

Directed by David "Atomic Blonde" Leitch and scripted by Reynolds, Paul Wernick, and Rhett Reese, "Deadpool 2", like its predecessor, glorifies uniqueness as a brutal (and amusing) justice-brandishing tool. Reynolds makes it all jive, giving the irreverent mutant the unabashed, Looney Tunes vantage that sets his flick apart from even the most colorful of the current pack. Alas, as a second-comer, "Deadpool 2" isn't as fresh as the first, but so be it. It's no less entertaining for its extrapolated, shoot-from-the-hip gall.

This time Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza's Marvel celebrated creation protects a troubled, mutant lad named Firefist, aka Russell Collins (Julian "Paper Planes" Dennison), from extermination. The reason: The kid is to become a futuristic, mass murderer, but his fate might be altered, if only someone were to inspire him to turn the other cheek. 

The set-up ushers in Cable, aka Nathan Summers (Josh "Jonah Hex" Brolin, who's still ridin' high from his Thanos portrayal in "Infinity War") as the tale's time-travelin' cyborg-soldier and temporary antagonist, who sports a big gun, a teddy bear and projects the vengeful, if not justified need to kill the Human Torch heir apparent. Deadpool, of course, has other ideas, thanks to the discovery of his big heart.

To accompany his new mission, Deadpool has help (at varying points) from his established friends: Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna "Tragedy Girls" Hildebrand); Colossus (Stephan "Big Miracle" Kapicic); Weasel (T.J. "Cloverfield" Miller); Dopiner (Karin "Ghostbusters" Soni); Blind Al (the legendary Leslie Uggams); and the fetching Vanessa (Morena "Gotham" Baccarin), who becomes both doomed and blessed due to the story's ethereal dynamics. 

The old crew is joined by lucky Domino (Zazie Beetz); brain-bending Bedlam (Terry "The Thing" Crews); regurgitating Zeitgiest (Bill "It" Skarsgard); cocky Shatterstar (Lewis "Iron Fist" Tan); and average-guy-along-for-the-ride Peter (Robert "Bad Robots" Delaney): a knock-off of Marvel's enduring secret agent, Peter Wisdom. This add-on, motley crew distinguishes Wilson's X-Force team and through the assembly, our mad mercenary is able to fortify his sense of purpose and plan...well, maybe not. Most of the newbies don't last long, but hey, it's the valiant thought that counts.

The plot, as such, is never complex, nor need it be. The save-or-kill-the-kid premise brackets Wilson's wild tangents and vignettes, making "Deadpool 2" resemble a rough, reinterpreted "Laugh-In". Older fans will appreciate the approach; younger ones will (or would) miss the point, since most lack the daring decency to sneak a peek at any R-rated film or for that matter, any far-out fantasy, unless it's perhaps tradition-stompin' fodder like "Last Jedi". 

The film's jarring structure is fine, however, considering how well it fits Wilson's personality swings. Reynolds enables Deadpool's self-parodying stance to connect the outrageous dots (most of which turn cartoonishly violent), ultimately creating a sensible strand. The process is surreal as hell, but against conventional odds, it works like a charm, at least when one grows accustomed to it. (Fans of the first film will latch on without a hitch.)

Now, I must confess, Deadpool isn't generally my kind of superhero, but I'm still cool with him. His hyperactive crassness is what makes him fascinating: an alternative icon who, for whatever spontaneous cause, consistently strikes the right, unapologetic chord. Over and over, that's the ticket here: Deadpool breaks the rules, and the types of rules he breaks deserve to be broken, at least in the abstract way they're presented. 

Deadpool is also the embodiment of "Suicide Squad" with a wry, intrepid twist, layering on manic and mature expression for older moviegoers who've long had their fill of sugar-coated, Hitler Jugend mysticism and its consequential, fumigated wand-shaking. He reminds us that it's okay (maybe even essential) to dance on the edge, especially when dictatorial goons declare, "Don't!" 

"Deadpool 2", however, isn't afraid to layer such rebellion with chunks of family-spun sentimentality. In fact, both films drill the importance of family into one's head, but the mutant's marinated fans already know the score, having acquired this idiosyncratic benefaction through Marvel's pages. The X-Men, after all, do care about one another, as much as the members of any dysfunctional family can and will. 

Even with this precious message bleeding through its crazed antics, the self-proclaimed highbrows will probably condemn "Deadpool 2". On the other hand, those jerkenheimers do deserve some thanks, if only for making Deadpool a sensation among those who get his skewed shtick: I'm talkin' hard-workin' folks who are more than pleased to pay their hard-earned cash for wisecrackin' camaraderie. At the end of any sweat-brow day, that's the emblematic desire of any unsung class. Thank goodness, Deadpool is the ideal deplorable to deliver it.

I saw Infinity War (Part 1)...

They say that "Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War: Part 1" is the biggest, character team-up in cinema history. I've no cause to dispute that claim.

Within its nearly three-hour running time, "Infinity War" gives us Captain America (Chris Evans); Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr); Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman); Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson); War Machine (Don Cheadle); the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan); the Falcon (Anthony Mackie); Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); Thor (Chris Hemsworth); Loki (Tom Hiddleston); Spider-man (Tom Holland); Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen); the Vision (Paul Bettany); Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch); and crossing their imposing paths, those glorious Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt; Zoe Salanda; Dave Baustista; Karen Gillan; Pom Klementieff; Vin Diesel; and Bradley Cooper). There are also several suprise titans who accompany the headliners. (In fact, one will find a few costarring favorites straight out Marvel's previous blockbuster, "The Black Panther". How's that for respectful continuity?)

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (who performed a pitch-perfect job on my favorite entry, "Winter Soldier", as well as the contentious but colorful "Civil War"), and written by acclaimed Cap veterans Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, the action swings among Earth, space and connecting dimensions. It's no wonder with the pensive, intergalactic villain (and Eternal daddy to Gamora and Nebula), Thanos (Josh Brolin) manipulating the variables to seize the mystical infinity stones: six lovely chunks that house the universe's limitless essence. Thanos hopes to adorn them upon his enormous glove, though even an incomplete set gives the galactic thug significant leverage over the assembled Avengers. But by golly, our heroes still do their best to bring him down, along with his ruthless regiment of Black Order/Cull Obsidian generals. 

"Infinity War" plays, in this respect, like other Marvel movies, with lots of good fighting lots of bad. However, with the Avengers entering the mission more-or-less divided, they must put aside personal concerns to combat their common foe, albeit in specialized packs. The script, therefore, insinuates "X-Men United", though places the concept on a more sprawling scale. (I'm glad, by the way, that Team Rogers and Team Stark are at long last mending their ways. The "Civil War" rift never felt right to me, whether in comic or film form. In my opinion, animosity between/among friends, especially of the exalted, fictional sort, should be resolved within one story line, but I'm okay seeing it settled in two or three, as long as it happens somewhere down the damn, reachable line.)

Even with its unorthodox tensions referenced and stacked throughout, the film doesn't flip the franchise (the most financially successful of all time, I might add) on its head, unless one sees blasphemy in Cap's brooding beard, Widow's amber hair, or Spidey's shiny suit. (For the record, we gained a glimpse of Parker's new costume in "Homecoming", so it's use in an Avengers rally shouldn't be all that surprising.) 

But wait--what's that you ask? Is there truth to the rumor that an Avenger dies? Maybe even more than one beloved character? Well, if that's truly the case, it sure would be big, saga-changing news, but I'm not one to kiss and tell for the here and now. (You know how to reach me if you desire a confirmation.)  I'll say this much: The demise of any Marvel icon would be troubling, perhaps unforgivable, but maybe one could justify it within a well wrought plot. Keeping it more "Wrath of Khan" than "Force Awakens" would be the way to go, but with Disney and Paramount both involved, the woeful moment(s) could go either way...if such were to occur. (And if death were to strike, would any Avenger ever stay forever defunct? Come on, now... Why mourn? Why lament? Fantasy holds no limitations.)

Though the initial "Infinity War" projects much to anticipate and contemplate, its best asset might be the way it combines science and magic, but then, haven't the adventures of Thor and Strange already succeeded there? Also, when it wants to be, the film is as somber as "Winter Soldier" and yet at other times, as outrageous as a Guardians misadventure. Again, we've already seen these extremes on the big screen, though per divided presentations. That they work well within the same context, darting from out so many opposing vantages (and never turning cringe-worthy in the process), is quite a superheroic stunt. (Heck, "Infinity War" exceeds "Justice League" by leagues in this regard.) Say, maybe that's the film's thematic (and symbolic) point!

For those who've stuck with the saga since "Iron Man", it's essential to check this one out. Most will be satisfied with its epic delivery, and I bet "Part 2" will hit an even higher, satisfactory note when released next year.

So, fasten your seat belts and enjoy the high-adrenaline, emotional hills and valleys. As with most Marvel flicks, this ain't Shakespeare, though this one does at least scratch that surface on more than a few occasions. For now, that's all that should count. That's all that should suffice...