Television and movie reviews: The Pitt and Dune Part II

[shadowkat]

1. Discovered purely by accident, a podcast series with James Marsters and Mark Devine entitled Schmactors, which is basically two theater, television and screen actors riffing on their careers and various topics. I learned through it that the bottom of the barrel guest star salary per week of filming was $4,000 in 1998. These are the non-contract, recurring lead actors. Not the contracted ones. Also, learned that the process of bleaching his hair white-blond was so painful, he was in a fetal ball under the table at the hair dressers afterwards.

They have a fascinating riff on whether we can colonize Mars, Marsters thinks it is a horrible idea, while Devine thinks it could work.

Gotta love the internet sometimes - you can find the most insane stuff on it. Juliet Landau is doing a rather dull podcast of rewatching Buffy episodes, which you have to pay for (so I haven't bothered with it - just read a review).

2. Binged all six episodes of the new HBO Max medical procedural series The Pitt yesterday. Each episode is one hour in a busy inner city Pittsburgh, PA, emergency room. Stars Noah Wyle as the head or Chief of the ER, and follows the medical interns, residents, attendings, nurses, etc under his leadership. Starts at the beginning of his shift.

I found it compelling. It also made me want to rewatch ER. Wylie has aged well, and is almost unrecognizable as the lead, with a beard. The Pitt is also by John Wells, who did ER, and produced The West Wing.

I enjoyed it. I tried the first episode and just kept going.

3. Dune Part II direct by Denis Villeneuve, and the second part of the massive book. Actually this is the more interesting portion of the story - the first part is when everything falls apart, the second is where both Paul and his mother figure out how to survive and lead the Fremen. This is the portion in which Paul falls for Chani and comes of age. I liked this film better than the first - in part because it was filmed in daylight and not mainly at night-time. So I could see it. It's a stunning film in regards to cinematography and score alone. I can see why it's gotten various nominations and did so well. It held my interest and I stuck with me long after the finale credits rolled.

Best things in it? The female cast. Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Zendaya as Chani, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Lady Margot are stellar. So too is Chani's friend. The male cast stands out less - which I found interesting. I forgot how strong the female characters were in Dune.
Although the casting is pitch perfect, Timothy Chalmat fits the role of Paul Atredies, as does Austin Butler's unrecognizable casting as Fe-ayd Harkonnon, who Butler manages to bring sultry and dangerous vulnerability to the role. It's a well cast film. No miscasts here.

Dune was the science fiction book that caused me to fall fully in love with sci-fi. The world-building in it is phenomenal. Also, the writer subverts the hero trope completely - and kind of points out all the problems within it, along with the inherent problems of prophecy and hero worship on everyone involved.

The movie is a very good adaptation of the novel - a novel that I thought was impossible to adapt. Curious to see what he does with Dune Messiah - which is Dune Part III.

Among the best films I've seen this year.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I've yet to see Dune 2 but am looking forward to it.

[shadowkat]

It's a beautifully shot film - I was impressed. Also captivating. I don't remember the book that well - but I remember enough of it - to state that it follows the book quite well. In the book Princess Irulan is kind of a narrator? And this utilizes that. Best adaptation of the Dune books that I've seen to date.

He's wisely ending it with Dune Messiah (That's Dune Part III, which takes place 12 years later). (Things get a bit convoluted and messy with Children of Dune and God, Emperor of Dune).

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, I just re-read that one a few months back. I can see why that would make for a somewhat complete story.

[shadowkat]

When I read the synopsis of Dune Messiah - I realized yes that one would work very well as a contained film. (Not sure I can handle the book - I couldn't get into it in high school. I loved Dune, but I had troubles getting into the sequels.)

[mefisto]

I found the casting of Florence Pugh (whom I love) to be baffling. Physically, she is nothing like Princess Irulan as described in the books. For me, she should be Alia. By the same token, Anya Taylor-Joy, who *does* look like Irulan, is set to be Alia, who she looks nothing like. Really odd to me.

[shadowkat]

It helps if you have no real memory of the books going in, I think? I honestly only have a vague memory of them - what the characters looked like? No idea. There were descriptions of them? I honestly don't remember. I don't tend to pay close attention to physical descriptions of characters in books for some reason? So film adaptations rarely bug me. Only graphic novels or comics - would I notice.

[mefisto]

Heh. I re-read Dune before I watched the film.

[shadowkat]

Not a good idea. Different mediums - although I understand the temptation. I read Small Things Like These before seeing the film - also not a good idea.

[dirtygreatknife]

I haven't seen part 2 yet, but I'm excited to. Part 1 was so breathtaking to me. I need to get my new laptop set up so I can once again chromecast to the telly. I'm glad to hear that Villeneuve is doing Dune Messiah. Be very interesting to see what he does with it.