jcooloti

I believe most changes made from the books by Cixin Liu are good ones for an adaptation like this. I do have gripes with the show. Casting choices. Mainly Eiza Gonzalez and the other scientist. I'm sorry, but Eiza is just a very unbelievable scientist. Her acting is very one dimensional... basically one emotion, anger and disappointment. At all times. Her angular and artificially sculpted face is a huge distraction for me. It's as if they decided to just "put a young hot chick" as the lead. It's ridiculous.

I also feel the series does not feel as EPIC as it should. While reading the books, it just felt so epic and the stakes were so incredibly high. This does not feel that way, at least not yet. I believe with a little better use of exposition in the story, this could have been achieved. The books are educational, even if not on purpose. This series focuses more on the adventurous points of this tale, which is honestly are the less interesting aspects. The themes of the original story that Cixin Liu wrote are very scientific, philosophical, and complex. The Netflix series feels a bit dumbed down for a lazier audience.

Still, I do find it to be somewhat entertaining. I can't help it because it's a cool story. It does feel a bit rushed though. The first season could have used 4 more episodes and brought in some things they omitted from the book to raise the stakes and make it feel more epic.

If you're loving this, I'm happy for you! It's not bad. Maybe I would more if I hadn't have read the books. I highly recommend the books if you like this series, because so far I have to say they are the superior version of the story.

Everything about this movie is so good that it practically made me numb. I still can't even process it. I'm a huge fan of the novels, and in a few ways this movie manages to improve on the source material by giving us a very intimate rendition of this awesome story.

It totally kicks ass on all fronts. Writing, visuals, sound design/music, and acting at its absolute highest levels on the grandest scale. Truly epic. One of the best adaptations from novel to screen ever made. No easy task either given the film's source material, but executed tastefully and dare I say, flawlessly utilizing minor alterations to create the best film it can be. Believe the hype. If you don't like this movie, then well, I guess epic sci-fi stories and deserts simply aren't your thing. Fair enough, but for most of us, it really doesn't get any better than this.

The script is excellent. This was a very hard novel to adapt, and the writers have truly done a fantastic job with it. Changes have been made from the source material, details added, but essentially it captures the best themes of the book. Overall, each change, cut, or addition makes for a better movie, still remaining faithful to the films source material. I will admit however, that the Dune nerd in me would have liked to see that talking baby... but the way they did it was effective and probably better for the silver screen. Frank Herbert purist might get pretty bummed over this, but not I. The change works well, and I trust Denis Villeneuve with what he wanted to do in his telling.

I want to point out that I was kind of surprised how terrific the acting in this film was considering the amount of vanity and celebrity the cast seems to bask in. This isn't just a cast of what Marilyn Manson would call "the beautiful people" but actually a talented one. Timothy Chalamet really brings it in the films second half. He was born to play Paul Atreides, and I would have never of known he was capable of pulling it off so well with what I have previously seen him in. I loved Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, but it was actually Javier Bardem as Stilgar that I enjoyed the most. His character is beautifully written in this screenplay, providing smart laugh out loud comic relief but also delivering serious dramatic scenes with awesome dialogue. His delivery of "I don't care if you do not believe, I believe..." which was perfectly placed in the trailer is even better in the film. The man is a very good actor, obviously given his track record, and it was simply awesome seeing him deliver such well written dialogue.

The visual fx... I don't even know how to convey how great they look. They, simply put, are stunning. What a treat to see it in IMAX. This movie truly was made for IMAX. It looks incredible.

Which brings me to cinematography. Also stunning. Absolute perfection. The lighting and color pallets... my God, it's just stunning.

Sound design and score are every bit as awesome as they were in the first film. Perfection. Hans Zimmer is really in the prime of his career, giving us stunningly original and memorable works of music.

As far as memorable scenes and sequences go, every single one hits pretty hard and is expertly crafted. The climatic final knife fight was the best I had scene since the climatic sword fight in Rob Roy. But I can't write this gushing review without mentioning the sand-worm riding scene where Paul first mounts one of these iconic beast. WOW. This goes down as one of my favorite scenes ever in a film. I practically edged myself off my seat, even knowing what the outcome would be having read the book. It was just... wow, so cool.

Upon the movie ending, my wife and I just wanted to stay in the theater and watch it over again. I can't wait to see this film again, and again, and again. I really think it is a modern classic. This isn't something I say lightly. The hype was real for me. I hope you all feel the same as I did, because both Dune and Dune: Part 2 are some of the greatest times I've had at the movies in the past twenty years. This is what large budget major studio films should be. This is art on its grandest scale, not just a cheap attempt to cash in on a beloved franchise. It's so refreshing and nice to see that Hollywood still has a few quality films to make. In my personal opinion, Timothy Chalamet and Zendaya earned every right to wear those ludicrous outfits on the red carpet. They could have worn hot dog suits for all I care, because not only did they do a fantastic job, but the entire cast and crew. This film helped create something people such as myself will be enjoying for a very, very long time.

I've completed the game going the heroic route. Did every side quest. I adore this game. Honestly, my favorite game of all time, not lying. Negative reviews on here are by trolls that's have low attention spans. If you want fantastic writing, characters arcs performed by amazing voice talent, and enjoy turned based strategy and role playing you will love this game. It's essentially just Dungeons and Dragons. Same rules. However, imagine playing D&D with the best dungeon master ever and beautiful computer graphics illustrating your story. It's also not afraid to get totally absurd, goofy, or just plain freaky deeky if that's your style. It's up to you. You can have sex with a bear. It's pretty rad. Lol. Honestly though, it will probably hit you on an emotional level the more seriously you take it. Finishing the game for me was an extremely emotional experience for me after 250 hours. The denouement was fantastic. I really needed that, and it was great that they put it in there. It's really sad to end the game because you really become friends in a way with your companions. You actually really care about them. Such great writing. Minor bugs are forgivable on the technical side, after all it is a video game. It's also an extremely complex game with so many variables. This is a game for grown ups, not inpatient button smashers. If you're mature and love D&D, it doesn't get any better than this.