Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Dune

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Dune is set in a distant future. Arrakis is the only planet in the known universe that produces the spice Melange, the most valuable and essential commodity in the universe. It gives long life, greater vitality and heightened awareness. So, whoever controls Arrakis will amass untold wealth and power. The Padashaw Emperor controls this universe and rules with the aid of the Landsraad. The Landsraad is composed of the great houses, and is extremely political, very cutthroat and brutal. Arrakis is a hot, almost uninhabitable environment of desert and
mountains. It’s controlled at the beginning by Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgard) of the House Harkonen. The native life is composed of the giant sandworms, fierce guardians of desert spice fields and the Fremen, the mysterious denizens who want to be rid of the Imperial houses and have made an agreement of convenience with them regarding spice harvesting. But the Fremen have other plans, there is prophecy, mysticism and a looked for mahdi. And that’s just the overview! Timothee Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, the only son and heir of the Duke Ledo the Just (Oscar Isaac) of the great House of Atreides. Duke Ledo is inexplicably handed Arrakis by the emperor, displacing their deadly enemies, the Harkonen. They know the Emperor plans treachery, and try to take precautions. However, it’s too little, too late. There is death and the virtual destruction of the Atreides clan. Paul will need to step up and rise to his destiny. Dune is a complicated book, and I can see how people who are not familiar with previous movies or the original book, could be confused. But director Denis Villeneuve does a great job helping the uninitiated follow the story, while giving hardcore Dune fans the details. Chalamet handles the task of showing a young nobleman faced with sudden disaster and tragedy and rising to the challenge with strength and intelligence. The supporting cast is superb, and includes Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, David Bautista, and Charlotte Rampling along with the aforementioned Oscar Isaac and Stellan Skarsgard. The scope of this epic, the stunning settings, and well designed costumes, are beautifully done. Even though Dune comes in at over 2 1/2 hours, it is only Part 1 of this epic story. There is something for everyone in this movie and you do not need to be a fan of Dune to enjoy it. Honestly, I can’t wait for Part 2!

The Last Duel

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The Last Duel is based on the true story of the last trial by combat in medieval France. Matt Damon plays Jean De Carrouges, a respected knight who is brave and skillful in battle. Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) is a squire renowned for intelligence and wit. The two men start out as friends, Jean even saves Jacques’ life in battle; but it all quickly goes wrong. The Count d’Alencon (Ben Affleck) however, hates Jean and goes out of the way to deny him his rightful position and privilege; while giving Jacques the position and makes him his right hand man. Jacques is enamored of Marguerite, De Carrouge’s sweet, beautiful wife (Jodie Comer) and takes liberties with her while Jean is away fighting in Scotland. She accuses Le Gris of raping her, thus setting up the famous duel when Jean demands the King grant him trial by combat…to the death. Director Ridley Scott has decided to tell the main events of the story three different times through the eyes of each main character. Obviously each retelling is slightly different than the last one. There is a religious court and legal wrangling that shows how little rights and protections women, even noble women, had in that society. The duel is the last resort to clear Marguerite’s name. If Jean doesn’t win, she will be put to the stake! Will she be saved? Tune in to find out! I enjoyed this movie, but I can’t quite give it a Golden Apple. Repeating events (with slight differences) three times made the middle of the movie drag. However, there are the great, gritty action scenes you’d expect of Scott, and the world of Middle Ages France is recreated very well. If you like period pieces based on true events that you probably didn’t even know about, this is the movie for you.

No Time To Die — No Spoilers Edition —

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Talk about anticipation – I have been waiting for nearly two years for this movie. COVID really messed up movie premiers. This is to be the last outing for Daniel Craig as James Bond, 007, licensed to kill. I am going to miss his Bond. He is a superb actor and his James Bond was tough and vulnerable at the same time. Daniel Craig’s swan song is a very entertaining movie. Many loose ends are summed up, old favorites are alluded to, and new characters are introduced. Fans of an earlier Bond may catch a bit of foreshadowing early on. Moneypenny and Q (Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw) get some well deserved screen time. M in the role that Judy Dench vacated several movies ago is again well played by Ralph Fiennes. The story is complicated; but it’s basically the usual evil villain out to destroy the world. Safin has gotten ahold of genetic nanobots that can be individually targeted by a person’s DNA, so he can destroy virtually any person on Earth, individually or in very large numbers. The villain in this go around is played by Rami Malek, who I love. But he just isn’t given enough to do here. He doesn’t really appear until a bit late in the film, and his evilness is very understated. For a Bond villain, he’s kind of not involved, and he never really seems diabolical enough to pull off his plan. Christoph Waltz has a small, but memorable part as Blofeld, whom Bond put in prison in the previous Bond outing, and manages to taunt Bond from his cell. I also enjoyed a very brief appearance by Jeffery Wright who plays the CIA agent and friend of Bond, Felix Leiter. Bond is still having a hard time getting over Vesper Lynd, his love interest from Casino Royale, but may have finally found someone to settle down with. Lea Seydoux plays the love interest and Bond tenderly protects her and her daughter from Safin and his nanobots. Some people will not be happy with the way the writers decided to end this iteration of Bond. No matter what you think of the ending, this movie is full of chases, gadgets, intrigue, martinis (shaken not stirred) and rousing action. What more could you ask for in a Bond movie??

The Card Counter

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I really like Oscar Isaac, but I did not care for this movie. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t seen the trailer. I felt that “The Card Counter” trailer is very deceptive. I knew it wasn’t going to be a comedy; but it left me with the impression that it would be a little mysterious, but light hearted, revenge motivated sort of story with some clever twists and surprises. Wow was I wrong! Oscar Isaac plays William Tell, an ex-convict who has been released from prison not too long ago. While in prison, he had taught himself how to count cards and he makes a moderate living by moving around the country, winning just enough money in various casinos to get by. He escapes notice, and a subsequent ban, by keeping his winnings low. His life gets complicated when he decides to play in a high stakes poker tournament in order to help an aimless young man (Tye Sheridan) out for revenge against a mutual acquaintance (Willem Dafoe) with a dark and cruel past. Even the addition of Tiffany Haddish as his contact and controller, La Linda, doesn’t help anything. If this had been the main theme of the movie, I might feel totally different. However, it’s interwoven with a subplot involving Tell’s involvement with the Dafoe character in torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib that is jarring and brutal. And the rest of the movie moves at a slow pace with little to really make it interesting or generate any involvement with the characters. Isaac does give a great performance, but not enough for me to recommend this one. You will not come out of this movie in a good mood. In fact, I found the whole thing down right depressing.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

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Another winner from Marvel! Apparently, this is the 29th movie in the Marvel Universe; and it compares with all of the best ones. The premise is that 1,000 years ago, a man named Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), nicknamed The Mandarin, found ten magical rings that gave him immortality and unmatched power. He then starts the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization that has spread to every country. The movie follows the son of Xu Wenwu, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) who must comes to terms with his father’s evil regime, and the underlying dynamics that hardened the Mandarin’s evil will. The writing is crisp, the sets are great, and the special effects are dazzling. However the best parts of a Marvel movie are the complex characters and witty humor which you will find and appreciate in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. If you enjoyed Dr. Strange, you will love this one, and will certainly enjoy a cameo by a Dr. Strange character. My favorite supporting character was Awkwafina as Katy, Shang-Chi’s hilarious friend, who finds her real self and is by his side in all of his adventures. Other stellar actors were Michelle Yeoh, Ben Kingsley, and Florian Munteanu who plays the menacing Razor Fist. Of course, don’t forget to stay to the very end of the credits. All in all, you will not regret taking the whole family to this one!