Denis Villeneuve’s great gamble has paid off. Such is now, surely, irrefutable. Frank Herbert’s once seemingly insurmountable literary tome finally has a cinematic counterpart worthy of the name. Dune. If there seemed little appetite for a one sci-fi epic back in 2021, Villeneuve’s conviction that Herbert’s vision warranted two was risky. Certainly, there was no guarantee in a pandemic weakened box office that Part Two would ever see the light of day. Villeneuve’s long anticipated – in certain quarters – Blade Runner sequel had, after all, failed to match critical for commercial acclaim. And yet, here we are. Where Villeneuve’s first Dune was bold, noble and a little ponderous in its world building, his second is nothing short of mesmeric. Villeneuve has made peace with the Shai-Hulud and this is just the beginning.
There’s little hiding the glee with which Olivia Coleman chews through her share of the expletives abundant in Wicked Little Letters. A renowned potty mouth unleashed. Astonishingly, this new British comedy, from Me Before You director Thea Shamrock, is based on entirely true events. Though the script is that of comedian Jonny Sweet, the crudities come lifted from poison pen letters sent in 1920s Littlehampton. It’s like a ‘foxy ass’ Downton Abbey, had Lady Grantham slipped in the occasional f**k at high tea.
Is an icon really an icon if they haven’t a by-the-numbers biopic to their name? Perhaps not. It certainly seems that way this side of Bohemian Rhapsody. No doubt, the want for incisive commentary has somewhat petered. Hot on the heels of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, and just ahead of Sam Taylor-Johnson’s ode to Amy Winehouse, comes Bob Marley: One Love, from King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Phew, we can finally add the reggae preaching Rastafarian to Wikipedia. At last, he’s made it to perfunctory homage. You’ll learn next to nothing about the man himself here, of course, nothing you didn’t already know, but the tunes come thick and fast and there’s a lot of people saying ‘ye man’. Get that on the merch.
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