"Dune: Part 2" (2024), Denis Villeneuve

Villeneuve is the go-to director for the orphaned comic-book nerds escaping the Marvel Titanic ship.  Dune (part 2!) is composed of endless sands mixed with close-ups of angry people and Nolan womps. It's long, it's badly edited and it's boring. There's no interesting esthetics, no cinema to speak of. Even the CGI is tired. The Empire and other sections of "Foundation" had similar themes and did it a lot better.  Part of the fault lies in Herbert's vision of Jihad and Saviours, part on Villeneuve's approach to filmmaking, at best suitable for "Arrival", his moody Doctor Who-ish film episode. The nerds scream for recognition, and this comes in the form of seriousness. American Cinema is in the agonal respiration phase, a somber period where every character must pensively look at the horizon while the bass drowns any thought. Only feeling is allowed, a longing for a past that is not coming back. The magic is gone, colors are muted, the fire is dying ember, just the red dust remains.Villeneuve is the go-to director for the orphaned comic-book nerds escaping the Marvel Titanic ship.  Dune (part 2!) is composed of endless sands mixed with close-ups of angry people and Nolan womps. It's long, it's badly edited and it's boring. There's no interesting esthetics, no cinema to speak of. Even the CGI is tired. The Empire and other sections of "Foundation" had similar themes and did it a lot better.  Part of the fault lies in Herbert's vision of Jihad and Saviours, part on Villeneuve's approach to filmmaking, at best suitable for "Arrival", his moody Doctor Who-ish film episode. The nerds scream for recognition, and this comes in the form of seriousness. American Cinema is in the agonal respiration phase, a somber period where every character must pensively look at the horizon while the bass drowns any thought. Only feeling is allowed, a longing for a past that is not coming back. The magic is gone, colors are muted, the fire is dying ember, just the red dust remains.

"Poor Things" (2023), Yorgos Lanthimos

 A feminist (and misandrist) mishmash of Frankenstein, My Fair Lady and Edward Sissorhands, this excellent outing by the otherwise cold Lanthimos is enchanting but morally dubious. The Paddington esthetic is saddled with unnecessary fish-eye lenses and sudden zooms, but the award-worthy performance by Emma Stone overcomes any directorial dictatorial flourishes. A must see, and clear candidate for the best movie of the year.

Full Time (À plein temps), 2021

Full Time (À plein temps), 2021, Eric Gravel (5/5)

A horror movie: it's about being a proletarian in the middle of a transport strike in Paris. Imagine that. It's suspenseful, nerve-wracking, and very relatable. Andrea Arnold and a young Ken Loach could not have done it better. In real life though, things are even worse, with backstabbing colleagues and petty low management. Highly recommended and as I read elsewhere it should be non-optional viewing for union activists before deciding measures.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt13269580/