Dune: Part 2 (2024)

Direction: Denis Villeneuve
Country: USA

Clocking in at a substantial two hours and 46 minutes, the highly anticipated sequel to Dune proves to be a captivating and daring work that surpasses its predecessor. It stands as a pure marvel, leaving audiences speechless with cinematic qualities bound to linger long after the credits roll. 

Directed with ferocity by Denis Villeneuve, the film pushes the envelope with its gripping dark atmosphere, suspenseful hunts and ambushes, intricate rituals and prophecies, psychedelic imagery, and exhilarating fights set against magnificent backdrops. 

In this grandiose adaptation of Frank Herbert’s adventurous saga, Paul Atreides, portrayed with compelling depth by Timothée Chalamet, joins forces with the Fremen tribe, confirming his role as the prophesied leader they have been awaiting. His journey includes daunting challenges such as riding a giant sandworm - a scene described by the director as the most complex he has ever filmed - and facing off against the sadistic Baron Vladimir Hakkonen (Stellan Skarsgard) and his ambitious and ruthless nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). Amidst these trials, Paul also finds love with the rebellious Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya), but their relationship is threatened by the uncertain fate of the universe.

While the film boasts elaborate storytelling, it never veers into indulgence. The incorporation of abstraction amidst its dense layers adds depth, while still delivering all the impact one would expect from a breathtaking sci-fi adventure. Hans Zimmer’s ominous gothic score further heightens the intensity of each scene, contributing to the film’s overall strength.

Dune: Part 2 stands as the apotheosis of Villeneuve's directorial signature within the sci-fi genre - a tremendous display of full-throttle filmmaking that mesmerizes with its clever stylization, unwavering attention to detail, and grandiose visuals. Sit back, relax, and immerse yourself in this unmissable epic space opera.

Dune (2021)

Direction: Denis Villeneuve
Country: USA

Dune, the famous science-fiction novel by Frank Herbert is so complex to adapt to film that even Alejandro Jodorowsky gave up while David Lynch was incapable of taking it to a superior level in the 80s. But now, the Quebecois director Denis Villeneuve, whose experience in the sci-fi genre spawned admirable works such as Arrival (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017), was able to mount a galvanizing adaptation of the book with the right dark tone, impressive tech details and unpretentiously efficient imagery. 

Compellingly structured, the film entertains and intrigues with sober magic, ominous figures, prophecies and premonitory dreams, fierce battles and a systematic sense of danger that is enhanced by a superb orchestral score by Hans Zimmer, who turned down Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to compose for this one. The imagination of Villeneuve, who counted on the help of Eric Roth (Forrest Gump; Munich) and Jon Spaihts (Prometheus; Passengers) in the screenplay, benefited from a perfect casting and the laudably poised work of his visual effects team. Although the cast attacks their roles with matching intensity, Timothée Chalamet as the gifted Paul Atreides, and Rebecca Ferguson as his sect-member mother, deserve special mentions.

Wildly original and hauntingly familiar, this one is definitely less bizarre than Lynch’s version, finding room for amusing spectacle and profound intimacy alike. 

This is the first of a two-part adaptation, and I’m already eager for the other half to arrive. If you love to dive in fantastic space odysseys and imaginary worlds, go for it because it’s all done with that harmonious balance proper of the great filmmakers.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Country: USA

The most awaited sequel to the acclaimed science fiction thriller “Blade Runner”, dated from 1982, is now out by the hand of prodigious French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. He had already shown a knack for the sci-fi genre with the understated yet magnetizing “Arrival”, and now managed to assure this new, well-told, and utterly satisfying “Blade Runner 2049”. The script was penned by Hampton Fancher, who was also co-responsible for the preexistent fictional account, and Michael Green, writer of “Logan” and “Alien: Covenant”.

The film starts quietly and finishes with a nerve-wracking excitement, using straightforward methods that distinguishably eschewed narrative obscurity or any type of sloppiness in its smallest detail.

32 years have passed since the happenings displayed in the first installment and the LAPD ‘Blade Runner’ named 'K' (Ryan Gosling), moved by an acute curiosity and inflexible sense of truth, digs in prohibited matters and unveils a secret that can lead to catastrophic consequences. As a very special Nexus-9 replicant, a bioengineered human, he enjoys the strong sensation of real life and human comfort felt in every interaction with Joi (Ana de Armas), his treasured holographic girlfriend. 

Tenacious in will and assertive when it comes to act, 'K' contests absolute truths, stalks explanations while wallowing in ruined cities, and uses vague memories from his childhood to track Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former ‘blade runner’ whom he suspects to be his father. After a complicated first contact, the solitary ‘runners’ ultimately get along, enjoying the elucidative conversations and the company of each other. However, they will have the obnoxious Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), the super-weird CEO of the current leading manufacturer of replicants, hunting them down. The latter orders his loyal, unblinking, and highly efficient executioner, Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), to exterminate them from the face of this unilluminated Earth they live in.

Astute and functional in the way it was mounted, “Blade Runner 2049” shines with fantastic performances by Gosling, Hoeks, and Ford, and also impresses on the visual side, thanks to the incalculable efficiency of Roger Deakins, the British director of photography who has been working for the Coen brothers since the unparalleled Barton Fink.

Not being the astounding masterpiece that everybody wanted it to be, the film still rises to the occasion, producing moments of sheer fascination, maintaining high levels of consistency in its narrative, and creating excitement through gimmick-free action scenes which were carefully designed to prevent excesses.

Arrival (2016)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Country: USA

Canadian Dennis Villeneuve created enough stimulating movies in his career to be considered one of the most important filmmakers of our times. One can easily reach this conclusion when analyzing gems like “Incendies”, “Polytechnique”, "Prisoners", “Enemy”, and “Sicario”.
His latest gift, “Arrival”, is a puzzling, and somewhat opaque sci-fi thriller, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner as a linguist and a theoretical physicist, respectively, who are recruited by the U.S. military to deal with an inscrutable extraterrestrial visit to Earth.
Villeneuve directed from a script by Eric Heisserer whose source material was Ted Chiang's 1998 short story "Story of Your Life".

The film is given a lyrical treatment in the first minutes when focusing on the ‘visions’ of Louise Banks (Adams), an exceptional linguist whose mind seems to recreate moments spent with her little daughter who died from cancer. The airy imagery and imposing chamber music soon give place to a tense atmosphere and disturbing sounds associated with the arrival of 12 unexpected alien spacecrafts spread across the globe.
Louise is immediately summoned by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) and taken to Montana, where one of the spacecrafts is stationed. 
She’s seen as a fundamental key in the discovering of what are the invaders' purposes on Earth, but the progress in the communication with two of the apparently friendly octopus-like aliens are suddenly compromised when China’s General Shang (Tzi Ma) threats to retaliate if the strange creatures don’t abandon his country.

Louise reveals extra sensorial abilities, communicating with the aliens through written and gestural language. However, the responses come in the form of complex circular symbols that are hard to decipher. Obstinate to know more about them, Louise also concludes that her strange visions are not related to the past but rather to the future.

“Arrival” is a balanced confluence of “Signs” and “Enemy”. From the former, Villeneuve absorbs the expectation associated with the visits, and from the latter, he withdraws the ruminative and enigmatic tones.
The pace is never raised and the screen doesn't catch fire in any circumstance. However, what Villeneuve puts on the table is enough to hold our attention and keep us alert.
This understated, communicative endeavor is a blast of creativity.