Top Films of 2021-#9

Yesterday I started with my countdown of my top ten films of the year, looking at #10 on my list, Luca. Today we move away from the animated world of Pixar to explore the far reaches of space in the latest reimagining of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel Dune.

#9-Dune

I'm no Dune fanatic. I've only read the original Dune novel, and only truly listened to that in an audio version at that. I don't know the history of the franchise like I do things like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. I've still never seen the original Dune film directed by David Lynch in 1984. So the only preconceived notions I had about this version were based on the audio book and the trailers I'd seen of this film.

While this film is by no means perfect, it blew me away. The film brings an all-star cast featuring Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as his mother Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as his father Duke Leto, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck and Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho. This doesn't even include the likes of Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and Zendaya who are likely to feature more prominently in the sequel currently set to be released in late 2023.

Beyond the cast, it is clear that plenty of care has been taken to craft the world of Dune, from unique personal touches applied to each character's protective suit to a special method of walking in the deserts of Arrakis. My only real gripe about the film is how it felt unfinished. The makes sense since it is only the first part of a larger story, and while the ending point was a logical place to cut things off, it still felt a bit like the first of Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, where it would have worked better continuing on a bit longer.

I can definitely see Dune racking up several Academy Award nominations this year in technical categories like visual effects, sounds, cinematography, and possibly original score. If you missed the original theatrical run, you might still be able to catch this on the big screen in a second run theater if you have one in your area, or see it on HBO Max when it makes a likely return to the platform in early 2022.

Don't forget to check out the rest of my top ten list:
#10. Luca

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