[StimpyWan]

...but I really don't like The Hobbit movies (except when the troll head butts the stone wall with his stone helmet). If Peter Jackson wanted to do something with The Silmarillion, he should just make a movie version of that book. The charm of the Hobbit to me was its light heartedness, which was not part of the films.

I truly wish that Guillermo del Toro had been able to stay on The Hobbit project as director. I feel his version would have been much closer to the book.

 

[StimpyWan]

A guilty pleasure is Disney's The Black Hole.

 

[Ripper2860]

Yeah. That's why I said 'guilty'. It's been a while since watching it so maybe my memory has just been kinder than warranted.

 

[rfernand]

I liked a few things of Dune:

• Sense of scale. The worlds and armies look huge and deep (at rest).
• Kubrickean establishing shots, which I like.
• Disorienting-enough music to give the world an eerie feel.
• Duncan Idaho pretty much carries the first two acts, and was the most interesting unidimensional character.
• Esoteric stuff played well.
• Effing worms, y’all!
• The Baron looks as gross as I could have asked for.
• Enough details from the books so people in-the-know go like “Oh that’s from the Litany!” without over-exposing the casual viewer.
• No voice-over, instead, we get crazy moon language whispers when absolutely needed. It worked!

Not as much:

• Abrupt ending. So now what? More sand walking? What’s next?
• Paul Atreides doesn’t work. This is a Chosen One story. The audience could identify with Luke Skywalker or Bilbo Baggins because of how “outsider” they were played in the movies and the sense of wonder they portrayed. This kid looks bored most of the time. I swear he plays it like “I read the Wikipedia entry about my destiny, ma. But right now I want vegan nachos.”
• Tell me again: why do I care about all these people? The only character with interesting layers and an agenda seems to be Lady Jessica. I know what drives her. I know Paul’s been selectively bred. I know her crazy cult work in the background. I know she’ll gladly die for her child. And I learned all that in the movie, not filling in the blanks in my head from the novel.
• Ocassional Transformers-like choices in big battles. Wait who? What? How? Is this a good ship? 2 armies of baddies? How does the glowy armor work? People seem to die or survive depending on plot point.
• Cardinal sin: you told me the spice was the most important thing. Because space crap and navigator stuff. Guess what we did not get in the movie… might as well have been fighting over vegan nachos.

I chose to see it as “World-building, sequel-setting” and made my peace with it. Not perfect, but fun enough.

 

[rfernand]

Yeah. That's why I said 'guilty'. It's been a while since watching it so maybe my memory has just been kinder than warranted.

It’s an acquired taste and nostalgia certainly helps. I like it

 

[Ableza]

I liked a few things of Dune:

• Sense of scale. The worlds and armies look huge and deep (at rest).
• Kubrickean establishing shots, which I like.
• Disorienting-enough music to give the world an eerie feel.
• Duncan Idaho pretty much carries the first two acts, and was the most interesting unidimensional character.
• Esoteric stuff played well.
• Effing worms, y’all!
• The Baron looks as gross as I could have asked for.
• Enough details from the books so people in-the-know go like “Oh that’s from the Litany!” without over-exposing the casual viewer.
• No voice-over, instead, we get crazy moon language whispers when absolutely needed. It worked!

Not as much:

• Abrupt ending. So now what? More sand walking? What’s next?
• Paul Atreides doesn’t work. This is a Chosen One story. The audience could identify with Luke Skywalker or Bilbo Baggins because of how “outsider” they were played in the movies and the sense of wonder they portrayed. This kid looks bored most of the time. I swear he plays it like “I read the Wikipedia entry about my destiny, ma. But right now I want vegan nachos.”
• Tell me again: why do I care about all these people? The only character with interesting layers and an agenda seems to be Lady Jessica. I know what drives her. I know Paul’s been selectively bred. I know her crazy cult work in the background. I know she’ll gladly die for her child. And I learned all that in the movie, not filling in the blanks in my head from the novel.
• Ocassional Transformers-like choices in big battles. Wait who? What? How? Is this a good ship? 2 armies of baddies? How does the glowy armor work? People seem to die or survive depending on plot point.
• Cardinal sin: you told me the spice was the most important thing. Because space crap and navigator stuff. Guess what we did not get in the movie… might as well have been fighting over vegan nachos.

I chose to see it as “World-building, sequel-setting” and made my peace with it. Not perfect, but fun enough.

Well said, I agree with all of your points, except (as I mentioned earlier) I felt the sand worms were a cliché repeat of every other attempt at depicting them, and that they were not present enough to let the viewer understand the relationship between them and the Fremen (one long shot of a rider? A few casual mentions of their Fremen name? No connection to the spice?)

Timothy Chalamet does look like he eats nothing but vegan nachos. No way do I believe him as a fighter - no matter how much spiritual or physical training he's had.

This Dune was definitely a set up for a sequel if ever there was one - a sequel not even green lit by the studio yet so it likely will not see a screen for at least two years. I hope none of the returning principals die before filming can occur.

 

[Ableza]

Yeah. That's why I said 'guilty'. It's been a while since watching it so maybe my memory has just been kinder than warranted.

Are you also a fan of The Dark Crystal or The Never-ending Story?

 

[StimpyWan]

Are you also a fan of The Dark Crystal or The Never-ending Story?

Hey! Not nice. What's next, bashing "Masters of the Universe", with that acting great, Dolph Lundgren?

 

[Zer0.p0int.Zer0]

That's an A1 and a pretty steep price given the GS (same thing) was $1700? $1800? You can get a LIM (with Unison) for less than ^^^

I had a feeling it was too good to be true

 

[rfernand]

Well said, I agree with all of your points, except (as I mentioned earlier) I felt the sand worms were a cliché repeat of every other attempt at depicting them, and that they were not present enough to let the viewer understand the relationship between them and the Fremen (one long shot of a rider? A few casual mentions of their Fremen name? No connection to the spice?)

The Fremen/worm deals were definitely more teased than shown - I chalked it off to “world building, come back for more”.

There is a sense of scale and speed in this version that felt better handled than in previous attempts to me, at least visually. These worms have mass.

a sequel not even green lit by the studio yet

uh-oh

 

[rfernand]

There's popcorn Sci-Fi and then there's thought provoking Sci-Fi.

Alien, Event Horizon, Gattaca, The Terminator, and The Fly are definitely in the latter camp and must be in the Head Fi SciFest list

2001

I know what I’m watching tonight.

 

[fugimax]

A little off-topic, but it involves my Schiit-rig, so I'll try here..

I'm looking for a good multi-port GROUNDED usb charger. I currently have an Anker and, like most usb charging hubs, it is not grounded. The result is..

1. I get a slight tingling feeling when I touch my laptop. This is normal, apparently, but feels weird.
2. I get a clear hum in my headphones when I touch my laptop. (Intolerable!)

Replacing the Anker charger with a grounded one should solve both of these issues, but I can't find a clear recommendation on one anywhere. They also seem quite rare, with most being combo USB chargers / AC-Outlet extenders..

Anyone have a good grounded USB charger recommendation (US outlet)?

 

[Johnlovemusic]

Great Sotry. Thanks!

 

[StimpyWan]

Alien, Event Horizon, Gattaca, The Terminator, and The Fly are definitely in the latter camp and must be in the Head Fi SciFest list


I know what I’m watching tonight.

Event Horizon kind'a freaked me out. Even though I'm not Catholic, movies dealing with Fallen Angles and Satan, give me the willies! I've only seen The Exorcists once, and that was enough!

 

[Ableza]

Event Horizon kind'a freaked me out. Even though I'm not Catholic, movies dealing with Fallen Angles and Satan, give me the willies! I've only seen The Exorcists once, and that was enough!

Not being Christian, those sorts of stories make me laugh and think they are going for cheap shots with believers.