In-Review: February 2024
Including mini-reviews of Dune: Part Two and FX's Shogun
March brings with it the promise of Spring. For Hollywood, it’s a time to pat themselves on the back one last time for 2023 as the Oscars are set to air on March 10th, while looking ahead to more promising box office returns like that of Dune: Part Two.
As for the It’s the Pictures newsletter and podcast, March represents some changes in the programming. While the newsletter will continue to put out the articles and news you love, the podcast will be going through a radical change. If you haven’t been listening to the podcast, it makes a great supplement to the newsletter! With over 160 episodes, that’s almost a week’s worth of content if you listened back-to-back. I’m very proud of that achievement and will take a moment here to thank my cohost, John Gilpatrick. He likes to celebrate my commitment to the podcast all these years, but he has been available twice a month for almost eight years. I’m not sure he’ll see this, but thanks for all your contributions to the podcast over the years, it has been a great pleasure of mine.
Below you can find a list of the movies I saw in February, a few that I’ve seen plenty of times over the years, and some new gems like Little Darlings. After that, I offer my two cents on the big movie and television releases of the past week with thoughts on Dune: Part Two and Shogun. Finally, some recommended reading below all that.
If you’d like to download your own Oscars ballot to play along during the broadcast on Sunday night, here is the link to ABC’s Oscars ballot.
Here are the movies I caught up with in February:
Mini-Review - Dune: Part Two
In just about every way, Dune: Part Two is superior to Part One. Even though the first movie was nominated for Best Picture and brought Frank Herbert’s legendary Science-Fiction novel back to the forefront of audiences’ imagination, this has to be what inspired director Denis Villeneuve to adapt the novel. It’s epic filmmaking at its finest and given how audiences flocked to see it over the opening weekend, maybe Dune Messiah will happen one day.
Dune: Part Two picks up immediately after Dune: Part One, this time with the new character Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) providing a quick recap. Is it enough of a recap that you could jump right into Part Two without seeing Part One? Absolutely not. The hard part of adapting Dune into a movie is the many clans and political intrigue that’s happening in the shadows. Understanding that Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is the chosen a la Luke Skywalker in Star Wars is easy enough to fathom, but knowing why the Bene Gesserit has manipulated everyone to do their bidding is another thing entirely.
After having her inclusion in the story teased for the entirety of Part One, Chani (Zendaya) gets to shine. It’s been argued that Chani is the driving force of freedom and righteousness in this interpretation of Dune and that’s not too far off base. While her character still becomes romantically involved with Paul Atreides, the changes to the narrative allow her character to evolve past the one-dimensional depiction in the novel. Through her eyes, the evolution of Paul from outcast to chosen one is shown in all its aberrance.
Not to be outdone by the plentiful amount of returning characters, Dune: Part Two adds plenty of A-list talent to its ranks. From the aforementioned Pugh to the likes of Christopher Walken, Austin Butler, and Lea Seydoux, Dune: Part Two rarely spends a moment with an unfamiliar face. This is heady science fiction with the cast to carry it to the masses.
Despite Paul’s quest for revenge being noble in its own right, there’s an undeniable sense of danger that permeates throughout Dune: Part Two. Although we’re supposed to believe in Jessica’s (Rebecca Ferguson) mission to empower her son as the chosen one, choosing a hero in this story becomes a fool’s errand. Maybe that’s why this story can truly succeed only because Chani has become the one true thing in this spice-obsessed universe. Even though Villeneuve puts the pieces in place for a potential Part Three, make no mistake, this completes the epic text of Dune. Part One felt like only the beginning; Dune: Part Two makes the whole endeavor a science-fiction gem. [A]
Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters nationwide.
Mini-Review - Shogun
I know it’s only March but hear me out— Shogun will likely be one of the best shows on television in all of 2024. Based on James Clavell’s legendary 1975 novel (which was adapted as a mini-series once before in 1980,) Shogun is epic storytelling at its finest. While its players aren’t household names, the most famous actor I recognized was Hiroyuki Sanada after his performance in John Wick: Chapter 4, this is a well-acted and stunning adaptation.
I’ve only watched the first two episodes (Episode 3 is available today), but I’m already into the political struggle between Lord Toranaga (Sanada) and his rivals. He’s one of three main characters in this story— the other two are John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, and Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai) who becomes an invaluable liaison between the Portuguese-speaking Blackthorne and the Japanese-speaking Toranaga.
If you have Hulu or FX, I strongly suggest you check this out. Even if you don’t, Shogun might be worth the price of a subscription. There hasn’t been a show that has driven its hooks in like this in a while.
Shogun is now airing weekly on Hulu / FX.
Podcast
Director Alex Garland has a new movie coming out in April. Ahead of the release, my podcast cohost John Gilpatrick and I discussed his movies. We had a guest join us as well, Tom Knoblauch.
Links
Mixed to negative reviews are available for Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. This review from Paste Magazine thought the series was fine. It was always going to be tough bringing an animation story aimed at children to audiences expecting Game of Thrones or The Witcher.
For RogerEbert.com, I reviewed the new Apple TV+ show Constellation. Outside of some great performances, I didn’t find the show worthwhile.
Sharing some more glowing reviews of FX’s Shogun from Rolling Stone and The Playlist. The advertising has worked because the awareness of this show is quite staggering.
A series like Shogun doesn’t come together easily. Variety details the six-year journey to bring the show to audiences in 2024.
Dune: Part Two is opening in theaters this weekend, but director Denis Villeneuve wants to get the second novel, Dune Messiah, made. The Ringer has an article up on how he’s pushing for a possible Dune: Part Three.
If you have the streaming service Peacock and enjoy reality shows, I recommend checking out The Traitors. This article by Rolling Stone talks about how the show became one of the most popular reality competition shows around and what audiences can expect from season three.
appeared on the It’s the Pictures podcast recently and I wanted to highlight his substack. If you read this one, chances are you’ll enjoy his as well.My friend
shares his ballot for this weekend’s Oscars. Should you decide to run his ballot in an Oscars pool, neither he nor I are accountable.