Weekly Geekly Rundown for February 2nd 2024
From Dune to Argylle to Road House, there are a lot of movies in this week's Rundown.
David Lynch’s Screenplay for DUNE II Found
I don’t know that I am the world’s biggest fan of David Lynch’s cinematic masterpiece, yes I wrote masterpiece, in the entire world, but I absolutely love the film. I first watched it as a kid and the visuals and narrative blew my mind, so much so that I soon devoured the novel(s) and did a presentation for my 8th grade honors English class about the book. It was a presentation that compared and contrasted how various elements were depicted in the film versus how Herbert presented them.
There were tons of differences, to be sure, but given the constraints of film as a medium and the complexity of the mythopoesis some ground had to give. When Lynch did give ground, his choice was almost always in the direction of visual brilliance. Do the Guild Navigators of Lynch’s Dune look like Herbert’s? No, but they strongly convey the transformative effects of long term exposure to massive amounts of spice can have on the body. They also look creepy, cool, and unique. The art design of the film is amazing and you can see the influence of Lynch’s film on Villeneuve’s more recent film (also fantastic).
Prior to this year, I could only imagine what David Lynch would have done with the Dune franchise had his first film been a financial success. Thanks to an intrepid fan and reporter Max Evry, who is very likely an even bigger fan of the film than I am and is the author of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History, a draft of Lynch’s screenplay for a second Dune film has been unearthed. From Max’s description, the film sounds like it would have been as visionary as the first and it would have set up later films very well and brought back my favorite character in the series (who also returns, and returns, and returns, in the books).
To get a sense of why I love the original film so much, I thought I’d share this video from the Corridor Crew YouTube channel. I’m a big fan of the channel in general as a glimpse into the minds of how some people think about films, special effects, stunts, and other aspects of film production. I don’t always agree with their takes, they were far too hard on the original film’s shield effects in their reaction video, but I respect their love of film.
If you watch the film, update the shields used in knife fights in the new film to look like the older art design. I’ve always liked the older shield design, and prefer it to the new, and that appreciation only increased when I learned how they achieved the effect for the 1984 film. It was a remarkable process involving optical effects and cutting film by hand that leaves me in awe. One of the reasons I like the older visual design, though it’s actually less accurate with regards to Herbert’s description, is that they provide plausible visual stimulus for how and why the slow blade succeeds where the quick blade fails. They look like they provide inertial resistance and not mere Invisible Woman-esque force field technology. Shields are an extraordinary part of Herbert’s world building and explain why in a future with beam weapons, people still resort to fighting with knives. It’s to avoid the giant Kaboom!
Around the Substack Community
I really enjoy
by because it introduces me, or reintroduces me, to the games of the 8-bit and 16-bit revolutions. I often say that there is currently more entertainment content worth experiencing than can be experienced in a lifetime. Marc reminds me that there are more high quality 8-bit and 16-bit games worth experiencing than can be enjoyed in a lifetime. His most recent post is about games that have been remastered and rereleased, a common practice today, and in particular Shining Force II.
There wasn’t a new post from
over at since the one I shared earlier this week for the 50th anniversary of D&D, but he wrote a post a couple of months ago that made me want some venturous soul to bring back cool accessory “toys” from the past. Who needs stickers for your binders and computer covers, when you can have D&D Rubdowns?
Weekly Film Article Cavalcade
Luke Y Thompson’s Mind Bending Contributions
I assume most of my readers have seen at least one Charlie Kaufman film and would be as surprised as I am, and Luke was, at the thought of him writing a Family Friendly Animated film. He’s done just that though and Luke’s very positive review of Orion and the Dark suggests that he should do more. Many animated family films include references for the adults in the audience. Those are typically some form of innuendo. Based on Luke’s review, Kaufman has included his own “parental” content but it’s of the more literary and obscure type. He drops in references to David Foster Wallace and Saul Bass (who’s psychedelic ants are taking over the world film Phase IV is coming out soon from Vinegar Syndrome).
When I was communicating with Luke about films being reviewed this week, he asked that I make sure to include his review of Orion and the Dark at A.V. Club because the film deserves more love than it’s getting. It’s a film he’s fighting for and that’s when I think the critic’s role is most vital.
Speaking of films that are being reviewed this week, Luke has a review of the new film Argylle. You’ll be seeing a number of reviews of the film in this week’s Rundown. When Apple spends $200 million on a movie, it’s going to get reviews for days. There seems to be a consensus in the reviews that the film is pretty “meh.” Luke’s review is of the same sort. He thinks there is some good material here, and highlights Bryce Dallas Howard as one of those good things, but thinks this mashup of Romancing the Stone and Knight and Day is a bit bloated.
Mendelson’s Meanderings
over at has his own review of Argylle. He’s less than impressed and considers it more of a mockbuster than the blockbuster its budget proports it to be.
Mendelson also has a quick look at the financials of the film so far and if his projections are correct (his projections usually are) then audiences aren’t vibing with the high concept even before they learned about the critical consensus. This won’t stop my family from seeing it this weekend, but that just means we’ll be a part of the meager earnings the film is projected to make.
Courtney Howard’s Careful Consideration
Reading Courtney Howard’s X-Twitter feed has given me the impression that she is a very forgiving reviewer. She loves films for what they are and is willing to accept that sometimes they are just entertainment. While some critics are exemplars of the Tomatometer, Courtney’s tastes often seem to side with the Popcornometer. Since I’m usually a Popcornometer guy (aren’t we all really?), her reviews have weight for me. Like the other critics this week, she was unimpressed with Argylle and her review is one of great disappointment. She doesn’t think it’s Vaughn’s worst film, but based on her review she probably wishes she’d just rewatched Knight and Day. To be fair, that film’s great fun and underappreciated.
All those negative reviews aside though. I’m a fan of Vaughn’s other work and a fan of films like Romancing the Stone. Maybe my wife and I are the only people who will like this movie. It seems that we are the only defenders of Twister, but maybe all of these critics I respect are correct. Have to spend the money to find out.
Classical Music Recommendation
Thanks to my Oma and Robert Greenberg, I have an appreciation for what is often called Classical Music. I write “what is often called” because in music history the Classical era falls between the Baroque and Romantic eras of music. I know this because Robert Greenberg and my piano playing daughters told me and not through any education of my own. I do think though that when I am done with the PhD, I might take up the piano. We have one at home, for the twins, and I love hearing them play. That’s a typical Christian Lindke aside though and takes us down a different track than I was heading, so I’ll bring it back by saying that I have a particular fondness for music from the Romantic Era. What’s not to love? You have Beethoven, Liszt, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Richard Strauss to name only a few. Did I mention Beethoven and Liszt? Because they are awesome.
Do you know what else Beethoven and Liszt have in common? Besides being straight fire at playing piano? They were both students of Antonio Salieri. Yes, that Salieri. The one that the Mozart film depicts as filled with envy for the young Mozart, a film that reinvigorated Salieri’s place in the repertoire as a new audience wanted to hear the music of this “villain.” He was no villain in real life, though some did really believe he poisoned Mozart, but he was fading away from public consciousness when the film came out. If you do a Google search, you can find some wonderful performances of Salieri compositions, but as a Beethoven fan I thought I’d share a piece of music that Beethoven dedicated to his teacher. It’s a beautiful work and I recommend listening to it.
If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching Amadeus. Tom Hulce is excellent in the lead (he’s also great in Parenthood), and Milos Forman’s direction is impeccable, but it is F. Murray Abraham who steals the show. His performance as Salieri is so powerful. It is no wonder that both Abraham and Hulce were nominated for Oscars, nor that Abraham won.
“Modern” Music Recommendation
I don’t thin Roxy Music needs much of an introduction, or justification, to recommend. Their song Ladytron was released in 1972, but it feels somehow out of time. Yes, there are certain psychedelic aspects and one hears the influence of The Velvet Underground, but Bryan Ferry’s voice is timeless. Roxy Music’s songs sound like a mix of melodies of the past and present mixed with melodies of what is still to come. There are sounds within the Ladytron that still sound like they come from tomorrow and not the past, and no they aren’t the “technical” sounds. Those are very late 60s. It’s the melody. While I might listen to their more commercial songs with greater frequency, Ladytron is a song I listen to when I’m sitting around trying to come up with new ideas.
And while I’m at it, and for “just because” reasons, here’s a touch of Prog Rock Genesis. I love the Phil Collins era, but man was the Peter Gabriel something special. It was a fusion of talent and inspiration that neither he nor the rest of Genesis could create without each other. Yes, their separation resulted in a lot of brilliant music that never would have been made otherwise, but this is beautiful, haunting, and “heavy” at different times in a way that moves me.
Movie Recommendation
This past week saw the release of a couple of action film trailers, one of which has been divisive and the other has been relatively universally praised. The divisive one is the new Road House trailer starring Jake Gyllenhaal. A lot of people cringe at the thought of the original Patrick Swayze film getting remade. The original is a great action film, and it stars Sam Eliot so that adds a star right there, and it deserves all the love it can get.
Given the high quality of the original film, a lot of people wonder why anyone would ever want to remake it or assert that Hollywood is being lazy and suggest that it’s just that “Hollywood has run out of ideas” and that’s why they are making remakes. Having just recommended His Girl Friday as viewing for my Political Communication students which is a remake of The Front Page, which is an adaptation of the play The Front Page, which was later remade starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and remade again as Changing Channels with Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reeves, I’m a little more forgiving of Hollywood remaking things.
I will also say that the shift from Kung Fu style combat to MMA style was a good update, one that inspires the first of this week’s film recommendations. Doug Liman directed this film and he his directorial vision in The Bourne Identity anchored a franchise and still stands out as the best entry in that franchise. In part due to the fact that it’s closest to the books, but also because the only innovation later entries had was to make the camera shakier. They were narratively and visually stagnant where Liman’s was vibrant and original. Watch the chosen camera angles in the fight in the bank in Liman’s work. Later entries lack that kind of visual creativity.
You can probably tell by my Liman praise that I’m excited to see the film and that the MMA choreography is part of the reason why. That choreography made me revisit one of my favorite action films, Donnie Yen’s action masterpiece Flash Point. The film’s plot is straight forward, but the action is mindblowing and from the glimpses of the Liman Road House I see a little influence and that makes me very happy.
While Road House’s announcement has received a mixed reaction, I’ve seen nothing but excitement for Dev Patel’s upcoming film Monkey Man. Though I have to admit that the filmic comparisons being made by those reacting positively has exhibited as much creativity as critics of Road House accuse Hollywood of having. Do we have to compare every new action film that has fighting in crowded spaces to John Wick?
The Wick franchise rocks, but it visually draws from a large catalog of action (and other) films. The silhouette shots in Wick evoke John Ford’s use of shadow and light, if not a dash of Altered States. Monkey Man also draws from a large catalog of action. In my case I see a lot of influence from The Man from Nowhere (2010), a film that predates John Wick by 4 years and which I would argue had an influence on some of the look and feel of the later film. The Man from Nowhere was remade for Indian audiences in 2016 as Rocky Handsome, a film that is totally worth seeing but isn’t this week’s second recommendation.
That honor goes directly to The Man from Nowhere. I’ve watched a lot of martial arts and action films over the years, and I’ve been blown away a couple of times, but when I watched The Man from Nowhere it made me feel like I felt when I first watched John Woo’s Hard Boiled or Jackie Chan’s Wheels on Meals. I knew I was watching something that would have significant impact on an entire genre, and it has. On top of having mind bogglingly good action, The Man from Nowhere has moments that bring me to tears. The child at the center of the story is so lonely that it makes my heart ache and it makes me want Cha Tae-Sik to kill everyone. Everyone. I don’t often feel true catharsis when watching action films. Sure, I’ll get the adrenaline rush from amazement and stress, but The Man from Nowhere made me long for revenge and gave me a desire to watch it dealt out. It’s one of the best action films ever made and moments of Monkey Man bring it to mind.
That’s it for this week. What’s your favorite unrelenting action film?
Well, if you're gonna go anyway, make sure to stay for the mid-credits scene. Then try to figure out the logic of it.