I rewatched Dune with my wife this weekend. Really enjoyed it.

My wife has never read the books, so when the film was first released, she enjoyed it, but said that she didn’t really understand a lot of the context. This time around, I tried to explain the background before we started watching (basically I did a 10 minute overview of all the factions and their goals, with pictures of key people and everything 😅). She said that the movie made way more sense to her this time.

I think it’s a great film, but maybe it doesn’t work so well as a first introduction to the Dune universe.

I have True Detective and Blue Eyes Samurai on my radar, no time to watch them yet though.

• At the Cinema Sweet Sue (2023) - by Leo Leigh (Mike Leigh’s son) - a low key dramedy which walked the line between grotesque and sympathetic characters very well.

• At the Cinema Anatomy of a Fall (2023) - which uses the format of a murder trial to take a snapshot of a relationship and character studies of those involved. Intelligent script, complex characters and plenty of ambiguity. It works extremely well.

• TV - The Sandbaggers from 1978. Cold war UK spy drama series focussed on the internal politics and strategising of MI6’s Special Operations Unit. A sharp and Intelligent script is the backbone for this one, overcoming the low budget.

• TV - Big Door Prize - this one didn’t get great ratings I notice, but I am enjoying it. The central macguffin is a metaphor for mid-life crisis for Chris O’Dowd’s character and for themes of meaning and authenticity for the supporting cast. Nothing outstanding, but O’Dowd carries it off well.

TV

• I’ve slowly been working my way through Invasion (Apple TV+). I’m really enjoying the show the aliens are interesting, and the characters (for the most part) are well written and acted.

• My wife and I together have been enjoying Death and Other Details. We love a whodunnit, so we’re in for that alone, but I’m also enjoying some of the storytelling motifs they’re using, and the set is really beautiful.

MOVIES

• Self Reliance. Decent movie, but I thought it was going to be more humor forward than it was. Best part of the movie was the ninjas

• Role Play. Like Self Reliance, was expecting a more humor forward story. It was a fine movie overall, but also kind of disappointing.

One thing I will say about TV and movies in general though, is that I HATE how we see a scene where something significant happens, and then less than five minutes later they show a flashback of that scene. FFS, I’m watching the show/movie, and I remember this thing that happened mere minutes ago. I’m not that stupid that you need to replay it again.

Not sure if this counts but I’ve been watching Gordon Ramsey shows for the first time… Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Hell. I can’t really figure out what to make of them or whether I like it so far. I think I like the restaurant ones better as the hotel ones are sort of depressing.

Rewatching Buffy (It is surprisingly good for a show a quarter century old)

Rewatched Super 8 with a friend. Best train crash ever.

Rewatching Bluey. Odd how a wholesome show can make you feel so patriotic.

Watching Earth, a BBC production about the creation of our world, which is on ABC iView at the moment. Really epic BBC production, although the accent of the presenter is echoed in the subtitles which is pretty distracting. He pronounces many of his Rs as Ws. Worth it for the nuts and bolts of how eukaryotes and fungi evolved, etc. I do recommend. Plus free to watch!

Watched “Past Lives” last night. Good movie. I like how they accurately depicted the different eras (90s, 2000s, and present). As an immigrant myself, I can definitely relate with some of the aspects of uprooting your life and making a new one in a foreign country and not knowing anyone. I guess I haven’t been away long enough to feel losing my cultural identity yet, but I do understand how some people may feel that way. That scene with the 3 leads together was definitely awkward lol.

Great ending as well and I like how they kept it less than 2 hours. Films like this shouldn’t be overly long. I feel like “Monster” is still a better film though and wish it was acknowledged more especially in the awards shows. I get that it wasn’t marketed to western audiences as much as Past Lives (being A24), but it definitely deserves the same amount of exposure.