YNMS Double: "Dune Part Two" and "Strange Way of Life"
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 4:00PM by Nathaniel R
In case you missed 'em, feast your eyes on newish trailers for two of the most anticipated films of the year. Denis Villeneuve and company return to Arrakis for Dune Part Two and Pedro Almodóvar making his second English-language short film (after the Tilda show The Human Voice), a gay western called Strange Way of Life. Please note that the poster for the latter is basically doing Johnny Guitar cosplay, even if we hadn't already been sold by Almodóvar + Gay Western...
STRANGE WAY OF LIFE (Sony Pictures Classics, Premieres at Cannes)
We cannot wait, naturally. The greatest ilving filmmaker paying stylized homage to a classic Hollywood genre but queering it up? Plus reliable strong Ethan Hawke with everyone's favourite thirst trap of a certain age Pedro Pascal in an tortured relationship?
Can we watch this thirty-one minute short three times in a row and pretend it's a full feature for awards purposes?
DUNE PART TWO (Warner Bros, November 23rd)
The second installment of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the legendary Frank Herbert sci-fi classic, is due in theaters for Thanksgiving. The question is not "will people see it?" given that Part One was a hit even during the most troubled box office times, but "how satisfied will people be when they see it?". It's a tall order to follow a film that grossed $402 million globally during an international pandemic and also won six Oscars despite only being half a film... or one third of a film depending on whether or not Part Two has an actual ending.
Here are the five shots from the trailer that most thrilled us (at first glance). Was it premature to give DP Greig Fraser the Oscar already for Part One or will they just have to give him a second for the same franchise?
Timothée squinting... about to ride the worm
The Fall of the House Atreides was such a masterful sequence in Part One.
Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler) enters the narrative to challenge Paul Atreides
One of the best things about Dune (multiple versions) is its memorably creepy props, deadly religious rituals, and bizarro world-building
Lady Jessica forever.
Bring your Yes No or Maybe Sos to the comments please. Are you excited to see Timothée riding the giant worm? Maybe you're all about the returning women of Dune, Lady Jessica or Chani, or perhaps it's the new characters that are the biggest thril. Enter Lea Seydoux, Florence Pugh... and Austin Butler in House of Harkonennen Bald Drag.
And on a scale of uno a diez how anxious are you for Hawke & Pascal in Almodóvar land?
Reader Comments (11)
Firstly Almodovar is not THE greatest living filmmaker as that depends on what you consider great filmmaking,he's ONE of a number of greats.
Secondly I don't consider Pedro Pascal a thirst trap even if you and others do,I feel he's someone the media yet again is throwing at us,someone we are supposed to like despite doing nothing much of note,let's praise him when he's given us something worth praising.
I'd want to see both but I still need to see Parallel Mothers and The Human Voice to catch up to Almodovar.
I’m really hoping Dune Part Two is NOT nominated for Picture, Director or any Acting categories as I have absolutely NO desire to sit through it as I already had to sit through Part One and it was a boring, excruciating experience.
MrRipley, bylines suggest it is the writer's opinion. Surely you don't visit the site to see fence-sitting both sides opinions?
Tony, literally nobody is asking you to watch stuff you don't want to. Why do people insist on being so weird about this? Watch what you want! Don't watch what you don't want to!
The Almodóvar one looks crappy.
Glenn - I’ve been working on my Oscar completist project for years now which includes watching all films in the Picture, Director and Acting categories. So that is where my opinion and statement stems from. Apologies if it upset you.
On a side note - if you haven’t seen Infinity Pool, you must do so immediately! In a just world Mia Goth would be in conversation for Best Actress.
One could also say Infinity Pool was a boring, excruciating experience.
Yes one could say that and I would respect their opinion and not get upset over it. We all have the right to our own opinions.
If Butler is already getting typecast as doing drag, he needs to call up Gigi Hadid or Kylie Jenner to be more convincing in his roles.
There isn't enough Rebecca Ferguson for me. I am not familiar with the source material, but I have been told that Jessica plays an almost as important role as Paul, so Ferguson should be more prominent. A few years ago I was pulling for Jamie Lee Curtis for an honorary and she won a competitive one, so maybe Ferguson can get a nomination from this. She did get some attention for Part 1, and if the Academy is embracing more genre films, Ferguson has a chance. She has been great in everything she has done, even if most of the films are not in the academy wheelhouse.
A strange way of life can be a thought-provoking description of strange experiences and views in life.
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