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?