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Reviews
Octopus (2000)
Been there, done that
Ok, now I'm convinced that Hollywood producers get together and dare each other to make movies with randomly selected plot elements. This one would have been:
"Make a movie that combines Turbulence, The Hunt for Red October, Leviathan, Sphere, Speed 2, and Deep Rising."
At least, those were the movies I thought of when I was trying to figure out what this movie was. Add in Down Periscope for some "lone woman on a submarine full of horny guys" humor, and you've already seen this movie.
Dune (2000)
An epic story told in 6 hours
Ok, let's sort things out first. Dune is the first in a series of six books written by Frank Herbert (and two prequels written by his son), a 1984 movie, and a miniseries that first aired in the US from December 3-5, 2000. The miniseries should be judged on its own and not based on how it is the same as or different from the book or movie. I haven't read the book yet, so I don't care if a few minor details were changed to make the miniseries work better. I also thought the movie, with its annoying interior monologues, overbearing soundtrack, and silly magical voicebox weapons, did more to make the story confusing than to actually tell it. This was my perspective going into the miniseries. Below are my thoughts on the miniseries, which may contain spoilers if you don't want to know anything about it before seeing it.
The story itself is too complex to tell in a 6 hour miniseries, so the miniseries focuses on the events of the story and leaves out explanations of many details. If you are really concerned about the fine details, you can always read the book. The miniseries goes beyond the movie's fairly limited "rich kid gets dropped in desert and starts a war to avenge his father's death and save the world" plot and works to explore the societies and interactions between people. From the power struggles of the nobility, to the customs of the desert-dwelling Fremen, to the spice that brings them together and causes conflict between them, the Dune miniseries lays out many complexities in a basic way, with enough exposed to keep the story moving while making it obvious that there is more to be told.
The story is clearly what takes precedence, above the special effects, sets, costumes, and even acting, but all of these are still adequate - otherwise the story would suffer. The story follows Paul Atreides from his life as a noble, transplanted to the desert planet of Arrakis, forced to the desert and its inhabitants, and finally into conflict with the Emperor. Along the way, the environment and the people around him influence his thoughts and his actions while he must also deal with visions of the future and the reality of who and what he is. He in turn changes the lives of those around him, especially the Fremen who reluctantly take him in from the desert and eventually look to him as their leader.
Paul's mother is also taken in by the Fremen, and like Paul is elevated to a position of power and respect. She too transitions from being an outsider to the Fremen community, but she is also an outsider to her son's thoughts and visions, concerned about her son and the future he sees. As the concubine of Paul's father, she did not marry the Duke so that a political marriage would still be possible, valuing the good of the family above all else. With her son elevated to the position of Duke, she must again see love and politics separated for the good of the family.
The contrast between the nobility and the Fremen can be seen in almost every aspect of their lives. The nobles wear elaborate clothing, decorated to the point of absurdity. They are surrounded by abundance and manipulate each other for their own benefit, seeking to kill without dirtying their hands. The Fremen dress simply, wearing stillsuits in the desert to conserve their water. There is no political intrigue in their society - disputes are settled in a fight to the death, as their customs dictate. Their religion is of extreme importance, and they await the arrival of an outsider who will lead them to victory over their oppressors.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
"Hang on. This is going to be bad."
When I saw this movie a couple years ago, I couldn't believe that Michael Crichton would write that kind of crap. After reading the book, I now know that he didn't. The screenplay was built around a framework consisting of a handful of small details from the book. There's an island full of dinosaurs, two groups of people go there, they play around with customized vehicles, and then everything goes wrong and people get eaten. A total of three characters from the book are in the movie and two of the interesting quotes were based on quotes that Crichton wrote. The only major scene that came close to doing the book justice was the tyrannosaur attack scene. Everything else was pure Hollywood nonsense. I can't believe there's even speculation about making another one.