How You Dune?
Dune 2, The Traitors, LibrarianTok, and more.
We are living in a golden age of things that are interesting specifically to me, like CT’s butt in a wetsuit on The Traitors and the Renesmee fetus in Dune 2. I have been consuming a lot of media recently, most of it new and but some of it merely new to the Mall Goth Cinematic Universe.
Dune 2
I have now seen Dune 2 Much twice, because the first time I was so stoned I had a general impression of loving it but couldn’t remember a lot of the specifics. After a second viewing that might just be Dune and not necessarily the weed gummie’s fault.
Dune 2 is a much larger story than the first installment, chronicling Paul’s (Timothee Chalamet) initiation into Fremen culture and his romance with Chani (Zendaya), all while his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) fans the flames of religious fanaticism among Arrakis’ Fremen. Denis Villeneuve uses every tool at his disposal—his actors, the score, the cinematography—to convey that Dune’s chosen one is not a hero, but a boy manipulated by the forces around him into taking power where he can find it.
The first film was about a personal and economic conflict—two families at war over a precious resource—played out in a fantastical setting. The sequel has a more epic scale and but manages to keep the stakes clearly defined. I do think Paul and Chani’s romance is rushed, but so much has to happen in under three hours that it makes sense. In terms of spectacle, these films are unmatched by anything being made today.
My MVP is Rebecca Ferguson, who I’ve loved since Doctor Sleep—she does sinister so well and gets to flex those muscles in Dune 2. If she was wearing a headband, she’d be Parvati in The Traitors. Speaking of…
The Traitors
RIP Phaedra, the best to ever do it! I was hoping mother would make it to the finale, but she was truly living on borrowed time in the castle. Now that she’s gone I don’t necessarily care who wins, because what the best players have understood about the show is that the prize isn’t the point of the show, it’s how you play the game! I am still laughing on a daily basis at the fact that Shereé, who quite possibly still thinks she’s on a new reboot of America’s Next Top Model, has made it all the way to the finale.
Where Is Wendy Williams?
I was only able to make it through the first two episodes of the Wendy doc, mostly because those were the only free ones available on the Lifetime app, but also because it is one of the most harrowing things I’ve ever watched. Why does this exist? I know logically that the answer is money, but it’s still baffling. The scenes of Wendy laying confused and vulnerable in bed are brutal, as are the moments of intense cruelty she wields against the people in her orbit. I love Wendy and I’m so sad to see her like this.
Love is Blind
What is wrong with straight people? By now we have definitively proven that love is not, in fact, blind. Every time Chelsea says something I want to jump out a window.
Not Quite a Codpiece Ripper
Welcome to the first installment of the Mall Goth Book Club! Staying true to my roots, we’re kicking things off with a historical gay romance: Natasha Siegel’s Solomon’s Crown, about the torrid love affair between Richard I of England and Phillip II of France.
Anatomy of a Fall
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? I rented this on Saturday night at 9pm expecting to watch half and finish the rest the next day and simply could not stop watching because it was so fucking good! Everyone in this movie is so hot and they weirdly all the same haircut. It’s so well written, acted, directed, and edited—a feast for the senses! I want to move to the French alps, wear fabulous knitwear, and fuck a lawyer!
Contrapoints Twilight Video
I screamed when I saw that Contrapoints had dropped a nearly three-hour video about Twilight and Natalie did not disappoint! I loved how this video was kind of a bait and switch, using Twilight as a vehicle to talk about gender and sexuality. There’s an especially interesting section based around the idea that Bella and Edward are manifestations of Stephenie Meyer’s masculine and feminine sides—yes, Twilight is trans!
Manacled
I did it. I read Manacled, the 300,000+ Dramione fanfiction that melds Harry Potter with The Handmaid’s Tale, and I did it in under 72 hours. I have a lot to say and enlisted some help for a discussion…stay tuned!
Drag Race
Are the judges smoking crack? I think Q’s looks are extremely ugly. Maybe they look better in person! I liked Dawn at the beginning of the season, but now I don’t think there’s a lot of there there. Her Snatch Game performance was very telling. Nymphia has got to chill on the bananas, but I do hope she makes it to the Top 4. Sapphira might be my number 1 at this point.
LibrarianTok
My newest obsession is school librarians who post ASMR-esque videos of themselves repairing books with the help of a machine that heats glue. I want to buy one and start doing surgery on my JRR Tolkein collection! These videos are so wholesome and soothing, I could watch them for hours.
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The Oscars are this Sunday. Should I do my picks this week? A watch-along discussion post?
3-hour Dune movie and a 3-hour Twilight vid. long-form content is so back.
the judges not letting dawn know how bad she was at snatch game was a disservice!