The Fireside

  Many fans consider the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings films to be the definitive version. Peter Jackson, however, considers that to be the case for the theatrical editions. It makes sense - they are, after all, the versions that came out into cinemas and are 'finalized' because of that. Some state that the theatrical editions have better flow and editing than the extended editions. Overall, I prefer the extended editions myself. They aren't just a 'longer' version of the movie, the stuff re-inserted usually has meaning. That being said, there are some things that the theatrical editions does better, and some things that the extended editions do better. In this post, in honour of The Fellowship of the Ring's 20th anniversary, I'm going to use both (and slight hypothetical editing on my part) to create the best version of the films as possible. Well, to me, that is.  Now remember - what works on page doesn't always work on screen. These nee...

  I got to see Dune . Or, Dune: Part 1 as it's called in the film itself. I'll explain how that works. The director has explained multiple times during the film's pre-production (and production) via interviews that the Dune film that opened in cinemas (and is now streaming on HBO Max) is not the entirety of Dune , the first book, by Frank Herbert. He's stated that he would need two films to accurately, and fully, tell the story properly. He also hopes to do a third and final film of his (the director's) Dune Trilogy, which will be based on Dune Messiah , a much shorter book than Dune . So, if each of these Dune films is 2 hrs 30 - 2 hrs 45, that'd be adequate to tell the complete journey of Paul. Now that the background info is given, I'll talk about the film. The scope of the film reminded me more of 2001: A Space Odyssey than it did Star Wars: A New Hope . This is due in part to long shots and takes, the scene changes, etc. Filmaking-wise, it seemed to...