Dune (1984)

Director: David Lynch

Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Brad Dourif, Patrick Stewart

Have I Seen it Before: Never. So here’s what I did that was kind of stupid. When Dune (2021) came out, in one of my book-buying binges, I picked up Frank Herbert’s original novel and told myself that I wasn’t going to watch any of the films until I read the source material. Cut to three years later and I finally got through that thing* and I have a lot catching up to do elsewhere.

That doesn’t really account for the additional thirty-five-plus years I’ve spent avoiding the film.

Did I Like It: In the first few minutes, there was a very real chance I was going to hate the film very, very deeply. Opening with a V.O. narration is usually a way to get me to check out, having it come from a floating head among the cosmos would pretty much seal the deal of my antipathy. That this opening from Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen) is so weirdly uncertain that it really felt like I could start writing my review in the first five minutes.

Then again, injecting the character into the film in this way is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book itself. That may be the film’s biggest ambition and ultimate weakness. It is a slavishly faithful adaptation, but feels the need to zip through all of the story points to get things in around two hours. What Herbert does best doesn’t get any time to simmer here, so instead we get a lot of exposition machines flitting in and out of the frame.

And yet, I can’t completely dismiss the film either. It does manage to effectively depict the worlds of the Duneiverse at a time when science fiction films had to often make do with their limitations.

*I didn’t read the appendices. Even I have my limits.

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004)

Director: David Titcher*

Cast: Noah Wyle, Kyle MacLachlan, Sonya Walger, Bob Newhart

Have I Seen it Before: Never. Lora’s been watching The Librarians on Hulu. So, here we are.

Did I Like It: Rare is that a TV movie** exceeds the limitations of its production. So, I’m probably tempted to give this movie a pass for reverting to the mean, if not exceeding it. Not unlike The Mummy (1999) and its sequels, there was a moment where it wasn’t at all clear that there would be any more forthcoming Indiana Jones films, so we had to make do with what was available. This film also feels strangely compelled to imitate (not altogether successfully) the energy of Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) for no other reason than it came out roughly around the same time.

The special effects are so laughable that I have a hard time believing that this at all held up on crappy SD eighteen years ago. If ever there would be a law passed to provide any sort of limit on excessive use of cheap green screen, then every copy of this movie would be immediately impounded.

And yet, the film can’t be completely dismissed for the diversions it presents. The cast is charming, although nearly it’s an almost foregone conclusion that Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, Kyle MacLachlan, Jane Curtin, and even Sonya Walger (RIP Molly Cobb) have far more to offer TV than what is offered here.

Everything about this film is at least slightly less than it could have been, but not any worse than it might have been. It is the perfect thing to fill time between other movies for me, and I suppose it was the perfect thing with multiple airings to fill airtime on TNT between broadcast of basketball games.

So, I suppose it hit the intended mark.

*I was under the impression Jonathan Frakes directed these things, so even here I’m feeling a bit deprived. Although I’m heartened to read that he directed the other two TV films.

**Are such things even made anymore? As a genre have they moved into that antiquated format afterlife like silent films and standalone superhero films?

Confess, Fletch (2022)

Director: Greg Mottola

Cast: Jon Hamm, Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, Roy Wood Jr.

Have I Seen it Before: No, but I’ve read a number of the Fletch books, including listening the the audiobook of this one quite recently.

Did I Like It: Which I think goes straight to my big problem with the film, even if it is a minor one. It’s only been a few weeks since I took the story in, and I had long since forgotten who did it. While I like the character of Fletch, and the journey of through these stories are always pleasurable enough, the mysteries themselves aren’t anywhere near as engaging.

All things considered, that’s probably a pretty good mark against an adaptation: For better or worse, it has harnessed the spirit of its source material, flaws and all. Thankfully, while I felt a little disconnected with the mystery that fuels the comedy, I can say that the usual steadfast rule that the most famous person in the cast is usually the one who did it didn’t hold up here. There were two people of relative equal fame who weren’t playing one Irwin Maurice Fletcher, and only one of them did, in fact, do it. Knives Out (2019) probably made more hay out of avoiding that cliche, but that is more a question of budget than intent.

The other problem I’ve had as I’ve read the Gregory Mcdonald books is that it has been absolutely impossible to reconcile the character within those pages with the fundamentally smart-aleck, and occasionally needlessly absurdist starring vehicle tailored for Chevy Chase in the 80s. Hamm, however, feels perfectly at home in the role. There is almost nothing zany about his work in the role. So, for someone who has been itching to have Fletch return to the screen, this is about as welcome a return as a man could hope for.