Luis Bunuel

I watched : "That Obscure Object of Desire" & "Phantom of Liberty" by Luis Bunuel.

That Obscure Object of Desire : I thought it was pretty good; for a surrealist filmmaker I'd say that Bunuel (and maybe the genre itself as far as I can tell) is pretty tame. Some bizarre aspects of the movie include : two different actresses play the same character in the film without the other characters reacting (seemingly randomly dispersed throughout the film). There was also a dwarf in the train scene which provides the protagonist to narrate his story of heartbreak /betrayal. (perhaps this provides an abnormal visual?) From what I've seen / read - Bunuel puts a lot of work into his cinematography, but I guess for most of the movie I wasn't very impressed. I didn't like the colors or the sets, but perhaps its a product of its time / moment.

There were some cool allegorical parts : In one part a fly lands in the protagonists martini "waiter,there's a fly in my soup."

The characters also all seem to be ok when the protagonist physically beats and demands sex from the object of desire Conchita, as he's held out "as much as a man possibly can." It also seems to be a commentary on terrorism and politics : I'd like to view it again and compare the plot to a courtship over nations and irrational action, or perhaps between a nation and its insurgent or resistant population. As the two protagonists die in a firery explosion / terrorist attack in the end; one has to wonder if allegorically this is more central to the point of the movie. Considering there are random bits of violence, including a street shootout, a knifepoint robbery, a brutal murderous carjacking etc.

I mean even if this isn't the point at all; it would be an interesting take on the film : while in reality the depiction of terrorism might just be (and ockham's razor would tell us so) a representation of the very real events of that day and age in france.

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Phantom of Liberty was great.

A giant ostrich walks into a couple's bedroom as they try to sleep with a long shot completely drawing me into the scene. A incestuous boring couple, attempted murder out of shame, is trumped by an S&M couple spanking and sexual barking back and forth in front of unsuspecting priests, a boring lady, and a teenager. and so on : the movie is great.

I can't wait to watch The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

Dune

I watched Dune last night. I watched the version that wasn't extended, although I was tempted to, as David Lynch refused to endorse the longer one. I can understand why people (including david lynch) really don't like the movie : its rambly and over-complicated, and put together in such a fragmented way that the character development and narrative are completely ignored. Thus, you really don't care if characters live or die, or who wins out in stupid good vs. evil battles. I mean its fucking epic, but for a 2 hour long movie with a soundtrack done by 80s sensation Toto, I think we should feel it a little harder.

Nevertheless : The effects were great. The shield suits they wore were the pinnacle of 80s special effects and could remain relevant even today. The worlds were fun and costumes really creepy. There were even some great Lynchian moments: when the evil Baron spits on the protagonist mother's face :

Baron : "I want to spit once on your head, just some spittle in your face.

[He spits on her cheek.]

Baron : "What a luxury."

I also liked the line :

Remember, walk without rhythm and we won't attract the worm.

All in all I'd give it 3 out of 5 because it really was disapointing in someways (albeit expected) but really impressive visually (which i didn't expect.)