You're listening to another episode
of Popcorn Podcast with Leigh and Tim, and in this episode we're talking Dune as well as the moving documentary Stray plus
all the latest movie and trailer news I'm Tim Iffland, movie buff and I'm Leigh Livingstone, entertainment journalist and we love to talk all things movies and what an episode we have in store
for you today oh Mama oh Mama oh Mama G who's Mama G? Who knows? All right so June is the feature
adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction
novel about the son of a noble family entrusted
with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy that's right
June is directed by Denis Villeneuve who did Blade Runner 2049 of course and a rival both visually
spectacular movies with a screenplay by villain nve John Spates who did Passengers and Doctor Strange and Eric Roth who did Forest Gump and the most recent A Star Is Born with Bradley Cooper and
Lady Gaga couple of Classics in there June Stars Timothy
shalamay Rebecca Ferguson Oscar Isaac
Jason Mamoa Stellan Skarsgard Josh Brolin Javier Bardem and rounding out the cast is Dave Bautista
and what a cast an alist cast of thousands in there so let's talk about the story first it's all
about that spice all about dead spice about that spice you're going to do that this vital element
that everyone in the universe is chasing after the Emperor of this world has assigned the noble house
at traes who live in the beautiful planet cadan wasn't that b
eautiful oh my gosh to relocate to
the desert planet oracus to to oversee harvesting of the spice yeah like a desert change there's
a sea change tree change but these guys went for a desert change and they don't look happy about
it either do they don't look particularly happy especially how the story transpires the events
that happen around them so it's all about an Intergalactic power struggle between all these
different houses set on a hostile planet with like searing heat monster sandwor
ms and hurricane
sandstorms those sandw worms were terrifying oh I can't wait to talk about them can't wait to talk
about them okay let's just hold tight before we talk about worms it also explores the impacts of
colonization yeah doesn't it and the chaos that comes with colonization which of course um have
stri similarities with the colonization of our own history right across the globe so there's
a lot of like holding up the mirror to real world in this film isn't there yep and the main
character undoubtedly in this film is the planet known as June arus yeah and the natives call
it June affectionately that's that's how they refer to it in the film now as someone who barely
remembers the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel starring Kyle mlin have you seen that one
no that was my next question I well I've seen the first 20 minutes so I think you can hardly say
that I've seen the film and all I took out of it because it was completely incomplete viewing was
that it was v
ery 80s yes oh my goodness at least the special effects are better in this one oh
hands down I like that in this version there is a nice amount of exposition that sets up the
players and the lay of the land did you feel that was well done or a bit heavy-handed I thought
the the story's Exposition was done really well I completely agree with you because it was masked in
the education that Paul receives about the planet so we learn along with him so I found that to be
a really good tool to co
mmunicate what is such so many complex layers to the story and the history
of the people and so on so forth so yeah I'm on the same page with you there yeah and I think you
really need that because the source material like this you know sci-fi novels have such an intricate
World building to them and it's a lot to fit on screen so you need a little bit of explanation
and this part one as it is because we know now that they've green l a part two which we'll get
into there's all these things t
hat are constantly referred to and teased on and this world building
and understanding all the houses all the people their culture where they come from you know all
the themes associated with this there's things alluded to like desert Powers what's desert power
how do you harness that who has desert power so there's all these really interesting layers to
this story um that they explore and Exposition plays like a huge huge part of that just expanding
on that word tease that you used do you
think it was too much of a tease because obviously
part two has now been green lit but I wonder what would have happened if that hadn't have been
green liit because this movie as a standalone she think it's effective enough that is a very good
question something I've been grappling with while thinking about this film all week since we saw it
because it was a huge gamble to have only had one part of a two-part story green lit and to make
choices about only going so far into the story because
it is incredibly incomplete as a story
arc you are left hanging you are left teased I think it does a really good job of hooking you in
getting you excited setting the layer of the land and educating you about the complex layers but
it did leave me wanting more but in a good way or a bad way how did you feel about it yeah a
bit of both that's what was confusing I thought oh this is not giving me enough of what I want
in a standalone film but as a two-parter yeah I'm super pumped for the ne
xt one like Bring it on
I mean although there's some action in this film it really is a slow build in terms of the story
and it's 2 and 1/2 hours long 2 and 1/2s which is so common these days isn't it how many films are
there that are less than 2 hours I probably count them on one hand kids films kids films indeed
although there are quite a lot of kids films that go on and on Like Home Alone is quite a long
movie this is a tangent I didn't think we'd go on but you are genuinely right kids f
ilms are shorter
sci-fi films are generally longer yeah yeah and a part of the story is also Paul's coming of age
you know set against things like family Rivals uh tribal clashes and obviously social oppression and
just to build on that it somehow is both epic in scale and scope and so intimate in its characters
plights and relationships this film isn't it do you think it developed all of the characters well
enough well without spoiling too much some of the characters you don't get to inter
act with for long
which I was really surprised there's quite a lot of Bloodshed in in this film I do think we need
more but then again it's a casualty of making a part one without having it fully told all in
all I think we didn't get enough in terms of the villains of the peace like we got a lot from
the heroes and the stars and you know I loved that and I really enjoyed these characters I really did
but in terms of the villains I was like why why do we need to be terrified of these guys wh
at's I
mean I know like they they did show some violence against the people of June and all that kind of
thing but in terms of motivation what were they about yeah that was lacking but were you terrified
by the villains again Dave Batista stellen scard I mean he was [ __ ] terrifying and did some weird
[ __ ] I'll give you st and scars guard yeah but I guess is it one of those things where a villain
usually sits back lets the minions do stuff it all goes tits up and then they come in and pr
esent
themselves later I feel like again we're not going to see them rear their head in any big villainous
sort of ploit until part two which leaves you high and dry a little bit so I agree villains were
a little bit undercook but they genuinely are in these films which is a shame villains are so
hard to get right so the director Dennis villu obviously had a plan with all these characters and
pieces we're going to see it evolve as you said in the second film let's talk about him as a direct
or
for a second you know he went from crime Thrillers prisoners and sakario which were great films and
then really really hit his stride with arrival and Blade Runner 2049 and so we can see here now
that he has a real affinity for Grand sci-fi Tales you know that are also character-driven this is
what he was born to do to to film June to tell that story it's always a project that he said he
wanted to do so the Stars aligned it was his fate it's lot about your fate in this film to make J
wa
s his fate and just to Echo your sentiment he tells stories about Humanity on a grand scale
and what a canvas June is for a filmmaker like him absolutely one thing I found interesting about
the making of This film is that he has a policy of only using one camera on his films what really
yeah even in Blade Runner 2049 wow the coverage is incredible yeah amazing I mean and Roger deacons
who was his cinematographer on Blade Runner 2049 felt very strongly about that as well they're very
aligned
in that now he's got a different cinematog on this film and Aussie called Greg Fraser
who we'll talk about later but yeah this was actually the first time that he was forced to have
multiple camera units to collect the footage that he needed because of the scale of this film and
because of the time frame that he had to get it done in so why do you think that he traditionally
only uses One camera at a time I guess that's so you can have complete control over what you're
filming I mean I'd s
een an interview with Roger deacons where he reluctantly uses a second camera
unit sometimes times but he story boards the crap out of it so that everything is done completely to
his specifications so I guess it's a control thing it means they can control their Vision better you
know who else storyboards their film to an inch of its life James G he said that as well it's I
find it so fascinating how directors work to try and Visually tell their Story I mean I can't
imagine there only being
one camera used at a time for June so I'm glad that he broke his mold
his usual way of making a film because what we were Creed to here was just immense just immense
immense huge Grand you're going to hear a lot of these words through this episode buz words they're
making me all tingly inside another thing that is Grand and monumentous is another good word is the
hands Zimmer score in this film oh isn't it just delicious delicious Lee you and these buzzword
today you're going to run out at
some point can you imagine though anyone else tackling the film
score hands him up yeah no no he's one of the most iconic composers in film today and music is such
a big part of Villa's movies too there's a real sophistication to his use of sound and score
it feels natural but then it also elevates the grandness of the film oh I couldn't have said it
better I think hand zimmers you know when when I watch the film The Score captures you immediately
with that base at the opening like straight
away I was like boom there's zims there he is and I
can't wait to explore what he what he offers and he throws in things like whether or not it's
the right word but chanting there's bag pipes in his score there's even a moment where someone
actually gets the bag pipe out and I'm like okay that's random I wasn't expecting a bag pipe um and
then like that drone feel and I think what hmer achieves with all his projects we'd certainly see
it in his collaborations with Christopher Nolan in the
Dark Knight trilogy it's a full sound that
is completely transformative it's barely off it's barely silent there's always something happening
but there is an interesting use of Silence in this film too it's almost deafening in places did you
notice some of those moments and they really pull you in I think it was in one of the sandstorms is
that what you're referring to maybe yes just after it and and it's dead silent yeah I mean silence
when used right is as impactful as the strings to make
you feel something so when you get it right
boom huge now we mentioned the cinematographer aie Greg Fraser he has worked on Australia the Epic
starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman Rogue one a Star Wars story and he's working on the
upcoming the Batman too so I'm really excited to see his work in that his filmography amazing
Australia stunning Rogan incredible and yeah the Batman is like super gritty isn't it can't wait
to see that too he's got some really beautifully framed shots in thi
s film that just immerse you
in all these different worlds I could almost feel the rough sand whipping me in the face how about
you yeah thanks dodging all these sand particles and I think how they really achieved that sort
of viseral feeling that you took away is that majority of the film believe it or not at such a
scale and scope was done majority in camera yes yeah they had to they had to go and research
and find a particular type of sand I think I read somewhere that they spent eight o
r 10 weeks
researching to find the right sand to throw up in the actor's faces and stuff like goodness I'm
finding myself so drawn to filmmakers who do most of their work in camera think of Khloe Xiao in
eternals and Nomad land now Dennis vve in June and this is a movie that could have been just CGI out
of its mind yeah absolutely but you know there are special effects in here but the marriage between
it that that blur is so hard to find and you can only achieve that when you put that effor
t into
the sets and the in camera effects into all that level of detail and craftsmanship to realize that
and the C CGI then pops yeah 100% And speaking of the special effects I found the special effects so
captivating and just not out of place as you said very natural I just believed this world completely
how about you oh I it the thing I was struggling to find words and I don't have many because
it's hard to like talk too much about something that's so good um without it sounding like thi
s
massive puff p but I've just got one word and the the special effects is Flawless like absolutely
flawless I was going to say I think we've used all the words in well that's why I was struggling
and stumbling I'm like what has Lee not used I think as well the sand worms are a huge character
in this piece and they obviously are cged but it shows just enough of them to give you the sense
of them and the way the sand moves around them you know the way everything caves into them mouths
was j
ust astonishing the level of detail in that CGI was out of this world forgive the pun forgiven
I think obviously this is no secret or surprise Dennis and his team clearly leaning on the whole
Trope that Spielberg started back in 1975 with jaws where you don't show you don't reveal the
villain the monster you for it's for boing it's their UT and I think that they absolutely nailed
that sentiment with the worms because you got you you got one or two hero shots of them but
you still didn't see
it all but you were just terrified all the same and you knew that there was
danger danger was made very very clear despite you not seeing so much and I thought that was really
really effective oh I've got chills are they multiplying we have to talk about the cast oh my
goodness two oh my goodness the cast of thousands we'll just pick out a few yeah uh Paul mhm played
by Timothy shalam sh of course is your typical reluctant hero with power and purpose that he
doesn't yet understand and I kn
ow Dennis villain said that Timothy shalamay was his first and only
choice yeah you know the character of Paul is 15 or 16 I think Timothy is in his early 20s um he
still gets away with it he has that youth but he also has that nobility what did you think of Oh
I thought he was incredible he's an incredibly thoughtful actor and that's something that
really comes through in his performance and it's something that you feel right you you really felt
for him cuz we were learning along with him
that's how a lot of the exposition comes through him as
we mentioned so you have a real connection and you need an actor that can pull you in and progress
where this story is ultimately headed yeah and you believe that his fate is to lead the people
because of his Charisma as an actor and I I'm glad that Dennis only had sights for him because
you again can't imagine anyone else in those shoes you also get Rebecca Ferguson as lady Jessica it's
the role that Virginia Madson I believe played i
n the 1984 version she's beautiful my gosh love her
and everything and she was fantastic in this I'm obsessed with the sign language that her character
was using to Signal when she was in danger or she needed something it was very clever do you know
if that was something that is unique to the film in that World Is that real sign language I don't
know oh I would love to know that actually yeah and then of course the noble lead of the House
of tradies Juke lto played by Oscar Isaac who I'm ju
st loving he's everywhere at the moment and
you know he's a loving father and fair ruler in this love it he he performs with such conviction
and credible Focus doesn't he you know he's there to make a difference and you believe that but
will his fate allow him to do that and that's kind of what's explored in this film as well and
I think the roles that Oscar Isaac is doing at the moment they're also so incredibly diverse but
he's nailing them all really is an actor of his generation yeah oh
yes these are a lot of sound
buts from this episode one that really stood out for me though and I'd love to know your thoughts
maybe you lead this one Jason Mamoa tell me your thoughts on Jason Mamoa my man yeah like he was
a legendary sword master um and a warrior Duncan Idaho was his character's name I wanted more from
him I found him if there's Charisma oozing out of an actor it's Jason we see him do these sorts
of roles time and time again but what I really loved about his character wa
s his relationship
with Paul and you had to believe that and Jason mimoa he has one of the most important lines
in the film and it's dreams make good stories but everything important happens when you're awake
and that sits with you and stays with you doesn't it yeah love that line absolutely loved it but
he really you said we've seen him in roles like this before but I don't haven't seen him like this
before in what way in that he was was more I felt natural everything that was flowing out
of him
was so natural the bond between him and Timothy shalomay felt so natural and he was enjoyable he
was charismatic and I won't agree with you that he's charismatic in everything that he does
I enjoy a lot of what he does sure but I see him playing a character and in this it all just
flows so naturally out of him and I enjoyed it so much yeah I mean that always comes down to the
skill of an actor and the strength of the script and the direction that brings it to life so it's
amazing ev
erything is just being married so well in here yeah beautiful there's so many characters
we could talk about Josh Brolin jaam jaam Zen well can I just say something about Zen sorry to cut
you off she spent 2 hours looking longingly in the distance brooding and mysterious she literally
almost almost had nothing else to do but that true well I mean I mean of they're setting her up for
important stakes in part two here we are talking about part two as much as we are part one but yeah
she can l
ook into the distance any day but that's what I mean we're talking so much about part two
as well they're they're inextricably linked and that was what was so interesting to me because
they are so linked and what would have happened if it wasn't green lit well they left us high and
dry we're clearly excited about part two yeah how often do you talk about a film and spend 40%
of it talking about what's still to come I mean that's pretty extraordinary isn't it like straight
immed medely yeah
shall we wrap up our review of June Tim yeah let's give it a red hot crack so
June is a visually Grand Blockbuster that sets the scene on a huge scale with exciting action
dotted throughout it Villanova immerses Us in this world so fully with his eye for cinematic
Grandeur that you can't help but be swept away by the sci-fi fantasy with actors who play their
parts so well it is a setup though and it can be a bit slow to build to that but June is just
utterly captivating and successful at ma
king us yearn for the next part see it on the biggest
screen you can find with surround sound I cannot stress that enough oh yeah I'm giving June four
popcorn kernels out of five amazing well goodness gracious me what a film my expectations were huge
it was inescapable with the bars about town and it delivered in almost every way there is no fault
I have visually no fault I have to the scale in which such an intimate story was told no fault in
how beautifully it represented cultures through
its costume hair makeup and production design
but the small problem I had was that it left me wanting more so much more its biggest issue is
that it's held back as a part one leaving behind incredible Intrigue and mystery and excitement
for part two if you haven't gathered that from what we discussed already but in some way
leaves the story feeling a little Hollow just a little an unavoidable casualty of waiting
for a sequel to complete the journey perhaps but I am ready and waiting and 20
23 cannot come
soon enough I too Le I'm going to rate June for popcorn kernels well there you have it guys
June is in Australian Cinemas from December 2nd it's been out in the US for a while but we can
finally join them before we jump into the news Tim I want to talk about this beautiful little
documentary called stray which is in cinemas now stray explores what it means to live as a being
without status or security and it follows three stray dogs surviving on the streets as they
embark on
this inconspicuous journey through Turkish Society Zan is fiercely independent and
Adventures through the city at night Nazar is nurturing and protective easily befriending
the humans around her while cartle is a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction
site the dogs disparate lives intersect when they form bonds with a group of young Syrian who share
the streets with them gosh what a powerful story uh stray is written and directed by Elizabeth
low and stars Zan Nazar and cartel
as the stray dogs featuring in the documentary now movies like
this about animals just punch me in the gut they do don't they even when they're not really sad
it's a it's a beautiful kind of sad isn't it the the film opens with this quote which like I had to
write it down straight away I thought about it the entire way through human beings live artificially
and hypocritically and would do well to study the dog and that sets things up beautifully because
for the next hour and 10 minutes it'
s quite a short piece we are studying three dogs live out
their lives and You observe them through a very different lens as a result of that quote and this
is all about experience isn't it it isn't about action it isn't about twisting plots it is it's
about experiencing something that we cannot fully understand and we get this glimpse into this world
it's meant to be a fully immersive experience that will not only help us see through the eyes of the
dogs but also attempts to put you in thei
r mindset yeah immersive that's absolutely true and I loved
how the dogs were roaming the streets of Istanbul and you picked up fragments of human conversations
I found that so fascinating as a choice conversations that were political um conversations
about relationships and couple arguments there was one in a cafe with was fascinating I loved that
playing out and also the sounds of the city as well praying through nearby mosques and the sounds
of a woman's Day protest as well just followin
g the lives of these dogs and kind of dipping in and
out of things it was really quite stunning they're part of this world but also apart from it yes yes
oh God anyway I like that stray doesn't explain this foreign existence to us it simply shows
us it's a simple and beautiful and sometimes emotional snapshot I'm going to give stray four
popcorn kernels out of five stray is an incredibly engaging story heartfelt and tragic it's deeply
intimate and what a privilege it was for Zan Nazar and c
artel to invite us into their lives I'm going
to rate stray for popcorn kernels privilege I like that word well as we said stray is in Australian
Cinemas now I believe select Australian Cinemas so check your local guide for listing times let's
jump into news and trailers now Lee trailers are getting longer and longer these days aren't
they but nothing quite as long as what we got for Jurassic world Dominion this week Universal
released a special prologue that delivered in scale and dinosaur
action and helps us understand
where the world is at when Dominion begins that's right the sequence will not be featured in the
film itself but it serves as the beginning of a story that will be continued in cinema mid
next year when Dominion finally Roars onto the big screen I find that really interesting there's
a lot of cost to produce something like that and it's not even part of the film no incredible well
this prologue also sent us back 65 million years no less into the past to exper
ience the world
before humans existed and offers a glimpse of a world in which dinosaurs are living among us after
the events of 2018s Jurassic world Fallen Kingdom it also features seven new species of dinosaurs
that have never been seen in a Jurassic film before and the film is expected to hit Australian
Cinemas in June 2022 and of course the return of Laura D Sam Neil Jeff Goldblum yay I can't wait to
see first look at them in the trailer coming up if you want to have a look at the prolo
gue check
it out on our YouTube page so the box office underperformance of the last Jewel has Millennials
to thank bloody Millennials according to director Ridley Scott so just to explain how how much of
a financial failure this was the film took only US 27 million on a us100 million budget this film
really flew under the radar in Australia I think did it did you're right I didn't even get to see
it I saw it and loved it I encourage you to see it it's really good I've heard it's really good
but I
mean was that a marketing problem then that has to be has to be not Millennials bloody Millennials
Ridley Scott said I think what it boils down to what we've got today are the audiences who
were brought up on these [ __ ] cell phones the millennian Do Not the millennian I'm going to
refer to myself as a millennian actually I don't think I'm a millennial no I think we are are we
yeah what year does that cover I think it's the I think it's 1980 is it or 1982 somewhere around
there yea
h it's the beginning we came of age at the Millennium is that right okay so anyway Ridley
Scott said the Millennium do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the
cell phone this is a broad stroke but I think we're dealing with it right now with Facebook
there is misdirection that has happened where it's given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest
generation I think what does he mean by the wrong kind of confidence what's that got to do with the
film underperform
ing I have a confession to make I actually don't know what he's talking about and
that's no disrespect to redley Scott I think he's a incredible filmmaker but I actually can't read
between the lines here it's kind of just a bit of a verbal diarrhea okay yeah it's just a bit odd
he's a bit Jaded by it clearly get off my lawn you kids get off my lawn oh dear on to the DC
League of Super Pets we got a trailer for this one which got us super excited this week the film
follows Superman's dog who
teams up with a flying cat to stop CME while Superman is on vacation
I love the premise of this well the voice cards consists of Dwayne Johnson your boy Uh Kevin Hart
Kate McKinnon John krinski uh Natasha Leon I love her and keano Reed and J J great voice cast there
love it the DC League of Super Pets will fly into Australian Cinemas from May 2022 Le did you
know that the Beatles they have been cast in Midas man which is a biopic about iconic Music
Manager Brian Epstein who was often refer
red to as the fifth Beatle yeah so Jonah Le is John
Lennon musician Blake Richardson will be Paul McCartney Leo Harvey ellig is George Harrison
and newcomer Campbell Wallace is is Ringo Star with Jacob Fortune Lloyd from the Queens Gambit
as Epstein and Jay Leno as the iconic talk show host Johnny Carson I have to say that's pretty
matter of Jay Leno to be playing Johnny Carson because didn't he take over from The Tonight Show
from Johnny car yeah true true interesting I think yeah I think
so anyway we you can fact check us
the film recently actually lost its director Jonas oand due to creative differences only 3 weeks into
filming which forced the production to shut down actually it will now be directed by Welsh actress
and director Sara Sugarman that's like worst case scenario you've already started principal
photography and your director walks off set that is very orand isn't it damn I'm sorry forgive
me all right you take over what's next there are two new Three Musketeer
s movies coming our way in
2023 from film distributor path titled The Three Musketeers dartanion and the fre Musketeers Mady
Mady oh my God that's so funny okay so the cast is led by franois civil as dartan Eva Green as
Mady dwia and Vincent Cassel as Athos they are joined by Roman durus as arus and poo maray as
porthos my goodness this is a tongue twister Le do you want to take over the rest for me so Lou
gal will also Star as King Louie VII alongside Vicky creeps as Queen Anne of Austria
who we
saw Vicky in ight shyamalan's old recently it and Jacob Fortune Lloyd who we just discussed
in Midas man will be the Duke of Buckingham I wish you'd taken the front half of that because
mine were clearly harder than the ones that you just took over so are they sequels to each other
then yes so they come together yeah right right so Dennis villanu you should have like these guys
doing it right they're commissioned two stories back to back exactly but I love this cast oh my
God Vincen
t Castle give me me please yes please well Lee rounding out our news for the day we
do have some sad news to end on the world lost a musical theater icon this week as award-winning
composer and Lyricist Steven sonheim passed away at the age of 91 what an Innings yeah so sad
though sonheim was the genius behind Broadway hits including into the woods Sweeney Todd
and he wrote the lyrics in Westside Story gosh what a Mark he's left behind in and cure and our
love to his family at this time our
thoughts are with his family definitely all right Lee goodness
gracious we've done it another jam-packed episode of popcorn podcast we brought you our take on June
which is in cinemas in Australia from December 2nd we also discussed the beautiful documentary stray
which is in select Australian Cinemas so make sure you check it out all right guys as always
thank you so much for listening we'll catch you next time we are now on YouTube guys where you
will find our latest celebrity video inte
rviews simply search popcorn podcast with Lee and Tim and
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