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Salem’s Lot has a legendary status not unlike the vampire creatures that are the chief antagonists therein. While we are finally getting the newest movie adaptation this month after what seemed like an eternity in development and then an unceremonious shelving, the original continues to have a cult classic aura around it. There was a second TV miniseries that came out on TNT in 2004 but the quality of that one varies depending on who you talk to. Even with all the cache that the original miniseries brings to the table, it had been years since I had watched it. It deserved a revisit and make no mistake, this addition to the King cinematic universe needed a remake more than nearly anything else he has put out.

Originally Salem’s Lot was going to be a theatrical experience but Warner Brothers, who had purchased the rights, had a hard time settling on the story and the personnel.

David Lynch is not very fond of his film adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune," feeling that it was too much a studio monster than his personal vision. After the success of "The Elephant Man" in 1980, Lynch was approached by multiple studios to handle gigantic blockbuster projects; Lynch's fans will point casual readers to an anecdote he once told about being invited by George Lucas to direct "Return of the Jedi." Learning about the franchise gave Lynch a headache, especially when he learned what a Wookiee was. 

The blockbuster project Lynch accepted instead was "Dune," which he was able to make in his own preferred idiom. Even so, Lynch didn't have total creative control and felt that the whole picture was a bit of a mess. Storytelling-wise, he may be correct; a lot of information flies at the audience pretty quickly, and Frank Herbert's massively complex mythology isn't easily understood...

One of the central villains in Frank Herbert's 1965 novel "Dune" is the amoral hedonist Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, ruler of House Harkonnen and overseer of spice production on the planet Arrakis. In the novel, he is described as being so immensely fat that he required a suit of anti-gravity devices -- called suspensors -- to hoist his massive girth. The Baron is cruel, power-mad, and regularly has sex slaves sent to his quarters so that he may engage in sick acts of murderous coitus. Some have criticized the Baron as an example of fatphobia and, rather unfortunately, "queer villainy" in popular media.

In David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation of "Dune," the Baron was played by Kenneth McMillan, and Lynch made him all the more revolting by encrusting his face with oily carbuncles that produced shot glasses of black pus. McMillan was outfitted with a fat suit, although he was decidedly...

Denis Villeneuve's new hit film "Dune: Part Two" sees the rise of a villain not glimpsed in "Dune: Part One." In the film, the evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), having lost faith in his nephew Rabban (Dave Bautista) and his ability to exterminate the Fremen on Arrakis, turns to his far more sociopathic, aggressive nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), a young man with no remorse and a murderous streak a mile wide. A large section of "Dune: Part Two" is devoted to describing Feyd's horrible evil, with several Bene Gesserit witches noting that he can only be controlled through flattery and sexuality, not conscience. Feyd is a violent, walking id, and the film ultimately culminates in a knife fight between him and the Messianic Paul Atreaides (Timothée Chalamet).

In David Lynch's eccentric 1984 "Dune" adaptation, rock star Sting played Feyd, and there is a notorious scene wherein Sting emerges from a bizarre,...

Director Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two" is lighting the world on fire right now, much like Paul Muad'Dib's (Timothee Chalamet) jihad will be doing to the known universe after the movie's end. The sequel enjoyed a box office debut twice as big as the first "Dune" did in 2021. Unlike was the case with David Lynch's 1984 "Dune," which earned too little for sequels, it seems that Warner Bros. now has its next blockbuster franchise.

From the Worms to the Spice (which the movies hardly explain), the world of "Dune" is quite weird. One of this bizarre iceberg's tips is the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, leader of the Harkonnen feudal house. Played in the recent movies by Stellan Skarsgård, the Baron is about 600 pounds (reflecting his gluttonous wealth) and to get around, he doesn't walk, he floats with anti-gravity belts. Frank Hebert's original "Dune" books were an influence on...

Movie magic relies on a swath of visual elements falling into place, including CGI, makeup, and sets, as well as the dangerous work that stunt performers handle. A well-run movie set does what it can to avoid unnecessary risks to actors and crew, but sometimes, a scene requires everyone to run on the razor's edge. At this point, the problem isn't just ameliorating the risk of an accident, but what could happen even if everything goes right. This is where stunt performers shine, and it's an insult that these crucial movie crew members still go without recognition at the top awards shows.

Sometimes, however, there's no way around it. The star must be in the picture, and it's up to them to decide whether they're up for taking a risk. Well, usually it's up to them. Not all sets are managed well, and there's a legacy of directors willing to...

A superb thriller is now better than ever on 4K. We’ve always known why it rewards viewings: it’s both thrilling and funny. When Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Hector Elizondo hijack a subway train, Walter Matthau must scramble to collect a ransom while trying to figure out how they’ll make their escape. Peter Stone’s dialogue is delightful — the loud & mouthy ’70s New Yorkers are hilariously abrasive — and lovable. “Who wants to know?!!!” Includes a Blu-ray disc and a new commentary.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1974 / Color B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date December 20, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95

Starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O’Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Jerry Stiller, Rudy Bond, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts, Julius Harris,Robert Weil.

Cinematography Owen Roizman

Original Music David Shire...

The sitcom "Moonlighting" debuted on ABC on March 3, 1985, and it was unlike any TV show previously seen. It had the quick banter of a 1940s screwball comedy and crazy sexual tension between stars Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd as detective David Addison and former model-turned-detective, Maddy Hayes. "Moonlighting" broke the fourth wall long before "She-Hulk" and "Deadpool" did it on screen, employed a cold open before it was standard, and often showed sets and production staff on camera. The detective agency dramedy series broke with what viewers were used to fairly often, including an episode based on William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," entitled, "Atomic Shakespeare."

In the episode, Willis appears as Petruchio, a man who marries Katherina, played by Shepherd. If Petruchio can make her a docile wife, he gets her dowry. Look, no one ever said that Shakespeare's sensibilities would work for the 21st century. Still,...

Accomplished screenwriter and avid movie watcher, Daniel Waters breaks down his ‘Best of the Best of 2021’ list with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Drive My Car (2021)

A History of Violence (2005)

Larry Crowne (2011)

The Vanishing (1988)

Don’t Look Up (2021)

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Gerry (2002)

Swept Away (1974)

Swept Away (2002)

The Tender Bar (2021)

Riders Of Justice (2021)

Another Round (2020)

The Worst Person In The World (2021)

Pig (2021)

Dune (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dune (2021)

Fifty Shades Freed (2018)

Den of Thieves (2018)

Copshop (2021)

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – Neil Marshall’s trailer commentary

Magnum Force (1973) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Driver (1978)

Memoria (2021)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

The Power of the Dog (2021)

Old Henry (2021)

The Village (2004)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Annette (2021)

Titane (2021)

Zola (2021)

The Killing of Two Lovers (2021)

Who You Think I Am (2021)

Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2021)

Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy...

Hear me out on this: David Lynch’s “Dune” is a lot of fun — and, compared to the self-serious posturing of Denis Villeneuve’s new version, it’s a ridiculous blast.

For years, the popular assumption has been that Lynch’s 1984 version got “Dune” wrong, while the hype surrounding Denis Villeneuve’s own adaptation is that he got it right. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Villeneuve said that he approached the seemingly cursed endeavor of bringing Frank Herbert’s 1965 space epic to the big screen, it was “about the book, the book, the book.” He added that Lynch’s attempt, much like Alejandro Jodoworsky’s unrealized production years earlier, suffered from a fatal flaw. “I don’t know if he was really interested by ‘Dune,’” Villeneuve said, so much as his own predilections as a filmmaker.

Yet that’s exactly what makes the earlier “Dune” so...

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“A Can Of Sandworms”

By Raymond Benson

In anticipation of the upcoming release of Denis Villeneuve’s remake, the excellent boutique label Arrow Video has issued a superb 2-disk Limited Edition package of David Lynch’s 1984 film, Dune. It comes in two versions—one in 4K Ultra HD, and the other in standard Blu-ray.

Filmmaker David Lynch today refuses to discuss Dune, which he made for producer Dino De Laurentiis for a whopping $40-42 million. It was a colossal flop at the time, was critically reviled, and audiences didn’t care much for it either. However, over the years, Dune has gained a cult following and it assuredly has its share of defenders, including Frank Herbert, the author of the original 1965 novel.

The history of the production has long been a topic of discussion among film historians and cinephiles. Attempts to film the complex,...

Ignored, maligned and hammered out into an ‘Alan Smithee’ extended cut for TV, David Lynch’s outstanding Sci-fi epic arrives on 4K Ultra HD, finally achieving the visual opulence on home video that it had in 70mm prints at the end of 1984. The fractured, de-Lynched storyline can be argued over, but the amazing design and arresting characterizations never fail to impress — Lynch attracted a world-class cast of movie stars and used them well. Even if it’s described as a hundred fragmented scenes from a larger narrative, they’re superlative fragments. Lynch should have been authorized to make an alternate cut, his own completely personal ‘impressionist’ version of the Frank Herbert story.

Dune

4K Ultra HD

Arrow Video

1984 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 137 min. / Street Date August 31, 2021 / 59.95

Starring (alphabetically): Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif, José Ferrer, Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Richard Jordan, Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill,...

It’s no secret that Stan Winston has been hugely influential on my love for special makeup effects (you can catch up on our previous Stan Winston Week celebration Here) as well as his uncanny ability to create memorable characters that endure the test of time. When it comes to the films of 1981, Winston ran the gamut of makeups and effects that year, contributing to projects like The Hand and Friday the 13th Part 2 all while delivering show-stopping creations for both Gary Sherman’s Dead & Buried as well as the family-friendly comedy Heartbeeps by Allan Arkush, two wildly different films that perfectly showcased Winston’s diverse skill set and enthusiasm for the craft.

As a kid, Heartbeeps was a movie that I came across due to the involvement of Andy Kaufman. My friend’s parents were huge fans of his work and they rented the movie on a whim,...

Akira Kurosawa wrote the original story for this slam-bang action picture that finally got Cannon Films on a, ‘Hey this is a great movie’ list or two. Mean, nasty, desperate men make an impossible escape attempt across a frozen landscape that might as well be on the moon. Jon Voight gets to use the same eccentric gimmicks that Dustin Hoffman exploited, and comes off great while Andrei Konchalovsky showed Cannon what a brilliant director could do. The show also established Eric Roberts and Rebecca De Mornay as talents to watch.

Runaway Train

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date March 16, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner, John P. Ryan T.K. Carter, Kenneth McMillan, Edward Bunker, Hank Worden, Danny Trejo, Tommy Lister, Don MacLaughlin, Loren James, Dick Durock, Dennis Franz.

Cinematography: Alan Hume

Original Music: Trevor Jones

Written by Djordje Milecevic,...

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“Hey, Manny!”

By Raymond Benson

One of the generally underrated and mostly forgotten great action thrillers of the 1980s was Runaway Train, a sleeper that took audiences by surprise in late 1985/early 1986. Produced by the low-rent team of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus for the now-defunct Cannon Films, Train was not the partners’ ordinary B-movie action fare. The picture’s pedigree assured that there was going to be something interesting within, and there was.

Runaway Train was originally an Akira Kurosawa project. The Japanese director had conceived the movie, co-written a screenplay with two of his regular colleagues, and planned to make it in conjunction with a Hollywood studio in the late 1960s. According to the supplements on Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray release of the film, Kurosawa wanted to cast Henry Fonda and Peter Falk in the lead roles of escaped convicts...

Exclusive: The Pope of Greenwich Village is headed to the small screen.

Hawk Koch and Gene Kirkwood, producers of the 1984 film, have teamed with Oscar-winning writer Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), writer/director George Gallo (Midnight Run), and Oscar-nominated actor/writer/playwright Chazz Palminteri, (A Bronx Tale) to develop an eight-hour miniseries based on Vincent Patrick’s best-selling 1979 book The Pope of Greenwich Village and its 1984 feature adaptation.

The Pope of Greenwich Village film starred Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and Daryl Hanna. It revolved about two cousins, Charlie and Paulie, played by Roberts and Rourke respectively, who unknowingly rob the mob and face dangerous consequences.

Vallelonga, Gallo and Palminteri are all native New Yorkers, and Vallelonga has a personal connection to the film.

“My father, Tony Lip, who Green Book was about, played the role of Frankie Shy in the opening scene of the original film, and I was an extra in the stickball scene,...

Here’s a first look at the trailer for director Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated Dune, the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller.

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

And gosh, is this a great cast or what?!

Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling,...

In his first Broadway appearance since his widely acclaimed, Emmy-winning TV performance as serial killer Andrew Cunanan, Darren Criss will join the previously announced Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell in the upcoming revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, producer Jeffrey Richards announced today.

The production, directed by Neil Pepe, will mark Criss’ return to Broadway after starring in 2015’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch revival, and his first since winning the Emmy last year for his performance in FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

American Buffalo will begin previews on March 24, 2020, at the Circle in the Square Theatre, with an official opening on Tuesday, April 14.

Criss will play Bobby, the youngest in the play’s triumvirate of small-time hustlers looking to make a big score. Fishburne, last on Broadway in 2008’s one-man play Thurgood, will play the character Donny. Rockwell, returning to Broadway after 2014’s...

Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell will return to Broadway this spring in a revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, lead producers Jeffrey Richards, Steve Traxler and Stephanie P. McClelland announced today.

Directed by frequent Mamet collaborator Neil Pepe, American Buffalo will begin previews in March 2020 with an official opening on Tuesday, April 14. The theater has not been announced.

Fishburne, last on Broadway in 2008’s one-man play Thurgood, will play the character Donny. Rockwell, returning to Broadway after 2014’s Fool For Love by Sam Shepard, will play Teach.

The duo’s casting leaves the play’s third character, Bobby, as yet unfilled or unannounced.

After Chicago and Off Broadway productions in 1975 and ’76, American Buffalo premiered on Broadway in 1977, with Ulu Grosbard directing Robert Duvall as Teach and Kenneth McMillan as Donny. John Savage played Bobby. In a 1981 Off Broadway production at Circle in the Square starred Al Pacino, Thomas Waites and Clifton James.

Joan Micklin Silver applies sensitive direction to Ann Beattie’s novel about a lonely guy trying to win back his girlfriend, and going about it in all the wrong ways. John Heard is excellent as Charles, who can’t understand why Laura (Mary Beth Hurt) has gone back to her husband and child. The whole thing plays out during a snowy winter in Salt Lake City… which is not the place to expect unrealistic romantic dreams to come true.

Chilly Scenes of Winter

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Head Over Heels / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring: John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, Gloria Grahame, Nora Heflin, Jerry Hardin, Tarah Nutter, Mark Metcalf, Allen Joseph, Frances Bay, Griffin Dunne, Anne Beattie.

Cinematography: Bobby Byrne

Film Editor: Cynthia Scheider

Original Music: Ken Lauber

From the novel by Ann Beattie

Produced by Griffin Dunne,...

Cannon Films knocks one out of the park: Jon Voight and Eric Roberts escape from prison only to end up on a huge, speeding, out of control juggernaut of a freight train plowing through the Alaskan wilderness. It's both an action bruise-fest and an existential statement, and it's still a wild thrill ride. Runaway Train Blu-ray Twilight Time 1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95 Starring Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner, John P. Ryan T.K. Carter, Kenneth McMillan, Edward Bunker, Hank Worden, Danny Trejo, Tommy Lister, Don MacLaughlin, Loren James, Dick Durock, Dennis Franz. Cinematography Alan Hume Original Music Trevor Jones Written by Djordje Milecevic, Paul Zindel, Edward Bunker based on a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa. Produced by Yoram Globus, Menachem Golan Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

When I stumbled into The Cannon Group on...

Rebecca Lea Oct 31, 2016

Our lookback at the film adaptations of Stephen King's work lands on a gem: the anthology movie, Cat's Eye...

The film: The second of our young Drew Barrymore in Stephen King films double bill, Cat’s Eye is another of his anthology movies. The spine of the film is a tabby cat, accidentally driven first to New York City where he receives a message from a girl (Drew Barrymore) who asks the cat for help. Before he can find her, the cat is captured by Quitters, Inc., a company that helps people to quit smoking with threats of torture and violence on the family, as Dick Morrison (James Woods) finds out.

See related Marvel's Luke Cage episode 13 viewing notes: You Know My Steez The Punisher: 5 new cast members and 2017 release confirmed

From there, the cat travels to Atlantic City where he gets another message from the girl,...

A special edition of this confirmed '70s crowd pleaser?  I'm there. Robert Shaw has big plans to hijack a New York subway car, and subway cop Walter Matthau is determined to stop him. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 42nd Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1974 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date July 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 1974 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date November 1, 2011 / 19.99 Starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O'Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Jerry Stiller, Rudy Bond, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts, Julius Harris. Cinematography Owen Roizman Original Music David Shire Written by Peter Stone from the novel by John Godey Produced by Gabriel Katzka, Edgar J. Sherick Directed by Joseph Sargent

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I reviewed an MGM-Fox Blu-ray of United Artists' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three back in late 2011, and I can't...

We love crime movies. We may go on and on about Scorsese’s ability to incorporate Italian neo-realism techniques into Mean Streets (1973), the place of John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950) in the canon of postwar noir, The Godfather (1972) as a socio-cultural commentary on the distortion of the ideals of the American dream blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda…but that ain’t it.

We love crime movies because we love watching a guy who doesn’t have to behave, who doesn’t have to – nor care to – put a choker on his id and can let his darkest, most visceral impulses run wild. Some smart-mouth gopher tells hood Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), “Go fuck yourself,” in Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), and does Tommy roll with it? Does he spit back, “Fuck me? Nah, fuck you!” Does he go home and tell his mother?

Nope.

He pulls a .45 cannon out from...

One of the joys of the current Blu-ray era is that studios have been delving into their libraries and restoring gems, releasing them with varying degrees of love and care. We’ve recently seen, for example, the arrival of musical greats West Side Story and My Fair Lady. But studios have also been working to bring back the really good films that have been somewhat forgotten. They may not get the deluxe restoration or bonus features, but it’s nice to have clean prints and high definition editions so we can still enjoy them at home. I’m reminded of all this because out now is the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. This film, starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, is based on a novel and was one of my favorite films of the 1970s. I was interested to see the Tony Scott remake a few years...

Eyewitness (Original Release Date: 13 February 1981)

Among the movies I’ve watched so far for the column, Eyewitness is the one most obviously of its era. Where something like The Incredible Shrinking Woman might stake its claim to the early eighties based wholly on eccentricities, Eyewitness nabs an adjacent plot with an endearing effortlessness. That couch you remember from your aunt’s trailer with the heavy wooden arm rests and the burlap-y plaid upholstery is there, as are the hard angles on cars, the idea of home video as a novelty, the pale-red-paint look of movie blood, and, perhaps most importantly, a nearness to the Vietnam War that makes coping with it seem more a given than some form of filmmaker fetishism.

The Vietnam War connection is rolled out bit by bit throughout Eyewitness’s first half, and I found myself wondering if audiences of the time would have been quicker...

In Praise Of… Dune (1984)

As all good geeks are well aware, 1982 is considered a high water mark for genre films. It may not have translated into box office mojo, but that year gave us an unbelievable string of classics: Tron, Blade Runner, The Dark Crystal, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, E.T., The Thing, Poltergeist, and, yeah, Ok, The Secret of Nimh. But I like to remember another special year of Hollywood Science Fiction and Fantasy, one that gets a little short changed in light of that roster of beauties, but holds a special place in my heart: 1984. Orwell’s signature year gave us Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Gremlins, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, 2010 and David Lynch’s much maligned box office bomb, Dune.

Now, once again, I’m not here to go into...

Point Park University's Conservatory Dance Company presents Pittsburgh Connections Nov. 13 - 15 and 20-22 at the George Rowland White Performance Studio on the downtown campus. The program features the work of Marissa Balzer, Jeffrey Bullock, Patrick Frantz and Kristofer Storey; all four are seasoned artists with Pittsburgh roots.

Things Behind the Sun was choreographed by Marissa Balzer. Balzer, a Point Park alumna, is founder and artistic director of rEvolve Dance Theater, a contemporary company that debuted in the winter of 2006. Previously in 2002, she was named an "Outstanding Choreographer" by the American College Dance Festival for her work Beautiful... Still. She is also an instructor for Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and Abbey Lee Dance Company.

Trio for Four, a neoclassical ballet piece, is choreographed by Jeffrey Bullock, a former dancer for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He has also performed with the North Carolina Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Bullock's...

Some people don't like the first Dune by David Lynch, but of course, they're crazy. With a stunning cast like the effortless Kyle MacLachlan, badass Sting, the mysterious Jürgen Prochnow, the black-goop-dripping Kenneth McMillan, the incomparable Linda Hunt as Shadout Mapes…coupled with the as-cool-and-strange-as-it-gets-for-1984 effects, not to mention the storyline itself… come on, it rocks! So when we all heard that Paramount was making another Dune, the two camps thought either "let's get it right this time" or "don't screw it up again!". According to Film Junk, [1] Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights) was the first director linked to the project back in 2008. Now it seems he's walked away and in his place is rumoured to be either Neill Blomkamp (District 9) or Neil Marshall (The Descent). District 9 was fresh, tense, funny and tragic with acting by Sharlto Copley that blew my socks off so securing Blomkamp would be sweet.