Really takes a while to get into it, but once the story is fully underway Hitchcock sweeps me up in this glorious love-triangle thriller. Devoid of his trademark ‘suspense’, this film nonetheless had me captivated through its major set pieces. Grant and Bergman are brilliant.

So brilliant. First ten minute montage is cinematic perfection — just beautifully constructed and what a way to start an excellent film. Cage and Hunter’s dynamic is fantastic; secondary characters are memorable and hilarious. Mid point chase scene is just brilliant, and the ending (though slightly bizarre for my taste) functions suitably for the thematic line of the film.

First half is great, and exactly what I was expecting from the film thank to its promotional material: claustrophobic location, crafty tricks, and dad jokes galore as we track serial killer the Butcher attempting to avoid the authorities in the stadium. Second half takes a wildly unexpected turn (though not in typical Shyamalan fashion) and the third act really falters and fails to conclude anything in a meaningful way. Dumb plot holes galore — a shame after the hugely promising start and excellent atmosphere perpetuated through the film’s first ~50 minutes. Hartnett’s performance is consistently brilliant though — his eyes reveal all.

Ugh, so good. Love Aronofsky’s visual style here — the camera floats through the house (love the design here as well) in such an unnerving way. First ~45 minutes do an excellent job at sowing the seeds of doubt vis-à-vis the innate marital disharmony; midpoint turn into insanity had me gobsmacked, and the climactic 20 minutes is one of the most terrifying sequences I’ve ever seen. Easy to see this through a religious angle (and something that has already been signposted by many), but perhaps more thematically interesting to consider the ways this film deals solely with creation. Fascinating stuff.

Narratively incoherent, but enough humour to pull it through. Feels a bit too on the nose at many points

More of an exercise in tonal filmmaking than anything else (and by god does it deliver) — with the gorgeous lingering camera and suspenseful editing Perkins finds so much depth in this horror/thriller. Second act loses its footing a tad with the drawn-out sequences of the puzzle being pieced together, but the third act is truly mesmerising (if not a little contrived in its overbearing explanation of the supernatural nub to the murders). Genre filmmaking at its finest.

Aesthetics-wise, dazzling stuff; cinematography, colour pallet/production design, and score all combine to create an overwhelmingly compelling feast for the senses. Tension remains palpable throughout, from the chilling airport taxi ride to the climax with gaudy re-animated corpses and imploding interiors. Story/dialogue suffers a bit in the middle stretch, but it’s hard to deny that I wasn’t captivated throughout. Chilling stuff — though I’d be eager to see Guadagnino’s more modern rendition of it as a comparison point.

One of the most brilliant screenplays ever penned. Iconic line after iconic line.

“Don’t threaten me with a dead fish!” 

Had potential to be really, really good, but left without feeling Garland had anything concrete in mind to add to this topic — one that could be really interesting if approached from a distinct angle. Gorgeous visuals though, almost certainly heightened by IMAX.

The 5-star rating doesn’t necessarily mean I think this is a far superior film to its predecessor (in many ways it is, but that’s more owning to the fact that this more action-centred film has the ammunition for jaw dropping moments — and, boy, does it deliver), but rather it’s recognition of Dune 2’s ability to leave me absolutely astounded in every sense of the word, with its scope, vision, and execution. This is, without doubt, a seminal sci-fi flick, and one that I can see myself watching many, many times in the future. 

(4DX was a crazy way to watch this!)

So good! Watched in anticipation for Part 2 and found myself loving the glorious world building and astoundingly good cinematic quality — cinematography, production elements etc. — that I found so exhilarating the first time round.

So good; Rodrick does rule. And so does this film. Hard to pick a favourite moment — but, believe me, there are many.