Fallout (season 2)

At the end of last season, Lucy's father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), was shown to be the true monster.  While Maximus (Aaron Moten) returned to the Brotherhood of Steel with cold fusion, Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) followed Hank to New Vegas.

In flashback, Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) found himself at odds with his wife (Frances Turner) and roped into an assassination plot against noted industrialist, Robert Edwin House (Justin Theroux).  House was the CEO of a robotics company but was also developing a mind-control device for use on people. Cooper's past was further revealed with another flashback to his time in Alaska during the war.  Here he first saw a Deathclaw.

Back with the Brotherhood, Maximus gained considerable status on account of his recent success.  However, he had also grown a conscience on account of his recent travels with Lucy.  Can he accept that the power of cold fusion will launch his faction of the Brotherhood into a civil war with the rest?

In her trek to New Vegas, Lucy encountered various groups that seek to establish a new civilization.  First, there was Caesar's Legion, a band of people who had adopted the Roman Empire as a model for the future.  Among them was Lacerta Legate (Macaulay Culkin), a high-ranking officer who controled Lucy's fate.  Then there were the soldiers of the New California Republic, a would-be government for the wasteland.

While Lucy hunted for her father, her brother, Norm, found his way to the surface with freshly awoken Vault 31 middle managers.  Could he fool them into believing he was in charge while also delegating to them solving his problems?  So far, so good.

Lastly, there were those still in the vault, trying to rebuild.  Not everyone was who they seem to be, especially Stephanie (Annabel O'Hagan).  Though promoted to overseer of the re-established Vault 32, she proved to be... gasp...  Canadian!  There is a lot of backstory for the cyclops lady.

The second season is outstanding, every bit as good as season 1.  Not only is more of the pre-apocalypse explored, there are many developments in the present.  Hugely entertaining and highly recommended!

Dune (1984)

The story opens with exposition about the universe in the year 10191.  The Emperor (Jose Ferrer) is confronted by members of the Spacing Guild.  The Guild is unhappy with his political machinations that appear to threaten the flow of spice, the life blood of the Guild.  He explains that he is seeking to undermine House Atreides and that House Harkonnen will resume control of spice mining soon after.  Before they leave, the Guild demands that Paul Atreides, the son and heir of the current Duke, be killed.

Meanwhile on Caladan, homeworld of House Atreides, Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) demonstrates his skills.  He has keen senses to know who is approaching simply by the sound of their gait, adept in knife combat, and in use of the sonic weapon of the weirding way.  Next, he is tested by the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit.  The Bene Gesserit are a sisterhood with the power to bend others to their will, not unlike the Jedi Mindtrick.  After surviving the ordeal, Paul joins his father, Leto (Jurgen Prochnow) and the notables of House Atreides in instantaneous travel to Arrakis, the planet of spice.

On Geidi Prime, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) plots the destruction of House Atreides.  Among his retinue is Feyd-Rautha (Sting), the heir of House Harkonnen.  The Harkonnens are wildly outlandish.  The baron shrieks and yells, just about his only form of communication.  One might say he has a short fuse, but he doesn't seem to have any fuse at all.  He's a series of emotionally-charged outbursts.  Rabban (Paul Smith) and Feyd-Rautha stand around with wicked grins while the baron berates everyone.  Only Piter De Vries (Brad Dourif) appears to possess a coherent thought.  As a whole, the Harkonnens are portrayed as comically evil.

As the source material is extensive and time is short, the movie is densely packed with exposition and the voice-over inner thoughts of the various characters.  Then there are Paul's enigmatic visions with more narrated thoughts.  Some characters who are obviously important feel tacked on.  Duncan Idaho (Richard Jordan) is greeted warmly by Paul, intimating a strong bond.  Duncan is a great warrior, but, when the Harkonnens attack, he dies after the briefest encounter.  I guess he wasn't that great.  Clearly, he was important in the book but he could easily have been removed from the movie.  Then there was Shadout Mapes (Linda Hunt), a Dune native who serves as housekeeper.  As with Duncan, it feels as if there was more to the character in the novel.

Gurney Halleck (Patrick Stewart) is bizarre.  He is introduced with a musical instrument over his shoulder and called a troubador-warrior.  He even offers some music to the Atreides principals before they travel to Arrakis.  He offers a melodramatic oration after Paul survives an assassination attempt.  During the Harkonnen attack, he charges to battle with a dog tucked in his jacket.  What the heck?  This may have seemed really cool in the book, but he looks like a crackpot here.  It is amazing that Gene Roddenberry cast him in Star Trek after this performance.

The constant reference to prophecy gives the eventual conclusion of the film the feel of inevitability.  Look, Paul has met this part of the prophecy.  Hey, there is yet another sign of prophecy.  The introduction of his younger sister in the climax doesn't fly.  There needed to be a lot more streamlining and editing to fit this much story into 3 hours.

Not terrible but far from good.  Most of the special effects have not aged well, especially the personal shields that make the characters look like Minecraft characters.  The fish-like navigator swimming around to fold space was entirely unnecessary.  However, it is worth seeing now to compare with the Denis Villeneuve version that is currently in release.