Cinema News: Movies Update: ‘Dune’ and More

October 22, 2021

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans!

It's an exciting week of releases. Two long-awaited, pandemic-delayed films are finally making it to the big screen, plus a little ocean exploration and a lot of cat power are in the mix.

The epic, sun-soaked "Dune" is here. And Manohla Dargis makes it a Critic's Pick, calling it "a herculean endeavor" and a "starry, sumptuous take" on the first half Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel. Watch a scene from the film narrated by its director, Denis Villeneuve, and read an interview with the film's composer, Hans Zimmer.

Also out is the latest from Wes Anderson, "The French Dispatch," which A.O. Scott describes as "an ardent, almost orgiastic paean to the pleasures of print." Read an interview with its cast and go behind the scenes on how one French city was transformed for the shoot.

Want to take a deep dive? There's the new documentary on Jacques-Yves Cousteau, which A.O. Scott describes as "a swift-moving, detailed biography, recounting a life that was long, eventful and stippled with tragedy and regret."

Or are you a cat lover? You can go for "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain," with Benedict Cumberbatch as a British artist who became famous for his feline drawings. Manohla Dargis calls this biographical portrait "poignant" and Cumberbatch "irresistible."

Enjoy the movies.

Chia Bella James/Warner Bros.

Critic's Pick

'Dune' Review: A Hero in the Making, on Shifting Sands

Denis Villeneuve's adaptation is an equally sweeping and intimate take on Frank Herbert's future-shock epic.

By Manohla Dargis

Searchlight Pictures

'The French Dispatch' Review: Remember Magazines?

Wes Anderson pays antic tribute to the old New Yorker and its far-flung correspondents.

By A.O. Scott

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CRITICS' PICKS

Jaap Buitendijk/Amazon Studios

Critic's Pick

'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' Review: The Cat's Meow

Benedict Cumberbatch plays a British artist who found love, both human and feline, and became famous as the man who drew cats.

By Manohla Dargis

Nat Finkelstein/Apple TV+

Critic's Pick

'The Velvet Underground' Review: And Me, I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band

Todd Haynes's documentary paints a jagged, revelatory portrait of the New York avant-garde scene of the 1960s.

By A.O. Scott

MOVIE REVIEWS

The Cousteau Society/National Geographic

'Becoming Cousteau' Review: The Old Man and the Sea

Liz Garbus's new documentary is about the life of the French explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the fate of the oceans he loved.

By A.O. Scott

20th Century Studios

'Ron's Gone Wrong' Review: Still Under Warranty

This animated feature, with Zach Galifianakis voicing a malfunctioning robot, sends up technology addiction with a decent amount of wit.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Strand Releasing

'Minyan' Review: Cruising Delancey

This queer and Jewish coming-of-age drama builds up a vision of neighbors who speak through gestures of care and affection.

By Teo Bugbee

Stuart Levine

'Learning to Live Together' Review: Remaking a Once-in-a-Lifetime Band

Joe Cocker's bacchanalian "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" tour gets a reconsideration and a revival in this documentary by Jesse Lauter.

By Glenn Kenny

Jomo Fray/Gravitas Ventures

'No Future' Review: On a Downward Spiral

A recovering addict and a grieving mother follow a self-destructive path in this bleak, understated drama.

By Calum Marsh

Kat Marcinowski/Netfilx

'Night Teeth' Review: You're So Vein

In this spiritless Netflix movie, an unwitting chauffeur in Los Angeles is drawn into a murderous vampire plot.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Netflix

'Found' Review: Three Adoptees Seek Their China Roots

This documentary, taking emotional cues from the teenagers at its center, is smart, illuminating and tender.

By Lisa Kennedy

Well Go USA

'Escape From Mogadishu' Review: Conflict Abroad

South Korea's entry for the 2022 Oscars is a fraught action-adventure thriller set in Somalia that leaves a bitter aftertaste.

By Beatrice Loayza

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ANATOMY OF A SCENE

Warner Bros

Anatomy of a Scene

Watch Timothée Chalamet and Josh Brolin Spar in 'Dune'

The director Denis Villeneuve narrates a sequence from his film.

By Mekado Murphy

NEWS & FEATURES

Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Alec Baldwin Fatally Shoots Crew Member With Prop Firearm, Authorities Say

The movie's director of photography was killed and the director was injured on the set of "Rust," a Western, a sheriff's office in New Mexico said.

By Alyssa Lukpat and Michael Levenson

Mona Chalabi

In the Company of Wes Anderson

What is it about the director that draws stars like Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton again and again? There are many reasons, but the nightly feasts don't hurt.

By Melena Ryzik

Bryan Derballa for The New York Times

How Hans Zimmer Conjured the Otherworldly Sounds of 'Dune'

The composer worked with a far-flung "band" of collaborators who sung, scraped metal, invented instruments and more for the score.

By Darryn King

Philip Cheung for The New York Times

AMC to Add Onscreen Captions at Some Locations

The move was lauded by advocates for the deaf and the hard of hearing, but theater owners worry audiences don't want captions.

By Vimal Patel

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Mubi	Five International Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include an Argentine psychological thriller, a charming Korean drama and an elliptical Galician war film. By Devika Girish