DUNE / 2021

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Steve

Steve

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We have HBOMax, so it's gonna be movie night tonight. Though I understand that everyone says this new DUNE needs to be seen on a big screen, it's also being said that it's all about the characters. So we'll be watching this from the comfort of our couch this evening, though our ample size screen is on wheels and I'm going to ask Lorrie to tolerate it being much closer than usual. The movie looks truly epic and it's being called the best science fiction movie in decades. Those who know the story of Dune know that it takes place in a really interesting universe.


 
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I watched it last night and I liked it. Just know that it can only hit the highlights of Herbert's very intricate story and don't be disappointed when it ends. HBO Max promoted it with the phrase "It Begins". So, if it does well, there will need to be a sequel or three.
 
Greg S said:
HBO Max promoted it with the phrase "It Begins". So, if it does well, there will need to be a sequel or three.
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Right. Its revenue has already nearly equalled its production cost (before its first US theater release) and Warner Bros. has already green lit the second half of the first book. So we're going to definitely get the conclusion of Part 1. And all indications so far are that we have a new epic unfolding. There's certainly plenty of source material from the entire Dune franchise. (y)
 
Dune was as delightfully great as Foundation was atrociously bad at bringing the book to the screen.
New to the Dune books but read the Foundation series as a teen in the late 60s and several times since.
 
Steve said:
Right. Its revenue has already nearly equalled its production cost (before its first US theater release) and Warner Bros. has already green lit the second half of the first book. So we're going to definitely get the conclusion of Part 1. And all indications so far are that we have a new epic unfolding. There's certainly plenty of source material from the entire Dune franchise. (y)
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And yet the studios will still say that they lost money on this.
 
Richard Daily said:
Dune was as delightfully great as Foundation was atrociously bad at bringing the book to the screen.
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Agreed. Naturally, the greatest annoyance is now the waiting for the second half. But I thought that the first half was impeccably produced. Perfect and somewhat eerie special effects where, in the year 10,191 they take the casual manipulation of gravity for granted... while being surprisingly uninterested in interior décor! And, as you say, the story is being told perfectly.

I'm glad Warner Brothers co-released it with HBO. If COVID had never happened, we would have had a more powerful experience watching it in a high-end theater with reserved seating where we used to watch all important movies. But COVID is still in the air, so a bit of trade off seemed warranted. Assuming that we're now going to need to wait a couple of years for Part Two, I'm sure I'll watch this Part One again beforehand. :)
 
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Steve departing from his mantra of wanting to binge watch...... Don't worry, I am sure you will see it in a cinema a few times. I might even be convinced to go to see it at the local IMAX cinema as well, even though I loath that cinema chain, and the prices they charge are incredibly high.
 
SeanBZA said:
Steve departing from his mantra of wanting to binge watch......
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Yeah. I'm on the second-to-last book re-read of the 30-books-so-far Frontiers Saga. Ryk Brown has fallen way behind in his planned release of books for the 3rd 15-book story arc. And it feels as if there's some chance that he may peter out and never finish. I love his story telling and the characters he has created. But I plan to wait on the next set until they are either all done or I know that no more will ever be forthcoming.

And in the meantime, I'll finally be able to get over to “The Bobiverse” series. (y)
 
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Still slogging through Peter Hamilton's Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained (half through the 2nd book). That took me away from the Frontiers Saga, where I was about to start the 14th book of the 2nd series.

As far as Dune is concerned, we don't have an HBO Max subscription (yet), but I may have to break down and get one. We've been kind of running out of things to watch on Netflix (which seems to have been steadily losing content to other services), Hulu (a limited-commercials version came with our Sprint phones and was good for filling in some of the missing Star Trek movies we were watching on Paramount), and Disney+ (ran through the entire MCU series and movies, and then some). Lastly, we greatly enjoyed The Expanse on Amazon Prime, and looking forward to the last season about to be released. The Expanse was a bit strange, due to the way they re-wrote characters and plot from the books.

I read the Dune books some time ago, and read the initial trilogy before the other books came out. I remember being VERY angry at Frank Herbert at the ending of the 3rd book. I thought it a rather cheap shot, frankly. Maybe I missed something, but it struck me as the hack of a high-school amateur. It was enough to keep me from picking up any of the subsequent books for quite a while.
 
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This may seem really dumb, David... but if you do get HBO Max, we've been really enjoying "Young Sheldon" there. The seasons are long and the writing is actually quite good. I never watched "The Big Gang Theory", but if the writing is similarly clever we'll probably give it a go. I'm not (at all!) generally an audience for TV sitcom (with the notable exception of Seinfeld and Larry David), mostly because the "humor" is usually too obvious and falls flat. But I'll confess to enjoying "Young Sheldon" when my wife and I just want to watch something "vegetative" to unwind.
 
We watch "Young Sheldon" on DirecTV, which we are still paying a king's ransom for. For years, it was cheaper than cable TV, but in the last few years, the price for just basic service has gone up and up, and now it's over $130/mo. We had HBO/CInemax for years on DirecTV, paying an extra $30/mo and never watched anything on those services, except an occasional movie. As soon as we dumped HBO/Cinemax, HBO launched their streaming service for $10/mo! I keep wanting to dump DirecTV, but I watch a lot of the CW DC Comics stuff on there (Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, DC's Legends, etc.) and I loath the "free" CW streaming service because of all the commercials I can't skip. I'd gladly pay for a commercial-free CW streaming service, but they apparently can't be bothered to set up a pay service, unlike just about every other good streaming service on the planet. I keep meaning to put up on antenna, since we are less than 30 miles from all the Detroit broadcast stations (which offer CW on some of their digital sub-channels, and we have a Tivo with lifetime subscription that is gathering dust). When we camp we just watch the local stations or stream using my laptop hooked up to the TV, using my cell phone as a hot spot. We have a Roku at home, and I could just get a 2nd one for camping, which would simplify the hookup for streaming.
 
Barry Wallis said:
@Dave New Coincidentally, today is the two-year anniversary of our cutting the cord from Cox (we only use them for Internet now). We went with Hulu+Live TV and Cloud DVR, Roku and Disney+. We buy other services by the month as needed.
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And I'm at 4+ years of similar cord cutting. As with Dave, the cost of COX TV had become astronomical. I LOVED (loved loved) my TiVo. It was the PERFECT solution with a digital descrambler card and the ability to simultaneously up to 6 different shows. And, of course, commercial skipping with is more necessary than oxygen.

I went with a ROKU and I also love it. It's got its annoyances, but I'm really very pleased with it. In fact, I've just (today) purchased another, since after the start of December Google's YouTube TV will no longer be installable on the ROKU. If it's already there you can keep it. And I'll be setting up another office where I'd like to have a ROKU. So I'm getting it before I need it so that I can install YouTube TV now, before the cutoff date.

So now, similarly, it's COX only for data and, while I still miss my TiVo, this is better. :)
 
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Better buy another Roku then, as a backup device for when one of the other ones fails.
 
We're currently a 4-ROKU household. I have one here at my off-site workplace. We use one nightly as our main player. Lorrie has one upstairs in her office for yoga and other needs... and now I have another which I'll have in my office. Frankly, they ARE inexpensive enough for us to have a spare. But I also think that their installed apps (such as YouTube TV) are synchronized across those linked to the same master account. So it might be that as long as we have YouTube TV on our "account" any ROKU will inherit that installation.
 
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For cord-cutters in a major Over-The-Air TV market, I bought one of these tablo devices, network connected with 4 hi-def tuners. I watch TV through an AppleTV device with their custom app which is also available for android-based set-top boxes. I can watch recorded or live TV from any browser on my internet-of-things network segment. Commercial skip is not as automatic as a Tivo but can still be managed. You have to pay for their channel guide service to program the device for recordings. I've paid for the lifetime of the device up front data plan. I don't know if they still offer that data plan. For those willing to take the time to learn, it is even possible to pull recordings off the device for viewing while away from home.

I have been thrilled with the results. It has been well worth the price of the device plus the data service.
 
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I watched this with my boy tonight and I have to say a) I hardly remember the last Dune movie but remember it "felt" good and b) wow.

I am only on the Head of the Dragon, the summer of sunbathing was not kind to my Kindle time :(
 
We're currently a 4-ROKU household. I have one here at my off-site workplace. We use one nightly as our main player. Lorrie has one upstairs in her office for yoga and other needs... and now I have another which I'll have in my office. Frankly, they ARE inexpensive enough for us to have a spare. But I also think that their installed apps (such as YouTube TV) are synchronized across those linked to the same master account. So it might be that as long as we have YouTube TV on our "account" any ROKU will inherit that installation.
 
Steve said:
We're currently a 4-ROKU household.
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@Steve I encourage your to spend the $60 or so for you first Google ChromeCast with Google TV. (Make sure you get the power adapter that allows you to direct wire it, rather than being wireless.) The GoogleTV (which is basically AndroidTV) is very nice, very quick (I find Roku's to be noticeably slow) and it has an enjoyable [Bluetooth] remote. Not absolutely every app is available there, but most of the important ones are (Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Plex, etc.) You could even install Stadia onto it and turn your TV into a console. (I don't think the game about assembly is available on Stadia yet though ;)
 
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Yes, I'll add my 2c worth to that recommendation.
PHolder said:
@Steve I encourage you to spend the $60 or so for your first Google ChromeCast with Google TV. (Make sure you get the power adapter that allows you to direct wire it, rather than being wireless.) The GoogleTV (which is basically AndroidTV) is very nice, very quick (I find Roku's to be noticeably slow) and it has an enjoyable [Bluetooth] remote. Not absolutely every app is available there, but most of the important ones are (Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Plex, etc.) You could even install Stadia onto it and turn your TV into a console. (I don't think the game about assembly is available on Stadia yet though ;)
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I love the new Chromecast that isn't device dependant. I even have it working with my Logitech Harmony remote - all except the voice stuff which I don't want to use.
 
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