Recent popular movies include “Dune: Part Two”, the award-winning and Oscar-certified “Poor Things”, the first female superhero movie in the “Spider-Man Movie Universe” titled “Madame Web”, and “Raging Fire” featuring three popular male stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the movie characters and plots in February!
“Dune: Part Two”
Director Denis Villeneuve, nominated for an Oscar, continues the legendary story of “Dune” based on Frank Herbert’s bestselling novel series “Dune Castle”. The first chapter of the film won six Oscars in 2021, and the second chapter brings together the original cast and new joining glamorous stars, including Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet from “Call Me by Your Name”, Zendaya from “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, Austin Butler, Oscar-nominated actor from “Elvis”, and Florence Pugh, Oscar-nominated actress from “Black Widow”, creating another epic sci-fi legend peak!
“Dune: Part Two” will continue to explore Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) fantastical journey as he joins forces with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to wage a revenge battle against the enemies who destroyed his family. Faced with choices between lifelong love and the fate of the universe, he must do everything in his power to prevent the terrifying future that only he can foresee.
The original team and the new lineup collide positively.
In addition to the original cast members Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Josh Brolin returning for the first episode, there are also many new faces joining the lineup. Among them is the new actor Austin Butler, who sparked heated discussions with his appearance in the previously released trailer. He will play the role of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the antagonist, who is also the nephew of Baron Harkonnen and his heir. Additionally, actress Florence Pugh, known as the “second generation Black Widow,” will also join the cast as Princess Irulan, the eldest daughter of Emperor Padishah, a historian, and Paul’s wife in the original novel “Dune.”
The highly anticipated love story of Paul and Cai Ning
“Dune Part Two” is not only an epic science fiction film, but also full of romantic plots, and the biggest highlight is definitely the male and female leads! What excites fans is that from the previews released so far, Paul and Chani will also develop a romantic storyline, with the two of them gazing deeply at each other on the dunes, as well as romantic kissing scenes, making us all very excited to see what the plot will be like!
“Poor Thing”
Winner of the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, with 7 Golden Globe nominations, having already won over 130 awards and nominations, the highly anticipated film “Poor Things” will be released on February 29th. Produced and starring Emma Stone, the Oscar-winning actress from “La La Land,” and once again collaborating with the Oscar-nominated director Yorgos Lanthimos after “The Favourite,” along with the Oscar-winning crew from “The Favourite,” they are embarking on a new, bold endeavor surpassing their previous work. The film has received rave reviews, with a remarkable 93% approval rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes, hailed as a “redefining masterpiece in film history that will surely stand the test of time”!
The Golden Globe Award for Best Film and Best Actress swept numerous film awards.
The film won 2 awards at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) and Best Actress (Musical/Comedy). It has also won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, been named in the Top 10 Films by the National Board of Review, and the American Film Institute, among others, and has received a total of 73 awards and 365 nominations to date.
In addition, it also won 5 major awards at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), known as the “British Oscars”, including Best Actress, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Visual Effects; Emma Stone, who served as both producer and lead actress, once again took home the award after the Golden Globe Awards. With such award-winning excellence, you can’t miss it!
Adapted from the award-winning novel renowned in the literary world, the absurd and bizarre story reflects on significant human themes.
Adapted from the famous Scottish writer Alasdair Gray’s acclaimed novel, which won the Whitbread Award and Guardian Fiction Prize, the film explores the wisdom, darkness, humor, and unpredictability of the book through the perspective of the protagonist Bella, delving into themes of gender and identity.
The story is whimsical and bizarre, with the young woman Bella (played by Emma Stone) who died by suicide being brought back to life by a quirky scientist. He transplants the baby’s head from her belly into her own, turning her into a crazy experiment of a child’s mind in an adult’s body. Bella explores desire and the world with a newborn’s mind, without any inhibitions, leading the audience to reflect on gender, identity, freedom, feminism, and other important issues from a fresh perspective. It is a thought-provoking and profound work!
Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone’s breakthrough performance since entering the film industry
In the movie, boldly exploring female desire is what attracts Emma Stone. She portrays a daring and unrestrained character for the first time, making her feel both excited and scared! This time, Emma Stone interprets the “female version of Frankenstein” with positive full nudity and many bold sex scenes, depicting the desire of a mature woman with the mind of a child. This completely subverts Emma Stone’s previous sweet girl image, and can be considered her most groundbreaking work since entering the industry. Just appreciating her completely uninhibited performance is already worth the price of admission!
A creative team of Oscar-winning professionals has crafted a hyper-realistic and aesthetically beautiful world.
The film’s Oscar-level behind-the-scenes team, from art design, cinematography to costume makeup, all unleash infinite imagination, creatively creating a surreal world of the European Victorian era, leading the audience to wander through unseen London, Paris, Lisbon, Alexandria, and Budapest. The female lead Emma Stone’s styling and costumes are also uniquely quirky and beautiful, definitely worth admiring on the big screen!
Further reading:
- 2024 Heavyweight Cross-Border Collaboration: Pat McGrath x Marc Jacobs 40th Anniversary Lipstick
- Must-watch TV series in February: Ko Chen-Tung’s “Love Love Contains Light”, Choi Yoo-Sik challenges to play a killer
- “Dune 2” is coming soon! Check out Zendaya’s fabulous styles for promotion
Madame Web
The first superhero movie of 2024, “Madame Web”, just premiered in Hong Kong on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day, quickly rising to the top of the box office! Dakota Johnson from the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series plays Cassie, who possesses psychic perception and the ability to foresee the future as Madame Web. She teams up with the new generation actress from “Euphoria”, Sydney Sweeney, to fight against the villain Ezekiel Simms played by Tahar Rahim, connecting four superhero worlds. The origin story is about to unfold!
The earliest story in the “Spider-Man Cinematic Universe” timeline
“Madame Web” is the first female superhero film in the “Spider-Man Cinematic Universe,” starring Madame Web Cassie, who has precognitive abilities, and introducing three unawakened spider-women characters: Julia, Anya, and Mattie, connecting four superhero worlds. It is the fourth installment in the “Spider-Man Cinematic Universe” following “Venom” in 2018, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” in 2021, and “Morbius” in 2022, but its timeline is the earliest in the entire cinematic universe – going back to 2003.
The new generation of sexy goddess Dakota Johnson plays “Young Spider Woman”
Dakota Johnson, who rose to fame with the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series, plays Madame Web in the movie. This character first appeared in the comic book The Amazing Spider-Man #210 in November 1980. Madame Web is an elderly blind woman who is confined to a wheelchair, suffering from myasthenia gravis, making it difficult for her to move and breathe, requiring a large, spider-web-like life support system to survive. However, she has psychic abilities, can foresee the future, and can even project her soul elsewhere, making her a powerful mutant in the Marvel comic world, one of the most powerful characters, which is very different from the character in the movie.
In the movie, Cassie starts off as young, energetic, and strong when she first discovers her superpowers, but by the end of the film, she becomes more similar to the situation in the comics due to injuries that leave her blind and unable to walk. Dakota also underwent special training to handle the different action scenes in the movie: she can hold her breath underwater for 3 and a half minutes and has improved her driving skills – she can make a high-speed 180-degree turn.
Wang Fei’s hit song “Dream Lover” as the original ending theme song
It is worth mentioning that when the ending song of the movie plays, everyone can’t help but think of “Dream~s~” in their hearts, because this is the English original song of the former Hong Kong pop queen Faye Wong’s hit song “Dream Lover” – The Cranberries’ “Dreams” (1994). The lyrics also express Cassie’s state of mind: my life is changing everyday, in every possible way – her precognitive ability will change the future, and she will place her hopes on those three unawakened spider women, which is very fitting.
“The Angry Tide”
The crime action film “Raging Tide,” starring Chapman To, Wang Dalu, and Ruan Jingtian, was released on February 22. Directed by Ma Yuko, who played the villainous drug dealer Duan Kun in the film “Drug War,” and created with Korean-style violent aesthetics by action director Shen Zaiming from “Friend” and “Street Rascals.”
Three popular male stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan perform together on the big screen for the first time.
The movie tells the story of the Hongtai group, which has been secretly engaged in criminal activities such as human trafficking for many years, and is thrown into turmoil by the sudden appearance of the mysterious Chen An (played by Zhang Jiahui). The police officer Ma Langwen (played by Ruan Jingtian) and the Hongtai bodyguard Ma Wenkang (played by Wang Dalu), who secretly work for the Hongtai group, are instructed by their respective superiors to investigate. Various forces are intertwined for a while, the new and old orders are surging and fighting fiercely, and it is still unknown who will emerge victorious. A competition to break the dark order is about to begin, and this is also the first time that the three popular male stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan have appeared together on the big screen!
