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Film round-up: February 29, 2024
Rebel messiahs, radicalised daughters, talking spiders, and troublesome mothers: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Dune: Part Two (★★★★), Four Daughters (★★★), Spaceman (★★★), and Driving Mum (★★★)
FAMILY EPIC: Dune: Part Two; Driving Mum

Dune: Part Two (12A) 
Directed by Denis Villeneuve  

★★★★

FOUR months later than expected, due to the actors’ strike, Denis Villeneuve’s continuation of this epic saga is on an even grander scale than before, with breathtaking visuals, hair raising action scenes, a bigger and star-studded international cast, and chock-full of political intrigue and machinations.  

Based on the second half of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, this film picks up exactly where the first one ended. It follows Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen led by Stilgar (a sublime Javier Bardem) while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. It shows his transformation from earnest young man into rebel Messiah, in which he forsakes the love of his life for political triumph and mythic destiny.  

Four Daughters (15) 
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania 

★★★

Spaceman (15) 
Directed by Johan Renck  

★★★

Driving Mum (12A) 
Directed by Hilmar Oddsson 

★★★

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
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