On this episode of Why Watch That:

FIRST LOOK

Dune

Website: HBO Max

Synopsis: A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Release Date: Available on HBO Max for 31 days and in theaters starting Thursday, October 21, 2021
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay by: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth
Based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Running Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Rated PG-13

SNEAK PEEK

Passing

Website: Netflix

Synopsis: Adapted from the celebrated 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, PASSING tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York. After a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, Irene reluctantly allows Clare into her home, where she ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (André Holland) and family, and soon her larger social circle as well. As their lives become more deeply intertwined, Irene finds her once-steady existence upended by Clare, and PASSING becomes a riveting examination of obsession, repression and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities.

Acclaimed upon its premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, PASSING marks the directorial debut of Rebecca Hall, who also adapted the screenplay. The film intimately uses the notion of “passing” to explore not just racial identity but also gender and the responsibilities of motherhood, sexuality, and the performance of femininity.

Release Date: In select theaters on October 27, 2021 and available via Netflix on November 10, 2021
Directed by: Rebecca Hall
Screenplay by: Rebecca Hall
Based on the novel “Passing” by Nella Larsen
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Alexander Skarsgård
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 1 hour 38 minutes
Rated PG-13