Without a doubt, most will agree that 2020 was a very hard year. Even now, in 2021, with the Delta variant dominating the world, returning to normal life has certainly been a challenge. However, with life returning back to normalcy, some good things are unquestionably being restored; movie theaters are one of those things. It is no surprise that movie theaters have been on the decline recently; however, as 2021 draws to a close, there are still many highly anticipated movies that audiences can see before the year ends. In fact, two of these movies were released on October 22.

     One of those movies is the science fiction adventure film, Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve. Dune has been in development since 2018 and was originally meant to be released back in 2020; however, it was delayed due to the pandemic. Originally, Dune was a novel published way back in the summer of 1965 by the renowned Frank Herbert. His novel follows the story of Paul Atreides and his family, ten thousand years in the future, as they are called to the desert planet of Arrakis or Dune to enter an intergalactic war between many different factions fighting over the planet. It is a very known and influential novel among science fiction writers and readers. As a matter of fact, it is regarded as one of the most influential books of all time. Almost all well known science fiction franchises in the modern era have, in some way, taken inspiration from Frank Herbert’s book. One of those creators was George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. As a reader of Dune, it is very fascinating to find the concepts that gave inspiration to all of our favorite franchises, whether it’s the force, tatooine, hyperspace, storm troopers or even lightsaber fighting; it all originated from Dune. After the objective and commercial failure of the last Dune film from 1980, directed by David Lynch, the entire franchise of Dune somewhat disappeared from general audiences and its popularity never truly became what it once was, unlike that of Star Wars or Harry Potter. However, this new film has been promised to reintroduce the franchise to new and younger audiences and to reinvent the story into a more modern style blockbuster. The new and improved Dune stars big actors such as Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, and Jason Momoa. Dune is promised to deliver not only a story true to Herbert’s original novel, but also a rich and action-filled blockbuster that already has a confirmed sequel in the works. In a sense, this movie is as big as movies like Harry Potter and Star Wars. It is a new hope, and all should witness the visionary film while it’s still available in theaters.      

     Now, action packed science fiction thrillers certainly aren’t for everybody, and if Dune doesn’t sound like the kind of movie for you, then perhaps The French Dispatch, directed by Wes Anderson, also starring Timothée Chalamet, may be up your alley. The French Dispatch is a film made by the very creative Wes Anderson who is known for his rom-com films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Royal Tenenbaums, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Many movie goers recognize Wes Anderson’s movies for their very ingenuitive and creative styles. Some have even compared his movies to being the likes of “moving paintings” and after having seen his films, there isn’t a better way to describe them. His new film, The French Dispatch, is a comedy/historical fiction based on his love for publishing companies such as The New Yorker. It is about a fictional publishing company named “The French Dispatch” based in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. It follows the parallelled stories of the French Dispatches’ reports in different true historical events in Europe around the 1950s as the stories unfold in classical Wes Anderson tradition. It premiered this year at the Cannes Film festival in July, and received lots of praise for its artistic aesthetic. It was also in development for some time and was in fact set for release last year, but then was delayed due to COVID. The French Dispatch also releases on October 22 and stars Timothée Chalamet, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, and Francis Mcdormand. It is the next innovative experience directed by Wes Anderson and has already received numerous awards and nominations from all the film festivals it’s premiered at. It will be an excellent experience that any person appreciates inspiring filmography and would be a great film to return to theaters for.