The military and the mystical continue to blend as the youthful protagonist (Timothée Chalamet) of the 2021 original, now an exile, fights for the desert dwellers (led by Javier Bardem) among whom he’s taken refuge on the titular planet while falling for one of their warriors (Zendaya). Although she advocates a purely secular role for her new love, the lad’s priestess mother (Rebecca Ferguson) continues to insist that he is the messiah figure foretold in various prophecies. As he extends his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s celebrated 1965 sci-fi novel, director and co-writer Denis Villeneuve enthralls with sweeping visuals, appealing central characters and an absorbing plot.
Francesca Cabrini was born 15 July 1850, in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, youngest of 13 children in a well-off farming family. A pious child – the “little saint,” neighbours called her – she longed to be a missionary and played at sailing paper boats filled with violets representing the sisters she meant to send all over the world.
Viewers out for sweeping spectacle will likely come away from director Ridley Scott’s latest historical epic – Napoleon – satisfied. But those seeking insight into the conquering French emperor’s personality will find there’s a hollow ring to star Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of him.
Assessed for its morality, Disney’s new The Marvels is being considered a quirky, sometimes humorous but more often confusing superhero adventure, presenting a mixed bag of ingredients that will likely appeal to some viewers but not others.