Attila Szvacsek/HBO
Jessica Barden may play one of the most inscrutable characters on "Dune: Prophecy," but in real life, she's more than happy to share whatever's on her mind. And when it came time to film one of her most intense scenes, that was: Why am I doing this?
Barden plays young Valya Harkonnen, the vengeful and ambitious young woman who becomes the leader of the Sisterhood (a group that would eventually become the superhuman-powered Bene Gesserit by the time of the Denis Villeneuve "Dune" films).
She shares the role with Emily Watson, who plays an older Valya secure in her position of leadership over the group. In the flashbacks that center on Barden, though, Valya is still doggedly climbing that ladder to achieve more power, which, at one point involves standing in the freezing rain for hours.
"It was our second day of filming as well," Barden told Business Insider of the tough scene. "It was also December in Hungary."
Attila Szvacsek/HBO
The scene in question takes place during "Dune: Prophecy" season one, episode three. It delves into Valya and her sister Tula Harkonnen's backstories, and it's Barden's biggest episode yet. At one point, Valya and the other acolytes are standing out in the rain as a trial.
Barden said that camaraderie was the key to braving the cold during filming. "The crew was amazing. They make a hot tent, and they bring you tea, and a towel, and stuff. And when you're together it's fun, and you're just laughing like, 'Why are we doing this? This is crazy,'" Barden told BI. "But then, when you're by yourself, you're just like, 'Why am I doing this? This is crazy.'"
Once Barden was on her own, she asked episode director Richard J. Lewis not to cut filming short if he felt bad for her standing out in the cold — if she was going to do this, she wanted it to look good. Lewis agreed and even gave her the feedback that she looked "too cold" at some points and needed to tone it down.
"I'd be like, 'I'm going to kill you. I'm literally going to kill this man,'" Barden joked. "But I was really proud of myself when I did it, when it was over."
Later in the episode, Valya experiences the Spice Agony, a potentially fatal rite of passage required of all Reverend Mothers, at the edge of a cliff on the Harkonnens' home planet. Turns out, none of that landscape was CGI — they were filming on location at a real cliff at 5 a.m.
Attila Szvacsek/HBO
"It was a sheer drop," Barden said. "And my eyes would close, and act in this agony, and Richard would be like, 'Okay. Imagine it's going through your veins.' And the whole time I was like, 'Oh my God. I'm going to fall off the cliff.'"
The "Dune: Prophecy" season finale airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and streams on Max.
Warner Bros. Pictures; Sony
From comedies and dramas to terrifying horrors, there were a number of big movies released this year.
Here are the best and worst films of 2024 so far, according to critics.
Courtesy of Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Summary: When actor Will Ferrell learns that his best friend — and fellow "Saturday Night Live" alum — Harper Steele has come out as a trans woman, he suggests that they take a road trip across the country together as they reconnect in deeper ways than they thought possible.
The documentary was a critical hit from the day it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, with critics praising the sincerity, humor, and heart at the center of the film.
"Ferrell and Steele have earned their livings by making other people laugh, and their banter has plenty of drollery sprinkled among the truth nuggets," Robert W. Butler wrote for Butler's Cinema Scene. " I believe I'm a better person for having watched it."
Sam Levy/Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Summary: Estranged sisters Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), Katie (Carrie Coon), and Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) reunite as their father reaches the end of hospice care. However, the reunion devolves into anger as they argue over how to live and grieve.
The family drama earned rave reviews across the board from critics.
"'His Three Daughters' is messy in a way that reflects all of our families," Tina Kakadelis wrote for Beyond the Cinerama Dome. "The way we fight, the way we grieve, and, hopefully, the way we love."
DreamWorks Animation
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Summary: Based on the 2016 novel by Peter Brown, "The Wild Robot" follows ROZZUM unit 7134, aka "Roz" (voiced by Lupita Nyong'o), a curious robot stranded on an island.
Over time, Roz learns to adapt to their surroundings, as well as their new animal friends (voiced by Kit Connor, Pedro Pascal, and more).
Rendered with dazzling animation and voiced by a noteworthy cast, the family-adventure film was a favorite among critics.
"Not to be hyperbolic, but this might be DreamWorks Animation's best since Shrek," Cory Woodroof wrote for USA Today's For the Win.
Shudder / IFC Films
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Summary: During the taping of a Halloween episode in the 1970s, late-night-talk-show host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) finds that old secrets have come back to haunt him.
Critics loved seeing Dastmalchian take the spotlight in this clever horror throwback after decades of acting in supporting roles.
"Dastmalchian conveys the creeping unease Jack feels as his TV career is circling the drain, which is nearly as terrifying as the horrors his show is about to unleash on America," Sean P. Means wrote for The Movie Cricket.
Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Summary: After their grandmother dies, cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) take a guided tour through Poland to honor her. As they journey, old family dynamics bubble up to the surface.
Between Eisenberg deftly playing triple duty as actor, writer, and director and Culkin's "Oscar-worthy" performance, critics said "A Real Pain" has the staying power of a modern classic.
"Jesse Eisenberg successfully carves out its niche as one of the best dramedies of the year," Elliott Collins said on his YouTube channel Movie Files. "The film's ability to intertwine humor with profound themes surrounding grief, identity, and historical context leaves you with a lasting impression."
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Summary: In the sequel to Denis Villeneuve's "Dune," Paul (Timothée Chalamet) learns to adapt to life with the Fremen warriors — including the rebellious Chani (Zendaya) — after the downfall of his house.
Villeneuve was praised for making "Dune" his own without falling victim to the pitfalls of other tentpole franchises.
"It almost feels like a miracle that Denis Villeneuve got to make a 'Dune' adaptation this bold and daring in the current studio system," Andrew J. Salazar wrote for Discussing Film.
A24
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Summary: After an experimental procedure successfully removes his facial tumors from neurofibromatosis, Edward Lemuel (Sebastian Stan) is approached to have his life adapted into a play. Soon, however, he finds himself upstaged by an actor with the same condition (Adam Pearson).
Critics called the film unsettling, absurdist, and chaotic — and they loved every second of it.
"Adam Pearson really shows range here," Aaron Neuwirth wrote for We Live Entertainment. "Having this actor, who has neurofibromatosis, arrive on the scene as the most charming, affable character in the film is such a blast."
MUBI
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Summary: Feeling like a has-been, Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is persuaded into trying an experimental drug that allows her to revert into a younger, more beautiful version of herself (played by Margaret Qualley).
However, the drug's side effects become increasingly grotesque.
Critics said audiences were in for a masterclass in feminist horror — if they could stomach the film's "David Cronenberg"-esque visuals.
"This is a film unlike any other you will see right now," Stephen Romei wrote for The Australian. "It will not be to everyone's taste. For this reviewer, who craves originality, it is a winner.
Marni Grossman/Amazon
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Summary: On the night of her 18th birthday, Elliott (Maisy Stella) takes hallucinogenic mushrooms and finds herself talking to her older self (played by Aubrey Plaza), who tries to give her advice for the future.
Critics said "My Old Ass" could've easily veered into hokey territory. However, writer-director Megan Park kept the film on track, anchoring it with Stella and Plaza's memorable performances.
"The talented cast, paired with a well-crafted and humorous script, creates a delightful time-travel paradox pic that can sit along with other teen comedies as a timeless treasure," Erin Maxwell wrote for Bust.
Disney
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Summary: When Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) hits puberty at 13, new emotions join the "control panel" in her head. Soon after their arrival, it's clear that Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) and Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke) have different ideas of what's right for Riley.
It was a tall order for Pixar animators to surpass the critical success of the original "Inside Out," but critics said the sequel came pretty close.
"While the original remains the gold standard for modern animation, this sequel more than justifies its existence via its empathetic themes, strong humor, and engrossing animation style," Calum Cooper wrote for Cinerama Film.
Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures, Apple Original Films, and MARV
Rotten Tomatoes score: 33%
Summary: Reclusive author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is on the brink of finishing the fifth book in her famed "Aubrey Argylle" series when she's drawn into a world of real-life spies, evil plots, and secret identities.
The film had a ton of press leading up to its release — namely due to a misguided rumor that Taylor Swift was behind it — but the story itself failed to live up to the hype in critics' eyes.
"'Argylle' is deeply unpleasant to watch and also deeply sad as a query of what exactly studio executives think audiences are meant to glean from a film like this, other than training us to expect less from our films," Andrew Kendall wrote for Stabroek News.
Warner Bros.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 32%
Summary: As Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) awaits trial for murder at Arkham State Hospital, fellow psych-ward patient Harleen "Lee" Quinzel (Lady Gaga) forms an obsession with him and dreams up an escape plan.
Critics largely agreed that the second installment paled in comparison to the first "Joker."
"Longer than it should be (it clocks in at 138 minutes), 'Joker: Folie à Deux' is toilet paper on the shoe of a film that had a unique rhythm and an original point of view," Bruce R. Miller wrote for the Sioux City Journal.
Allen Fraser/Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 28%
Summary: Lucy Field (Madison Bailey) accidentally travels back in time to 2003. Then, she realizes that she might be able to save her older sister Summer (Antonia Gentry) before she's murdered.
Overall, critics said "Time Cut" failed to be truly scary or funny.
"Unlike other horror comedies, 'Time Cut' has nothing unique to say about creating satire about the differences between the past and the present or the tropes of predictable events in horror films," Lindsay Press wrote for Culturess.
John Armour for Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes score: 21%
Summary: Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and her boyfriend (Froy Gutierrez) go to a secluded cabin in the woods for their five-year anniversary — only to be visited by sadistic trespassers.
Critics largely agreed that the legacy of "The Strangers" and "The Strangers: Prey at Night" should've stopped at two.
"The latest entry is an uninspired, ineffective retelling of the original, with a narrative that strives to give us answers to questions we never asked for," Emma Vine wrote for Loud and Clear Reviews.
Universal Pictures
Rotten Tomatoes score: 20%
Summary: Ray (Wyatt Russell), Eve (Kerry Condon), and their children move into a new house and soon discover that the swimming pool in the backyard harbors a deadly presence.
Positive reviews for "Night Swim" were few and far between — with some critics being outright bored by the muted horror.
"'Night Swim' is a shallow genre exercise that goes in one ear, out the other," James Preston Poole wrote for Cosmic Circus.
Sony
Rotten Tomatoes score: 17%
Summary: A group of college friends violates a cardinal rule of Tarot by using someone else's deck — and they soon face the consequences.
Critics said it amounted to little more than a movie cobbled together with recycled tropes from better horror films.
"'Tarot' is a creatively bankrupt and passionless horror movie that clearly has studio interference written all over it, from its formulaic and blood-free scares to a surprising cheapness that dilutes any potential it may have otherwise had," Jack Martin wrote for Film Feeder.
Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 16%
Summary: Based on the book by Scott Westerfeld, "Uglies" takes place in a seemingly utopian future where everyone's worries melt away once they're given cosmetic surgery at the age of 16.
Young Tally (Joey King), however, learns that her world is built on lies.
Critics generally agreed that the Netflix adaptation reeked of low production value.
"'Uglies' is so carelessly made, it feels like an active gesture of contempt toward the readers of Scott Westerfeld's 2005 source novel and to anyone who watches the small-screen result," Steve Murray wrote for ArtsATL.
Sasidis Sasisakulporn / Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 13%
Summary: Lana (Brooke Shields) is shocked when her daughter (Miranda Cosgrove) announces that she's getting married in Thailand in less than a month. That shock only grows when she learns that the groom is the son of her old flame from college (Benjamin Bratt).
Most critics said "Mother of the Bride" wasn't even bad enough to be "funny bad" — it was simply forgettable.
"These superficially 'pretty people' are all bland, underdeveloped stereotypes, and each shallow, awkward scene turns out to be more predictable than the one preceding it," Susan Granger wrote for Susan Granger Reviews.
Sony
Rotten Tomatoes score: 11%
Summary: After New York City paramedic Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) begins to experience clairvoyant visions, she sets out to save three young women from their certain deaths.
"Madame Web" appeared to lose itself in a fog of bad dialogue and bland acting, leaving critics begging for more original storytelling.
"'Madame Web' is not fun and not entertaining," Ayla Ruby wrote for Loud and Clear Reviews. Most of all, it's disappointing, because it teases you with possibilities that never come to bear."
Courtesy of Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes score: 10%
Summary: Bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett) reluctantly sets off on a rescue mission with a ragtag group of misfits to save a teenager named Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt).
Critics didn't have many kind words for the video-game adaptation, which featured goofy CGI and underwhelming acting performances despite the stacked cast.
"This is the worst movie I have seen in years," Julia Swift wrote for My Champlain Valley. "Lots of top talent looking very uncomfortable. I'm assuming they didn't read the script before signing on for this mess."
