The Substance 

Directed by Coralie Fargeat
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid
Released May 19, 2024 (Cannes)
Watch Time: 141 min.

The Reason I Couldn’t Get Through It: There was absolutely nothing to it – no action, no intrigue, no tension, and no discernable plot. Its sole raison d’etre seemed to be to titillate viewers with clinical visuals of Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley nude. And Demi Moore… well, she’s not what she used to be.

Time Wasted: I stopped watching at minute 43.

Dune: Part One 

Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, and Jason Momoa
Released Sept. 3, 2021 (Venice)
Watch Time: 155 min.

The Reason I Couldn’t Get Through It: Again, there was nothing to it. I’m fine with science fiction and desert-based apocalyptic narratives, so long as there are characters to care about and action to carry me through. This had neither.

Time Wasted: I stopped watching at minute 25.