Movies are stories and stories are worth engaging for Christians. These movies that are all around us today and that have been parts of our past, even artifacts of our own personal history, are part of how we

process reality and how we think about truth and goodness and beauty, and ultimately how we

see our heart's greatest longings satisfied in God and his son. Welcome to Grace and Truth. My name

is Owen Strand, and I have convened a second episode of the Grace and Truth movie club with my friend Joel Berry. He's the managing editor of the Babylon B. We haven't even talked about the Babylon B, which is a whole thing unto itself, an excellent work and the funniest website out there. But I've kind of kidnapped Joel's mind, and I'm forcing him to talk about fun movies with me. So, Joel, thank you for being back on.

Oh, it's a pleasure. Thanks for having me. We had an earlier episode that I'm guessing a bunch of you watched where we broke down some elements of Dune Part 2. I think it was mildly,

it was a lot of fun for me. Joel is a very deep thinker, but it was also very frustrating because I know there's a ton I'm not getting to and we're not getting to. So what I wanted to do here in this episode with you, Joel, is talk through a little more of Dune Part 2, more the the atmospherics, the visuals, the audio.

How did the movie as a movie strike you?

That's where I'd like to go first. through a little more of Dune Part 2, more the atmospherics, the visuals, the audio.

How did the movie as a movie strike you?

That's where I'd like to go first.

And then I'd like us, if it's good by you, to just transition into some other great guy

movies or epic movies that you and I think can form a conversation, drive people to think about meaning,

goodness, truth, beauty, et cetera, and so on. How does that sound to you?

Sounds good. Let's do it.

So what I thought with Dune Part 2 is just in terms of movies in 2024, I'm not talking

now about worldview, I'm not talking even about morality per se. I just was very encouraged, frankly, as somebody who adores movies.

I watch them carefully, biblically as a Christian.

I try to and perfectly.

But I was really encouraged to see a film swinging for the fences, not in a kind of super CGI form.

The director, Denise Villeneuve, Villeneu, or however you say his name, clearly he doesn't just want to

plot.

In fact, I actually think he might think first about visuals and staging and those sorts of

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