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Messiahs are tricky characters. Anyone with enough power to save humanity surely has the power to destroy it. Your Messiah might be reluctant or not even know he is the Messiah. He can be flawed, but ultimately the Savior must be good and pure of heart. For this reason, they are typically the least interesting character in the story. The “great man” is the most overused archetype. From Luke Skywalker to Neo to Harry Potter, there are only so many iterations you can make on the hero’s journey of the liberator. But Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi epic Dune asks the question, “What if a Messiah is a bad thing?” One of my favorite movies of 2024 was Dune: Part 2, the second in Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy based on Herbert’s book. Part 1 was setup, and Part 2 sees the rise of the Messianic figure Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). First things first: the movie is stunning and should be watched in a theater if possible. It is the reason movie theaters exist. The desert planet of Arrakis looks real, not CGI’d. It feels vibrant rather than dark, unlike similar futuristic movies. There is not a lot of dialogue in the movie compared to its runtime, so the visuals tell the story. Villeneuve has created a world on screen that you can believe. The plot, like most movies of this sort, revolves around power and the control of resources. Dune exists in a world of “great houses,” sort of medieval fiefdoms vying for control of the planet Arrakis and its “spice,” the key to space travel. But that is not really what the film is about. It’s about belief. Herbert’s novel creates an expansive world of religious sects and geopolitics that is difficult to contain in just a couple of hours. Villeneuve dispenses with most of the palace intrigue and focuses instead on the hero’s journey of Paul Atreides. Paul has visions of the future with him as the ruler of the world. In these visions, it’s not clear if he’s saving the world or destroying it. “Our resources are limited. Fear is all we have,” Paul says, but he knows faith rooted in fear is dangerous. He is unsure if he wants this mantle until, of course, he takes it—all the normal tropes of the hero’s journey. Chalamet does a fine job with a tough part, but we’ve seen this character before. So rather than focus solely on Atreides, Villeneuve expands to three central characters and their belief in—or skepticism of—Paul as Messiah. First is his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a kind of Lady Macbeth without the guilt, pushing Paul toward his destiny. Jessica belongs to a religious sect that seeks to shape and control world events through their psychic abilities. She spreads propaganda to make sure everyone knows he is “the chosen one.” The leader of her sect says, “We don’t have hope; we have a plan.” Any Messiah will do, but Jessica wants it to be Paul. Then there is Stilgar (Javier Bardem), the leader of the Fremen, the oppressed inhabitants of Arrakis. Stilgar is a true believer in Paul as the Messiah, a zealot who leads the Fremen in Paul’s jihad. He exists to show the danger of blind devotion to a single man and what zealots can do in the name of even a “just” cause. Paul unleashes a monster he can’t control in Stilgar and his true believers. Finally, there is Chani (Zendaya), Paul’s love interest, who is skeptical of Paul as Messiah. She tells him, “You want to keep people captive, tell them a messiah will come, and they’ll wait 1,000 years.” The soul of the film, she knows humanity needs saving but sees the danger of placing that salvation in the hands of one “great man.” Chani believes the Fremen are the key to their own liberation. She ultimately refuses to fight in his (un)holy war. The brilliance of Herbert’s novel is the way it turns tropes on their head. It’s set in the future, but there is no advanced technology. It messes with typical gender roles—Jessica’s sect wields tremendous power while still being subservient to men. A sprawling novel that once seemed impossible to turn into a movie, Villeneuve succeeds because he focuses on the question, “Do we need someone else to free us?” That’s the genius of the book. The best sci-fi deals with existential questions. Villeneuve understands this, and that’s why his adaptation succeeds where others have failed.

Brazil’s federal police last Thursday formally accused Mr Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup. They sent their 884-page report to the Supreme Court, which lifted the seal. “The evidence collected throughout the investigation shows unequivocally that then-president Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organisation aiming to launch a coup d’etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law, which did not take place due to reasons unrelated to his desire,” the document said. At another point, it says: “Bolsonaro had full awareness and active participation.” Mr Bolsonaro, who had repeatedly alleged without evidence that the country’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, called a meeting in December 2022, during which he presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces, according to the police report, signed by four investigators. The decree would have launched an investigation into suspicions of fraud and crimes related to the October 2022 vote, and suspended the powers of the nation’s electoral court. The navy’s commander stood ready to comply, but those from the army and air force objected to any plan that prevented Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s inauguration, the report said. Those refusals are why the plan did not go ahead, according to witnesses who spoke to investigators. Mr Bolsonaro never signed the decree to set the final stage of the alleged plan into action. Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or awareness of any plot to keep him in power or oust his leftist rival and successor. “No one is going to do a coup with a reserve general and half a dozen other officers. What is being said is absurd. For my part, there has never been any discussion of a coup,” Mr Bolsonaro told journalists in the capital Brasilia on Monday. “If someone came to discuss a coup with me, I’d say, that’s fine, but the day after, how does the world view us?” he added. “The word ‘coup’ has never been in my dictionary.” The top court has passed the report on to prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet. He will decide whether to formally charge Mr Bolsonaro. Rodrigo Rios, a law professor at the PUC university in the city of Curitiba, said Mr Bolsonaro could face up to a minimum of 11 years in prison if convicted on all charges. “A woman involved in the January 8 attack on the Supreme Court received a 17-year prison sentence,” Mr Rios told the Associated Press, noting that the former president is more likely to receive 15 years or more if convicted. “Bolsonaro’s future looks dark.” Ahead of the 2022 election, Mr Bolsonaro repeatedly alleged that the election system, which does not use paper ballots, could be tampered with. The top electoral court later ruled that he had abused his power to cast unfounded doubt on the voting system, and ruled him ineligible for office until 2030. Still, he has maintained that he will stand as a candidate in the 2026 race. Since Mr Bolsonaro left office, he has been targeted by several investigations, all of which he has chalked up to political persecution. Federal police have accused him of smuggling diamond jewellery into Brazil without properly declaring them and directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ Covid-19 vaccination statuses. Authorities are also investigating whether he incited the riot on January 8 2022 in which his followers ransacked the Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasilia, seeking to prompt intervention by the army that would oust Mr Lula from power. Mr Bolsonaro had left for the United States days before Mr Lula’s inauguration on January 1 2023 and stayed there for three months, keeping a low profile. The police report unsealed on Tuesday alleges he was seeking to avoid possible imprisonment related to the coup plot, and also await the uprising that took place a week later.Published 4:29 pm Tuesday, November 26, 2024 By Data Skrive In one of the many exciting matchups on the college basketball schedule on Wednesday, the Cornell Big Red and Syracuse Orange take the court at JMA Wireless Dome, one of the 10 games our computer model recommended in terms of picks against the spread. Watch men’s college basketball, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up for a free trial. Get the latest news sent to your inbox Bet on this or any men’s college basketball matchup at BetMGM. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER .