Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: HANNIBAL where are the elephants?
Review: Two elements are missing right off - Victor Mature and the elephants. Annibale (1960) aka Hannibal (1960) (USA)
As they say in the Alps, "It is all down hill from here."
Not being too enamored with the book, the movie could not disappoint me. A few characters were combined and some plot nuances were glossed over; the ending varied from the book. However all in the entire feel was still there. I felt that they were using a lot of filters and once in a while showing extra scenery for atmosphere. On the plus side Julianne Moore fit the part of the tasty Clarice Starling. And you could not make the movie with out Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
See Anthony Hopkins again in "84 Charing Cross Road" ASIN: 6302424739, where he looks across the table and says, "Very nice, very tasty." proved wrong. The film was exceptionally good and so was the adaptation from the novel to film.
The film is not just about a man eating people like many critics have written but it is more in depth and complex about the relationship of a psychopathic physiologist and an F.B.I agent. The film is about Hannibal Lecter who is found to be living in Venice after he escaped the U.S and Mason Verger his fourth victim is trying to get justice done by himself by catching Hannibal and making him suffer himself. I will not carry on because I'm afraid that I might give too much away like the trailer did for this movie.
All I have to say is that if you haven't seen this movie then you should definitely go see it and I would like to praise Ridley Scott for making an even better film than Gladiator if you have a strong stomach, you just HAVE to see this movie. If you don't, don't see it.

Rating:
Summary: hannibal-the truly awful sequel to silence of the lambs
Review: many, many things have been said about this movie so i will try and keep my review short.
the plot is hannibal lecter, cannibal extroardinaire, is on the loose in italy, living the good life in style. unfortuneately for him, gary oldman, or verger, hannibal's hideously deformed first victim is out too, and wants revenge on hannibal, by laying a trap for him by employing clarice from the first movie as bait. i can't give away to much more, not that there is too much more to give away, but this film really [stunk]in my opinion. it had no good shocks, just occaisional predictable bouts of gore, escpecially at the end, when that guy is eaten by pigs, and the acting was second rate. anthony's portrayal of a 'refined cannibal' done nothing for me whatsoever. i couldn't really make head or tail of it all to be honest.i could kick myself for paying money to rent this! i was not impressed at all, this movie just got worse as it went along. the ending was awful in my opinion. anyone who likes this quite frankly had mush for brains, or a very warped outlook on films.
my recommendation is not to rent this on your life. i will (reluctantly) give it 1 star though becuse of the stylish presentation, not that i can give it anything else!

Rating:
Summary: Shock value only
Review: I don't usually do reviews since I'm not into writing soliloquies, but I feel I must say a few words about this DVD for those who have not seen this movie and are considering purchasing it.

Yes it is a good horror film in terms of lots of action, blood, and a good pace, although no surprise that Hannibal is going to get the bad guy (pretty gruesomly) in the end. But the movie is so preoccupied with shocking you that is distracts itself from any meaninful plot/character development. I bought this movie because I wanted to know more about Clarice and Hannibal and what I got was just gore. In the original, the violence had a purpose but this sequel's purpose appears to really just be trying to one-up the shock value of blood & guts in the original.

I actually felt ill after watching this movie, and I am not at all the squeamish type (I watch thriller/horror movies all the time). To many, my saying that will just make them want to go out and watch/buy it. Which is fine for people who want this kind of entertainment. Myself, I go more for the thriller/mystery type and love how the original challenged our views of what we think of as "barbaric" and "civilized" in our society. Violence is okay if it has a purpose in driving the story.

If you're looking for more of the movie I was, you will NOT like this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal-- Popkorn Junkie's (and my) review
Review: Unfortunately, despite the cast and the hype the film falls flat. The plot is contrived and predictable just like all other slasher movies....I think it's a prerequisite. Some new and interesting characters are introduced but we only get a "taste" for who they are and their motivations. It seems like they were included only to help move the plot along....the means to an end. A very disgusting, Itchy-and-Scratchy-esq end that if I hadn't eaten dinner two hours beforehand would have definitely made me sick.

The plot seemed blurry and unfocused, but maybe I just had a hard time paying attention. I often found myself becoming distracted by attempting to replace Julianne Moore with Jodie Foster. That's not a knock on Julianne Moore, it's just hard to replace the original actress....especially when the role won her the Academy Award. Despite the script, Anthony Hopkins had a "delicious" performance. Sorry, there were just so many food related (and totally lame) allusions in the film; it must have rubbed off on me.

Hanns Zimmer ("Gladiator") wrote the score.....no complaints here. He did a good job. Ridley Scott was the director. Too bad, he was really on a role. Maybe I'm being too harsh, he didn't write the script after all.....he just directed it. He did, however, recycle a scene from his last blockbuster "Gladiator"....can you guess which part I'm referring to?

Recommendation: The film lacks the intelligence and suspense that made "Silence of the Lambs" such a success. However, "Hannibal" does provide your daily recommended serving of gore and cheesy innuendos (in reference to eating). Don't expect much more from this movie than blood and the occasional cannibalistic cooking technique.

Rating:
Summary: Revolting Trash
Review: I have no stomach for slasher movies and this accounts for my
revulsion with this piece of filth. With my bias clearly stated, I find
the revolting, but closely examined disfigurement of Lecter's
unbelievably wealthy victim, and the dinner party sequence where a
thoroughly drugged, but involuntary guest unknowingly savors the
harvesting, sautéing and consumption of his own brain to be way over the top.
The final scene has Lector flying to freedom while sharing
the previously harvested smoked human brains in his personally prepared
box lunch with a fellow passenger who happens to be a very young boy.
I'm sure the ever scheming Lecter is weighing the relative merits of
butchering the boy against the joys of training an apprentice.
This movie left me feeling both tainted and diminished like I had
witnessed a very bloody accident. So why didn't I just turn it off and
walk away? While tempted many times to do this, I realized I was
seeing the type of film which will be shown fifty years hence
to demonstrate the extreme decadence of the final days
of the West. Any society which celebrates such trash and
explains it away as a parody or black comedy has lost its way.

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal, The Film. True Love.
Review: The book is not perfect. Yet, the film is as close to perfect as one could possibly hope for especially with all things considered such as: the major handicaps of the Silence of the Lambs (book and movie); no Jodie Foster; no sensational shocks, mostly just surprises. Between the book Hannibal and the film, the film won me over with a major margin over the book because of a single element. The ending. I firmly believe that the ending of this film was perfect because it conveyed exactly and conclusively what was there all along in The Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal Lecter's love and regard for Clarice Starling is far purer that any of his heinous acts of contempt for his enemies. Admittedly, it is rather difficult for any viewer to extract the very obscure acts of love from the sea of overwhelming horror created by Hannibal Lecter. Yes, Hannibal does have a rather awkward way of showing a gal how much he adores her as displayed in the scene when he brings Clarice's worst enemy to dinner. It is rather like your darling cat bringing you a half-dead mouse as a token of his unwavering affection. Only bigger, much, much bigger.

Hannibal's love for Clarice could never be realistically expected to bring him much in the way of eternal salvation. Yet we sense that he was somewhat less destructive during his "retirement" and perhaps for having known her. The only thing that appeared to set him off again was his renewed pursuit by people trying to make big money by his capture. Well, after his little talk with the Italian scholars about the equivalency of avarice and death (a medieval ideal) and the restrained but touching passion with which he conveyed this concept, it should have come as no surprise to the Commendatore Pazzi that tangling with Hannibal was not worth the lire. Not if you valued your innards more than your reputation. And speaking of past records, especially considering Hannibal's reputation.

See the film for the acts of love. Anthony Hopkins and Julianna Moore pull off the toughest acting assignment any actor could ever hope to achieve with such breathtaking grace and poetry. It is well worth enduring the stomach-turning scenes throughout the film to see the final interaction of Hannibal and Clarice. It is all about love and self-acceptance.

Rating:
Summary: If they ever make a 3rd one
Review: I hope it is smarter then this. I saw this movie in the theater. Once was enough for me. I don't think I will bother with the best selling book eather. I loved "The Silence of the Lambs", but "Hannibal just seemed like one big horror cliche to me. Throwing lots of blood at a movie that's just for shock value is a good example. I also thought film sufferd form script rot. There lots of cheesey lines in "Hannibal".

I was also let down by "Manhunter". The movie that the "Silence of the Lambs" was remade by. Everyone thought it and the book "Red Drogon" was great.

Rating:
Summary: B- or C+ Movie (was expecting an F)
Review: From all I'd read about this film, I was really expecting an F viewing experience that I'd turn off after the first half hour. Much to my surprise, this is a good night's entertainment. It is NOT as good a work as "Silence of the Lambs," which was a solid "A" film but this film is lacking Jodie Foster and (director) Jonathan Demme so I'm not suprised it doesn't score as well. Anthony Hopkins is once again totally up to par on playing the cannibalistic, murderous psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter. He's been living a low profile for ten years but comes forward when FBI agent Starling makes it into the headlines over a street arrest gone bad. 2 opponents Hannibal must thwart are a rich former victim of his, ably played by Gary Oldman, and Starling's boss, played by Ray Liotta, who turns obnoxiousness into almost an art form. I was also glad to see Giancarlo Giannini play an Italian cop in this film, who tries to bring in Hannibal for a monetary reward while Hannibal is in Italy. Julianne Moore does an able job but one can't help but compare her to Foster and there is too big gulf between the two actors in their levels of talent. Let's just say that any actor is asking for trouble to try to take on a role Foster has already done. The extra features are superb on this film and director Ridley Scott is a marvelous film teacher. His commentary on the DVD is absolutely superb and no matter how you feel about the film, Scott has a lot to show you about making movies. The special features on this DVD I'd grade an A and hubby absolutely was glued to every moment of them as he's a fiend for "special feature" DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal the Cannibal
Review: Ridley Scott's sequel to the classic film Silence of the Lambs is a visually impressive but hollow follow up to Silence.

Anthony Hopkins (who won an Academy award for his role as Hannibal Lecter in the original) displays little of his presence that was so Oscar-worthy first time round, and Julianne Moore is no Clarice Starling. But Scott's visual style, which is what makes all his films so eminently watchable (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator), and some expertly done sequences make up for its flaws.

Gary Oldman is great as the cop who's chasing the elusive cannibal and Ray Liotta has some nice scenes throughout the film.
But Hopkins has little to get his teeth into, and comes off as somewhat gauche. Impressive gun fights and some creepy moments with Oldman and Hopkins don't make up for the lack of suspense. A worthy, if sometimes unexciting entry into the franchise.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment? No way!
Review: "Hannibal" (2001)

Finally, after the long wait, the much-anticipated sequel to one of the best films of the 1990's, The Silence of the Lambs, has arrived. We have waited 10 years for this movie, and now that it's released, many viewers and critics disliked it. In my opinion, the gruesome Hannibal was worth the wait.

The critics and viewers disliked it because it wasn't Silence of the Lambs-ish enough. Because it didn't have the intelligence or story that The Silence of the Lambs had. Hello, it's a different movie! Sure, some characters return and it's a sequel, but this movie isn't the crime drama that The Silence of the Lambs was. Ridley Scott's goal with Hannibal was to make a gruesome and gory romantic horror film, and in my books, he has certainly succeeded.

Many say the movie is boring at the start because "all Clarice does is look at a computer and study Hannibal Lecter." Again, I have an argument against that statement. Clarice is developed a lot in the first half of the film. Her character is different now; she's stronger, more feisty, and she is now a full FBI agent. The way she moves and talks to people in the starting half brings Clarice's character into a whole new light, and I really liked that perspective. In The Silence of the Lambs, we knew a lot about Clarice and her past and her pains. With Hannibal, we get to learn more about her attitude and the way she sees life. I loved seeing the first half get off to a start which enables us to see different sides of the characters. Despite the title being Hannibal, this movie was way more about Clarice. And the part about her just looking at computers and searching for Hannibal? Well, if you were haunted by endless dreams about the most terrifying cannibal in the world, I think you'd want to track him down and try to catch him, don't you? She isn't just looking at computer screens; she's thickening the plot.

Hannibal Lecter is way scarier, more vicious and more exciting in the sequel. He is now walking freely in Florence. Hannibal is funnier in this movie. When he starts to go on a murder spree, he sort of jokes about the death that is upon his victims. This isn't supposed to be funny, but I root for Hannibal and his series, and in this movie, Anthony Hopkins brings Lecter to life in such a classic cool style that's it's almost impossible not to be drawn into the wild antics of our favourite movie villain. One weird thing about him in this movie is that - spoiler area - he doesn't eat any of his victims, either that or we don't see him crunching and munching. Hannibal is displayed as more of a serial killer in this movie than a cannibal, which disappointed me somewhat. Never mind though, Hopkins makes the character interesting enough once again to stop us from moaning.

Ridley Scott's direction in this movie is superior. Fresh from his success with the massive Oscar-winning Gladiator, Scott turns this movie from a drama, to a thriller, to a romance, to a horror, to a black comedy and so on and so on. He mixes a lot of genres so there is something for everyone. Of course as you probably already know, this movie is mostly a horror film, and is definitely not for the faint-hearted, so don't go in expecting a black romantic comedy! Anyway, back to Scott's direction. Moodiness is the style that Scott presents his spectacular film in, and he endlessly uses touches to add that extra bit of perfection into the suspense scenes. I liked the way Scott keeps the level of intensity in the air at all times during the film, it added to the unpredictably and scariness of the film.

Hans Zimmer has done an excellent score for this film. The track about Clarice is really just quite brilliantly played. The music sort of expresses how Clarice is a gold-knuckles girl on the outside but a somewhat confused and frightened woman on the inside. Zimmer allows many of his "dangerous" sounding tracks to make us keep on task about the murders and gore in the movie. Zimmer, as usual, has made a winning musical approach to this movie.

All in all, Hannibal is a movie that grows and grows on you with each viewing. It's great to see our favourite and smartest baddie out in the open and seeking his next meal. If anything, this movie definitely confirms this character is one who'll never get tired or boring.

MY GRADE: A-