Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Snore!!!
Review: I purchased Hannible the same time I picked up The Silence of The Lambs Special Edition, because of the "Save ... when you purchase both movies" coupon on the covers. Having not seen Hannibal previous to my purchase, I thought,"What the hell...I'll save a couple bucks." I could have saved the entire purchase price and rented this piece of junk. Though, it picks up where "Silence", left off, Jodi Foster isn't in it, and the plot seems dorky. Way too ... for such a dull movie. If you enjoyed "Silence", get it...but don't waste your time or money on this one. Rent it first, then decide whether you really want to add this ... to your collection. Anyone wanna buy a copy?

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal
Review: well to tell you the truth
I was surprise to see it in
so good condition it included everything
but more surprise I recieved
was how quickly I recieved my movie
Thank You

Rating:
Summary: Forced sequel
Review: One gets the impression that Hollywood just had to cash in on the "Dr Hannibal Lecter" aura and hence the forced sequel. It tragic that Ridley Scott had to waste his movie making talent in making this rather tame sequel that relies more on gore than on story telling and a tight screenplay to revive the protagonists.

Dr Lecter is re-born so to say (i.e has come out of hibernation) suddenly as fine arts professor some where in Italy. He is on the FBI's 10 most wanted list of criminals and walks around Italy and indeed in US as if he is taking a stroll in Central Park ! During the course of the movie Dr Lecter manages to leave Italy, return back to the US, and as part of the climax, leave US and presumably return back to Italy without even a smattering of a disguise to hide his identity - which suggests that customs and immigration officials at both Italy and the US airports are brain dead. I mean we are talking about the FBI's 10 most wanted men here - not some petty criminal indicted for drunk driving !!

Ms Clarice Starling too has not progressed to far ahead in life and seems to attract bad luck within her job with FBI just like moths to honey. Rather unnecessarily and just to suit the plot she has to undergo demotion for a botched up job with hardly any chance for Clarice to state her side of the story. And why the hell has she been reassigned on the job to track Lecter - I dont know.

A few sequences in the movie that are essentially gross and do nothing to add to the story line other than pander to the lovers of horror are:

1. Mason Verger's face
2. The pig sequence
3. The climax dinner sequence
4. The rather philosophical exchange of dialogues - so that one gets the impression that one is watching a class act movie or what wud seem like a belated attempt to cover the weak script with unnecessarily tedious and philosophical exchanges.

Other than the gore, the plot seems so loose. Look closely and you will note that there is *ABSOLUTELY NO REASON* to a make this movie other than maybe fool a few people and make a quick buck before the other's catch on. There are so many loopholes and other problems that I can go on and on and on...but am quite bored of typing. No wonder Jodie Foster dropped out of this one !

All in all a *VERY* disappointing movie. Stay clear !

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Lecters
Review: Sweet Lecters
Ingriediants:
2 Overpaid and Award Winning Screenwriters
1 Ridiculous novel
1 Tyrannical Director
1 Academy Award winning Knight of the British Isles
1 Jodie Foster Substitute
2 Money Hungry Movie Studios
45 Gallons of fake blood
74 lbs of Flesh

Cooking Directions
1. Ask the first overpaid Screenwriter, a brand like David Mamet would be fine, to adapt the ridiculous novel, this is guaranteed to be a failure so you should discard the first overpaid screenwriter but keep some of his ideas as it will provide extra seasoning to the second overpaid and award winning screenwriter. Choose the brand that was used for "Schindler's List" I think that brand of screenwriter is sometimes called Steven Zaillian.

2. When the adaption is complete, you, the chef must find a tyrannical yet famous director (he acts a bit like hamburger helper to your overcooked script) to craft your overpaid screenwriter's work. Choose a director that is most likely to do what he's told but not without a fight, OF PARAMOUNT importance choose a director who has a current hit and will likely recieve an Oscar nomination when you decide to serve the "Sweet Lecters" to your guests.

3. Bear in mind that many previous guest have enjoyed this same dish 10 years earlier and are dying for a taste again, adding extra violence, more pervsity, and piles more gore is likely to octuple the number of guests that will come to your party.

4. Now it's time to go and look for your old ingridients that were left over from ten years ago, some of these key players in your recipe will have been featured in some bad recipes and will be dying for a hit, others will want to have nothing to do with your new recipe. The Jodie Foster will not come back, it has graduated to such fare as Anna and the Overblown King and now considers itself a "director". The old director has most likely gone on to better things, the Jonathan Demme will now be making things like remakes of Charade and sequals to proper bad novels like Beloved.
We at Tasty Sweet Bread Cooking suggest looking for a Foster replacement. The Foster replacement should probably be a better actor than the Jodie Foster was and it should have at least two Oscar nods to its name. Getting the Knight should not be a problem so long as you give him control of all the one liners.

5. Once all ingriedients are in place hire all the directors crew from his previous recipe- Gladiator Grains- to fall into the usual place behind the camera. Hire the worst composer you can find to write a musical score that prentends to be serious while making the poor choir sing itself to death.

6. Once the Lecters look ready to go in the oven add extra flavourings like plot and ending. Throw in as many horrible things as your can like Disembowlment, Face feeding to dogs, Men with the flesh missing from their faces, man eating wild boars, and the most lovely of all a charming feast at the end of your recipe.

7. We are sure that if cooked for a minimum amount of time the dish will taste absoloutly horrible, but give the appearence of looking fresh and new. We gaurantee your guests will want even more but this time they will not want you to wait another 10 years before tasting again.

Final Tip: Remember: Nothing is low enough for the population, see if you can sink even lower into filth and the people will love you for it!

You get the point folks, Hannibal is truly awful. Don't waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: More than just a sequel
Review: Ten years after the success of "Silence of the Lambs," psychiatrist, gentleman and cannibal Hannibal Lecter is back. I first saw this movie in a theater, and that's the way it should be seen. A big screen and good speakers are necessary to fully enjoy the greatness of this movie.

The career of director Ridley Scott is full of both highs and lows ("Alien" and "Blade Runner" being two of the highs; "G.I. Jane and "Gladiator" being two of the lows in my opinion), but I would go as far as saying that "Hannibal" brings us Ridley Scott at his finest. From the almost poetic camerawork during Lecter's lecture on Dante to the careful use of slow-motion when needed, Scott shows that he is a world-class director.

Still, this movie would be nothing without the second-to-none acting of sir Anthony Hopkins. He really brings the novel's character to life, with all the finesse and charm one would expect from Hannibal Lecter. Julianne Moore is surprisingly good in her role as FBI-agent Clarice Starling. I have to confess I was a bit worried when I first learned that Jodie Foster would not play the role of Starling, but my fears were completely unfounded. Julianne Moore is just as good as - if not better than - Jodie Foster was.

Other things deserving to be mentioned is the music of Hans Zimmer and the beautiful Italian scenery, both of them huge parts of this movie's appeal. Hannibal - approved.

Rating:
Summary: "Not in a thousand years..."
Review: Hannibal Lecter in love; chilling thought.
The movie's ending was much more intriguing than the book's, in that Clarice was allowed to keep her idealism, and Lecter his mystery. He did not love Starling in the book, he was merely obsessed. His manipulation of her through the use of drugs and mis-use of his analytical genius only brain-washed her, it did not sway her to actually love him. He controlled her, but only as a trainer does a dog.
In the movie's ending, the tension is kept open, and his feelings for her are shown to be more than mere lust for control. He is evil, yes. Exceedingly so. He is depraved... more than any other single character I can think of (except, perhaps, Mason Verger). But he also respects her and admires her for her courage and incorruptibility. "...all you would need for that, Clarice, is a mirror." His twisted self-sacrifice reinforces to us (and HER) that she has nothing to fear from him. "The world is more interesting with you in it." Also, it shows us he'll be back.
Goody-goody!
By allowing Clarice to keep the true core of herself, her incorruptibility, the door is left open for the possible exploration of Lecter's vast mind chambers, and the catalyst that brought him to his current state of depravity. This sub-plot, exposed in the book, but wisely absent from the film, leaves us with a veritable FEAST of psychological interplay between our favorite anti-hero and his love interest in the future.

Let Hannibal run free. Let him heal from his wounds. Let Starling face her doom at the hands of those who "depise her almost as much as she despises them." Let some time pass. Then, when she least expects it, let Starling come under Lecter's spell... "All good things to those who wait." I'm sure they can have some "fuuunnnn" when they do finally hook up.

SotL, as well as Hannibal, are not so much about the gore and shock and killing as they are about the characters, and the relationships between them. The biggest chill of Silence was NOT Buffalo Bill, but the slowly building tension between Hannnibal and Clarice, culminating in that split second contact between them when he brushed her finger with his through the bars of his cell.
Ditto, the builing tension in Hannibal... he brushes her hair in the train station while passing by on the carousel, he breaks into her car and sniffs and licks her steering wheel(you MUST see the DVD)... chivalry rules as he sweeps her up and carries her to safety from the pigs... he performs surgery on her shoulder and cares for her medically, he caresses her cheek while looking deep in her eyes at the dinner table... all this leading up to the fateful moment.... the delicious kiss. Absolutely incredible. The DVD offers an extended moment of this... him nuzzling her and tasting her with his tongue. WOW!
If the talked-about sequel explores any of the materal hinted at in the book, watch out! I think it would be quiet something to know these two in private life. Wink.

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD!
Review: This DVD is awesome! I didn't get to see the movie in theatres, this was my first viewing of HANNIBAL. Hannibal is not meant to be a sequal to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. It is designed to be an independent story - same characters, different storyline. The special features on the DVD are a highlight: Alternate endings, deleted scenes, trailers and TV spots (and there are many!), a feature length commentary with director, Scott, a five angle breakdown of an action scene, many poster concepts, the list goes on. Another plus is the disc is in widescreen format and DTS ready. Great job, MGM!

Rating:
Summary: Never trust a hogwalup
Review: What is the matter with all of you people, whats with all these serious reviews? Dont you know that Hannibal is actually a comidy about 6 friends that live in an appartment and often time marry each other? Though many of you simple minded paramiciums may believe the truth is reveiled in the moive, your brain power is excited by that of a can of green and yellow grunting monkeys. The monkeys have been trained, of course, in the arts of chew jit su, and pizza throwing, so dont mess with em. By each monkeys side there is a faithful bull frog, only ten feet in diameter, containing gallons of hogwalup blood. My advice to you is get a life and while your at it bring me some anchovie/grub breadsticks. Ill reimplode you when you arrive.

Rating:
Summary: Worth watching twice
Review: I went to the theater when this movie was released and I left feeling slighted. Even though I had read the novel and knew what to expect, I thought they could have done so much more with this. I hate to admit it, but I guess I expected 'Silence of the Lambs: Part II'. I missed Jodie Foster and frankly, Hannibal just didn't seem so scary anymore.

While 'Hannibal' is a sequel, it is not a typical sequel and it wasn't until I rented the DVD that I realized that it was unfair to judge it in relation to 'Silence of the Lambs'. Actually, I realized alot when I rented the DVD.

'Hannibal' takes place in real time...ten years have passsed and our favorite murderous physician has mellowed out a great deal. That doesn't mean that he isn't still creepy and Anthony Hopkins brilliantly manages to mingle style and panache into the homicidal tendencies of the lead character. Still having a flair for the finer things in life, most of the movie takes place in Florence, where Hannibal has established himself as curator of a library. This gives the movie a whole new feel and you actually view Lecter as a sort of hero that only wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, he has been "discovered" by a local detective that cleverly plots the capture of one of the FBI's ten most wanted, for a handsome reward offered by Mason Verger, one of Lecter's victims (who has his own murderous agenda). When will they learn...you can't outwit the master.

Then you factor in the torch Lecter has been carrying for the now-fallen hero, Clarice Starling. Gone is the rising star that Jodie Foster portrayed...Starling is on the FBI's hit list as scape goat of the year. Julianne Moore does a great job of recreating this character into a mere shadow of what she once was, essentially forcing you to forget all about the Clarice of yester-year (and consequently Foster) and dragging you into what she has developed into. Moore maintains this character's dignity in a world filled with sneering co-workers and whispered comments about her washed up career. No fear though, Hannibal likes her even better this way and since his genuine respect for her has now evolved into a twisted parody of love, he decides to emerge from his cave long enough to drag her inside. What is left is a roller coaster of a ride, while you try to follow a multitude of storylines which are all connected but don't finally collide until the end.

Ridley Scott's direction is superb and the film has a slick, delightfully foreign feel to it. Supporting performances, such as Giancarlo Gianini, Ray Liotta, and Gary Oldman (uncredited..but man, does he deliver!) are all first rate. It was also a nice touch to include Barney from the original, along with modified film and voice-clips, which attach nicely to other tie-ins without beating you over the head with them.

The only gripes I still have are the fact that there wasn't alot of interaction between the two lead characters. That was the strongest draw of 'Silence' and the lack of this interaction did damage to the film overall. When they do finally interact, they are great together and come off as old friends, albeit wary of one another, giving the film a much needed thrill. On a minor and frivilous note, I could have done without Hannibal saying "okey dokey" repeatedly, (which by the way is something Hopkins added himself). It was just a little over the top. The infamous brain-eating scene was also a little much, but believe me the novel was even more graphic.

The special features on the DVD are pleniful and there is a director commentary for the ENTIRE film. This provides alot of insight to the various situations and the direction that Scott wanted to take. There is also a second, filmed but unused ending and Scott discusses a third, which he ultimately nixed.

You should view this as an untraditional sequel. I liked the movie alot more the second time around and developed a new appreciation for it. The acting is superb and cudos to Julianne Moore for her brave portrayal of everyone's favorite heroine. In fact, Lecter and Starling both end up as unlikely heroes. If you'll notice, Hannibal has mellowed to the degree that he only now preys on those who "started it." All of his victims in this film are those who intend to victimize. You will actually find yourself rooting for the bad guy and be disappointed that he doesn't end up with the girl. No, it was not as good as the "original" but it's not the same story...just the same characters. Hey, we all change after 10 years.

Rating:
Summary: Anthony Hopkins does Hannibal justice!
Review: What a movie!. Anthony Hopkins is at his horrific best in Hannibal. From the opening scenes we are taken on a ride best described as, cannabilism is alive and well. As Hannibal goes about his daily life, calmly despatching with ease anyone who dares to try and turn him in to the pig owner, for a feast with friends. The scene where the cop is hung out (so to speak) with his entrails splashing out and hitting the pavement below with a wet sticky sound.! Just great! Would have to be one of the best horor films to date. I would have to rate Ray Liotta eating his own brains would have to be the best yet. His performance is excellent, and his table manners horrible!....