Saturday, October 29, 2016

Vincent

This might be my favorite short film of all time.


Vincent Malloy is seven years old, he is a nice boy but he dreams of becoming like Vincent Price. In a mere less than 7 minutes it goes from a charming yet demented tribute to one of Tim Burton's friends and idols to a bizzare and nightmarish short that only Tim could do. It is set entirely in rhyme, which Vincent always does so well, the visuals are freaky and very dark, the music is haunting, it's a magnificent short that you can watch entirely for free, if you merely type 'Vincent short film' into YouTube, watch it with the lights off and tell me what you dream of that night....

Friday, October 28, 2016

Dr. Phibes Rises Again

So did this movie surpass the original or did it sink into the depths?

Well, it was okay. For a sequel to Dr. Phibes it does a good job but by no means beats the original. The story is just as basic as the first movie but it's more about the execution than the plot. Phibes has awakened after 3 long years, under slightly weird circumstances, honestly it reminds me of the ressurection scenes in the Hammer Dracula series, which is by no means a bad thing but it does leave one slightly puzzled. Adding more to the fact is countless actors from the original have returned but as different characters, even Phibes' beautiful assistant returns in this movie albeit played by a different actress. This is just bizzare because well she had her face destroyed by acid at the end of the first movie and...I think she died, and yet here she is. I can kinda buy Vincent Price can summon the dead to do his bidding, but I digress. After Phibes awakens he sets off a quest to Egypt to rediscover an old temple and find the waters of eternal life to bring his beloved wife back, with the police still hot on his trail even after 3 years, but that's okay with me because that means we get a bodycount. Many elements that I stated in the first movie is still prevelant here with great set design, great acting as always from Vincent, creative death traps, and an interesting plot. Personally, I recommend the original far more and only the most hardcore of Vincent Price fans to seek out this movie. I have to say though two moments really stuck out to me, one was a very shocking moment although nothing really scary happened, it just took me off guard, and the ending which is a lovely send off to Dr. Phibes as we close the movie out hearing Vincent sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Yes, I'm serious.

Tune in tomorrow for a very special treat before Halloween as a send off for the season with a short film.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

What a strange and yet surprisingly charming movie.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes, one of Vincent Price's strangest roles to say the least. The story follows Phibes on a revenge mission against the doctors who failed to save his beloved wife, and the police in an attempt to stop him. Kind of a slasher film in a way with one of the most unique ways of dispatching people I have ever seen in a movie, Phibes uses the ancient plagues of Egypt to enact his revenge making for one of the most gruesome and striking collection of death scenes in any movie. Vincent Price commands the entire picture and the odd thing is you do not hear him speak until about 30 minutes in. Phibes went through a terrible accident that severely disfigured him and destroyed his voice, forcing him to make this weird phonograph machine plugged directly into his voice box in order to talk, so for the first third of the whole movie his on screen time is based solely on his presence alone, and my God is it excellent. He gets his point across through a cold stare, dark attire, and horriffying actions. Phibes also has a female assistant who doesn't speak a single line, we know nothing about her or how she knows Phibes and yet, I don't really mind. Mystery is the keyword in this movie, very much reminds me of Phantom Of The Opera in a way, a disfigured genius hiding behind a mask with a penchant for the organ and the violin, has an undying love for the woman of his life, invents many contraptions and death traps, and has no qualms about killing those that stand in his way. The film is gorgeous to look at in Phibes' lair, full of color and spectacle with some shots looking so nice they would be right at home framed on my wall. The film also has some slight dark comedy in it, primarily with the inept police force, it has great dry witty british humor in it. The way Phibes kills people gives thought to another horror villain with a taste for traps and theatrics, yep Dr. Phibes was an inspiration for Jigsaw in the Saw franchise, pretty awesome. The blood and gore is both light and very heavy somehow, showing truly horrifying end results and yet hardly showing it at all, it has a PG-13 rating which is odd since that rating didn't exist until the 80s, so maybe it was an R rating back then. It's the most strange, surreal, horrifying yet charming, beautiful, and even a bit emotional movie I have seen.

Tomorrow we review the sequel to this well made horror film.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Madhouse

Yes Vincent Price, the titan of terror, what better way to end October?

Ah but not just Vincent Price in tonight's picture, but also my dear friend who I so wish I had the pleasure to meet, Peter Cushing. This formidable duo of horror star in the true cult classic, Madhouse but a few things to clear up first before we begin. Vincent and Peter play actors, so for the sake of this review we shall go by their character names. Vincent Price plays horror icon Paul Toombes as one night he hosts a party and announces he is to be married, but before the night is through his future bride is murdered sending Paul mad with grief, and is kept in a sanitarium for twelve years. He returns to the public eye, and with help from his friend Herbert played by Peter Cushing tries to make him return to the role which made him famous, Dr. Death. But soon more killings arise, leaving Paul to wonder if he is committing the murders as his film persona. A rather good murder mystery story, and for most of the entire film you have no idea if Paul is killing these people or not, which creates great suspense. The true reason you see this movie is because of Vincent and Peter, they elevate this movie from a simple horror movie into an underrated classic. The film was made in 1974, during the course where both actors were reaching the height of their popularity, and it shows they put their heart and soul into their acting, no matter which role they take it is always done with class, elegance, and great presence of both actors. It's a terrific movie, could not love it more if I tried, highly recommend to all horror fans, although I have to admit this film is pretty gory for a movie that has a PG rating. Yeah back then when a PG rating actually meant something! Let me total this up for you. We have, one decapitation, pitchfork to the neck, one hanging, one human shishkabob, knife to the neck, two burnings, multiple backstabbing with spider devouring, 4 stars check it out! And the icing on the cake, the cherry on top of this already delicious sundae, we end the movie with Vincent Price singing. Need I say more?

Join us tomorrow for another classic Vincent Price film.

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Pretty terrific horror movie, especially for it's time.

Tobe Hooper's masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre could probably be argued as one of the greatest Texan tall tales ever. Based loosely off of notorious serial killer Ed Gein, the plot follows a group of five friends travelling across the desolate regions of Texas where they encounter a family of cannibals. And that's really the kicker of this movie, it's not a gothic fairy tale, it's real. Not real real, where the events actually happened but they very well could. Tobe Hooper and all the cast and crew went through hell to make this movie, and for their efforts and what you see on the screen today, they should be applauded. Although oddly Tobe Hooper did not recognize this as a horror movie, but more of a dark comedy. That blows my mind, cause I can laugh at dark disturbing things. I laugh my ass off at American Psycho, I can find funny moments in creepy disturbing things, but not this movie! I laughed once but that was just because of a rather funny delivery of a line, this film is everything you have heard about it, shocking, scary, and highly disturbing, not much you can chuckle at. But the director insists this, the movie isn't meant to be scary but a dark comedy, a parody portrait of the dysfunctional american family. But whatever it is, it gets under your skin. The film is grainy and saturated, the acting is spot on, the soundtrack is non-existent except for sounds you would hear inside of a slaughterhouse, the editing gets more frantic and harsh as the film progresses, culminating in an unforgettable climax. The most simultaneously famous and infamous dinner scene in the movie just makes you take a step back and let all these horrible things sink into your subconcious, the actual shooting was a nightmare, look at any interview of anybody who worked on this film talk about the dinner scene. Poor Marilyn Burns, she put up with so much shit man, that poor girl went through the worst. She is the original scream queen to me. Sure, Janet Leigh and her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis screamed a bit, but Marilyn....I'd like to hedge my bets on how many times she lost her voice working on this movie. That screaming sticks with you. Damn fine actress, may she rest in peace. Gunnar Hansen plays the infamous Leatherface, and believe it or not he does not potray a villain. He's having a bad day too, he's left all alone at home in the middle of nowhere, all these damn kids keep showing up to his home, he doesn't know what to do, murder is second nature to him, he's just trying to protect himself, that's just life to him. You don't ever see that in horror movies, Gunnar Hansen did his homework well and it shows majorly. I could talk about this movie for an hour more, but I've rattled on enough, see it if you dare, but if you don't want to visit Texas afterwards, no one will be mad.

Another week, another review. Join me next Wednesday to see a true master of horror at work.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Carrie (1976)

I've never felt so much sympathy for a movie character in my life.

I mean...mother of pearl, what the hell movie? This girl has to deal with so much garbage, it's unreal. No friggin' wonder Sissy Spacek was nominated for best actress man. Where do I even start with a movie this great? Do I even really have to relay the plot? Just say Carrie, and bam you know! But it is my duty so I will tell the story. Carrie White is a shy, awkward, and absurdly cute high school student who one day discovers after having her period for the first time develops telekinetic powers. Kind of weird premise, but flying colors and hands full of aces in execution. I love this movie! It's so 70s it's almost kinda hard not to like. Actually the more I think about it, this movie really gets me head over heels emotionally involved, far more than other movies I adore. And it all comes down to Sissy Spacek, she carries this movie above and beyond expectations. You can tell she's a local girl, I mean she talks like us, that is an unmistakeable southern accent. She's originally from East Texas, barely 50 miles from my hometown which does nothing but put the biggest smile on my face like it's no one's buisness. I just simply adore her, she's the sweetest thing in this movie, my heart just goes out to her every time. She's purrty. I mean, come on now. I'm with her every step of the way in this movie, from dealing with her psycho ass mom, to all those just mean spirited girls at her school, I'm telling you she puts up with so much abuse. Which is why I love the gym teacher in this, Betty Buckley, major badass in this movie. Great acting all across the board, terrific direction by Brian De Palma, has without a doubt the most sweet and precious scene ever in a horror movie, and one of the most iconic finales in horror movie history. It's the first thing you think of when you say the title, the prom scene! No matter how many times I see it, I just can't believe it! My jaw drops to the floor every time, it scares the hell out of me, it is a slow burn and my God is it glorious. But I got to tell you...the scene afterwards when she gets home, and she starts crying in the bathtub, my heart is shredded to tiny little bits and pieces. That's heavy stuff, it breaks my heart. Very few movies have broken my heart. That's a sign of a pretty awesome movie in my book. I encourage you to see this movie! Worth every minute! 4 stars, two thumbs up, all that good stuff.

Alrighty, one more movie for the week. And strangely it takes place in Texas. Rock on.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

An American Werewolf In London

Wow. What a movie.

I definitely must say this movie is quite possibly the best werewolf movie ever made, and highly unappreciated. Not many people know about this movie unless you're either a hardcore horror movie fan, or was alive and old enough to see it when it first came out in 1981. The plot follows two american tourists, David and Jack traversing the moors of England when they are both attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed but David survives and tries to cope with his werewolf-ism. Already from the start of the movie I liked the main character, he acts like a real guy hanging out with his best friend on vacation. None of the usual horror movie tropes are present here, it's mostly original although they make explicit references to the 1941 classic The Wolf Man. It's pretty amazing how they balance shocking bloody horror with very, very good comedy. The dream sequences alone sum it up perfectly, it starts off unsettling and serious and then goes of the deep end into weirdness to the point where it's hilarious. Yeah it may have some funny bits but it does take itself seriously, and doesn't shy away from it's terrifying moments. The special effects were and still are so spectacular it won an Academy Award. Yeah, an Academy Award for a horror movie, you don't see that very often. But great movie man! Hunt this thing down, it's an odd movie certainly but still worth seeing at least once in your life.

Tomorrow, we revisit a Stephen King original.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Fiend Without A Face

You know what's weird? Every movie I've reviewed this week has gotten shorter each time. The Blob was almost an hour and a half, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was an hour and twenty minutes, now this movie is an hour and fifteen minutes.

Fiend Without A Face, a very well done movie for it's time with an interesting concept and a grotesque monster. The plot follows an army major trying to uncover what has been killing the civilians around their military base and boy howdy, is the explanation a doozy. A scientist was conducting psychic experiments to be able to do ordinary tasks, think of it like a more scientific way of using the Force. But one day the scientist became too ambitous and created a being of pure thought. Throughout the entire movie you never see the monster until the very end, being an object of thought it is invisible and they are truly horrific and is stated that they look very akin to the human brain. They suck people's brains out of their skull! That's pretty gruesome for 1958! And since they cannot be seen, all you hear is the disgusting sucking sound which makes my stomach churn. But when it really gets going is about 10 minutes before the end, a radiation spike causes the creatures to become visible and are horrific to look at. Imagine a human brain, imagine it had a spinal cord tail that allows it to move about similar to how a caterpillar moves, imagine it had antennae to seek out people. That...is disturbing. I got to say this film had some gore in it for the 1950s, long before we saw flesh eating zombies in George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead, we saw brains being shot, smashed with an axe, and even dissolving. Ugh, it's nasty! Just to see these things squirt blood everywhere after being shot makes me wonder how audiences reacted to it back then. True it's in black and white, but you can only imagine how much more gross this would have been in color. I would recommend this movie just for the last 10 minutes, it's a special effects marvel that needs to be seen to be believed.

Next week, we shall be looking at a few more well known, true horror movies that really deserve more attention.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

I have to admit this is the first time I've seen this movie, and I'm not disappointed.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, classic science fiction movie, terrific at building a sense of paranoia, and a truly terrifying premise. The plot centers around a doctor who returns to his hometown, and slowly begins noticing claims of people who say their relatives and neighbors are not themselves of late. As the mystery unravels, we are with our hero every step of the way, you could almost say this has severe roots in film noir which makes the movie that much more special. The movie excels beyond anything at how it builds the mood, it is a slow burn of paranoia and fear culminating in a fever rush of a climax that really leaves you uneasy. It took a grand total of maybe three minutes before I started getting paranoid about everyone, good job movie you achieved an effect in mere minutes that others could not achieve in hours. Credit where credit is due, I'm actually happy this movie is in black and white it just adds a more foreboding atmosphere than if it was just in color. It really does add a more creepy feel to the whole thing. And you know what? This is a scary movie, just the premise is terrifying. You return to your old hometown, as you meet with old friends and family you hear perplexing things, that the people in your town are not real people, and as time goes on the more you find that it's all true, until you're the only one left in a town ruled by monsters. That is horror if I have ever heard of it. You really don't get much scarier than that. Excellent horror movie, great science fiction movie, certainly made me look twice at the people I know. Goodnight everybody.

One more sci-fi movie for the week, possibly the greatest brain movie ever made that surprisingly does not have the word 'brain' in the title. Until tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

The Blob (1958)

I forgot how good this movie was.

Alright, tonight's movie is the 1958 sci-fi classic, The Blob starring Steve McQueen in a role that made him famous. Now I gotta say, this is a classic movie without a doubt in my mind, but watching it again I really loved it. It's one of the greatest examples of 50s science fiction movies, with outstanding writing, not just in concept but in execution, great acting, and a terrific movie monster to top it all off. The plot follows Steve McQueen while one night a meteor hits, and out comes an alien blob hell bent on absorbing every human on Earth. It's up to good old Steve to stop this alien menace, and try his damndest to warn the whole town before it turns into a big red jelly mark on the map. Now this was Steve's first big movie before he got super famous a few years later, and he does great work in this movie. He's a regular guy, thrust into this crazy situation, and has to deal with it. You believe every word he says, and gives immense likeability and even some good depth to a rather ordinary character. Now this movie is about an hour and a half long, and the pacing is just right. You see the blob, and you see it well, but not as much as you might expect. It does a good job of keeping you in suspense to when you see the blob again. And all the supporting cast does wonderful work as well, every one of them is an intelligent, well rounded character while in most other science fiction movies of the time they would be as smart as a bag of rocks, and are there just to go through the meat grinder, but here they contribute a great deal to the movie, whether it be plot progression or to give some pretty decent character development to each other. It's truly a cult classic, and created a remake in 1988, and the event known as Blobfest, a yearly little shindig in Phoenixville where the movie was made with tons of great stuff to do, see how they made the movie, reenact the famous movie theater scene, and view the original blob itself in all it's gelatinous glory. This is a fun flick, and you get the vibe from the opening credits. Classic and ingenious title screen, and the blob has it's own theme song and it is truly spectacular. 4 stars, check it out!

And tomorrow we revisit another classic science fiction movie. They're already here, and you are next.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

BONUS: Shin-Godzilla

Well that was unexpected.

Wow...my first Godzilla movie ever seen in theaters. No joke, every time I have seen any Godzilla movie it has been on either satellite tv or home video. So how does this Godzilla movie hold up? It was great, albeit slightly odd at points. Allow me to elaborate. Okay Sherman set the way-back machine to when the first trailer hit. I liked the tone, the visuals, and the music...until Godzilla showed up. He looked cool, glowing red, slightly decaying look but the eyes looked like googly eyes, and his tail was too long, it was bigger than he was! And this particular Godzilla stunts the 2014 Godzilla, and that's a big dude. And later on down the road, I heard rumors about Godzilla well, not looking like Godzilla. That he actually evolves throughout the movie. This worried me a lot. And it's true. When you see him at first he looks like this friggin' tadpole...thing, he's got no arms and really looks like if you cut off a stegosauraus' front legs. It's so odd. But then he changes and looks a bit more like he usually does. He looks like he came from Hell, and that fits perfectly with the movie, Godzilla is supposed to look terrifying. Now we touch on the last aspect worthy of note, Godzilla's atomic breath is bizzare. It's purple but not, and I can roll with that, I got used to how he looked, and his atomic breath looks awesome in purple but it's not straight up like that. I'll try to explain, it starts off like just red fire but then transforms into atomic breath, but not only that it turns into a fracking lazer beam! It doesn't look like fire it looks like lazers! But wait, there's more! It comes out of his mouth, it comes out of his tail (I swear to God above.), it comes out of his fin's. Yeah. Now, Hideaki Anno created Neon Genesis Evangelion, a confusing show about giant robots fighting, kinda like with Gundam but with a paradoxical plot but I digress. He wrote and directed the movie, so you see the inspiration from that show bleed through into this movie, Godzilla shoots like a hundred lazer beams out of his fin's at enemy planes and missiles. It's very anime. Whoa, I've went on this long and I haven't touched base on the actual movie.......let's roll that review! The plot is basic like other Godzilla movies, Godzilla rises out of Tokyo Bay and the Japanese government must find a way to stop this fearsome beast. Now there are many excellent things about this film, first of all the editing. It is so slick, and so well done, they know exactly when to cut. It is fast paced, but knows when to linger on a moment, it really helps with the humor of which there is a bit, and drives the story at a satisfactory pace clocking in at roughly two hours. Next is the acting, the cast is great although the film is subtitled all the way through, there is no dub yet but there will be. So seeing the real Japanese actors working their craft was a real treat. Lastly is the mood, the tone of the story, and it is highly realistic. This feels real in every sense of the word. This is what would happen if such a creature appeared in Japan and the government had to deal with it. Bravo movie, bravo. Flying colors in this respect. Godzilla is in the movie a bit, but the focus is on the humans trying to cope with such a presence, in fact dare I say, it does it exponentially better than the original 1954 version. That is how good they nailed the realistic edge of this film. You know, for the first Godzilla movie I have ever seen in theaters, this did not disappoint. The film is in theaters nationwide until the end of this week, so if you're a big G fan go see this movie. Well worth your time and money.

You know, for this week I had several science fiction classics to review, but now I'm kind of tempted to do a handful of Godzilla reviews instead. I certainly have a few to review, and I'm happy I reviewed the original because this movie has a few nods to it. I might change it, I may hold off on it. Hell, maybe I'll even start November with a monster mash in Tokyo...

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Hannibal

Would you hate me if I said I kinda, sorta like this movie? This a very divisive movie so I get where both parties are coming from.

Hannibal is the last chronological film of Anthony Hopkins' outstanding run as our favorite cannibalistic psychiatrist. How does this movie hold up? Eh, it's not bad. It's a decent movie, it doesn't end very well, but I don't hate this movie. You can tell Anthony Hopkins is having fun, Julianne Moore isn't horrible as Clarice she does fine work, Gary Oldman is always a damn fine actor and he does really well as the villain here. Oh yeah and Barney is the friggin' man! I love Barney in all these movies, he is awesome. Frankie Faison, my God man. Rock on. So what is the story in this possible trainwreck for you of a movie? Hannibal is still on the run, Clarice has been disowned from the F.B.I., and Mason Verger is on a revenge hunt for Hannibal. Clarice figures if she can catch Hannibal first, her career as an agent will be saved. One of the things I enjoyed was seeing exstensive location shooting in Florence, it is a beautiful city and Ridley Scott really got a good feeling of the city. Oh yes, Ridley Scott directed this movie. Strange that. But it works well, he's a competent director in this so no harm done there. The way the story is told is a bit of a mess, it's not completely unfollowable, but you got to pay attention. It's a busy movie, so take note of several of the events in the movie. The ending is...difficult to explain. It's not a horrible piece of garbage, but it isn't all that great either. Some may call it a mixed bag. Actually the more I think about it, the less I like this movie. It's just adequate. Everything is passable, not good or bad, just...eh, okay. I'd take this movie with a severe grain of salt, it is without a doubt the weakest of the Hannibal Lecter movies. Oh, and for those of you wondering why Hannibal Rising isn't on here.....hahahahahaha! That movie is stupid and doesn't exist, and anyone who likes it is stupid. I know it's just my opinion but, I'm right.

Well, one week down. Tune in next week for some more classic horror movies.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

The Silence Of The Lambs

It's a psychological thriller! Sorry Academy, I know you don't like to use the 'H' word but this is a horror movie. It's horrifying!

Academy Award winning film, The Silence Of The Lambs and well worthy of those awards! The introduction to one of the most famous movie monsters of all time, this film is still excellent. What can I say that others haven't already? It's a great movie, you should see it if you haven't already! One of the things you notice as you watch it more is the use of editing in this movie, the editing is what makes it a cut above the rest. It almost decieves the audience (and in one scene totally does), because of how they cut this movie. There are many scenes where you think it is just several little tidbits of film spliced together, but it is not! The movie may seem cut but that's the allusion, several scenes are literal long running shots, just edited together for it to be more fluid. Some may complain the film is choppy, I highly disagree. The camera placement works, and it works well. There is a lot of dialogue scenes, almost 90% of the movie is just talking, now you're probably saying that would kill the film for you, but it is so interesting and certainly engaging enough to the point where you don't really care. Also, I have to give props to the camera crew of this movie. I could not stare down Anthony Hopkins for ten seconds, let alone several minutes. You notice that a lot, the camera is settled dead center, close up shot of the character's faces. Now this is an excellent way to convey a mood of uncomfortableness, the sense of pressure, and claustrophobia. Well done camera crew! Story wise, it is very good but the way the movie tells the story makes it so much better. Clarice Starling is an F.B.I. agent sent to question Dr. Hannibal Lecter to try and hunt down serial killer Buffalo Bill. Simple plot, excellent movie. Really it's Jodie Foster that holds this movie together, she does a damn good job in this movie, and this movie was filmed in a time where the F.B.I. was just starting to accept female applicants, so it's great to see that she can put her big boy pants on and kick heinie like one of the boys. Awesome. Anthony Hopkins of course, is a joy to watch. He's more creepy in this movie than threatning like in Red Dragon, but that in no means diminishes his character. Ted Levine...you magnificent son of a mother, you want to talk about a scary performance? Boy, oh boy does he deliver! Excellent, excellent serial killer. Oh, and I may be really sick but I like that scene. You know that scene. Q Lazzarus Goodbye Horses. Don't watch it if you haven't seen the movie cause you may find me crazy. But the best scene in the entire movie, is where the title of the film comes about. Chilling, well paced, well acted, well directed, fantastic. Watch this movie again, it's more than worth it. Great horror movie!

Okay, this is where I could lose a few people but we must touch base on Hannibal, the last Hannibal Lecter movie with Anthony Hopkins. What do I think about it? Until tomorrow.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Red Dragon

Hell of a way to start the month.


This week we shall be covering the Hannibal Lecter movies, chronologically, so Red Dragon first. Damn good movie in my opinion, certainly one of the best examples of a modern crime thriller, with great acting, excellent writing, truly horrific scenarios, and all with one of the most beloved movie monsters of all time Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Dare I say, Anthony Hopkins is better in this movie than Silence Of The Lambs. Yeah. I mean it. That might be considered blasphemy but really compare performances, he is much more scary in this movie in every way. But of course, either way you slice it Anthony Hopkins is a brilliant Hannibal Lecter. Yet, you can't have a good villain if you don't have a good hero, enter Will Graham played very well by Edward Norton. Now in the case of Will Graham it is a drastically different performance than in the television series Hannibal, now I'm not bashing Edward Norton in this role, he does very good work, he is believable to see he works with the F.B.I. to catch serial killers, it's very easy to describe and yet difficult to describe. He has a history with Hannibal, he does not take his nonsense, he does not do the little dance Lecter and Starling do in Silence Of The Lambs, he wants answers immediately which is very true to his character at this point in the story. I do not get the sense he really hates his work, almost very tortured in his method of finding killers, like in the series Hannibal or hell, even in Michael Mann's Manhunter which adapted Thomas Harris' novel sometime in the 80s, it is kind of subdued but not to the point where it breaks your suspension of disbelief. In fact, the whole movie like the others is fully rooted in real, hard reality so the film works incredibly well in the crime drama factor. Christ that's a whole nother comparison between Manhunter and Red Dragon but we are sticking to Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal movies, but Ralph Fiennes nails it in this movie. He perfectly conveys the right mix of truly sadistic and entirely sympathetic almost at the same time. Bravo Mr. Fiennes. Now in terms of story the movie follows the book very well, although it does take some liberties to have more Lecter in it and really, is that a bad thing? I don't think so. I know some people complain about Hopkins' age but really you hardly notice it because of his performance, it is great. You feel genuine menace in Red Dragon that was slightly lax in Silence Of The Lambs, you feel he wants to kill Will Graham, he despises him, tries everything to hurt him all while never once leaving his cell! That's a villain! You can lock him away and he can still plague your life. Now I know I could go on forever with comparisons between the different media around this particular chapter of the story so let me sum up for you. Red Dragon does the story much better than Hannibal, Manhunter gives a bit more depth to Will in this story but of course the show nails the characters down to a science, so all in all if you haven't seen Red Dragon it is well worth your time. As far as comparison notes go, watch Manhunter because you need to get through two and a half seasons of Hannibal to reach this story, if you feel up to it though give the show a whirl. Well that's all for tonight, stay tuned tomorrow for the next movie.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

The Time Has Come....

Happy Halloween everyone. It's good to be back, and in the most wonderful time of the year! Now we have some news to get out of the way, firstly I have almost run out of movies to review. I only can carry so many movies with me, and I've nearly reviewed every movie I have with me currently so the reviews might be sparse, which I really hate but until I get a bigger place I'm stuck. Next, I regret to announce that this year is the last Monster Madness on Cinemassacre, the last marathon of horror movie reviews every day of October. It's depressing to see it go, even if it has been around for 10 years. I know I can't take up that monument, but hey we still got a lot of movies to review this month so I'm looking forward to it. It's time to let Halloween finally absorb me, in all it's creepy, awesome, and terrifying power. So tune in Monday for the start of my own little monster madness! Reader beware, you're in for a scare...