Hannibal: Season 3

Hannibal always makes my life happy when I watch it.

The (hopefully not) last season of one of my favorite shows of all time. What's interesting about this season is, it combines story elements from both the movie Hannibal and Red Dragon. The first half is Will on the hunt for Hannibal after the grisly end of the last season in Florence, and the second half takes place three years later with Hannibal incarcerated and aiding Will in the case of Francis Dolarhyde. It's difficult to say which part is better, but I feel the Red Dragon half is better because the first half wraps up all the story threads from last season so you can fully focus on what is happening. But....the best part, arguably in the whole series is as simple of a scene as you can get, but it's perfect. It's after Will has been hunting Hannibal for awhile, gathering information about Hannibal's past and the two of them sit in an art gallery and discuss their relationship and where they stand. Dear sweet Christmas it is perfect. I can't even nitpick that scene! I almost say watch this season just for that scene but I do highly suggest you stick around until the very end. It was sad to hear this show got cancelled but at least it had a conclusion, it wasn't a Firefly situation and I desperately want it back in my life. The characters are wonderful, it goes less psychological in terms of hallucinations and dreams but the artistic elements are full force with allegory, metaphors, and symbolism. Every episode has something worthy of framing and hanging on your wall. Granted, the only bad thing I can say is I barely like any of the characters. Besides Will and Hannibal, everyone else has gotten bitter and super bitchy (and that's putting it nicely) and I'm really hoping for their death. But even I have to say poor Chilton gets brutalized so much it's almost sad. Almost. It is super nifty to see these potrayals of characters in familiar settings like in the movies. It's like watching the movies again from a new perspective. It's a great series and always makes me smile only the way a cannabalistic serial killer smiles. And yeah, remember how I said Game Of Thrones ain't got nothing on the previous finale? Even I'm 100% sure they don't play the clip show of the Red Wedding time and time again in the next season! So you get to relive that emotional trauma again and again, joy of joys. But all jokes aside, it's a sad but good ending for a show that will come back and I will be ready a thousand times over to see Hannibal again.

Hannibal: Season 2

I blame you Bryan Fuller for making me feel emotions!!

After long, long last we return to Hannibal. I know it's a matter of opinion which season of this show is the best, but to me it's this one. Every facet and aspect of season 1 has been built upon, expanded, and improved. Hannibal is the only show I've seen where it knows it is a visual medium and takes it to incredible levels. It's such a rich series, with beautiful cinematography, editing, and compositing. You know how you go into a bookstore and they have these huge books, "The Art Of (insert title here"? Whether it be Blade Runner 2049, or Ghost In The Shell it has purpose and meaning, not everything deserves a book solely devoted to the art of that particular subject. But Hannibal does! It deserves practically an Academy Award, I've seen entire films that don't take such time and effort into visuals as one 45 minute episode of this show does. Needless to say I do love it very much, but why? It takes liberties with the stories but doesn't insult it, the characters are still as they should be and are tweaked slightly but it's to enhance the story they are telling, every case is interesting in it's own demented macabre way although more emphasis is on the overall story than just the case of the week. In fact, there's only one thing I can nitpick at and it's at a character thst I despise! Freddie Lounds, oh boy do I hate this lady. Now I'm sure her actress is a lovely lady, but this character.....you know exactly the kind I refer to. It's the character you so desperately wish to die and yet they persist on and on, she is the bane of my existence and she should be dead five times over or more! It seems she meets a serial killer everyday before brunch and yet comes completely unscathed every single time. I just don't understand. But it's kinda the point, you're supposed to hate her. But I seriously digress. Because we have good characters, great characters, slightly campy characters, and dumb characters. Not to bash the story but there are some lapses in good judgement to carry the story on. But ehat is the story you might ask? Well, Will Graham has been incarcerated for multiple murders seen in the last season and he desperately tries to prove his innocence for at least half the season but he soon gets out and sets his sights on taking Hannibal down but still holds a deep bond with him that could prove disasterous to his life. Of course Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen are still top form as always, bringing depth to the characters while expanding on their previous performances. And yes, I do ship murder husbands. And the ending is rough. It is emotional. You can keep your red wedding Game Of Thrones fans, it's like they watched that epsiode and said, let's make it harder to watch. And they do. Now I don't watch Game Of Thrones and that was a suspenseful and hard thing to watch, but this makes it more emotional and graphic to be honest. I never saw much blood even though those stabbings man. Jesus. But this tops it, it's heartbreaking before the blood starts pouring. It is not suspense, but emotional breakage that it focuses on. It's rough man, and yet it still holds more than just shock value, the music is gorgeous and the visuals are unforgettable, and it just ends with you desperately wanting more. Which saddens me even further how the show goes, but that is a discussion for later this week. Again, not for the squeamish or the passive but still holds much to be admired and loved. I am simply dying for more.

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.

Hannibal: Season 1

Oh yeah, here it goes. First television review. Woohoo!

I have actually decided to review television shows, specifically in a season by season format. Because there are many television shows to be talked about just as much as movies, and I think it would be rather fun. So with that comes the review of an exquisite television show, with murder and cannabalism for all. So Hannibal is the hit TV show that proved 3 things: One, Mads Mikkelsen is an amazing Hannibal Lecter if not the best. Two, you can have a different kind of police drama that makes you want more because of the vastly different cases. And three, it proved me entirely wrong. When I first heard about this show being made I thought it would be a disaster. Come on the main villain from Casino Royale is going to be Dr. Hannibal Lecter? You people have lost it! But I bought this show on a pure gamble near Christmas time years ago, and I was a devoted fan after the third episode. This show combines mystery, horror, atmosphere, and great characters all set in the world that Thomas Harris created. It follows behavioral scientist, Will Graham as he is hired by Jack Crawford of the F.B.I to hunt down various psychopaths and killers. And he has a partner in crime-solving that follows too closely in the footsteps of the people they apprehend. Dr. Lecter has been assigned to analyze Will and see if he is fit to work for the F.B.I but has an ulterior motive to help drive Will over the breaking point. And I have to be honest, I enjoy the series almost more than the films with the exception of Silence Of The Lambs. Through nothing more than how the characters interact and the choices they make which shapes the future of the entire series, plus the dialogue is friggin' awesome too I find myself more invested as to what is going on and what could, and will happen next. The series does take notes from the novels but mainly follows it's own story and I highly applaud them for that because they didn't just make a straight up television series of the novels. This show is freaky man, like you cannot be faint of heart or sheltered when it comes to blood and horrible murders. Like it shocked me that they included so much gore in a public televised series. This was not made for HBO or Showtime or something like that, this was made for NBC! That took some guts and they pulled it off. If you are a fan of crime shows, or anything Hannibal Lecter you might really like Hannibal! It's for a specific crowd but anyone can join. Give it a watch and see if you are hungry for more.