…..the new retrospective being put forth to lead everyone into the new year? Welcome one and all to this, what I like to call, Christmas present to myself. After having to put my planned The Exorcist Retrospective on hold, I was told by my Binge bosses to pick another series so as not to lose any momentum going into the new year.
Before he made such a huge splash on the landscape of film, the character of Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter was created for the 1981 novel Red Dragon. The rights to the book were snatched up by renowned producer Dino De Laurentiis, who hired Michael Mann -then known for the underrated James Caan starring gem Thief and a little show called Miami Vice– to bring the book to the big screen.
Though the resulting film Manhunter received generally favorable reviews upon release, it was also a box office flop. Why didn’t the 1986 movie viewing public ignore this movie? Was it deserved? And how oh how did they think of continuing the series after the blandly titled Manhunter bombed at the box office?
Join me, Matthew Goudreau, and Aftertaste newcomer Michael Guarnieri to discuss all these topics, as well as whether that scene of Will Graham jumping through the window at the end is warranted. Hint: One or two people might have thought no until a discussion on the podcast MAYBE changed his mind. Oh, and someone on these shows is a film virgin from The Silence of the Lambs on. Who is it, and what are they expecting they’ll get out of this franchise when it’s done? Listen below, and be sure to keep checking this space, as we will be doing one film a week until 2007’s Hannibal Rising.
Last week, I mentioned that I had two some would say unusual film viewing holiday traditions. One is watching all of the Superman films. While I proceeded to defend the much maligned Superman III in that instance, here there will be no defending. Do not ask me how it started, but each and every Christmas from about 2008 on, I have watched all the films starring the one and only character of Hannibal Lecter. Maybe it’s because it goes against anything that Christmas is traditionally about. Maybe it’s because two of my all time favorite directors -Ridley Scott and Michael Mann- are responsible for two films of the series. Or maybe it’s because one December I woke up with a hangover and saw the Silence of the Lambs box sitting next to me and thought, ‘I should make this a tradition.’ No matter the case, every December I feel the need to watch all five films. And every December I dread the moment I put Hannibal on.
Before I lace into the movie itself, let me go into a theory as to where I feel this movie’s source material stems from. Before Hannibal‘s incarnation, author and former newspaper reporter Thomas Harris had already written two books, with his infamous character playing a vital part in both. One was Red Dragon. Made into a feature called Manhunter by director Michael Mann and released to little fanfare in the mid 80s, producer Dino de Laurentiis sold the rights to Orion, who proceeded to make the much more successful and multi Oscar-winning feature Silence of the Lambs. Starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, the cat and mouse game between the two stars still makes for one of the most brutally captivating films to ever be released. Of special note is the film’s screenplay. Written by Ted Tally, the script does an excellent job of filtering out and condensing the book’s manuscript to a lean, mean two hours.
After this success, de Laurentiis got the rights back and started pressuring Harris to do another book starring the character so he could make another movie (ie more dollars). Eight years later the novel Hannibal was released. To say the book was a departure and massive mindfuck would be an understatement. In rereading the material fairly recently, I am here to say that the goings on in this book are nothing short of ridiculous. You have a character who was raped by her brother as a child grow up to be a lesbian bodybuilder who wants nothing more than to harvest some of her brother’s sperm in order to fulfill a clause in her father’s will. You have Hannibal and Clarice moving off into the sunset. You have wild boars causing slasher-inspired havoc. My theory is that Harris himself did not want to do this book, and did it out of spite for the character that Hollywood was putting pressure on him to resurrect. About the only stuff that works are the scenes that involve Hannibal being pursued in Italy by a money hungry investigator. Hannibal, now wearing a new face due to plastic surgery, is found out. But of course, him being Hannibal, gets away. I actually found these scenes, along with Harris’s vivid descriptions of Italy, fascinating, and it felt almost like a fictional journal entry from Harris himself describing how much he loved the country. The rest of the book, however, is an almost travesty of fiction.
Which is why is was not surprising when Jodie Foster and Jonathan Demme both gave the sequel the finger and turned down the opportunity to make, as Foster stated in interviews, ‘the most money (they) would ever see in their lives’ in order to keep the character of Clarice Starling the way she remembered it. The book itself is exactly as Foster describes it. It is a flat-out betrayal of the character. And while I have always maintained that Michelle Pfeiffer turning down the role was a real shot in the arm to who that character could have been, Foster played it very good and to the seams. She accomplished the toughest thing to do in acting: she made a character both strong and weak at the same time.
The role eventually went to Julianne Moore. Now, I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Moore as an actress. I think she was the only thing that made 2013’s Carrie remake remotely watchable, and she can definitely captivate the screen when given a chance. But she is really bad in Hannibal. Her accent goes in and out many times. When she tries to be strong it is almost laughable. And her scenes with Hannibal in this film are nothing short of cringe worthy. Again, not a complete knock on Moore, as the source material was far from the best. If anything, the way Moore plays Starling proves Foster to be completely right on the nose: Hannibal was a betrayal to the character, and no one, not even Pfeiffer, could have saved it.
Which leads me to the behind the scenes principles in the film. Steve Zaillian has proven time and again that he is a fantastic screenwriter. How he tried to condense this material into something nearly watchable has to be commended. But I do not feel even Tally -who also turned down the chance to come back- could have made the film that much better. When Demme turned down the directorial job, de Laurentiis turned to a proven -and by the time Hannibal‘s filming ended Oscar winning- director of films such as Alien and Gladiator. I have nothing but respect for Scott as a director. But no decision he makes here feels like the right one. From the cheesy opening titles, which consists of pigeons forming the face of Hannibal, to a boring shoot-out (a few shot soda cans and hastily put together car crash do NOT make for exciting to me), Scott really drops the ball here.
Yet, in an ironic way I feel what makes me most angry about Hannibal is all that I have described should have been avoided. You can put down Moore’s performance. You can put down Scott’s directing. You can put down the lack of condensing. But the simple truth is Thomas Harris’s book was not worth making in the first place. Wait, let me rephrase. The movie ended up making $362 million, so that is not true. What is true is that the material was not good. About the only wise choices made were not including Margot Verger -the character I described above- and keeping the suspense of when Clarice & Hannibal finally meet an edge of your seat experience. But even then, I do not like him stroking her hair. It felt cheesy and unnecessary. All of which describes the making and result of this film.
Welcome to another special Saturday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. I missed last Sunday due to laying in bed all day after hosting a party on Saturday night. I slept until 3 and then watched the Breaking Bad Binge for eight hours. Save your judgment for somebody else. So instead of making the trip to Chicago for Lawlapalooza, I’m here working. That, and I may have bronchitis and/or pneumonia, but I digress. Today, I’ll continue my trilogy countdown with #8, but before I get to that, let’s get at the phenomenon that has taken over the media for weeks.
ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
This is the scene all over America right now, and whether you like it or not, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the country by storm. From former presidents to actors to the people on your facebook news feed, millions of people have filled buckets with ice and water, pulled out the smartphone and posted a video of dumping the bucket on their head in hopes of raising awareness of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Personally, I have no problem with this. I know many people do, and they’re certainly entitled to that opinion. That’s the beauty of living in this country. I have certain problems with it myself, but I’ve also got problems with people hating on it.
Here’s some of the problems that I have with it. First of all, I don’t think people truly understand what the rules are. I think the misconception is that dumping the bucket on yourself gets you out of donating. This is not the case. The way I understand it is that if you take the challenge, you’re in for at least 10 bucks. If you don’t do it, then you’re in for at least 100. This is where some of the hating comes in. Personally, I don’t like people telling me what to do. But if I were to respectfully decline your invitation, don’t be a dick about it. Maybe I don’t have a hundred bucks. Hell, maybe I don’t have ten. Ask our comic expert, Nick Spears, how his experience was. He wanted to be a part of the charity craze, but he chose to do something different and I applaud him for it, but don’t knock him for contributing to another charity. He chose to give money to kids that need it in his part of the world. Kudos Nick!
Another part that gets at me is people not knowing what the ice bucket actually represents. If you don’t know anything about ALS, it is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons eventually lead to their death, and when they die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. This is what leads to paralysis and death in those that are affected by it. What the ice bucket does is gives people a split-second paralysis due to the insanely cold feeling. It gives people a chance to know for only a moment what people with ALS deal with every day. So, in my humble opinion, if you’re going to do the ice bucket challenge, then make ALS your charity of choice. If you want to bring awareness, state that you are rejecting the ice bucket challenge and donating money to another organization. Personally, I did both. I donated to ALS in doing the challenge and then donated to the American Lung Association as well. But hey, who am I to tell you what to do?
Okay, so you just read all that and are wondering “well, he donated, but where did he go to do that?” That’s one of the biggest problems I’ve had with people. They’re taking the time to put themselves out there on social media and get some attention, but did they actually tell anybody what website to go to? Do they even know? Did they actually donate money? As you’ll see when I put mine up below, I told people where to go (alsa.org and lung.org) and as far as donating, we just have to hope that people are actually doing it.
Are we wasting water? Maybe. Probably. But did you know that the average is about one flush of a toilet? And I’m not directing this next part at everybody, but before this craze started, did you really give a damn about a water shortage? Did you know that the western states are in a drought before someone put that on your feed? Have you ever taken a long shower? Do you reuse the water that melts in your cooler after a night of drinking? . Did you use a bong to smoke weed this week when you’ve got a perfectly good bowl in the house? Hmmm…just a thought.
Overall, I really dig what’s going on with this whole challenge. It’s raising millions upon millions of dollars for ALS and bringing some awareness and raising some money for other organizations as well. The positives far outweigh the negatives here, so for those who are hating just for the sake of hating, just shut the hell up. If you don’t agree with this whole thing, again, that’s your opinion and you are entitled to it. If someone challenges you and you don’t want to do, just respectfully decline and move on with your day. Calling people out for their participation doesn’t make you look like a rebel or a badass. It just makes you look like an asshole.
I’m not pretending to be an expert on ALS or charity or world water problems, but at least I’ve done some research. And that’s all I have to say about that. Oh yeah, here’s mine.
TRILOGY COUNTDOWN
#10-THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#9-THE NAKED GUN TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#8-THE LECTER TRILOGY
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, HANNIBAL, RED DRAGON
There’s a chance that this could have been higher on the list had all three films been outstanding, but let’s be honest, one was subpar. But the overall strength has The Lecter Trilogy at #8 on my list of all-time favorite trilogies.
I don’t think anyone knew how good Silence of the Lambs could be back in the 90’s, but when it was released, it came on strong, winning every major category at the Oscars. And for good reason. With an amazing performance from Jodie Foster and a “who knew that Anthony Hopkins could do that” portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, the first of the trilogy really sets the pace for the rest of the franchise. This movie is filled with amazing moments and some great dialogue, none of which includes the line “Hello, Clarice”. This actually doesn’t get said until the next movie. But think about some of the jacked up moments that happen in this movie, from Miggs’ toss to the awesome dance from “Buffalo Bill” and everything in between.
Most people will say that Silence of the Lambs is the strongest of the trilogy, but I think we can all agree on what the weakest was. Hannibal just couldn’t match the intensity of its predecessor. It becomes even more difficult when one of the main roles has changed actors, as was the case here. Not wanting to return, Jodie Foster was replaced by Julianne Moore, who certainly did her best in the Starling role, but it’s hard to follow up an Oscar-winning performance, even as great as Moore can be. Hopkins was still good, but not as good as he was in the other two films. But hey, at least we got this out of it.
The third movie in this trilogy is probably my favorite. Red Dragon takes place before the events of Silence of the Lambs and is filled with stars. Hopkins obviously returns as Lecter, but this time is joined by Edward Norton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Ralph Fiennes, who actually steals this movie. Watching his transformation throughout the film is mesmerizing. For a while, you actually find yourself rooting for him, even though you know he’s insane, much like you feel with Hannibal in the first movie. You can see that he actually has good in him, but his mind just won’t let him be that person. Instead we get this and it’s awesome.
That’s going to do it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with another edition of “Working the Weekend with Luke” as I continue my trilogy countdown with #7. Over at Binge Media Sports, I’ll be bringing you more NFL previews over the next few days. If you missed the first one on the AFC East and NFC East, click HERE. As always, if you have any comments on anything I’ve talked about, leave them below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris. But before I go, here’s another fantastic clip from Beverly Hills, 90210. Remember Emily Valentine?
As the Mexican lurks around Michigan on his mystery tour, Ammon and Law strap in for another epic conversation about TV, movies, books, and drunk stupidity. Ammon previews his Friday the 13th camping trip next weekend and elaborates on how his wife and him will probably be slaughtered in their tent.
Google Voice is no match for Ammon at this point. He takes a few of the most ridiculous messages ever and nails them without even thinking twice. And he cheats a little bit.
TV Round-Up is jam-packed with talk of Game of Thrones, Fargo, 24, Hannibal, Orange Is the New Black, and Hannibal.
We both check out GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (and give an actual review that makes sense) and EDGE OF TOMORROW and spew love out of every one of our orifices. Then Ammon revisits MULHOLLAND DRIVE and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK with his kids for the first time and catches up with BLUE RUIN and GODZILLA. Law also checks out 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE and WILLOW CREEK.
Stay tuned for our penultimate commentaries for Game of Thrones and Fargo later this week!
Welcome to another epic edition of the Binge Cast where we talk about everything from our personal Game of Thrones house sigils to “You know, that song about the music and then the radio is on?” Ammon is so drunk at the end of this episode Law and Moreno are a little scared.
Things kick off with some TV Round-Up and straight into Fargo. We also dicuss Game of Thrones, From Dusk till Dawn, Hannibal, Silicone Valley, Penny Dreadful, The Americans, and others.
Google voice provides one of the show’s creepiest moments when it sounds like a caller leaves a message from beyond the grave.
When it comes to What Did You Watch This Week, Moreno fires off 6 or 7 30 for 30 documentaries. Ammon watches NEIGHBORS, THE MECHANIC, and JAWS. Law fits in ENEMY, and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. And then Law and Moreno get down to business with GODZILLA, answering all of Ammon’s questions about the film. Even the ones he is incapable of asking. So drunk.
Stay tuned this week for another Game of Thrones commentary, Movie Homework featuring the BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY, the Fargo commentary, and a new Binge Music Cast. We’re here all week long, bitches!
Ammon and Law battle through technical difficulties, prank calls from notorious Mexicans, and many beers to bring you the best of the week on the new Binge Cast. TV Round-Up stirs talk of The Following, Game of Thrones, Fargo, Hannibal, Mad Men, and others. Google Voice has a two part message for Ammon to decipher. Moreno and Kupka crank call us for no reason. And then we get to the movies.
Ammon checks out OUT OF THE FURNACE, THE EAGLE, and revisits RANGO. Law watches THAT AWKWARD MOMENT, 30 FOR 30: BAD BOYS, and revisits PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, DRAG ME TO HELL, and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
All of this in just under 2 hours. Efficient. Committed. Shit-housed.
Stay tuned this week for our Game of Thrones & Fargo commentaries.
Welcome to the drunkest night of the year. Minutes after we finished the 2014 Hottie Draft we recorded this gem. After stumbling through TV Round-Up we have one of the drunkest reviews you’ll ever hear when Moreno tells us about THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. Ammon and Law are no better while talking about VERONICA MARS and by the end of this mess I can barely even understand what’s going on. Have fun, I guess we did.
Moreno is back, beaten and bruised, from Mardi Gras and reunites with Ammon and Law to tell his tales of survival. The boys tackle some tough questions about the Hottie Draft to kick things off and then move on to TV Round-Up. Banshee, True Detective, House of Cards, The Walking Dead, Vikings, Bates Motel, and Hannibal all have their time in the spotlight.
From there, the great Jack Falvey (a.k.a. MovieFreak) joins us with an interview of LEGENDS OF THE KNIGHT director, Brett Culp. View the trailer below. They discuss the meaning behind the film, what it took to make it happen and how Bret was inspired himself to make such an inspirational film. If you want to help with the film, order it, or just check out more please visit WEareBATMAN.com.
Then Google Voice calls and messes everything up. In Watch Did We Watch the boys cover IN FEAR (Buy it Here!), HAUNTER (Buy it Here!), I, FRANKENSTEIN, BAD MILO (Buy it Here!), PRICE FOR GOLD, and ALMOST HUMAN (Watch it Here!).
The Hottie Draft takes place this Saturday night at 11:00 PM. We’ll be live blogging the event right here on BingeMedia.net so you can join us if you like. Should be a blast.
Law and Moreno are ready to pick their Serial Killer teams and they seem to be taking this one seriously. Some quality killers here to take care of their business.
We also have some reviews for your ass. MAN OF STEEL, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, HATCHET III, and PAIN AND GAIN all get put to the test.
We’ve also got a couple great voicemails, one of which is drunkenly transcribed for us by Google Voice, and even a shiny new sounder for just such an occasion. Thanks TM!