Sunday, January 14, 2007
On Academics and Cannibalism
Well, the spring semester started. So far, classes have been pretty dull. It doesn't look like it will be a particularly enjoyable semester, just a full one. However, I have yet to attend my 3-hour screenwriting class, which hopefully will be the awesome and not the suck.
I haven't been doing much except drive around and watch movies/television. I bought the first season of Arrested Development and the whole series of Firefly on DVD. So far, A.D. is just as hilarious as I expected it would be. I haven't started Firefly yet, but I've heard it's nearly as good as Battlestar Galactica. We'll just have to see about that.
Lately I've been rather obsessed with Hannibal Lector. Reading The Silence of the Lambs in El Salvador made me crave to see the movie again. I ended up watching it twice. I bought Red Dragon and Hannibal to read at the Nashville airport. I finished Red Dragon (which I ended up liking slightly more then the novel of SOTL), and I've started Hannibal.
Also, last night I watched both film adaptations of the former - the 1986 version entitled Manhunter that was directed by Michael Mann (Collateral, Heat, Miami Vice) and the 2002 version with Edward Norton. I had heard the 80s version was better, but I was actually underwhelmed. It did have some strong things about it, but overall it just seemed too....80s, I guess would be the term for it. Maybe it was the electronic soundtrack. Also, they turned the main villain into a wimp and changed the dark ending of the book for a more cookie-cutter one.
I had heard the more recent film adaptation was only so-so, but I was surprised. Maybe it was because I had just finished the book and already knew stuff that perhaps wasn't explained as well in the movie, but overall it just seemed like a more faithful adaptation. They did add a few more scenes with Hannibal, but that's forgivable simply because the character is so cool and Hopkins plays him so perfectly. The opening and closing scenes were fantastic uses of artistic license, and although the ending wasn't exactly like that of the book, it was at least fairly close. It did a pretty good job at least denting the characterization of the protagonist and the titular villain, considering the book was so jam-packed with really interesting background.
Of course, Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector is and will always be the main drawing point to the series. The more I read about him the more I start to understand why he's such a well-crafted villain (the American Film Institute named him the #1 movie villain, incidentally). Whereas most serial killer villains (eg. Michael Myers, Norman Bates, or even Buffalo Bill from SOTL) are scary because of they are demented sub-humans, Hannibal is scary because he is more like a superhuman. He is extremely intelligent (supposedly the latest novel suggests the two hemispheres of his brain can conduct multiple trains of thought simultaneously), surprisingly strong, and can achieve a James Bond-level of suave and charming. Everyone likes to be around him - until he eats their face. He is simultaneously the substance of everyone's best dreams and their darkest nightmares. The scary thing is you can never tell when he's which until it's too late; the things you like about him can quickly change to become the things he uses to kill you. That's why he makes such an effective anti-hero. It's no wonder he appears briefly in Red Dragon, moreso in Silence of the Lambs, and then finally gets his own book (or two) to himself. He's the most interesting character of them all.
Unfortunately, I can't help but fear the latest book/film isn't going to be very good. The book just came out around a month ago, and the movie is being released in February. It seems like a pure money-making move to make the film at the same time as the book. And although Hopkins is naturally too old to play a young Hannibal, I just can't see Gaspard Ulliel being a good pick for Lector. Then again, maybe he'll be fantastic and this will be his breakout film. However, I can't say I'm too impressed by the film's trailer.
Other than school and my current Lector obsession, things are pretty much the same as usual around here. I'm gearing up for some hardcore Southwestern recruiting. My seminars in Nashville went well, despite being woken up at 4 AM one morning by the cops, but that's a story for another time. Tomorrow's a holiday, so I get to sleep in. Woohoo!
Quote of Da Moment:
"How did you catch me?"
"You had... disadvantages."
"What disadvantages?"
"You're insane."
--Red Dragon
I haven't been doing much except drive around and watch movies/television. I bought the first season of Arrested Development and the whole series of Firefly on DVD. So far, A.D. is just as hilarious as I expected it would be. I haven't started Firefly yet, but I've heard it's nearly as good as Battlestar Galactica. We'll just have to see about that.
Lately I've been rather obsessed with Hannibal Lector. Reading The Silence of the Lambs in El Salvador made me crave to see the movie again. I ended up watching it twice. I bought Red Dragon and Hannibal to read at the Nashville airport. I finished Red Dragon (which I ended up liking slightly more then the novel of SOTL), and I've started Hannibal.
Also, last night I watched both film adaptations of the former - the 1986 version entitled Manhunter that was directed by Michael Mann (Collateral, Heat, Miami Vice) and the 2002 version with Edward Norton. I had heard the 80s version was better, but I was actually underwhelmed. It did have some strong things about it, but overall it just seemed too....80s, I guess would be the term for it. Maybe it was the electronic soundtrack. Also, they turned the main villain into a wimp and changed the dark ending of the book for a more cookie-cutter one.
I had heard the more recent film adaptation was only so-so, but I was surprised. Maybe it was because I had just finished the book and already knew stuff that perhaps wasn't explained as well in the movie, but overall it just seemed like a more faithful adaptation. They did add a few more scenes with Hannibal, but that's forgivable simply because the character is so cool and Hopkins plays him so perfectly. The opening and closing scenes were fantastic uses of artistic license, and although the ending wasn't exactly like that of the book, it was at least fairly close. It did a pretty good job at least denting the characterization of the protagonist and the titular villain, considering the book was so jam-packed with really interesting background.
Of course, Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector is and will always be the main drawing point to the series. The more I read about him the more I start to understand why he's such a well-crafted villain (the American Film Institute named him the #1 movie villain, incidentally). Whereas most serial killer villains (eg. Michael Myers, Norman Bates, or even Buffalo Bill from SOTL) are scary because of they are demented sub-humans, Hannibal is scary because he is more like a superhuman. He is extremely intelligent (supposedly the latest novel suggests the two hemispheres of his brain can conduct multiple trains of thought simultaneously), surprisingly strong, and can achieve a James Bond-level of suave and charming. Everyone likes to be around him - until he eats their face. He is simultaneously the substance of everyone's best dreams and their darkest nightmares. The scary thing is you can never tell when he's which until it's too late; the things you like about him can quickly change to become the things he uses to kill you. That's why he makes such an effective anti-hero. It's no wonder he appears briefly in Red Dragon, moreso in Silence of the Lambs, and then finally gets his own book (or two) to himself. He's the most interesting character of them all.
Unfortunately, I can't help but fear the latest book/film isn't going to be very good. The book just came out around a month ago, and the movie is being released in February. It seems like a pure money-making move to make the film at the same time as the book. And although Hopkins is naturally too old to play a young Hannibal, I just can't see Gaspard Ulliel being a good pick for Lector. Then again, maybe he'll be fantastic and this will be his breakout film. However, I can't say I'm too impressed by the film's trailer.
Other than school and my current Lector obsession, things are pretty much the same as usual around here. I'm gearing up for some hardcore Southwestern recruiting. My seminars in Nashville went well, despite being woken up at 4 AM one morning by the cops, but that's a story for another time. Tomorrow's a holiday, so I get to sleep in. Woohoo!
Quote of Da Moment:
"How did you catch me?"
"You had... disadvantages."
"What disadvantages?"
"You're insane."
--Red Dragon
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 1/14/2007 10:42:00 PM 
