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rikkijayne
Reviews
Hannibal (2001)
Pale comparison
Having read the book Hannibal on release, I was eagerly anticipating the movie on cable... even stayed up late to watch it, and realised that I should have gone to bed any way.
The tension between the two main characters was non exsitent, unlike SOTL, Lecter and Starlings on screen relationship was a pale comparison to that in the first movie where Hopkins portrayed the phsycotic Doctor.
Many key elements from the book were totally overlooked and omitted in the film, and despite another reviewers comment that the lack of the "sister" character to Verger not being neccesary, I found that by omitting the afore mentioned character, and also some of the personality traits of Verger it detached from the true evil behind Verger's need for revenge, and also did not explain fully his motives, other than that he wanted revenge for some reason.
Whilst I can appreciate the need for condensing the original story somewhat, I feel that it was to the detriment of the film in general.
Maybe by reading the book first, I spoilt the film for myself, but in saying that, nothing could compensate for the poor performance of Moore as Starling... she lacked the ability to portray the emotional naivety and insecurity that Foster did so brilliantly in SOTL, which was a shame as I felt that there was never quite the rapport between the two characters that was evident in SOTL.
Twin Town (1997)
Pure Genius
Being a Swansea girl originally, I had no trouble in deciphering the accents...
Swansea is indeed an Ugly, Lovely City, and the stark and honest portrayal of life in the dull valleys of south Wales, where unemployment is high, was a piece of script writing and directing genius. The Lewis "twins" were played brilliantly by the Evans brothers, and their honest and forthright portrayal of two youngsters bored with the humdrum life was refreshing and gritty. The human touch in this film was evident from the start, and in many areas it seemed to have an almost Docu Drama type genre, which added to the realism. It is unfair to compare Twin town to Trainspotting, as there are no comparisons to be made, both should be viewed as independant films, and to link them together does the would be viewer no justice. Twin Town has all the elements of a great movie, Comedy, Drama, and in combining these,the viewer cannot help but become attached to the characters. This film made me laugh, gasp and cry.A stroke of Pure Genius.