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Reviews
Star (2001)
"Star" is no star in The Hire series.
I have seen all but the last of The Hire, and Star was not anything like the first three. It was a comedy, no action, except for a few maneuvers made by the same BMW. What are they trying to prove? That The Driver is driven by a feminine luminary? Well, he certainly gives her her needed comeuppance, but it definitely has nothing to do with The Hire Series.
Queen Christina (1933)
The most spectacular and fantastic forgotten film of all time.
With new films being made and classics being forgotten, many mediocre classics are being blocked away from people's memories for good. Queen Christina displays the perfect example of what film glamour used to be and how good Greta Garbo can be. Her portrayal of the virgin Queen Christina can be interrelated to Julia Roberts' portrayal of Erin Brockovich: Christina is a single woman trying to solve a great national problem while upholding a relationship. Even though Queen Christina's romance can be seen as far-fetched, its dialogue gives the film great emotion that just pulls you in. For example, in the first 15 minutes of the film, I was seriously considering turning the film off, but then the incredible quote "The snow is like a white sea: you can sail off, get lost, forget your troubles, and forget who you are. It's simply Heaven." dragged me into the movie's slowly unraveling plot of forbidden romance. Even better, the movie is short (c. 95 min.) so you're not just waiting for it to end. In short, a perfect example of forgotten classics, forgotten stars, and the glamorous and beautiful Greta Garbo at her peak.
Hannibal (2001)
Terrifying, Disgusting, yet incredibly intriguing.
Title: Hannibal (2001) Director: Ridley Scott Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore Length: 135 min. (2 hours and 15 minutes) Rating: R Rated R for excessive amounts of gore, some nudity, sexual situations, and some language. Review: ***
Dr. Hannibal Lecter, M.D. Intelligent, brilliant, yet chaotic and tumultuous personality. Did I mention cannibalistic? Well, he is. And in Hannibal, Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien) doesn't have one problem showing that. So, just given that bit of information, you can only guess the plot of the follow-up of the 1991 Best Picture masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs. One of the first few people you see in Hannibal is a survivor of one of Dr. Lecter's attacks (don't worry, I will not give away the movie). You can only imagine what his face looks like. Got a picture of him? OK. Well, his face is shown plenty in the movie, and it just gets so disgusting and tiring to look at this guy you want to stop eating your popcorn. If you haven't seen the end of The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter escapes his cell and is at large at the end of the movie. So, that right there leads into Hannibal. He's at large, he's angry, and he's hungry.
Clarice Starling, FBI agent, is back on the case of the search for Hannibal. Though, you sit through the whole movie wondering where Jodie Foster is. Why am I looking at Julianne Moore? Though, I am not complaining. I would rather see Jodie Foster than Moore, but you must admit Moore does carry out the part of Starling fairly well. The first hour of the movie displays how the FBI came to be in such distress about finding Dr. Lecter, and also shows an officer in Florence, Italy wanting to find Hannibal. By the way, Dr. Lecter is in Italy (that gives away nothing). After this extremely slow beginning, the police officer in Italy tries to capture Hannibal for a 3 million dollar reward. All the while you are wondering, I thought Clarice Starling was the main character in the movie. Where is she? I haven't seen her for about 30 minutes.
After this hour gradually goes by, Dr. Lecter becomes the murderous, hungry cannibal you made him out to be. His personality is so complex, so intriguing, and so enigmatic, that it is tremendously fun watching the notorious Anthony Hopkins (thank God he wasn't replaced) playing Hannibal. But, then, you find out that the deformed survivor that you saw for about 10 minutes in the beginning has to form another plot twist where the camera must show his face for a while longer. He wants Hannibal Lecter dead, and he wants the reward. Meanwhile, Hannibal doesn't care about getting caught, he just wants to find the person, who in The Silence of the Lambs, he found so fascinating: Agent Clarice Starling. The only problem is, you got so excited watching one character's personality, that you expect the other main character's personality to get explained. But, unfortunately, Scott obviously thought that was displayed well enough in The Silence of the Lambs. Now, Lecter is in a dilemma, but as intelligent as he is, he has the ability to squirm his way out. The last 30 minutes of Hannibal is so intense that the flaws in the first 100 minutes become almost nonexistent, but, unfortunately, they remain in your memory because they were so disgusting. Though, just when you thought the most scary scene in any movie ever made occurs, Ridley Scott must turn it into an almost comic position. In addition to that, Scott also puts in a gory scene that is so unbelievably stupid, far-fetched, and disgusting that you almost want to vomit. Also in this scene, the characters displayed in the movie leading up to this part seem as if they are totally different characters. Were the makers of this film in a rush or did they just stop caring? However, the set and original music are pretty amazing to watch. The cinematography is also fairly good, but in some scenes could have been polished or thought about better. Anyone who watches this movie must admit that there is too much gore that you just get sick of watching. I have to confess that it got so disturbing for me to watch that I found myself closing my eyes in parts. Some parts of this film are also so cheesy that even I could've written a better solution. To be frank with you, it took me about 30 minutes of deciding whether to give this movie **, **1/2, or *** because you leave the movie with so many mixed feelings. Giving it *** is me being pretty nice. Yet, Hannibal is a movie worth seeing because it carries out Hannibal Lecter's personality very well, just what you were expecting (hence the name of the movie). If you have not seen this film DO NOT READ PAST THIS COLON: I just hope there isn't going to be a third chapter to this movie (not counting the 1986 horrid movie Manhunter).
Titanic (1997)
"Titanic" is a misunderstood movie that needs to be appreciated.
Titanic is an epic, a true epic, and will continue to be loved forever. Many people did not like it because they do not understand the message epics are sending out: "Morals put to life, dreams fulfilled in movies." Titanic fulfilled these and will continue to for generations. "Gone With the Wind" was respected just as much as Titanic when it came out, and now many deem it to be the best movie the world has ever seen. So go back and watch "Titanic" and remember the words I said as you view this epic spectacle masterpiece that has been made immortal by being named the title of "Best Picture 1997" and "The No. 1 Movie in the World".