Aidan McGuinness
Joined Aug 2000
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Reviews190
Aidan McGuinness's rating
Boo, hiss, another remake (sort of). There're a few I've enjoyed, such as `John Carpenter's 'The Thing' and `Cruel Intentions' but generally they're an inferior lot to their original (say hello `Vanilla Sky'! Say `Hi there!' Gus Van Sant's `Psycho'). Maybe this would be an exception though - it's got a good cast and it's just another adaptation of a book, not solely a remake. However `Manhunter' (the original movie of `Red Dragon') was pretty good. so was this a worthy new version? Nope.
Plot? It's based on a book so it can't gain much in the way of points: Lector (Hopkins) was captured by Agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), but only after nearly fatally injuring Graham and causing Graham to leave the FBI. Graham now must seek Lector's help in solving the murders caused by the mysterious Tooth Fairy killer (Ralph Fiennes). Lector weaves his mysterious web, and Tooth Fairy his mysterious ways. Can X stop Tooth Fairy and, can he stop himself being embroiled in the beguiling evil of Lector?
Let's take a look at the acting. Critics seem to be in two camps about Hopkins returning as Lector here - masterful or woeful. I'm leaning more towards the latter. While Hopkins has made the refined gentlemen insane killer his own. there's something lacking here. It's as if Hopkins isn't trying to reserve himself too much. There's almost a gleefully camp element to the manic psycho. Sure Lector is intense, but his intensity here is too much visibly in the fore and voice, rather than in the sharp glittering of the eyes that `Silence of the Lambs' gave us. Norton is as good as ever. He's never bad. He's able to perfectly give all the motions required and do them convincingly. Witness the talent he clearly has when he switches character roles, towards the end. It's not just a tone of voice - Norton has the ability to convert his whole body language subtlety (check him out in `The Score'). However, and I hate to be critical of Norton, I'm not sure this is the ideal role for him. It's a fault of his youthful look more than anything else - the part calls for a darker, older, more embittered character. Now Norton can play dark (`American History X') but he can't artificially add age to himself. It's a shame because otherwise he is as wonderful as ever.
Ralph Fiennes is unnerving as the Tooth Fairy. There's a wonderful insane quality in his performance, as if it's permanently itching under the skin even when he's being relatively normal and trying to pursue a romance (which is surprisingly touching). You cannot help but feel empathy for him. When he's in his Red Dragon persona (and utterly mad), he's also good - his voice rings with sincere conviction, supreme belief in himself that he cannot find elsewhere. Well done today Fiennes!
However Brett Ratner, directing here, doesn't let `Red Dragon' live. It's all a bit too clean, a bit too austere. In his original adaptation, Michael Mann realised the darkness inherent in the movie. `Red Dragon' is a bit too clean, a bit too refined. It needs more edge and grit. The pacing is somewhat weak and certain elements become frustrating - such as waiting for Graham to pick out the way the killer knows his victims, despite the audience having been told an hour previously. That's weak. The burning chair moment, and others, are never handed with enough `oomph'. Perhaps it's knowing how the original went that spoils any tension here, because I never felt that involved in the proceedings. Nothing innovative was used - it was all handled with competence that left me indifferent. Never a bad movie, `Red Dragon' never really became a good movie either. I had expected more but it never got delivered. 6.1/10.
Plot? It's based on a book so it can't gain much in the way of points: Lector (Hopkins) was captured by Agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), but only after nearly fatally injuring Graham and causing Graham to leave the FBI. Graham now must seek Lector's help in solving the murders caused by the mysterious Tooth Fairy killer (Ralph Fiennes). Lector weaves his mysterious web, and Tooth Fairy his mysterious ways. Can X stop Tooth Fairy and, can he stop himself being embroiled in the beguiling evil of Lector?
Let's take a look at the acting. Critics seem to be in two camps about Hopkins returning as Lector here - masterful or woeful. I'm leaning more towards the latter. While Hopkins has made the refined gentlemen insane killer his own. there's something lacking here. It's as if Hopkins isn't trying to reserve himself too much. There's almost a gleefully camp element to the manic psycho. Sure Lector is intense, but his intensity here is too much visibly in the fore and voice, rather than in the sharp glittering of the eyes that `Silence of the Lambs' gave us. Norton is as good as ever. He's never bad. He's able to perfectly give all the motions required and do them convincingly. Witness the talent he clearly has when he switches character roles, towards the end. It's not just a tone of voice - Norton has the ability to convert his whole body language subtlety (check him out in `The Score'). However, and I hate to be critical of Norton, I'm not sure this is the ideal role for him. It's a fault of his youthful look more than anything else - the part calls for a darker, older, more embittered character. Now Norton can play dark (`American History X') but he can't artificially add age to himself. It's a shame because otherwise he is as wonderful as ever.
Ralph Fiennes is unnerving as the Tooth Fairy. There's a wonderful insane quality in his performance, as if it's permanently itching under the skin even when he's being relatively normal and trying to pursue a romance (which is surprisingly touching). You cannot help but feel empathy for him. When he's in his Red Dragon persona (and utterly mad), he's also good - his voice rings with sincere conviction, supreme belief in himself that he cannot find elsewhere. Well done today Fiennes!
However Brett Ratner, directing here, doesn't let `Red Dragon' live. It's all a bit too clean, a bit too austere. In his original adaptation, Michael Mann realised the darkness inherent in the movie. `Red Dragon' is a bit too clean, a bit too refined. It needs more edge and grit. The pacing is somewhat weak and certain elements become frustrating - such as waiting for Graham to pick out the way the killer knows his victims, despite the audience having been told an hour previously. That's weak. The burning chair moment, and others, are never handed with enough `oomph'. Perhaps it's knowing how the original went that spoils any tension here, because I never felt that involved in the proceedings. Nothing innovative was used - it was all handled with competence that left me indifferent. Never a bad movie, `Red Dragon' never really became a good movie either. I had expected more but it never got delivered. 6.1/10.
Well this movie proves one thing - `Insomnia' was not a one-off for Robin Williams. He's capable of doing dark roles and doing them very well. In `One Hour Photo' he plays Seymour Parrish, a photo developer, who becomes obsessed with pictures, and the family, of one his clients. How far will this obsession go?
Well I won't spend an age talking about the plot. There's not too much there - more a gradual decline by Seymour as his obsession with the Yorkins grows. There's an element of Yorkin being crazy - having visions. The photos of course act as a tool - showing how Seymour can only relate to people from a distance, contemplating from afar. There's a great sadness in them. Much of this is helped by an excellent performance by Robin Williams. He carries Seymour with a great sadness in him - in his eyes, his posture, and the lines on his face. Even when angry, you can see Williams is showing that the anger is directed not so much at the person in front of him, but at the ghosts of his past. This movie is essentially about Williams and that's one of the problems. No one else really gets a look in. Sure we see the Yorkins but we mostly only see them through Seymour. We don't ever really get to know them and so we cannot empathise with them as Seymour's obsession grows. It's a flaw but it's not a killing blow.
Mark Romanek, who wrote and directed, shows some nice skill with the set-up of scenes. Seymour is decked out in light colours - typically cream. Dressed blandly and inoffensively, he blends into the dull workplace and home. He doesn't want to be seen. He also allows a bit of humour into the movie, with Seymour's wonderful discourse about his customers' photo habits. It not only alleviates the tension in a generally downbeat movie, but allows Seymour to become than the brooding-weirdo cliché. The movie is structured in a relatively conventional scene, recounted in flashback form with Seymour at the police station. It allows the audience to wonder how he got there - and is it for the reasons we think. The final few minutes are very satisfying as a result.
`One Hour Photo' is very character based and succeeds because of (and not in spite of) Robin Williams' performance. You cannot help but feel sympathy for this man and watch with sadness as his tale unfolds. Shot well, scripted with enough care that you are left bored, it's a movie that - while not maybe worthy of many viewings - is certainly worth seeing. 7.5/10.
Well I won't spend an age talking about the plot. There's not too much there - more a gradual decline by Seymour as his obsession with the Yorkins grows. There's an element of Yorkin being crazy - having visions. The photos of course act as a tool - showing how Seymour can only relate to people from a distance, contemplating from afar. There's a great sadness in them. Much of this is helped by an excellent performance by Robin Williams. He carries Seymour with a great sadness in him - in his eyes, his posture, and the lines on his face. Even when angry, you can see Williams is showing that the anger is directed not so much at the person in front of him, but at the ghosts of his past. This movie is essentially about Williams and that's one of the problems. No one else really gets a look in. Sure we see the Yorkins but we mostly only see them through Seymour. We don't ever really get to know them and so we cannot empathise with them as Seymour's obsession grows. It's a flaw but it's not a killing blow.
Mark Romanek, who wrote and directed, shows some nice skill with the set-up of scenes. Seymour is decked out in light colours - typically cream. Dressed blandly and inoffensively, he blends into the dull workplace and home. He doesn't want to be seen. He also allows a bit of humour into the movie, with Seymour's wonderful discourse about his customers' photo habits. It not only alleviates the tension in a generally downbeat movie, but allows Seymour to become than the brooding-weirdo cliché. The movie is structured in a relatively conventional scene, recounted in flashback form with Seymour at the police station. It allows the audience to wonder how he got there - and is it for the reasons we think. The final few minutes are very satisfying as a result.
`One Hour Photo' is very character based and succeeds because of (and not in spite of) Robin Williams' performance. You cannot help but feel sympathy for this man and watch with sadness as his tale unfolds. Shot well, scripted with enough care that you are left bored, it's a movie that - while not maybe worthy of many viewings - is certainly worth seeing. 7.5/10.