This Week's Viewing

OK so a few days ago I decided I would start a blog, so to kick it off, I thought I'd review a few of the films I'd seen in the last couple of days. So, here we go!

Red Dragon (2002)


Red Dragon is the prequel to both the 1991 thriller classic "The Silence of the Lambs" and its 2001 sequel "Hannibal". Anthony Hopkins reprises his Oscar and BAFTA award winning role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant psychiatrist with cannibalistic tendancies.

I really enjoyed this film. Anthony Hopkins was again, brilliant, though he was looking older and weaker than in Lambs (to be fair to him, he was into his sixties during the filming of this movie). Part of the fear of him in Lambs was his intimidating physical presence. However, the role of Lecter must be nigh on impossible to play, yet Hopkins was able to pull it off, and create one of the most memorable film characters of all time.


The protagonist of this film was Will Graham, the FBI agent that discovered that Lecter was a serial killer, although the brawl that ensued nearly ended in Graham becoming Lecter's next victim. He subsequently retires, but is begged to come out of retirement to help in the capture of the "Tooth Fairy", a serial killer with a distinctive modus operandi. Graham is played by Edward Norton. I feel sorry for Norton - trying to better Jodie Foster's amazing performance in Lambs is a tall order, and comparisons will naturally be drawn. Norton, unfortunately fell short of Foster's performance, though that is, I suppose, to be expected. Graham was supposed to feel fear for his family at all times, and this was rather hit & miss.


The standout performances for me were Ralph Fiennes as the disturbed killer Francis Dolarhyde, dubbed the "Tooth Fairy" by the press, but calling himself "Red Dragon" and Emily Watson as Reba McClane, Dolarhyde's blind colleague and love interest that cause him an inner conflict that leads to an excellent twist in the plot that helps to keep the film exciting until the very end. Dolarhyde is socially awkward in normal situations, but when he's in control, about to kill, is a completely different man. As the film progresses, the character truly seems torn between trying to live a normal life and trying to overcome the years of abuse under his grandmother's care by transforming himself into the "Red Dragon". Watson is brilliant as the sweet yet naive woman who gets entangled in something much more dangerous than she's expecting. I always think that acting blind must be extremely challenging, yet she manages to pull it off, the blindness being an important part of the story, as Dolarhyde's problems come from his self-image problems, so for a woman to not care about that allows him a degree of normality.

All in all, this would be up there with my favourite thrillers of all time, alongside it's sequel Silence of the Lambs. Whilst it doesn't quite measure up to it's big brother, it is still an excellent film in it's own right. Sir Anthony Hopkins shows yet again why he deserves to be placed among the greatest actors of this generation, without even getting out of third gear. He created the definitive movie Hannibal Lecter, one of the most memorable film characters of all time.


BASEketball (1998)



Low-brow comedy starring the creators of South Park Matt Stone and Trey Parker.as Joe "Coop" Cooper and Doug Remer, thirty-something slackers with the dream of becoming big sports stars, without the drive or determination to back that dream up, until, one day, by chance, they invent a new sport - a mixture of baseball and basketball which in a matter of weeks has take the neighbourhood by storm, and pretty soon after, is a nationwide phenomenon. The sport is based on the ideals that modern sports are too commercial and have lost what made them so special (a point of view I can certainly sympathise with), but pretty soon, as the founder of the professional game dies, Robert Vaughn's sinister character Baxter Cain sets his sight on commercialising the game more for greater revenues. Coop, whilst falling for a woman working for a children's charity, tries to stop this happening. In the end he does, and he gets the girl. Happy ever after stuff.

As I said, it's low-brow stuff, but it got me laughing. It does have a serious message that only really applies to sports fans, but as one myself, I got it, and it made me think. Stone & Parker won't go down as the greatest comedic actors ever, but I was pleased to see they didn't revert to doing South Park voices (except from one time, when the Cartman voice was used) and they played the stereotypical slacker well. Their kiss was comedy gold. In conclusion, a thumbs up from me.

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)


Hollywood's hottest couple star opposite each other in this action romcom. I have to say, if Angelina hadn't been in this film, I probably wouldn't have made it to the end. The story felt ridiculous, the acting was poor, the direction was uninspired.

John Smith meets Jane in Colombia, where fate drives them together. A holiday romance ensues and pretty soon they're married. Little do they know that their respective partners are assassins for rival agencies (assassin agencies!?!), and each of them must keep their true occupation hidden from everyone, including each other. However, not long into the film, they find themselves driven against each other, with their next contract being their spouse. Chaos ensues, until they realise they are truly in love, and unable to kill each other, at which point they team up and take on the world. Big guns, explosions, overly-choreographed fight scenes and sexual tension aim to make an exciting climax, but in truth I found it boring.

Angelina really is the one of only a few positive things I have to say about this film. She was amazing as the feisty yet sexy woman. Whilst this wasn't her best acting performance, she was better than Brad. Vince Vaughn was also quite good as Eddie, John's best friend. That said, I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone I'm afraid.

You, Me and Dupree (2006)


Charming romcom in which Owen Wilson really shines as Dupree, a slacker struggling to find an aim in life. Matt Dillon is Carl who marries Kate Hudson's Molly at the start of the film. Dupree is Carl's best friend, and after Dupree gets fired from his job he moves in with the newlyweds. What follows isn't domestic bliss, as Dupree inadvertently burns the house down. However, with nowhere to go, he moves back in, and soon is comforting Molly as she doesn't get to spend any time with Carl due to his work commitments. Meanwhile Carl feels under appreciated as he works long hours for Bob Thompson (his father-in-law, played by Michael Douglas) in a tense environment - Mr Thompson is manipulative and Carl is convinced he hates him and only promoted him as he married his daughter. He tries to convince Carl to get a vasectomy (the reason for which I'm not quite sure?) and never invites him fishing. Meanwhile, Molly discovers Dupree has an untapped depth and sweet side to him. Carl assumes the worst, and him and Dupree are driven apart, until Carl kicks Dupree out. The next day, Carl attacks Dupree and proceeds to run away. Dupree enlists the help of the local children to help find Carl, who he finds in a bar. Dupree helps Carl confront Mr Thompson (who had previously fired Carl) and then Carl and Molly reunite. Dupree becomes a motivational speaker.

I really liked this film. Owen Wilson was hilarious at times and deeply moving at others. He created a deeply likeable character that I genuinely felt an affinity for. Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson were okay. Not as impressive as Wilson but not bad either. There were some truly hilarious moments in the film. The revelation that Wilson's crush the librarian at the school that Molly works is something of a slut is fantastic, as is the fight with Paco the security guard at the end, and the moment when Dupree falls the glass ceiling had me in stitches.