FilmCell Reviews

The Gift (2000)

Smart and Scary

[8/10 · 26 August 2001]

I was glad that this picture turned out to be intelligent and well done. I had heard that this film was great but didn't have the opportunity to see it in it's year 2000 release. I had been nothing short of disappointed at what I had seen this year (2001) as far as summer movies go, so this film was a blessing in disguise.

This film has everything you expect from it's genre and more!!! It's hard to nail down at times, which means that it's not predictable as most movies. It's also the scariest, freakiest, and hair raising experiences I've ever had. Cate Blanchett is excellent as is the supporting cast. (3 1/2 out of 4 stars)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Above Average Sequel

[6/10 · 12 August 2001]

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is an above average sequel. I just saw it for the third time and I will still continue to fight for it. The script (although containing flaws) is a billion times better than its sequel, Jurassic Park 3. When I look back at the three times I've seen it (Theater, VHS, DVD) I saw very few flaws in an overall exciting movie. The biggest flaw is that the "wonder and amazement" were at a low level. This is mainly because we were exposed to it in the first film and it is hard to keep things fresh. Other than that, this film is one of the better sequels ever. Great action and adventure, (3 of 4 stars)

Hannibal (2001)

A disappointment.

[7/10 · 16 February 2001]

Hannibal, the sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, is a disappointment. Before I saw Hannibal, I had to of course watch SOTL but also watch Manhunter. So by watching these two films, it set the expectation level enourmously high, too high for most films. I went expecting the film to be better than just good, but it ended up being just good.

As far as the pace of Hannibal, it's very slow. I had heard that the film was fast paced but found myself yawning from time to time even if the scene at that point was good. The pace was steady throughout but too slow. The first two scenes were great but it went too slow afterwards. The dialogue is snappy and well done but the script itself seems out of place.

When it comes to acting, you can't say anything bad about these actors. Of course as usual, Sir Anthony Hopkins turns in a superb performance. Julianne Moore is steady as Clarice and find out that she might have been the only one right for the film. The character is more physical and it didn't feel like it was a Jodie Foster type role. I like that Gillian Anderson might have been a little better though. Giancarlo Giannini also turns in a very good performance.

AFTER THIS PARAGRAPH IS A SPOILER WARNING. I FEEL THAT WITHOUT MENTIONING THESE PLOT POINTS WOULD NOT MAKE THIS REVIEW COMPLETE. AFTER ALL, I HAVE TO BACK UP MY REVIEW.

SPOILER WARNING!!!

I think that the carnivorous pigs were humorous. Too humorous for a film this dark and gritty. The scenes of Clarice in the basement are a complete waste of the film. Sure hearing the old tapes of Clarice's and Lector's conversations are interesting, but there isn't much after that. It's just her listening to tapes and that's it. They should have had just a few basement scenes. Basically, Clarice is nothing but a couch potato in these scenes. Finally, the dinner party scene was pretty good but again, too humorous. But that scene puts you into a trance. It is so far out there that it's like wow. It's like you're feeling like you were on morphine like Clarice was. It was completely entrancing.

SPOILER WARNING OVER.

The film was good and that's it. I was disappointed but it was better than Manhunter. I think that if you haven't seen SOTL first, you're better off. I think those people will enjoy Hannibal better and then when they watch SOTL, they will say that SOTL is better. At that point, you can't go back and say that Hannibal was terrible because it's already preset in your mind that it was a great movie. Hannibal receives a B-.