Gaspard Ulliel Tagged Articles at Cinematical
DVD Review: Hannibal Rising
Filed under: Drama », Horror », Thrillers », DVD Reviews », Home Entertainment »
Today, on this May the 29th, curious moviegoers can flop themselves onto their couches, chew on some popcorn and see just what it was that made Hannibal Lecter so crazy, because the unrated Hannibal Rising DVD has just come out. Now, this is a film that I avoided in the theater. Critic friends, actors and movie fans alike told me not to bother; however, presented with the opportunity to review the DVD, I figured it was my perfect chance to see it. My expectations were low, but my curiosity was high -- I always wonder what happens off-screen, and I was always curious about what made Lecter such a cold and calculated murderer.
Seeing Hannibal Rising is like excitedly strapping yourself in to a roller coaster and slowly creeping up to the summit, your mind full of exciting, twisting, corkscrewing possibilities, only to hit the peak and find out that there is no drop, but just a slightly-slanted plateau. The beginning of the film is both beautifully shot and deeply disturbing. We're taken into the turmoil of World War II, and see how a rich, healthy and happy family can at once be destroyed by a cruel twist of fate. As you watch what happens to the young Hannibal, you can't help but cringe, because it's truly terrible, but in that way that your mind can comprehend. It's not some big imagined King Kong, but a real and possible menace.
Niki Caro and Keisha Castle-Hughes Team Up Again for a Little 'Vintner's Luck'
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Casting », Scripts », Religious », Cinematical Indie »
After spending time with large, water-dwelling mammals and ticked off, sexually harassed female miners, writer/director Niki Caro is going to sit back and delight in some fine wine. The latest news from Cannes is that she is set to direct a screen adaptation of Elizabeth Knox's The Vintner's Luck, which Caro co-wrote with Joan Scheckel. Along with an impressive cast of actors that includes Jeremie Renier (In Bruges), Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising) once again delighting in wine, Vera Farmiga (The Departed) and María Ruiz, the production will reunite the helmer with Keisha Castle-Hughes, who she directed in Whale Rider.Unlike Sideways, which focuses on the wine tasting with a side of dysfunction, Vintner's is just a smidge more fantastical. The book is set in 1808, and talks about Sobran (Renier), a young man who discovers an angel with "an appetite for earthly pleasures -- wine, books, gardening, conversation, and, eventually, carnal love." For the next 55 years, the angel Xas is his friend and adviser as he experiences everything from love and marriage to war and death. The Hollywood Reporter's description adds a few more grapes: "The film revolves around a peasant winemaker in 19th century France as he grapples with the sensual, sacred and profane while searching for the perfect vintage." It sounds like a pretty interesting story -- angels, sexiness, wine and the turmoil of life -- what else could we want? (And heck, any production with young actors that doesn't include the tabloid-crazy is a plus in my book.) Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while for this interest to be fulfilled. The film isn't slated to shoot until next year -- February for shots in Auckland New Zealand and March for the Burgandy region of France and then Belgium.
Ach, Laufen Sie vom jungen Lecter!
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », The Weinstein Co. », Remakes and Sequels »
I don't know about you, but I've grown more than a little weary of the whole "Hannibal Lecter" thing. Anthony Hopkins did some seriously stunning work in The Silence of the Lambs, to be sure, but this series has been treading water ever since that flick won Best Picture. (It was the source material that damned Hannibal and Brett Ratner who demolished Red Dragon -- but if you've never seen Lecter's "true" origin film, I'd certainly recommend Michael Mann's Manhunter.)And yeah, there's another chapter coming. Looks like it's prequel time, what with Anthony Hopkins getting older and more expensive to hire and all...
The long-gestating Hannibal Rising comes from novelist/screenwriter Thomas Harris ... and the director of Girl with a Pearl Earring, surely an unbeatable duo where horror prequel afterthoughts are concerned. Sorry to sound so dismissive, mainly because Hannibal Rising could be a great movie for all I know, but based on what I've been reading (and what's offered in this German teaser trailer), this thing feels like the Basic Instinct 2 of the Lecter series.
Gaspard Ulliel is the one donning the "bite mask" (the presence of which is exceedingly silly, as if Hannibal Lecter just claimed his own Jason-style hockey mask gimmick) this time around and he'll be surrounded by folks like Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Kevin McKidd and Dominic West. For those who simply can't wait until February 9 to see what the young Hannibal is up to, feel free to read the book. It just hit the shelves this week.
[Thanks to BD.com for the tip.]
A Look at the New Shots of Hannibal Rising
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Remakes and Sequels »
The only thing that might be iffier than doing a sequel to a beloved movie would be whipping up a prequel. Instead of seeing the characters you've grown to love in new scenarios, you have to buy into someone else playing the characters. Sure, it can give great depth or explanation to how someone came to be what they are, but if the original is done right, it leaves some large shoes to fill. You not only have to believe that this is the younger version of the character, but that this performance can manifest into what's to come.
Although Silence of the Lambs follow-ups never reached the original's success, moviemakers continue to explore the world of Hannibal Lecter, as is the case with the latest prequel installment, Hannibal Rising. Erik Davis reported in October that AICN had a brief test screening review up that considered the film riveting. Now, some pictures of the young Hannibal Lecter are out, and I'm starting to fall into the James Bond/Daniel Craig conundrum, but even moreso.
Rope of Silicon has a number of new Lecter pictures up, and unfortunately, they're making me giggle instead of squirm. The two that I find chilling are the ones with other actors in the shot. When I see Gaspard Ulliel trying to look serious and haunting with his leather jacket and wine, it just seems a bit silly. What do you think? Do you find the pictures embody the Lecter creepiness, or does it just look like a kid trying on his dad's big shoes?
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