TheSilenceOfTheLambs Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: The Smartest Unlawful Citizens
Filed under: New Releases », Cinematical Seven », Lists »
This Friday is all about wild things at the multiplex. Some are furry and lovable, and explore the emotions of childhood. Others are law abiding citizens, blowing up Philadelphia and showing off their follow-me-lines for no plotworthy reason. I decided to honor the latter with my Cinematical Seven, because Law Abiding Citizen marks Gerard Butler's big producing debut, and any film that requires he abandon trousers is worthy of celebration.
Law Abiding Citizen centers on Clyde Shelton, who loses his family in a grisly slaying and decides to exact his own justice in true Charles Bronson style. But whereas Bronson just needed to speak softly and carry a big gun, Shelton decides to exact his revenge from behind bars. So, in honor of his crazy-eyed and pantless plotting, I've decided to list seven inmates who could have inspired Clyde Shelton's reign of terror. These lawful and unlawful citizens all manage to hatch impressive plans while locked up in the slammer. Some of them are just sick of prison food and trying to get out, while others have more sinister goals in mind. Regardless of their guilt or innocence, we often find ourselves rooting for them to dodge their stripes, and thwart the system.
Head below the jump for the seven!
Villains: The Highs and Lows of Recasting
Filed under: Drama », Horror », Critical Thought », Fandom »
Why recast the relatively small role of a doctor in a thriller? Michael Mann's Manhunter was an excellent thriller, featuring Brian Cox in a small role as the imprisoned, chillingly cold cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecktor. When the time came to adapt another one of Thomas Harris' bestsellers, Jonathan Demme went in a different direction, casting Anthony Hopkins as the good doctor. The character's family name was restored (Lecter, not Lecktor) and a whole new set of tics and tricks were placed on display. Hopkins may have been the only actor alive who could have hammed it up to such extreme levels and yet, somehow, made Lector creepy rather than campy, unnerving rather than unbelievable. For his memorable efforts in The Silence of the Lambs, Hopkins won an Academy Award.
Recasting villains is a tricky business. Everyone needs to love, identify with, and cheer the hero or heroine, but if the villain doesn't provide the requisite level of opposition, the picture runs the risk of becoming unbalanced, leaving a gaping hole that cannot be filled in with special effects. And if an actor has established the character in the public's mind, it's difficult for anyone else to measure up.
So Dylan Walsh has an advantage in The Stepfather, which opens tomorrow. Terry O'Quinn originated the title role in the 1987 original, and was a truly memorable monster. Yet the film is not steeped in the public consciousness to a high degree, and O'Quinn has become much better known from playing John Locke in Lost. Walsh's fame, such as it is, comes from the lesser-seen TV series Nip/Tuck. Walsh has a shot of creating his own distinct brand of villain.
Discuss: When Characters Are Recast
Filed under: Casting », Fandom », James Bond », Harry Potter », Remakes and Sequels »
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This summer may be confusing to some less blog-literate moviegoers thanks to two recast roles. In both The Dark Knight and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, a prominent character is played by a new actress. In the former sequel, "Rachel Dawes" will be played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, replacing Katie Holmes, who had the role in Batman Begins. In the latter, "Eveyln Carnahan O'Connell" will be played by Maria Bello, subbing for Rachel Weisz, who appeared in both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.
This certainly isn't the first time characters have been recast with different actors, and over at The Onion, the A.V. Club has listed 20 such memorably jarring switcheroos, which they're calling The Darrin Effect (after the famous character replacement on TV's Bewitched), in television and film. Surely everyone recalls when Sarah Chalke took over the part of "Becky" on Roseanne; the writers even occasionally even slipped in some reflexive jokes about it. And let's not forget the glaring problem of recasting Jodie Foster's Oscar-winning role of "Clarice Starling" -- Julianne Moore played the part in Hannibal. Or the tragic yet surprisingly respectable replacement of Michael Gambon for a deceased Richard Harris in the Harry Potter movies.
Cinematical Seven: Movie Characters I'd Hate to Have Thanksgiving With
Filed under: Classics », Cinematical Seven », Lists »
Earlier this month a bunch of us came up with a list of the movie characters we'd love to have thanksgiving with. Now, here's the opposite. The title is pretty self-explanatory, so I don't need to set it up much. But as usual, we invite you to tell us of your own picks for worst Thanksgiving dinner guest. Please try to make it a movie character, though, because none of us know your annoying aunt, and plus this is a movie site.
Hannibal Lecter from Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising
If you were to have Dr. Lecter (Brian Cox; Anthony Hopkins; Gaspard Ulliel) to your Thanksgiving feast, you'd want to prepare and cook all the food yourself. Otherwise, you might end up eating human flesh instead of turkey (or turducken, or whatever non-people-based meal you prefer). Then again, you might actually end up the meal, which is certainly much worse than unknowingly tasting Ray Liotta's brains. So, the best thing is to not even invite the guy.
Graham Young from Young Poisoner's Handbook
Another character who might be an interesting guest, but like with Lecter, you'll need to keep an eye on the food, or at least on the tea. Graham (Hugh O'Conor), aka "the teacup murderer" likes to play with poison, and there's a good chance he's going to spike the dinner or drinks with thallium.
TIFF Watch: 'Man from Plains' Wins Three Awards at Venice
Filed under: Documentary », Awards », Festival Reports », Politics », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie », Venice Film Festival »
Jimmy Carter may not have gotten a lot of respect when he was president -- maybe the fact that he was called "Jimmy" had something to do with it -- but he's enjoyed a resurgence in recent years as his humanitarian efforts have reminded Americans what they liked about him in the first place. He's not a great politician, but he's an honest, good-hearted man with noble intentions. And now filmmaker Jonathan Demme (Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense, Neil Young: Heart of Gold) has scored with a documentary about him, called Man from Plains. Now playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was at the Venice fest, too, where it picked up three prizes last weekend.
The international critics' jury give the film its top award, while the Human Rights Film Network gave it a prize for best feature film. It also received the Collateral Award for Best Biography, which is presented by the Bologna Film Festival in conjunction with the Venice fest.
Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the film theatrically in October. It follows Carter on his recent tour for his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which caused a stir with its controversial subject matter.
Demme is perhaps best known as a director of fictional films, including Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs (for which he won an Oscar). But his documentaries have been widely acclaimed, too. Many people consider his Talking Heads and Neil Young movies to be among the best concert films ever made. So his portrait of Jimmy Carter promises to be interesting -- and apparently the people in Venice think so, too.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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