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In Appreciation of Clarice Starling on the 25th Anniversary of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’

The Silence of the Lambs Directed by Jonathan Demme USA, 1991 (The following contains a great deal of spoilers) Rewatching The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins is as mesmerizing as ever in his masterful portrayal of psychiatrist and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The intellectual serial killer who is emblazoned as one of the most …

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‘Westworld’ has the potential to be TV’s next great event

A year ago this week it was announced that Jonathan Nolan will act as showrunner and writer alongside Lisa Joy on a new HBO series based on Michael Crichton’s book and cult classic film Westworld. Busiest man in the world J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot cohorts Bryan Burk and Jerry Weintraub will also produce …

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‘Thor: The Dark World’ enjoyable enough in spite of overly weighty mythology

Sometimes, it’s the small moments in which you find joy. So it goes with Thor: The Dark World, a movie that frequently botches the big-picture details but balances out the messiness on the whole with minute gags, throwaway lines, and offhand glances that are laid-back and assured. The returning cast members have enough built-in chemistry, and the script has enough moments of genuine wit and cleverness, that Thor: The Dark World doesn’t sink despite being weighed down with an enormously, unnecessarily convoluted story.

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‘Manhunter’ a disturbing examination of voyeurism

Manhunter is adapted from the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon, the book which introduced the world to the serial killer known as Hannibal Lecter. It came five years before Harris’s other novel was adapted to the screen ( The Silence of the Lambs), and 27 years before the NBC hit crime drama Hannibal. In between, the role of Dr. Hannibal has been reprised several more times, including Hannibal in 2001 and in a second adaptation of Red Dragon made in 2002 (under the original title).

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‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’- a sensual, gothic love triangle adapted from classic tale

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Directed by Francis Ford Coppola Written by James V. Hart 1992, USA There was a time where horror films were not all about torture porn, found-footage or demonic possessions – this was a time when the genre was less indulgent in killing people. Francis Ford Coppola is known for his epic productions, …

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‘Hitchcock’ an enjoyable if slight lark with strong lead performances

Hitchcock Directed by Sacha Gervasi Written by John J. McLaughlin USA, 2012 It is, perhaps, odd to consider the thought of Alfred Hitchcock in love. Lusting after women, blondes especially, was one of his specialties, as expressed in such classics as Vertigo and To Catch a Thief, though the desire was expressed by far more …

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‘360’ is an overload of flatness from Meirelles and Morgan

360 Written by Peter Morgan Directed by Fernando Meirelles UK/Austria/France/Brazil, 2011 360’s writer Peter Morgan has declared that the film is directly inspired by Reigen, an 1897 play notably adapted to film by Max Ophüls as La ronde in 1950. The title of Morgan’s work, directed by Fernando Meirelles, derives from the 360 degrees of …

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