Hannibal (2001)

hannibal

Hungry for More

There’s no question that The Silence of the Lambs is a great movie.  The makers of Hannibal certainly think so; otherwise they wouldn’t invoke its memory every chance they get.  It’s a quality that’s oddly ahead of its time, portending modern sequels like Jurassic World and The Force Awakens that get most of their mileage from milking their beloved predecessors.  Hannibal’s most shameless reference is the title character’s multiple utterances of the famous line, “Hello, Clarice,” which was never actually said in The Silence of the Lambs but plowed its way into pop culture history anyway.  The charitable interpretation of this Mandela effect-made-real is that it’s a knowing joke on the part of the filmmakers, though it’s easier to dismiss it – and the rest of Hannibal’s blatant throwbacks – as pandering. Continue reading

Call Me by Your Name

call-me-by-your-name

Another New Year, another deluge of Oscar Bait.  Some things never change, and for movie aficionados like myself the sudden awards season overflow of “must-see” movies is only slightly preferable to a full-on drought (coming this February…).  Going to the theater is starting to feel like an obligation, especially with a serious lack of enjoyable trash to balance out all the prestige pictures.  But the upside is that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a few real winners, perhaps none better than Call Me by Your Name. Continue reading