Red Dragon - Director's Edition

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Ice Castles II, 2008-12-23
My first problem is with the DVD cover. I have no clue why they have Sir Anthony Hopkins on there except if it's to make people think that this is a Hannibal Lector movie, you know, a gross-out cannibal movie. It's not that at all. But if you buy this or rent this thinking you're going to get a Silence of the Lambs Part 3, you're gonna be pissed off. br / br /This is a magical love story between a blind girl and a guy with bad teeth. It's like that ice skating movie from the 70's, Ice Castles, but there's no skating and no nice love songs or anything. br /The guy, Mr. D., was horribly abused as a child by his grandmother because he pee's the bed. Thus he has a really hard time opening his heart to a girl without killing her and her family first and placing bits of mirror in their eyes. But when he meets a blind girl, who can't see his teeth, he falls in love. He introduces her to lots of new experiences that don't involve the mutilation of her family members and their relationship unfolds in a very delightful way. br /Ralph Fiennes is Super Hot as usual in this film, even with the teeth thing going on. He appears nude several times and has a wicked tattoo all over his back which he says took 8 hours to apply. Yummy! br / br /

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Sterling on its own but..., 2008-12-19
br /I must preface my review of this movie. It's much better if you haven't recently watched The Silence and Hannibal. Onto the actual movie itself. br /Anthony Hopkins is again excellent in the character that he is now world renowned as. Edward Norton does a nice job as the brooding FBI agent who reluctantly has to deal with Dr. Lector and Ralph Fiennes steals the show as the stricken serial killer, who we in time gain a modicum of sympathy for. However, the movie fails to match the first installment of the series for a pair of reasons. br / br /1) The ending was extremely rushed and lacked any real suspense. It was as if two high school kids had read the first 3/4ths of the screenplay, then cooked up an ending before rushing off to a pizza date. 2) There was a lack of background concerning the films main characters, both Will Graham (Norton) and Francis Dolarhyde(Fiennes). The movie glosses over both their respective pasts with little more than one brief scene each. br / br /So what was really good about the movie? The acting performances were superb and the movie seemed to have good flow, for the most part. In ranking the quality of the three films, Silence is number 1, this is 2 and Hannibal is 3.

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Better than Hannibal., 2008-11-28
Red Dragon starring Anthony Hopkins is a extremely suspenseful thriller. The ending is a bit disappointing and I notice other reviewers have stated that complaint as well. Edward Norton and Ralph Feines bring great energy to this film. Much better than expected, gotta see it!

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Solid All 'Round, 2008-10-25
The remake of Michael Mann's "Manhunter" and the second adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel of the same name is no dissapointment. THe film boasts more than exceptional acting, highly inquisitive writing and solid directing throughout. Let's break this down so you can truly see what I mean. br / br /The Acting: Edward Norton (Fight Club, American History X) stars as F.B.I. Special Agent Will Graham, and plays him perfectly. You would'nt want anyone else in the role as Norton fills it respectably as usual. The great Anthony Hopkins (Bram Stoker's Dracula) returns for the third time to the role which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor back in 1991 for Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. He's perfect, as expected. The highlight of the show, however, is British actor Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List) as psychotic, deranged killer Francis "The Tooth Fairy" Dolarhyde. Fiennes truly captures the psyche of a strange, not-all-there, psychotic yet compassionate freak perfectly. Other fine performances include Harvey Keitel (Bad Lieutenant, Pulp Fiction) as head investigator Jack Crawford and Emily Watson (Equilibrium) as Reba McClane, Dolarhyde's blind girlfriend. br / br /The Writing: Ted Tally's screenplay fits adequately when it comes to flow and thrils, as there are plenty of thrills. Tally won the Acadmey Award for Best Screenplay when he wrote The Silence of the Lambs and you can see why with another fine sampling of his work in Red Dragon. br / br /The Direction: Brett Ratner (Rush Hour series, X-Men: The Last Stand) takes an interesting step in his career with Red Dragon and impresses. Watching the features on the DVD let it be known that Ratner is an enthusiastic and lively man that did this picture good. br / br /The Features on the DVD where great for such a cheap price. They include an interview with a real-life criminal profiler just like Will Graham in the movie, an interview with none other than Anthony Hopkins on his defining role as Dr. Lecter, and a nice sort of "making-of" featurette that helps you learn a little about the cast and the writer and director. br / br /Overall- br /The Film - ***/**** br /The DVD - **.5/****

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Finished, 2008-10-10
This completes my collection. I like the first one, but this re-make sheds more light on Hannibal.