SLIPSTREAM (2007) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 6/28/11

 

Anthony Hopkins the writer-director just may be as nutty as Hannibal Lecter.  (Hey, that rhymes!)  Or so it may seem while watching SLIPSTREAM (2007).  It's one of those movies about making movies that people who make movies like to make in order to show us what a crazy world they live in by taking it to the extreme and making it even more crazy.  You're never sure what's real, and what's a dream, delusion, or rift in the time-space continuum.  Which doesn't always make for an entertaining or even vaguely coherent film--but in this case it's both.  I think.

Summarizing the plot is difficult, but here goes.  Anthony Hopkins plays a screenwriter named Felix Bonhoeffer who may or may not have been involved in a traffic-jam-rage shooting, may or may not have a cute, perpetually-chatty blond companion named Tracy (Lisa Pepper), and may or may not have been urgently summoned to a diner in the desert near Las Vegas where filming of his latest script has been halted due to the sudden death of the star, Matt Dobbs (Christian Slater) on the set.  Felix must write Matt's character out of the script while the ineffectual director (Gavin Grazer) and balls-out nuts producer (a very funny John Turturro) try to salvage the project.

Meanwhile, Bette Lustig (Fionnula Flanagan) is either a woman on her way to Las Vegas to visit her sister-in-law or an actress in the film, while Bette's niece Gina (co-producer Stella Arroyave) is either Bette's niece or Felix's wife.  Michael Clarke Duncan plays either a bartender named Mort who gets whacked by a gangster named Ray (Slater), or an actor in the movie named Phil Henderson, or a highway cop whose partner is played by Slater.  Jeffrey Tambor is wonderfully geeky as either Ray's gangster crony Geek, an actor named Jeffrey, or a doctor named Dr. Geekman.



Also appearing in the people-studded cast are Christopher Lawford as Lars the cheerful cinematographer, Camryn Manheim as volatile script girl Barbara, S. Epatha Merkerson as either a waitress or an actress named Bonnie, William Lucking as Det. Buzz Larabee, and Kevin McCarthy in a wonderful appearance as himself, reacting with pleasant surprise when Felix mentions to him that he was the hero of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.  "I was?" Kevin beams.  "How do you like that!"

It's never made quite clear what's going on (until the last second) but we suspect that, due to work-related stress, something's not quite right in Felix's mind.  At least that's as close as I could figure for most of the movie.  It's all like a deluxe "Twilight Zone" episode that Rod Serling might have written after someone slipped LSD into his coffee. 

From the very beginning, SLIPSTREAM is a continuous stream of engaging oddness, ranging from neat little looping effects and subliminal flashes that foreshadow the future, comment on the present, or simply baffle, to full-blown Oliver Stone/NATURAL BORN KILLERS pastiche.  This may sound terribly arty and indulgent, but it's all great fun in Hopkins' capable hands.  No shot is left untouched--Felix's perceptions of reality are always being tweaked in some way large or small. The movie looks like it was edited by a guy with two turntables and a microphone, while the soundtrack often seems like something John Lennon and Yoko Ono might have created after warming up with "Revolution 9." 

The diner scene is my favorite.  Slater and Tambor (as gangsters Ray and Geek) slide into a booth and then quickly set about terrorizing everyone in the place, including Bette and Gina, who have stopped off on their way to Vegas, and Merkerson's Bonnie (the waitress, not the actress).  The ways in which they screw with everyone's heads just get wackier and wackier, especially when they start imitating Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo.  At one point Geek discovers an old autographed photo of Kevin McCarthy on the wall, which sets them both off on an aggressively nostalgic, guns-drawn, in-your-face INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS rant.  (It's their favorite movie.)  This sequence alone would make a great short film--one which might even weird out David Lynch a little.



Occasionally, the goofball momentum does lag a bit, and there are moments in which it all seems a tad too self-conscious.  But these are few and far between, and for the most part it's pure baffling fun all the way to the end, when things get just clear enough for you to finally be able to nod and say, "Ah...so that's it."  

Unless, that is, you sit through the credits, which feature a rewind of the entire movie from last to first frame accompanied by a dazzling piano performance by Anthony Hopkins himself, until the final seconds reveal the real, no kidding "Ah, so that's it" ending.  So there are actually two endings to SLIPSTREAM--one for the people who stop watching the movie when the credits start rolling, and one for those of us who dig hearing Anthony Hopkins jamming his distinguished butt off on the keyboard.  (He also composed the film's score, by the way.)

You may have a low tolerance for movies like this, and indeed I wouldn't blame you if five minutes of this one made you want to rip the DVD out of the player and Frisbee it off an overpass or something.  But I liked what Anthony Hopkins was trying to do here and admired the way he did it.  So if you're slightly nutty yourself, you just might go coo-coo for SLIPSTREAM.

SLIPSTREAM (2007) -- Movie Review by Porfle

HANNIBAL -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 9/1/16

 

Not so well-received, unfortunately, as the 1991 horror classic THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was the inevitable follow-up, HANNIBAL (2001). The unenviable task of trying to match the financial and artistic success of SILENCE fell to director Ridley Scott, whose ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER were already regarded by many as classics themselves.

Here, he is working not only with a lesser script but with a new leading lady, Julianne Moore, replacing the absent Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling.

With the Lecter character now free and unrestrained, Anthony Hopkins has a field day developing him into an even more sinister, sardonic, self-satisfied, and almost supernatural force of evil who savors every sensual nuance of his heinous actions.

Moore does what she can with the Starling role as her character suffers a major setback and is unjustly suspended from duty. Lecter, returning from a sabbatical in Rome in which he was forced to disembowel a detective (Giancarlo Giannini) who was on his trail, takes an active interest in the life of the only person on earth for whom he has any affection.



This puts them both at odds with a horribly-disfigured billionaire named Mason Verger (a fascinating Gary Oldman), a former victim of Lecter who has concocted a revenge scheme which involves man-eating pigs.

Ray Liotta, in full slimeball mode, plays rival FBI agent Paul Krendler, whose ill treatment of Clarice will put him on Lecter's bad side in a big way.

Lacking the new-car smell and scintillating story of SILENCE, Ridley Scott compensates by turning HANNIBAL into an elegant yet balls-out horror epic loaded with shock value and gore.

Scott pulls no punches with the graphic violence and boldly risks alienating audience members expecting more of the same but finding themselves in the middle of a big-budget H. G. Lewis flick.

There must've been a few walkouts by fans of the previous film when one character's entrails splashed onto the pavement or the ravenous pigs started feasting on screaming humans in loving closeup.

But (warning--the next two paragraphs contain spoilers) Scott saves the most memorably jaw-dropping image for the finale, as Lecter hosts a dinner party for Starling and Krendler in which the entree just happens to be Krendler's brain.

Our gracious and urbane anti-hero deftly slices around the top of the drugged Krendler's skull and pops it off, then begins to feed him sizzling morsels of his own sauteed gray matter hot off the wok as Starling, along with most of the audience, gapes in mortal revulsion.

A final encounter between Lecter and Starling defines their relationship unequivocably and ends the movie on a suitably morbid note.

While admittedly inferior to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I find HANNIBAL to be an outstanding horror film in its own right and above-average on every level. The Lecter character is taken farther than ever before and explored in lots of fun ways, yet still avoids the cartoonishness into which he finally sinks in RED DRAGON. For me, Ridley Scott's uncompromising foray into the horror genre is a memorable success.


Read our review of THE HANNIBAL LECTER COLLECTION

HANNIBAL -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 8/31/16

 

With 1991's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Anthony Hopkins burst onto the horror film scene with a Hannibal Lecter whose rich theatricality and giddy delight in his own unfathomable evil captured the imaginations of filmgoers, including many in the mainstream, like few such characters before or since.

Approaching his dark, Gothic lair in the bowels of a castle-like hospital for the criminally insane where he lurks like some medieval gargoyle, we share the trepidation of the young FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who has been sent to consult with Lecter regarding another serial killer on the loose (known as "Buffalo Bill" due to his penchant for skinning his victims).

Hopkins plays Lecter to the hilt, relishing each perverse aspect of the character just as Lecter enjoyed feasting upon the organs of those he killed--sometimes with "fava beans and a nice Chianti...fthfthfthfth!"

His version of the silken-voiced psycho, unlike that of MANHUNTER's equally fine Brian Cox, is a creation that would fit comfortably in any rogue's gallery of horror film icons.

One of the pleasures of this film is watching him toy with the callow Starling (excellently portrayed by Foster) on a purely emotional and intellectual level in which she has no defense, then growing to admire her courage, convictions, and strength of will.

Also unlike the Lecter of MANHUNTER, we get to see this monster at his full power once he's broken free in a terrifying sequence that is beautifully-directed by Jonathan Demme. When Lecter's brilliant escape plan goes into motion, it's a thrill to watch Hopkins turn into one of the most cunning and terrifying killers the screen has ever known.

Compared to his mad-dog antics, the film's wrap-up of the Buffalo Bill story is almost anti-climactic, although Demme does stage a nailbiting finale with Starling taking on the killer by herself in his pitch-dark cellar of death.

Still, Bill delivers a line to one of his captives that has since become one of the most oft-heard quotes in recent film history: "It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." And his naked dance will become seared in your memory whether you like it or not.

With a level of excellence that garnered it Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Director, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS remains one of the finest and most popular horror films ever made.


Read our review of MANHUNTER
Read our review of HANNIBAL

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS -- Movie Review by Porfle

HANNIBAL LECTER COLLECTION (Blu-Ray) -- Review by Porfle

(Blu-Ray comments by Ian Friedman. Originally posted on 10/11/09.)

 

With 20th-Century Fox And MGM Home Entertainment's release of the 3-disc boxed set HANNIBAL LECTER COLLECTION on Blu-Ray, it might be fun to look back on these three films and relive those wonderful memories of fava beans, skin lotion, bite marks, and brains. Mmm...brains.

Michael Mann started it all back in 1986 with MANHUNTER, the movie that introduced suave, sophisticated, and thoroughly evil Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Will Graham (William Petersen in an excellent performance) is a talented profiler who can get into the minds of the serial killers he's seeking out, but at the price of his own sanity. Retired after an attack by Lecter that almost killed him, Graham is lured back into the game when a maniac known as "The Tooth Fairy" starts murdering entire families. Graham visits Lecter in his cell for advice, and to see if the sight of his old adversary will reawaken his suppressed instincts.

A bonafide cult film, MANHUNTER's biggest fans will tell you that it's superior to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, while its detractors dismiss it as day-glo 80s cheese on the order of "Miami Vice." I'm not sure which Lecter film is best but I find this one to be first-rate in every respect. Tom Noonan's "Tooth Fairy" is an imposing figure whose calm, deliberate actions and quiet demeanor make him even scarier. In a thoughtful, soulful performance, Petersen makes for a highly sympathetic hero who's appalled by the thoughts and feelings in which he must immerse himself in order to think like a killer. The rest of the cast--Dennis Farina, Kim Griest, Stephen Lang, Joan Allen--are fine as well.

The highlight of the film, of course, is Brian Cox as Lecter. Caged in a stark white cell and stripped of anything that might conceivably be used as a weapon, this version of the famous character is cold, calculating, always wary and observant of the slightest detail, yet dulled and weary of a confinement which prevents him from interacting with the world in his own unique way. In this environment, his pretensions of sanity and normalcy are irrelevant, so he's very blunt and straightforward with Graham. The effect is chilling, with Lecter coming off as a creature of great cunning and intellect but absolutely dead inside, and we dread the thought of this thing ever walking free again.

The only good thing about the 2002 remake, RED DRAGON, is that it manages to make MANHUNTER look even better in comparison. A key scene shared by both films offers a good comparison--Lecter is allowed the privacy of a phone call to his lawyer, but instead manages to call a literary agent and get Graham's home address from the secretary. Brian Cox turns the scene into one of the film's high points, coolly finessing himself an outside line with a foil gum wrapper and then feigning an unctuous joviality with the secretary until she comes through with the address. Once procured, Lecter drops the fascade, pops the gum into his mouth, and returns to his coldly unsettling self. Anthony Hopkins, in the remake, performs almost the exact same scene but is too intent on being creepy to make it fun. Several other scenes that are key emotional high points in MANHUNTER--the hidden fingerprint, the sleeping tiger, the videotape discovery, etc.--are either glossed over or botched in RED DRAGON, as are most of the main characterizations.

With 1991's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Anthony Hopkins burst onto the horror film scene with a Hannibal Lecter whose rich theatricality and giddy delight in his own unfathomable evil captured the imaginations of filmgoers, including many in the mainstream, like few such characters before or since. Approaching his dark, Gothic lair in the bowels of a castle-like hospital for the criminally insane where he lurks like some medieval gargoyle, we share the trepidation of the young FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who has been sent to consult with Lecter regarding another serial killer on the loose (known as "Buffalo Bill" due to his penchant for skinning his victims).

Hopkins plays Lecter to the hilt, relishing each perverse aspect of the character just as Lecter enjoyed feasting upon the organs of those he killed--sometimes with "fava beans and a nice Chianti...fthfthfthfth!" His version of the silken-voiced psycho, unlike that of Cox, is a creation that would fit comfortably in any rogue's gallery of horror film icons. One of the pleasures of this film is watching him toy with the callow Starling (excellently portrayed by Foster) on a purely emotional and intellectual level in which she has no defense, then growing to admire her courage, convictions, and strength of will.

Also unlike the Lecter of MANHUNTER, we get to see this monster at his full power once he's broken free in a terrifying sequence that is beautifully-directed by Jonathan Demme. When Lecter's brilliant escape plan goes into motion, it's a thrill to watch Hopkins turn into one of the most cunning and terrifying killers the screen has ever known. Compared to his mad-dog antics, the film's wrap-up of the Buffalo Bill story is almost anti-climactic, although Demme does stage a nailbiting finale with Starling taking on the killer by herself in his pitch-dark cellar of death. Still, Bill delivers a line to one of his captives that has since become one of the most oft-heard quotes in recent film history: "It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." And his naked dance will become seared in your memory whether you like it or not.

With a level of excellence that garnered it Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Director, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS remains one of the finest and most popular horror films ever made.

Not so well-received, unfortunately, was the inevitable follow-up, HANNIBAL (2001). The unenviable task of trying to match the financial and artistic success of SILENCE fell to director Ridley Scott, whose ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER were already regarded as classics. Here, he is working not only with a lesser script but with a new leading lady, Julianne Moore, replacing the absent Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling. With the Lecter character now free and unrestrained, Anthony Hopkins has a field day developing him into an even more sinister, sardonic, self-satisfied, and almost supernatural force of evil who savors every sensual nuance of his heinous actions.

Moore does what she can with the Starling role as her character suffers a major setback and is unjustly suspended from duty. Lecter, returning from a sabbatical in Rome in which he was forced to disembowel a detective (Giancarlo Giannini) who was on his trail, takes an active interest in the life of the only person on earth for whom he has any affection. This puts them both at odds with a horribly-disfigured billionaire named Mason Verger (a fascinating Gary Oldman), a former victim of Lecter who has concocted a revenge scheme which involves man-eating pigs. Ray Liotta, in full slimeball mode, plays rival FBI agent Paul Krendler, whose ill treatment of Clarice will put him on Lecter's bad side in a big way.

Lacking the new-car smell and scintillating story of SILENCE, Ridley Scott compensates by turning HANNIBAL into an elegant yet balls-out horror epic loaded with shock value and gore. Scott pulls no punches with the graphic violence and boldly risks alienating audience members expecting more of the same but finding themselves in the middle of a big-budget H. G. Lewis flick. There must've been a few walkouts by fans of the previous film when the Italian detective's entrails splashed onto the pavement or the ravenous pigs started feasting on screaming humans in loving closeup.

But (warning--this paragraph contains spoilers) Scott saves the most memorably jaw-dropping image for the finale, as Lecter hosts a dinner party for Starling and Krendler in which the entree just happens to be Krendler's brain. Our gracious and urbane anti-hero deftly slices around the top of the drugged Krendler's skull and pops it off, then begins to feed him sizzling morsels of his own sauteed gray matter hot off the wok as Starling, along with most of the audience, gapes in mortal revulsion.

A final encounter between Lecter and Starling defines their relationship unequivocably and ends the movie on a suitably morbid note. While admittedly inferior to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, I find HANNIBAL to be an outstanding horror film in its own right and above-average on every level. The Lecter character is taken farther than ever before and explored in lots of fun ways, yet still avoids the cartoonishness into which he finally sinks in RED DRAGON. For me, Ridley Scott's uncompromising foray into the horror genre is a success.

Aspect ratio for this 3-disc set is 2.35:1 for disc one and 1.85:1 for discs two and three. Audio is English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and French 5.1 Dolby Surround and Mono, dubbed and subtitled in English, French, and Spanish. No bonus features.

Picture quality is great, with vivid and properly balanced colors. There is no sign of any digital encoding errors. The detail is also excellent. One thing about SILENCE OF THE LAMBS--the detail displayed by the film is generally pretty good (as you can tell by the sharpness of the title credits), but the picture is a little soft and smeary. I can't be sure, but I seem to recall the film having a hazy look to begin with.

If you're already a fan of these films, the HANNIBAL LECTER COLLECTION is a good way to add them all to your Blu-Ray collection. And if you haven't seen them yet, then here's your big chance to get Hannibalized.

HANNIBAL LECTER COLLECTION (Blu-Ray) -- Review by Porfle

HOWARDS END -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 11/29/16

 

I've always had an unreasoning fear of Merchant Ivory movies.  I was afraid that if I watched one, I would slowly sink into a murky mire of stiff drawing room drama that would bore me into submission and entomb me in a calcified shell of stilted dialogue and labored social entanglements. 

Having just watched my first one, however, I must say that I may have misjudged the genre.  For HOWARDS END (1992, Cohen Film Collection), probably the crown jewel in the celebrated oeuvre of distinguished producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, is not only solidly engaging on a literary basis but also about as impeccably rendered a period piece as one might ever hope to enjoy. 

The film does invite repeat viewings in order to peel away its various layers and to pick up on what I find to be a rich vein of visual symbolism akin to the days of silent cinema.  (Much of which, admittedly, was pointed out to me while listening to the engaging commentary track.)

The story, which takes place in England shortly after the turn of the 20th century, is all about that country's rigid class system and how people from the different strata of society were expected to interact in relation to one another.

In this case, that includes the wealthy, upperclass Wilcox family, their middleclass acquaintances the Schlegels, and a young lowerclass couple, Leonard Bast and his blowsy, disreputable "wife" Jacky (they're actually living in sin, so to speak), whose inadventent contact with the above will lead to tragedy as well as general interpersonal crises for everyone involved.

It all revolves around a quaint old country house called Howards End which is owned by Mrs. Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave), who holds her old family estate in deeply fond esteem.  Stiff, unimaginative husband Henry (Anthony Hopkins) is the opposite of his warm, emotionally open wife, and sees the house only as a bit of real estate.  Their children, on the other hand--sons Charles and Paul, and daughter Evie--eye it with jealous envy.

All are shocked when a deep friendship between Mrs. Wilcox and the oldest Schlegel sister, Margaret (Emma Thompson), results in Mrs. Wilcox leaving Howards End to Margaret upon her death.  While the Wilcoxes secretly burn the scribbled will, an awkward romance between Henry and Margaret threatens to give her ownership of the house after all. 

Meanwhile, Margaret's younger sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter), a free-thinker with a rebellious streak, is enraged when Henry inadvertently causes Leonard to lose his precious job and then stubbornly refuses to admit fault or help the penniless man.  This causes a deep divide between the two sisters and exacerbates tensions between the families which will eventually result in heated conflict and, finally, a violent incident. 

HOWARDS END is (very) high-end soap opera in a way, with Margaret marrying Henry mainly because the Schlegels--including ne'er-do-well brother Tibby--are about to lose the lease on their own house.  This compels her to reluctantly adopt the stuffy ways of the upper class even as Henry's lofty disregard for the Basts enrages Helen to the point where she flees to Germany and refuses to return home.

On a deeper level, the film is a fascinating examination of the implacable and largely inexplicable social mores which existed in England at that time and kept the poor in their place with little hope of advancement while the privileged class enjoyed an infinitely superior lifestyle.

Despite a relatively modest budget, there's nothing even remotely flimsy or cheapjack about this production.  The film is gorgeous in every aspect, a dazzling evocation of the period with a wealth of ideal locations that are consistently pleasing to the eye. 

James Ivory directs with great taste, subtlety, and skill, with a style that doesn't draw attention to itself.  The screenplay by Ivory and co-writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, adapted from the original novel by E. M. Forster, maintains a high literary standard throughout and is filled with choice dialogue including a fair amount of pointed humor.

 

Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are first-rate and work beautifully together as the charmingly awkward couple Henry and Margaret.  The young Helena Bonham Carter is utterly captivating as Helen--when I see her, I'm reminded of the Old Hollywood saying "They had faces in those days."  She would've been a natural for silent films and brings immeasurable presence to a period piece such as this.  In her brief role as the first Mrs. Wilcox, the great Vanessa Redgrave is disarmingly warm and as memorable as always. 

Other supporting roles are ideally cast, such as Samuel West and Nicola Duffett as the unfortunate Basts.  James Wilby does a fine job as Henry's dull older son Charles, whose clumsy efforts to gain his father's approval while trying to wrest Howard's End away from his new stepmother often border on the pathetic. 

As Charles' flighty and rather flaky wife Dolly, Susie Lindeman adds a touch of comedy to the story, as does Prunella Scales, whom most will remember as Sybil Fawlty in the BBC classic "Fawlty Towers", as the Schlegels' Aunt Juley.

The 2-disc Blu-ray from Cohen Film Collection comes in an attractive slipcase which includes an illustrated 26-page booklet containing film credits and essays by James Ivory, John Pym, and production designer Luciana Arrighi.   

Disc 1 contains the 16x9 widescreen feature film (looking fine with a new 4K restoration) with an exhaustive commentary by critics Wade Major and Lael Lowenstein. English subtitles are available. (The subtitles have an annoying PC tendency to replace the word "Miss" with the more modern term "Ms." which was coined several decades after the story takes place. This happens in a lot of subtitles these days and is a pet peeve of mine.)

Disc 2 contains the original and re-release trailers and the following featurettes:

--2016 conversation with James Ivory and Laurence Kardish, former Senior Curator of Film, MoMA
--2016 Cannes Film Festival interview with James Ivory and Vanessa Redgrave
--2016 Film Society of Lincoln Center Q & A with James Ivory
--Building Howards End
--The Design of Howards End
--1992 Behind-the-Scenes short featurette with comments by cast and crew
--James Ivory remembers Ismail Merchant
 
HOWARDS END is British drawing room drama with all the windows thrown open and the fresh air and sunshine allowed to come in, making it both an edifying intellectual experience and a refreshment for the senses.  In trying to describe it, I keep coming back to the word "impeccable", a quality that's in pretty short supply these days.

HOWARDS END -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle