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MONDAY
FEBRUARY 12, 2001
A
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MONDAY MOVIEs: PREPARE TO BE HORRIFIED
Despite Hopkins,
'Hannibal' falls way
short of 'Silence'
Nothing could save
mess that is 'Silverman'
By Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Writer
"Saving Silverman" centers on
three life-long friends Darren
(Jason Biggs), Wayne (Steve Zahn)
and J.D. (Jack Bnack) - who are
Sy Wilhelmina Mauritz
Daily Arts Writer
Hannibal Lecter is back and up to his
old shenanigans. Anthony Hopkins,
r rning to his Oscar-winning role, is by
f he best part of"fHannibal" I lopkins
adds the right amount of sincerity, poise,
Hannibal
Grade: B-
At Showcase
and Quality 16
decessor. "Silence
Lecter is still out
and of course,
savageness to
make Dr. Lector
one of the most
complex and
compelling movie
characters of our
time. There are
moments when
you really aren't
sure if'you're root-
ing for or against
him.
"H annibal1"
takes place ten
years afler its pre-
of the Lambs." Dr.
on the loose, now
not slight enough for my taste). There is
a lot of information that is crammed into
I lannibal's 130 minute running time, yet
the movie still drags from time to time.
For methe best partof"Silence ofthe
Lambs" was the witty repartee between
Dr. Lecter and Starling, which is lacking
in the sequel. Sometimes I got the sense
that "H annibal" missed it too because
the film rushes through necessary plot
points in order to quickly reach the
inevitable reunion between Clarice and
I lannibal. Of course I lopkins' character
dominates whenever onscreen, but he
really shines when he has someone there
to parallel him. He just wasn't given
much time with an equal in "I lannibal"
which was truly unfortunate.
Julianne Moore, who replaced Jodie.
Foster as Clarice Starling. was overall
pretty good. Especially good if you con-
sider the difficult situation she came
into, being that Foster was simply perfect
for the role. It seemed that at times
Moore vwas trying to do her best Jodie
Foster imitation, and that was frustrating.
I guess that is the problem in doing a
sequel with different casting.
The movie was beautiful to watch.
A great majority of "Hannibal" was
filmed in Italy with magnificent sun-
sets as the major backdrop along with.
operatic music filling in for the back-
ground noise. Director Ridley Scott
("Alien" and "Gladiator") does a nice
job of putting in simple yet elegant
touches to "Hannibal." which add
quite a bit to the whole aura of the
film.
A major downfall of "Hannibal,"
however is the gore. I know that this is
somewhat hard to avoid in a movie
Saving
Silverman
Grade: F
At Showcase
and Quality 16
consumed with
anything and
everything Neil
Diamond. Their
house is littered
with Diamond
paraphernalia
and when they
aren't sitting
around watching
television and
getting drunk,
the three play
gigs on the street
as a rocking Neil
roaming around Florence, Italy. Clarice
Starling, no longer the budding insecure
* agent, is now a more confidant but
slightly embittered woman. When an
assignment goes wrong and Starling is
the only one lelt to take the fall, her posi-
tion at the FBI is on shaky ground. After
a mysterious lead to Ilannibal's where-
abouts from the disfigured billionaire
(who is also the sole surviving victim of
Lecter). Clarice is put back on the case
and the hunt begins.
Those who have read Thomas Ilarris'
" annibal," will find that the movie
s fairly true to the book, with a slight
modification towards the end (although
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
ABOVE: "All I ever wanted was to be loved! For God's sake, can't you understand
that?" Anthony Hopkins does some serious emoting in "Hannibal."
BELOW: Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) is a tough gal who always gets her man.
Diamond cover band. Life, it seems.
couldn't get much better.
But wouldn't you know it, things
take a turn for the worse. Darren gets
set up with Judith (Amanda Peet) a
manipulative control freak, and the
two soon fall in love. Problem is.
Judith doesn't go for Wayne and J.D.
and tells Darren that if he wants to
stay with her.,he can no longer hang
with his boys. Being the whipped
puppy that he is, Darren chooses
Judith over his fellow band mates.
And a Neil Diamond cover band just
can't quite rock out minus their lead
singer.
Wayne and J.D. put their heads and
collective brain together and come up
with a plan - kidnap Judith and stop
Darren from marrying a woman that
they know isn't right for him.
Complicating matters is that fact that
Darren's high school sweetheart is
about to take her vows to become a
nun (she spends her free time lifting
weights with the sisters -- seriously)
and J.D. and Wayne are pushing hard
for the old pals to reunite.
Nothine in this movie works. The
jokes aren't funny, the writing is
awful and the acting is worse. Things
are so bad that by the time this baby
wraps up with a musical number fea-
turing (believe it or not) the real Neil
Diamond jamming with his cover
band, we are on our knees in thanks
that the pain has stopped an4d the
movie is at long last over. Ninety
minutes never felt so long.
Jason Biggs, who seems as if he
will be forever known for his have
scene in "American Pie," plays the
same lovable loser that's become his
calling card. Biggs cannot act to save
his lif, so if Hollywood is deter-
mined to keep him in movies, soie
acting lessons will be in order.
Same goes for Amanda Peet; a
beauti ful face who looks like she was
created on the same day as Denise
Richards, and Amelia Heinle. Don't
feel too jealous, though. because
what God gave Amanda in looks, he
took away from her in talent. Peet's
stale delivery and weak attempts at
physical comedy reduce her to rioth-
ing more than a good-lookingSet
piece, that is until she nets one of her
teeth popped out in a fist fight.
g Jack Black ("t ligh Fidelity") and
Steve Zahn ("Out of Sight"), two
one-note performers who can be very
funny when used sparingly, both out-
wear their welcome early on and
become more annoying as the film
progresses.
The fact that a movie that centers
on a Neil Diamond cover band was
actually made is pretty pathetic.
However, pathetic cannot even begin
to approach the vicinity of the tripe
that is "Saving Silverman."
4
"'
revolving around a cannibal, but quite
frankly most of the worst scenes were
unnecessarily bloody, disgusting and
detracted quite a bit from my overall
enjoyment of the movie. By the time
"Hannibal" hits its absurd climactic
ending you don't know whether you
want to laugh or throw up.
I believe that many of' the movie's
worst scenes could have been so much
more eff'ective if they had simply used
the audience's power of imagination a
little more, and their sense of vision a
lot less. What little faith the film indus-
try must have in us if they think we can-
not imagine something ten times worse
than a movie could ever show, especial-
ly one with an,"R" rating.
Prinze deserves dumpster for hell of 'Heels'
By Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Writer
recent memory, no film genre seems to have pro-
duced as many bad movies as the romantic comedy. For
every smart and well-done take on the tried and true
Head Over
Heels
Grade: D-
At Showcase
and Quality 16
boy and girl fall in love story,
there are dozens upon dozens of
half-heartcd attempts which end
up in the vast wasteland of
mediocre movies. At the center
of this trend is Freddie Prinze Jr.,
an actor with boyish good looks
and not much else. Prinze's
goofy, dorky delivery is stale and
tiresome and yet he continues to
find work, spinning the same
story over and over again.
"Head Over heels" is Prinze's
latest stab at his target audience
and they should be just tickled by
persona out the window for at least a few minutes to
give the film a good shot of bathroom humor in the
form of his hulking dump.
However one bathroom scene is not enough for
"Head Over Heels." The film also treats us to the afore-
mentioned girls hiding out in a ,bathroom stall when
feces starts spurting out of the toilet Old Faithful style.
Somehow this moment is symbolic of the movie as a
whole. Continuing its appeals to the least common
denominator. "1 lead Over Heels" also includes a run-
ning gag in which a huge dog knocks people down and
then attempts to hump them once he has them pinned
on the ground. Using animals for laughs is one of the
oldest and easiest tricks in the book. so it should come
as no surprise that it pops up throughout the film.
Believe it or not, there's a story here and it centers on
Amanda (Monica Potter), a girl waiting for Mr. Right to
pop into her life. Amanda lives with flour supermodels
(don't ask) and the five spend much of their time gaz-
ing out their window into Jim's (Prine) apartment.
Then one night, Amanda thinks she sees Jim kill some-
one and wham, barn, slam, the film takes off as a "Rear
Window" wannabe for the next 45 minutes. Once this
bit runs it course, the story makes a quick U-turn and
changes over to a FBI game of cat and mouse in what
Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
"Saving Silverman" is the latest movie about a Neil Diamond cover band trying to
make it in a Guns 'N Roses cover band kind of world. It's vile trash.
his performance; that is if they like seeing Prinze spend
time stinking up the bathroom while several other girls
hide in the shower, close to suffocation due to the
'stench. Yes, Prinze seems to chuck his "ain't he cute"
I*.
(,uurtesv oifUUniversal Pictures
Freddie Prinze Jr. definitely deserves the "feces rush" for
his star-breaking role in "Head Over Heels." It's dirty filth.
is nothing more than a desperate attempt by the makers
to stretch the film out to a 90 minute running time.
With Prinze leading the way, the cast is awful across
the board. Potter, who lacks the charm or the talent to
be a leading lady is the perfect partner for Prinze. There
isn't even the slightest hint of chemistry or connection
between the two performers, as they both fail in their
attempts to convince us that their characters are truly in
love. Prinze and Potter stumble along in the scenes that
they share together, with neither having the chops to
rise above their lame material. Instead they fit right in.
One of the more amazing things about the movie is
the fact that it was directed by Mark S. Waters, whose
last film was the creepy and proinising "I louse ofYes."
It's no coincidence that "I louse ofYes" had Prinze in a
supporting role where he was at least bearable
onscreen, and this probably led Waters to cast the actor
here. It's disappointing to see a director with so much
potential waste it on such an uninspired film.
Really, everyone who was involved with "Head Over
Heels" in any capacity deserves to be packed into a
bathroom stall and subjected to the feces rush. Maybe
then, we'll be spared of seeing garbage like this anytune
soon.
DO YOU THINK THAT THE GOOFY, SWEET CHARM
OF PRINZE AND BIGGS IS UNDERAPPRECIATED BY
TH E DAILY'S ELITIST ARTS CRITICS?
ALTERNATE VIEWPOINTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
SOUND OFF ON THE MICHIGAN DAILY'S
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Courlesv o UnersPui es
Check out the 'noculars on these little fillies! Behold, the lovely ladies of "Head Over Heels," which unfor-
tunately has nothing to do with the Smith/Orzabal Tears for Fears classic of the same name.
* Seeking a REWARDING SUMMER lob?
A%1.11 onAit Peer Advisor'!
Payment is room & board plus stipend.
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