wait, there's more! mi online for bonus Daily Arts stories about Marcel Marceau and the Lonesome Organist. They're most defi- nitely vorth your time. T ig MONDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2001 A michigandaily.com/arts 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 ONLINE FORUM. WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM/FORUM t 8 '1 J 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. * || - e A * aMM Mf~e=MT - a:N.a L6 .. I! .rw."Y. ill 0 I - - - - a%- WA .Mo. - App"pwgrmw*-. fi-Affi jk vw"k- I