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The Michigan Daily - Weekend M Zli

10B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, October 3, 2002
RENA GREIFINGER - I GIVE YOU MY WORD)

: ------------------- V-

'Manhunter' marks
Lecter's debut

ADDICTED TO CROSSWORDS

ello, my name is Rena and I have
a problem. It all started about a
year ago, but it really crept up on
me slowly, you know? I believe it was last
week when I decided I needed help -
needed to somehow release this burning
tension within me. I walked into Angel
Hall at 1 p.m. just like any other
Wednesday afternoon. I instinctively
shied to the right side of the doorway with
my habitual intention of grabbing a paper,
only to find the box empty. I felt a twang
of anxiety but I was used to this occur-
rence.
The panic did not set in untilI
approached the second box, which con-

veniently stands outside my lecture hall.
It had the same fate as its companion at
the entrance to the building: EMPTY!
I tried to keep myself from completely
hyperventilating and continually rubbed
my sweaty palms against my jacket, as if
I could somehow wipe away the fear that
I would have to sit through an entire lec-
ture without that page of the paper. As I
entered the auditorium, my eyes nerv-
ously scanned the floor for that familiar
black and gray of the first section.
Someone was bound to have left one
there. I couldn't seem to see straight,
everyone was blurry, and all I saw were
papers everywhere - scattered all over

the floor! But they were all Sports sec-
tions! No! I don't want the Sports sec-
tion! I NEED the crossword puzzle!
(Deep breath). Now, I know I am not
the only one. There are thousands of us
out there, trying hard to keep secret from
the world that we get off on figuring out
that last clue and filling in that final word
so that we can stare at the beauty of a
completed puzzle! There is a crossword
puzzle craze on this campus and I have
fully taken notice of it! Everywhere I go,
I see people hunched over, pencil in hand
(props to those who have moved onto the
pen), brow knitted over that damn clue
that they so know the answer to. Each


day there are hundreds of newspapers
flung (five letter word for "let fly") all
over classroom floors and corridors, yet
always with the puzzle ripped out. And
may I just say that when I pick up an
abandoned newspaper and find a jagged
edged hole where a crossword once laid,
my heart drops in disappointment.
Everyone is obsessed!
The thing is, I'm not even good at
these puzzles. It was only recently that I
actually completed both Monday's and
Tuesday's on my own! (I don't really
understand this, because my grandmoth-
er could do the Sunday Times puzzle in
pen! Shouldn't that be a genetic trait?).
But the anticipation of how each day's is
going to turn out is overwhelming! The
challenge .of each little, sneaky, clue
sends shivers up my spine. And the sat-
isfaction of conquering the trickiness
and filling in those scrumptious, little
boxes ..: oh the excitement! (I am a total
dork!) I know some of you know what
I'm talking about, though.
What I can't decide is if this whole
crossword puzzle phenomenon is a won-
derful endeavor upon the student body
or if it is its awful downfall. In some
ways, this addiction could be the new
anti-drug. It's possible that one night of
downing ten beers may be replaced with
pondering 10-down! (I don't want to
push it, though). I would much rather
see everyone needing their daily fix of
words and phrases, rather than a daily

fix of many other things. This is also a
great incentive for students to pick up a
paper in the morning and actually read
about what is going on in the world. We
are stretching our intellects, digging
into our memories, and becoming more
keen and observational each day. But,
could this also be the source of our
falling GPAs? Could we possibly be
spending so much time on these puz-
zles and these problems that our work
suddenly comes second? Could it be
that we would rather miss a class alto-
gether if we cannot have a crossword in
front of us to hold our attention? It has-
n't gotten to that point yet, but it may.
I don't truly think I have a problem,
but I just find the craze about cross-
words hysterical, myself being one of
the many who has gotten hooked.
Personally, I think it's great! I always
preach about balance. As long as we
can keep the various entities of our
lives balanced in harmony, we will be
healthy and successful. Let's concen-
trate on our studies. Let's relax, release
stress, and party on the weekends. And
by god, let's tackle those daily, mind-
boggling challenges with vigor and
enthusiasm so that we can all feel the
exhilaration of hanging a completed
puzzle on our wall! (Shit, am I the only
one that does that?)
- This is dedicated to Rich Norris
and Joyce Nichols Lewis. Throw me an
email at rgreifin@umich.edu.

By Jeff Dickerson
Daily Arts Editor
Before the "The Silence of the
Lambs" there was "Manhunter,"
the 1986 adaptation of the first
installment of Thomas Harris'
Hannibal Lecter trilogy, "Red
Dragon."
"Manhunter" follows the career
of Will Graham (William
Petersen, "CSI"), a retired FBI
agent with the innate. ability to
interpret and dissect the minds of
the criminally insane, or in the
case of the film, serial killers. His
psychological aptitude enables
him to incarcerate some of the
most dangerous criminals in
America, but the brutal images of
their heinous crimes torment Gra-
ham into an early retirement.
His sabbatical doesn't last long,
as a man called "The Tooth Fairy"
(Tom Noonan, "Eight Legged
Freaks") initiates a series of sadis-
tic murders. The serial killer
slaughters fami-
lies as they sleep,4
prompting a mas-
sive investigation
by the FBI. When
no clues emerge
and more bodies
are found, they
call Graham out of retirement.
William Petersen is superb as
agent Graham. His character,
while overtly intellectual, has
enough flaws to make him prag-
matic, and therefore, likable.
Petersen is able to display Gra-
ham's fears with a certain degree
of subtlety that gives his perform-
ance a genuine sense of honesty.
Petersen is indeed memorable as
the film's protagonist, but the
spotlight belongs to Brian Cox,
who is absolutely stunning as the
infamous cannibal doctor.
In order to gain more under-
standing of the serial killer on the
loose, Graham has his most notori-
ous apprehended criminal, Hanni-

bal Lektor (as opposed to Lecter in
the other films and the novels),
look into the case. The two men
engage in a mental chess match,
as Graham tries to recapture his
ability to comprehend the actions
of vicious killers like "The Tooth
Fairy."
Brian Cox ("Rushmore") gives a
commanding performance as Lek-
tor, one that is more subtle and sub-
dued compared to the more comic
and over the top approach taken by
Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Lektor's role in "Manhunter" is
minimal considering his greater
importance in the two following
films, but Cox's screen presence is
powerful nonetheless. There is no
sense of good in Cox's incarnation
of Lektor, simply pure evil.
Director Michael Mann made a
name for himself in the '80s as the
creator and executive producer of
the hit TV series "Miami Vice."
Mann later went on to direct the
feature films "The Last of the
Mohicans," "Heat"
and "The Insider."
From The parallels to
x. the "Miami Vice" in
Vaul terms of visual
stylistics are obvi-
ous, and some may
fault the film for
being so rooted in its time.
But Mann is able to craft a ten-
sion-filled thriller with his visual
style that few could accomplish.
"Manhunter" wisely avoids the
common mistake of so many Hol-
lywood thrillers, revealing too
much of the villain early on. "The
Tooth Fairy" is an enigma until the
final scenes, resulting in a charac-
ter that is far more frightening and
complex,
The title "Red Dragon" was
originally planned on during the
production of "Manhunter," but
was later dropped following the
box office disappointment of "The
Year of the Dragon" in 1985. Pro-
ducer Dino de Laurentiis wanted

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to avoid any possible correlation
with the other "dragon" film,
although their stories were com-
pletely unrelated.
While not quite as thrilling or
technically brilliant as the master-
piece "The Silence of the Lambs"
(winner of five Academy Awards),
"Manhunter" is a taut, suspenseful
film that is well crafted and
immensely entertaining.
"Hannibal" on the other hand
didn't live up to its two prequels,
and would ideally be forgotten by
fans of the series.
Thomas Harris' novels are not
done coming to the silver screen,

as the "Red Dragon" story returns
to theaters this weekend in a
remake with an all-star cast and a
hotshot Hollywood action direc-
tor.
Following the success of last
year's "Hannibal," which grossed
over $150 million in America
alone, Universal decided it was
time to revisit the first book of
Harris' trilogy.
"Red Dragon" will likely not
match the high quality of "Man-
hunter," as it seems the new ver-
sion will be more of an easy box
office success rather than a faith-
ful adaptation.


Abbey Theatre of Ireland 0/03UMFall Season

Special Performance for Students
Euripides' Medea
Featuring Fiona Shaw
Deborah Warner director
Wed 10/16 8 pm
Power Center


Jason, who wishes to divorce
Medea to marry the King's
, daughter and improve his own
situation, does not find the duti-
ful acquiescence that he antici-
pated from her. The unraveling
of their relationship ultimately
causes Medea to murder their
two sons in revenge. Fiona Shaw
delivers a stunningly passionate
and profoundly creative perfor-
mance as Medea in this Abbey
Theatre production that ran on
London's West End a year ago.
www.ums.org

ANN ARBOR REALTY
LOCATION - LOCATION - LOCATION
Central Campus
Efficiencies, 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apts.
Starting at $575/mo. Includes some utilities.
ANN ARBOR REALTY
616 CHURCH
(734) 663-7444
Open Mon-Fri, 9 am to 5:30 pm
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734.764.2538|

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Too many extracurricular activities - not enough studying.