With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts. While quite a bit of detail was lost in the movie, how can you really expect a three hour movie to capture what takes Rowling hundreds of pages to explain? This said, Yates did a great job capturing the spirit of the book. What really made the movie for me was the talent of the actors. As expected, the older cast members deliver some of the best acting England has to offer. Well done to the cast and crew! I can't wait for the next one!!
I have read the book and went to see this film on the first night it opened. I spent most of my time whispering who was who and what was happening into my sisters ear (who hasnt read the book)! I feel it was very intense and serious all the way throgh and scray at times. Just at the very end when the big fight scene came on, a woman took an eleptic fit and they had to turn it off for 15 minutes - which obviously spoiled the film for us. I will be going back to see it again where hopefully there will be no more interuptions.
I was pretty disappointed when they said they were filming this. Originally filmed as "Manhunter" (before "Silence of the Lambs"), without Anthony Hopkins, I thought the original was good and didn't warrant a remake--Hollywood just wanted to make more money off the Hannibal Lecter 'trilogy' (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal). And after the not-so-great "Hannibal", I was expecting the worst. Although it looks like a shiny, expensive Hollywood film; it's really pretty good. Not as great as it's predecessors, but very watchable. Ted Tally returns as script-writer (he did "Silence..." as well), and he knows how to adapt Harris' novels--I just wonder why he didn't decide to adapt "Hannibal", which could have been much better. The acting is better than good, but I can't say great and I can't exactly put my finger on why that is. Everyone is good in their roles, although there's something about Watson's American accent that rubs me the wrong way and I think it hinders her performance a little bit. Better than Hannibal
You can't help but to keep thinking of Manhunter and I went into this film thinking what did they have to offer that the first version didn't already do on another level? Well, it is more faithful to the book. There's no denying that. But Manhunter is clearly a much more superior film. Lecter's role is of course expanded and thats okay but lets compare the rest of the film. Edward Norton and William Petersen. Petersen's Will Graham is a very complex person with psychological problems and his family also suffers because of it. Norton's version has none of that, he's just dutiful to his job. Mary Louise Parker as his wife just sits there and nods her head! Where was the development of her character? The biggest flaw for me was Ralph Fiennes as Dolarhyde. Fiennes is really not very tall. In fact when he stands next to the wee Emily Watson he's not that much taller. Tom Noonan was a much better Dolarhyde. He stands like 6'7" or something, a real monstrous presence. Fiennes is maybe 5'9", MAYBE!! And now to Brett Ratner. He does a decent job here but does this film have any real style or vision? Not really, and we all know Michael Mann is a genius with his visionary style. Noonan's character was a real monster. Fiennes seems to come off as just a kook. While I didn't dislike this film, it just seems to be made by the numbers. It looks good, has great actors and is faithful to the original story. But where is the heart and vision? Manhunter had all of that, and more.
Incredible fairy tale but after all why not. In this world of ours everything is possible even flying to the moon. And there we do fly to the moon, or are flown to the moon. And it works and is pleasant for two main reasons. First this maid who is playing Cinderella revisited is able to say a few nice truths to this biggy future would-be senator, like the fact that he would never have noticed her if she had been a plain maid. And also because her son is the sentimental, even sentimentalese naive argument that makes the sauce set, and set it does and set it will. So enjoy the fairy tale even if today's world is not that pleasant all the time, and New York City that clean and that safe. After all it is nothing but, and that's something indeed, a Christmas fairy tale, a Christmas carol of sort, the best fairy tales in the world.
