Fiction vs. Fiction: Hannibal (2001)

 Before you ask, 'No, I haven't read the Book in the time since I wrote about The Trench.'

That said, the Wiki on the Book is very thorough and, well, I'm either going to do this now or never.

Hannibal was released in 1999 and the Film followed in 2001.

As noted in my Review, the Film was rewritten over 15 times to coax Jodie Foster back.
When you read about the Book, you'll know why she said 'no' and why this was required in the first place.

Let's take one last bite out of...

***VS***

What's the Same?

The core Story remains unchanged here.  

The big moments- like the Dinner Scene and the Hanging- are in both.

It's still about Hannibal being hunted, taking out his hunters and confronting Clarice once again.

What happens when they interact at the end...is a bit different in the Film.

What's Different?

In the Book, Lecter returns to a Home that he somehow rented under a fake name.  On top of that, he got plastic surgery to disguise himself.

In the Film, he goes to Krendler's House and wears a hat sometimes.
He lures her to the House in the Book but takes her there himself in the Film.

In the Book, he fixates on Clarice Starling now as she reminds him of his dead Sister.  She'd be a key part in Hannibal Rising, which wouldn't be written until 2006 (which was only done to appease Dino DeLaurentiis).

His plan is to brainwash her, remove her personality and make her into a version of his Sister.  Gross.

Speaking of gross, Verger's Assistant in the Book is his muscle-bound, lesbian Sister named Margot.  She wants his...essence to create a child with her lover, since she's infertile. 
I misread who the recipient would be at first, which was obviously much grosser.

He has a put-upon Doctor in the Film.

Verger has Barney (the Guard) working for him as well in the Book.  He's gone by Act 1 of the Film, simply selling Lecter merchandise and being told off by Starling.

Verger is killed by the Pigs he trained to possibly eat Lecter. 
In the Book, well, how can I say this nicely?  He has an unpleasant thing put in one end of him and a different, also unpleasant thing put in the other end of him.
Also, his Sister takes the sample from this.  Gross.

Here's where things get *really* controversial...

In the Book, Starling falls for Lecter (after he lets her talk to the exhumed skeleton of her Father!!!!), offering to be his lover if he lets her personality stay intact.  He accepts and they live happily ever after in Buenos Aires, funded by Margot.

In the Film, Lecter cuts off his hand to escape the handcuffs put on him by Starling.  They don't live happily ever after.

Final Thoughts

I'm not upset by most of these changes.  Can you blame me?

After watching the Film, I was annoyed by how it all played out.  I had to read what happened in the Book.
It's worse- it's so much worse.

Yes, Film Starling loses all agency in Act 3, with the simple act of putting the cuffs on to do a thing for her.  It's disappointing.
Book Starling goes off to live with the Cannibal Murderer and abandons her entire life.  It's character assassination.

Dino De Laurentiis supposedly knew that Jodie Foster would turn this down after reading the Book in 1999.  She genuinely expressed interest in doing another Film as Starling as late as 1997.

I did read that parts of this were adapted- with many changes- in Hannibal on NBC.  I still haven't watched it.
Given that it covers everything BUT Silence of the Lambs (due to rights issues), I'll have to someday.  Maybe once we're past November.
That and the Book version of Hannibal Rising, which I already own.

For now, I'm done with 'the late, great Hannibal Lecter' for a while.  

Skip the Book.
Skip the Film- just less, I guess?

Should You Bother?: Elektra- Director's Cut (2005)

 In the wake of 41 different Synder Cuts, it's easy to overlook many other Director/Director's Cuts.

In a previous edition of this Segment, I looked at the previous Film (Daredevil) and how his Director's Cut restored, well, the Plot.

So, when I ran across a Director's Cut at a Goodwill for Elektra, I was curious.

FYI, I do have the normal version as well, which is still factory sealed.  Someone really didn't want that present in 2006, apparently.

Can a Director's Cut make a Film like Elektra into something great?

Should You Bother?

The Film features lots of little Cuts throughout.

Sadly, that equates to only THREE more minutes of Runtime.
On the positive side, I never actually reviewed this, so let's do both!

Elektra is back from the dead- thanks to Terrance Stamp's Stick- and is killing bad guys for the Yakuza.
This Cut lets us see the blade pierce her target's chest.

She initially refuses another job, but soon takes it to escape her nightmares.

All of the backstory she was lacking in Daredevil is here.

She's told to hang around before getting the assignment, which means meeting two people.

You know that they are clearly the targets, right?  Great.

The backstory is told through tinted flashbacks to her past.
These are extended in small ways throughout the Director's Cut.

She decides not to kill the duo and fends off some Ninjas.
They disappear in clouds of green smoke in both Cuts, so that wasn't a PG-13 thing.

This leads Carey Hiroyuki-Tagawa (barely in this) to hire a bunch of powered Hand Assassins.

Curiously, the Director's Cut removes a line where they are all named...but does include Elektra's friend taunting the lead Hand guy before being killed.

Priorities!

She's saved via Ex Machina courtesy of Stick (oddly similar to Madame Web) and told the truth...

The girl is a MacGuffin known as The Treasure.
She can be trained for good...or evil.

They flee to Elektra's home- making those Flashbacks cost effective by reusing the sets- and we see here set a trap.

In the Director's Cut, we get an extra shot of her with a candle before she ignites the stoves.

She manages to kill the remaining bad guys in a Hedge Maze, thanks to her sometimes ability to see the near future.

After a big fight with the Leader, she throws her remaining Sai about 200 feet through the Maze to strike Typhoid (not Mary) in the face.

The impact was restored for this Cut.  That was a PG-13 thing.

We get a nice good-bye as Elektra can't stay with the Father and Daughter...because reasons.

She walks off to...well, you know where she ended up by now.  The End.

****

I'll be honest- it's still mostly the same.  If that doesn't sway you, you're most people.

In spite of how I may sometimes come off, I want Films to be good and I can be generous in grading them.  For me, this is that kind of Film.

It's not great.  It's not shit.  It's alright.

This Cut didn't add lots of Plot or tons of characterization.  It added a tiny bit of both, but it is mostly just a case of using Take B instead of Take A.

According to Rob Bowman, he recut the Music quite a bit too.
I didn't notice that much.

Sorry, Rob.

On the plus side, I can now add another Film to the list of Christmas Films!

Verdict: A tentative, yes.  It's not much in the way of changes, but it still looks and feels nice.

Again- if you didn't love the Theatrical Version, there's not enough here to sway you though.

Fun Fact: Bob Sapp- who played Stone- was on The Tonight Show with Daredevil in 2003.

Now which one do I keep?

Tubi Thursday: Specters (1987)

 Just for fun, let's look at the only two Horror Films Directed by a Director.

First up, a Film that I constantly try to re-spell the Title of...

It is 'Specters' in English, in case you didn't read the Header.

I'm immediately hit by Italian Horror Deja Vu as a bunch of folks- including Donald Pleasance, naturally- dig up some secrets in the Catacombs.

This isn't just the fake Movie from inside Demons, is it? 

The Film is an interesting exercise in a start-stop narrative and full of time-wasting.

They spend 5 whole minutes on a Surprise, It's Actually a Movie They're Shooting bit.
My joke about Demons seems more apt now, eh?

While they're working there, a group of 'teenagers' go on a Tour.  The Horny Guy and Gullible Girl break away from the group- led by a Blind guy- to make out.

It goes horribly awry as wind and rocks fly...but they don't actually die and never factor into the Plot again.

This kind of happens alot here.  That and the woman having dreams of Copywritten Universal Monsters (and Nosferatu, in shadow).

Skipping way ahead, they keep working and investigating before a mostly-off-screen monster kills this lady and a few others.

On the plus side, the tunnels look neat.  I'm getting real Alien vibes and I'm not just saying that to trigger any algoritihm.

Why not just make the Film set down here?

Her dreams and reality eventually come together as she's sucked down to the Catacombs for the big finale.

Will the creature finally show its face?
Will you be awake still?

To find out, stream it now.

A Film that has good moments...spread out over 90 minutes.  It just wastes so much time.

So much walking.  So much staring.  Again- 5 minutes wasted on the fake-out!

The Story had promise.  It wasn't that original- even in 1987- but it could have been good.

Easy pitch- they take some artifacts from the Tomb.  While most of them are down there (with Pleasance and someone else topside), all hell breaks loose.

Now they are trapped and exploring AND trying to escape the Monster.
It's better than what we get, which includes a prolonged Scene of a Waiter being scared, running away and then dying for no good reason.

Good people were at least partly involved here.  Dardano Sacchetti is one of the Writers!  Pleasance was better off being killed by an evil Violin!

Sadly, the Film is overshadowed by stuff like Demons.  Hell, it is overshadowed by Demons III: The Ogre.

Now about that Creature from The Black Lagoon Remake in the news now....

A Film that should have at least been a crazy, breezy Horror Film.  It's like picking apart a tiny chicken wing for 3 scraps of dark meat though.

Forgotten Sequels: Hannibal (2001)

Trump keeps bringing up Hannibal Lecter.  I need to get rid of this DVD.
It's a win-win!

2001's Hannibal was the long-delayed Sequel to The Silence of the Lambs based on the 1998 Book of the same name.  The Film allegedly had around 15 Rewrites in order to convince Jodie Foster to return.

So now Julianne Moore is playing 'Clarice Starling.'
By the way, does anyone remember the 2021 Show about her?  It was only 3 years ago.
Nobody?

The Film tells the tale of Clarice as an FBI Agent and Lecter's vacation in Italy.  Is it a coincidence that Dino De Laurentiis held the rights to these stories and Thomas Harris set the Book there?

To see how over a dozen rewrites can't make you great, read on...

In 2001, a rich guy- Gary Oldman disguised as a wad of chewed up gum- is a rich guy obsessed with Lecter, buying stuff from the Guard.

For what it is worth, Frankie Faison got THREE paychecks out of this role, coming back for the Prequel.

Meanwhile, Starling is an FBI Agent leading a raid to take out a drug dealer.

One of the Cops blows things, leading a few Agents to be killed and the Dealer is shot while her baby was strapped to her.

She did nothing wrong, so...

She's publicly shamed for it, with actual News Coverage of this FBI Raid.

Remember how this happens all of the time today- News Coverage of FBI Raids.
Yes, I know that this is based on Waco, but the Book came out 5 years later and this Film 8 years later.

Over in Italy, famous wanted killer Hannibal Lecter is an Art Dealer and Lecturer.

Nobody can tell it is him because he wears this hat.

In the Book, he has plastic surgery, but they didn't bother here.
Enough Book talk- that's for another Article.

Barely a thing happens in the first hour here as we get an Italian Detective (who else- it's Giancarlo Gianini) tries to prove it is Lecter (he's not blind, so...).

To find out that he's the real deal, he looks up the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List and... this sure will be awkward later in 2001, no?

Oldman and his ally Krendler (Ray Liotta) get Starling in trouble by writing a fake Lecter letter (because nobody could figure that out).

In Italy, Lecter realizes that Gianini is working for Oldman and kills him.  He only foreshadowed it so much that it was literally blocking out the Sun.

Lecter escapes to America- traveling internationally as a Wanted Criminal is super easy, barely an inconvenience- and taunts Clarice some more, before he's grabbed by Oldman's men.

She rescues him, but is then hit by an invisible bullet (the guy fell dead and somehow he also shot?).

Bye, agency!

Earlier, we saw him break into Liotta's House and spook his dog into silence.  Symbolism much?

He convinces the Doctor to kill Oldman and leaves with Starling.

She awakens in a dress (ew!) and with her impossible wound closed.
She's drugged still and taken to a famous Dinner Scene.

FYI SNL parodied this with Liotta in 2003.  It's mysteriously NOT on YouTube.

He tries to seduce her (double ew!) and she cuffs herself to him.

He pulls out a large blade and...escapes?

I guess he cut his hand off and got on ANOTHER flight.  He'll return in...nothing.  The End.

Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Sir Ridley Scott.
(Not Sir) Thomas Harris.

How could it all go so wrong?!?

To begin with, the Story is not great.  It is all about how amazing Lecter is and how out of sorts Starling is.  People conspire to hurt her, and she struggles to survive.  People conspire to kill him, and he thrives, always 5 steps ahead.
I can see why Foster and Demme turned this down.

Lecter was always a male Mary Sue (Harry Stu?).  Things didn't change here.  They got worse!

The pacing is the biggest killer here as Scott is way more interested in how to frame Scenes than he is to make interesting ones.  It takes a good hour for a big moment to happen.  Said moments are telegraphed so far in advance that I read them in 1991!

The Film also went out of its way to be extra gross and disturbing.  Mind you, that's still nothing on the Book- again, more on that later.  One of them is memorable- I'll grant you that- but so is, for instance, the 'R*pe Scene from Cannibal Holocaust and that wasn't really necessary either.

This is excess in its truest sense and it even goes out of its way to mess with past Films.  Remember the shocking description of the 'Nurse being attacked' from Lambs?
Well, they show it, taking away the ability to visualize it as truly horrific in your mind's eye.

Joy.

At last, I can put Hannibal Lecter to bed...unless I cover the TV Show.  Not yet- let's go back to the '80s.  Stay tuned...

Fiction vs. Fiction: Meg 2- The Trench (2023)

 I got a copy of the Book.  I watched the Film.

One is very different.

The Meg is about a Giant Shark.
The Trench is about another one.

Let's take a deep (get it?) look at the 1999 Book and the 2023 Film.

***VS***

What's the Same?

In the Book and Film, Jonas Taylor is an Undersea Expert who accidentally freed a Megalodon Shark.

He's back now because there's another Shark.

That's literally it.

What's Different?

The Film begins with a Segment showing a T-Rex eat some Dinosaurs, walk halfway into the water and then getting eaten by a Shark.

This is in THE FIRST BOOK and presented as a Lecture.  It just kind of happens in the Film.

The Film features Statham as Jonas and he's...fighting environmental crime?  In the Book, he's a broken man whose marriage is in trouble and lost a child to stillbirth.  

In the Book, the Shark in question is the baby from the last one.  In the Film, it is one that was discovered some other way.  It's also bioluminescent in the Book...and not in the Film.

It escapes in both versions.  It leaves because it is a Female and in Estus.

In the Book, it does mate with one Shark in the titular Trench...and immediately kills it.  It never mates in the Film (that we see).

Read the Book if you want a full page description of a 70 foot Shark mating with a 45 foot one.

The Book features a parallel Story involving Jonas tracking the Shark across the Ocean as it kills random people/whales, while his Wife Terry Taylor is stuck down in The Trench.

You see, there's an evil Billionaire named Benedict who's down there for e-vil reasons.  On top of that, there are a trio of Krononsauruses out there chomping on the subs.  His protege Celeste is trying to seduce Jonas to get the intel she needed.

In the Film, Jonas and company (no Terry, she was recast as Chinese and then killed off between Films) end up in The Trench and then go back to the surface.

There's a big showdown in the Trench involving the Shark, the Dinosaurs, betrayal, an incest reveal (thanks?) and Jonas reuniting with his Wife.  He's literally being chased by giant Sea Creatures in a one-man submersible at the bottom of the Ocean!

In the Film, three Sharks attack a Chinese Resort...like in the last Film.  There's also a Giant Squid and land Dinosaurs that somehow swam up from the Trench... I guess.

Jonas is never able to keep up with the Shark in the Book.  In the Film, he kills two of them.

Final Thoughts

Oh boy.  This isn't even the same thing.  At all!

The Film is a dumb, mostly enjoyable time.  It is a monster mash, featuring a trio of Sharks, a giant Octopus and random land dinosaurs.
It is just a shame that so much of it is a rehash, even with the creatures attacking a Chinese Resort again!

The Book is not exactly cerebral but is way more focused.  One giant Shark.  The Kronosaurus trio is a bonus.

The parallel Story features lots of twists and turns, big moments that feel like they should be in a Film and it all comes together.

If you're going to compare the two, there's no match.

I just bought a copy of the 3rd Book and I'm sure to read that more than watch a 3rd Film.

I know it isn't a Film and Statham is not in it, but seriously read the Book.  It's not amazing literature, but it is intense Shark action and pure insanity by the end.

Rip-Off Cover Art: Risen (2021)

 A Film can sometimes be quite unique.

Other Films cannot be.
Or, at the very least, not marketed as unique.

Take this 2021 Film for example...

Are you getting deja vu?

I know that I am.

For instance, those outfits.

It is Arrival.

Similar backgrounds (not one to one, but close) with a large object sticking out of the ground against the sky with an orange glow.

There's a catch, of course.

This appears to be the ORIGINAL Cover Art used...

That's a bit different.

Did you Distributor get a bit cheeky there?
They did, didn't they?

Immediate Response: Rifftrax Live!: Point Break

 Tubi Thursday is bumped back for the once a Year (save for the Replay) Live Show.

Let me tell you whether or not to come back on Tuesday for the Replay...

The Good

* The Film is just good enough to be enjoyable, but also just bad enough to Riff without feeling bad.

Would you imagine telling someone watching this when it came out that the same lady would direct a Film like Zero Dark Thirty?!?

* The Riffs are great.  Mike especially has the darkest/meanest jokes.  Good for him.

* Lori Petty.  Always a good thing.

* Plenty of great jokes are made based on the fact that The Ex-Presidents wear the Masks they do.

The Bad

* Our Theater didn't get the feed started until DURING the Rifftrax Intro.  I'll have to scour Reddit for the early jokes.

* With a longer Film, there's no Short(s).

A really good Live Show.  
I'm just unhappy that we didn't get to see the Intro... again.

Forgotten TV: The Outer Limits- 'The Origin of Species' (with Ryan Reynolds)

 The previous Episode had a Sequel a year later in 1998.

Let's get right to it...

I guess I kind of have to SPOIL the ending of the last one a bit.  Just read about/watch that Episode first...

*Pause*

So, the Professor and his Students...and his Son...and his Son's Girlfriend have found an ancient ship and are invited to enter it to meet our Makers.

The trip into orbit is rough and the Professor (Ron Rifkin) tries to interface with the ship afterwards.

It seems to hurt him and make him glow blue, so his son (Ryan Reynolds) tries to free him...and they both disappear.

There goes the future A-List Actor!
The remainder of his screen time here is limited to *sharing* a hologram role with Rifkin.

Help me, Obi Wan...

I kept waiting for a big return...but nope.

So now the Students (and Hope) are stuck on the ship.

They look for information, when the ship starts to morph (with some slightly dated '90s CGI).

It also starts to separate the group, pulling some into the Wall and not returning them!

They all end up being taken and are confused when they wake up with a mark on them.

Well, we only see Hope do this, but they had to squeeze lots of content into 44 minutes after all.
It does find time for this weirdness...

Thankfully it is too low-res for me to need to blur anything.

The Ship lands and they see....

Yeah, I don't want to SPOIL everything here.

Look- you can watch this for free (at time of Writing) on YouTube.

Stream it now already.

Well, it wasn't great in one regard- Ryan Reynolds has about 5 lines in the whole thing.  Most of them are when he's the shared hologram with Rifkin.

So, now it looks like I'm doing lazy clickbait.  Thanks for that, 26-year-old TV Show!

Joke aside, the Episode is quite good.
It makes a good use of a small, but creative Set.

Yes, this did come out a year (roughly) after Cube.  Did the Film inspire this?  Maybe.

There's more to the Episode than that of course, with some high-concept Sci-Fi and a not-so-subtle moralizing.

I'm still peeved about the lack of Reynolds here (especially how they try to explain it!), but it is not so bad that I have to lie down or anything.

A good Episode which raises many moral questions and doesn't truly answer any.  Should I go back to review Mr. Reynolds' earlier appearance next?