Hannibal Rising and Half Nelson

Hannibal Rising - Presented as a prequel to Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal, Hannibal Rising could have been a lot worse. That's not saying, however, that the movie was good. It has its share of ridiculousness. We learn that Lecter is a victim of brutal violence suffered when he was 8 years old, surviving bombings at the hands of war criminals. He watches as they kill his entire family. He breaks out of a Soviet orphanage and travels to France where he meets his Japanese aunt (!!). Somehow, he already speaks perfect French (although he is Lithuanian and shouldn't he speak German?) and is able to study medicine without having any education. Turns out, his Japanese aunt is a survivor of Hiroshima and is some sort of Super Geisha Samaurai who can kick major ass and trains Lecter into being able to cut a man's head off in a one single swoop of a sword (which is so damn silly that I nearly laughed out loud). Still, the movie isn't a complete mess. The beginning drags on for far too long and the end becomes absolutely ridiculous right down to the bad acting (I mean, like, Saw bad). Still, what's in the middle isn't all that bad. As part of a franchise, the movie doesn't do much damage. Still, it all just seems a little unneccessary. Is it really important to see where Lecter, the greatest serial killer in literary and film history, came from? Is it really important to debate whether he was born a serial killer or made to become one? Gaspard Ulliel does a fine job as Hannibal. He's mostly creepy but... there is no way in hell that this kid would grow up to look ANYTHING like Anthony Hopkins. Still, the film is a decent bloodbath complete with everything you would expect from the franchise right down to the cannibalism.
Grade: C

Half Nelson - This is the kind of movie that is such a gem that it becomes such a shame that no one is going to see it. How the brilliant director/writers managed to weave together - seamlessly - politcal commentary, commentary on the nature of modern family relationships, existential struggles, racial tensions and ironies, and the struggles with which we are born by simply being human, is beyond me. It's a gritty, sensitive, well controlled and emotionally harrowing film set in Brooklyn that manages to avoid the inspirational cliches of many teacher-student films and the obligatory violence of films set in the ghetto. Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling finally making the movie and giving the performance that I knew he could) is an idealistic eighth-grade History teacher in an inner city mostly black school who inspires his students by day and drugs himself at night with crack cocaine. Dan is well-liked by his students because he challenges them and doesn't treat them like kids. He coaches girls basketball on the side and is charming with every woman he comes in contact with. His parents were liberal activists in the 60s and 70s and, like them, he wants to make an impact on the world but is disillusioned with the current political climate and, out of frustration and just plain old fatigue, has drifted into a self-induced stupor. Dunne's life begins to spiral out of control when one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), discovers him in the girl's locker room passed out for cocaine. Instead of becoming frightened or angry, Drey brings him water and helps him come down from his high. Drey is not without her own problems, however. Her mother works constant double shifts and is never home, her father is out of her life and her older brother is in prison for selling drugs. Drey is mature and street-wise beyond her age. Drey and Dan forge an unlikely friendship that satisfies emotional needs that Drey cannot find with her classmates and Dan cannot find with other adults. The emotional highlight of the film begins when Dan confronts Frank (Anthony Mackie), a suave drug dealer and associate of Drey's older brother who recruits Drey to be his collector. While Dan wants so desperately to steer Drey in the right direction, he is hardly a role model. This is a sort of tragic modern day classic. Gosling's performance as the charming but flawed teacher is so nuanced and touching that we root for him in spite of h is capacity for self-destruction. Gosling is spot on and that Oscar nomination is well deserved. Epps is equally convincing in her understated and powerful performance. This story is intense, deep, dark, depressing and, well, hopeful.
Grade: A-