More Movies To Get Off My Chest

Janet Jackson had to get clothes off her chest. I’ll just stick with some more dated movie reviews that are long overdue to be posted.

Red Dragon

Red Dragon is actually a remake of the movie Manhunter, with a few changes to give the character of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) a bigger role. Having watched Manhunter just before Red Dragon, I can say that this is the far superior version. I don’t think that there is a single aspect to this film that doesn’t outshine the original - which is pretty tough considering both movies were based on the same novel. This is a prequel to The Silence Of The Lambs, meaning Hopkins is supposed to be more than a decade younger than he really is. Even though his age is evident in the movie, it didn’t hurt his performance. It’s worth checking out even if the second movie in the series, Hannibal, left you a little squeamish. A cast that includes Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, and Ralph Fiennes also make up for the fact that Hopkins’ part isn’t nearly as large as you might expect it to be.

Cop Land

Sylvester Stallone plays far against type in this movie. He is an overweight cop in a small New Jersey town that is home for many New York City police officers, many of them with mob connections. Even though he is the top cop in this small town, his daily duties make him little more than a glorified security guard. He gets the opportunity to do some real police work when it become obvious that the cops living in his town aren’t exactly squeaky clean. If you ever thought that Stallone couldn’t carry a movie in which he wasn’t toting either boxing gloves or a machine gun, Cop Land might just be the movie that changes your mind. Stallone more than holds his own with co-stars Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.