When I was a kid, I used to love a scary movie. I remember catching the original The Haunting (1963) one night on Channel 9’s Million Dollar Movie when I was home alone. Before it was over, I had every light in the house on. When my mother got home she was screaming she’d been …
Gangster movies have been entertaining audiences since the inception of cinema. A well constructed gangster film can attract respectable actors, reap critical praise, and accrue the life-long love of fans in a way that few other genres can. Mean Streets, Infernal Affairs and Goodfellas are all classic films that continue to resonate with audiences long after their theatrical runs.
Legendary filmmaker Peter Medak (The Changeling, Romeo Is Bleeding) directs his second episode of Hannibal; unfortunately “Hassun” is the weakest episode of the series so far. This week, Will Graham goes to court, and despite knowing his innocence, he has no choice but to play victim to mental illness in an attempt to avoid the electric chair. Amid the courtroom circus, Graham’s trial becomes complicated when Will’s lawyer opens a letter containing a severed ear. As it turns out, the ear belongs to a bailiff who is found mounted on a stag’s head in his home, just moments after it is rigged to explode. The newfound murder sheds doubts on Will’s guilt, as the bailiff was killed in the exact same way Will supposedly killed his victims. Or so it seems. The killer has perfectly replicated the presentation, only reversing the mutilation process, and making use of a firearm. We learn this when Hannibal visits Will in prison and asks him what he sees. Hannibal and Will return to their role of last season, only this time, with prison bars standing between them.