The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 07, 2002, Page 8, Image 8
MOVIE REVIEW
Favorite villain returns in ‘Red Dragon’
“RED DRAGON”
Starring Anthony Hopkins,
Edward Norton
★ ★★★ OUtof
•
BY TUG BAKER
THE GAMECOCK
In all of current popular cul
ture, one would be hard-pressed
to find a villain more beloved by
moviegoing audiences than Dr.
Hannibal Lecter. After all, his el
egant demeanor and dry wit add
to his brutal deeds a sense of hu
mor that anyone can appreciate.
To watch the conniving cannibal
on screen is so enthralling that it
has even warranted a prequel of
sorts.
“Red Dragon” is actually a re
make of the first (and largely un
seen) Hannibal film,
"Manhunter,” a 1986 movie that
starred veteran Brian Cox, not
Anthony Hopkins, as Lecter.
After the success of “Silence of
the Lambs” and “Hannibal,”
however, Hollywood deemed it
appropriate to remake the older
film with the man who made the
role so popular;
The immediate question that
comes to mind is whether this re
make is warranted. “Manhunter”
was a great film and stills stands
quite well on its own outside the
current franchise. While “Red
Dragon” might be seen as a ploy
to capitalize on said franchise,
most audiences will forgive
Hollywood for its wily ways 45
seconds into the movie, when the
camera focuses on Anthony
Hopkins as Hannibal in a time
when he was a free man.
Later, teeter gets a visit from
FBI agent Will Graham (Edward
Norton), whom he is helping
solve a bizarre serial-murder
case. As they talk, Graham real
izes exactly who the killer with
an appetite might be. The only
problem is that Lecter knows that
Graham knows.
Fast-forward several years,
and Lecter is behind bars while
Graham has retired from the FBI
and lives a quiet life with his wife
and child. His true calling cannot
be denied, though, and when his
old boss Jack Crawford (Harvey
Keitel) comes to ask for his help
on the case of the “Tooth Fairy”
murders, he grudgingly obliges.
Not suprisingly, Graham and
Crawford realize they are going
to need some help on this one,
and who do you go to v/hen you
want to discover what’s in the
mind of a lunatic killer? Straight
to a lunatic killer who happens to
be a brilliant forensic psycholo
gist, of course.
♦ RED DRAGON, SEE PAGE 9
Anthony
Hopkins stars
as the
perennially
popular villain
Hannibal
Lecter In
“Red
Dragon,” the
prequel to
“Silence of
the Lambs"
and
“Hannibal.”
PHOTO SPECIAL TO
THE GAMECOCK
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CD REVIEW
Elvis ’greatest hits
show lasting talent
T’ .WK • - I rr " '
“30 #1 HITS"
Elvis Presley
★★★ out of ☆☆☆■&*
BY CHARLES TOMLINSON
THE GAMECOCK
It couldn’t have been an easy
task to pick the best of Elvis’ hit
songs, but RCA has done a com
mendable job. This newest Elvis
album features 30 of his No. 1 U.S.
and U.K. hits on an 80-minute
disc commemorating the 25th an
niversary of his death.
And he sounds better than
ever. The album was released on
Sept. 24 and, as a testament to
Elvis’ unending popularity, sold
a half-million copies worldwide
in its first week on sale.
Though Elvis is a star whose
popularity has never waned, this
album takes the right step by fo
cusing on his ‘50s and ‘60s hits.
The album proceeds in chrono
logical order, but it does not
chronicle the King’s devolution
from a rebellious teenage heart
throb in the ‘50s to an over
weight Las Vegas lounge singer
in the ‘70s. It focuses on his
strongest contributions to popu
lar music in the 20th century,
and most of Elvis’ best work
came from his energetic youth
ful days. In fact, only three songs
from the album come from the
‘70s.
Every song on the album has
been remixed and remastered,
and the resulting clarity is as
tounding. Songs nearly half a
century old sound pristine, with
each instrument clearly heard ir.
the mix.
The King’s voice reigns on this
album — as it should. His voice
is one of the most recognizable in
the lexicon of rock ‘n’ roll, as well
as in country and rhythm and
blues. His voice took command
of the music he sang, no matter
what genre it was.
Throughout the album, Elvis’
more powerful rock songs are
mixed with ballads, showing his
ability to growl and wail and
croon. The upbeat “Jailhouse
Rock” and “Hard Headed
Woman” surround the mellow
“Don’t.” The album keeps a bal
anced sound, which is impressive
considering the songs are placed
in chronological order. There ^
aren’t too many back-to-back
slow songs that could hinder the
album’s forward motion.
And the liner notes are full of
interesting background insights
into each song. For example, it’s
intriguing that Elvis and his
band took 31 takes to nail “Hound
Dog,” after which Elvis finally
elicited the desired rapid-fire
snare-drum effect from his drum
111C1 .
On some songs, however, the
remixing and remastering could
have improved the sound quali
ty more. The recording technique
on “Heartbreak Hotel” sounds
odd because of an echoing effect
on Elvis’ voice. On “All Shook
Up,” Elvis keeps the beat by slap- e.
ping the back of his guitar, but
the volume of the effect overtakes
the other instruments.
The album contains one big
travesty, however — the “A
Little Less Conversation” remix.
It reached No. 1 in the United
Kingdom in June and was part
of a Nike World Cup advertising
campaign. But this remix prob
ably has Elvis tossing in his
grave more violently than when
his daughter married Michael
Jackson. The drum loops bog the
song down, and the production
obscures Elvis’ vocals. The song
also features the constant beat
of a cowbell, which has been a
running joke in popular music
since a Saturday Night Live
spoof of Blue Oyster Cult poked L
fun at the percussion instru
ment.
Still, the sales have been
strong and half a million Elvis
fans can’t be wrong. This is a
definitive collection of the King’s
greatest songs, and they sound
louder and clearer than ever.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Karo
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
also wanted the bookstores to
give it good placement—on the
counter, on displays — and if it
was that gratuitous, they prob
ably wouldn’t do that. It was a
mutual decision, and I don’t
think it took anything away
from it by the end of the day.”
The idea of creating a book
came during Karo’s senior year,
when fie asked his readers to let
him know if they had connec
tions in the publishing industry.
After getting hundreds of re
sponses, Karo heard from A.B.
Fischer — a literary manager
and Penn grad, himself — and
the two pushed the idea to nu
merous publishing houses be
fore finding interest from Simon
& Schuster.
The book is in its second
printing, after the original 15,000
copies sold out quickly. Karo is
also adapting his stories into a
screenplay and spent last week
in Los Angeles trying to sell his
idea for a television show - as he
describes it, “ ‘Seinfeld’ meets
‘Sex in the City.’ “
But that doesn’t mean the ru
minations have stopped. Karo
continues to produce a monthly
e-zine based upon living in New
York City, and says a sequel to
his original book might be in the , •
works sometime in the future.
“Certainly, I’d love to do an
other book based on my column.
The response to the new column
is even bigger than the response
to the old column ever was,” he
said.
For now, though, Karo re
mains busy with his pursuits to
develop a television show, as
well as to expand on his ven
tures into stand-up comedy.
Dubbed the Jewish Chris Rock,
he says Rock and Jerry Seinfeld
have been his role models for
his comic routines.
“Ruminations on College
Life” is available at major book
stores nationwide for $10. It is a
great, quick read and worth a
look for anyone related to a col
lege student. Who knows? You
just might be able to relate to
Karo or find that you have plen
ty of ruminations of your own.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Ring Ceremony is Tuesday, Dec. 3,2002 on the Horseshoe.
Oct Oct
7-11 7-11
Mon - Fri Mon - Fri
10am-3pm 10am-3pm