MORE ON RED DRAGON/FILM FEST FINE PRINT - CS contributor Eric Baker stole the final line of my Hannibal review for his review of Red Dragon, which appeared today in The Daily Iowan. I'd criticize him for it except I know it wasn't intentional and the fact is, it's such a cliched, hackneyed conclusion that we should both be ashamed for using it. It's worth noting though that this final line aside, my Hannibal review may actually be my favorite review from my own DI days, except for maybe my dismissal of the abominable Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. So if you're fairly new to CinemaScoped and you read these reviews and think I'm clueless, well, it's safe to say you probably shouldn't be reading my site because that's probably the best I can do. Eric's analysis seems pretty sound and in line with other critics who found the direction a bit overdone and tacky: "The great mystery is how the director, Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour series), could coax such understated performances (except from Hopkins) from his ensemble cast yet shoot it as though it were a Major League Baseball game on Fox." Like David Edelstein, Eric wasn't fond of Ratner's constant use of closeups. But unlike Edelstein, Eric ultimately recommends the movie. The one final point I wanted to make about the film is that I am even more curious to see it after reading a few reviews that comment on its ending. Apparently, there's some kind of psychological twist and, frankly, anything would be better than Manhunter's clumsy, shoot-em-up ending. It's the biggest blight on an otherwise pretty good movie.

I spoke too soon back on 9/25 when I reported how excited I was about my Chicago Film Fest schedule. My 18-movie pass was going to get me into such highly-anticipated movies (by me, anyway) as Auto Focus, Bowling for Columbine, Punch-Drunk Love and Bloody Sunday. I guess I failed to read the part that said my pass wouldn't get me in to movies that are "Critics Choices" and "Special Presentations" -- in other words, all of the movies I really want to see! I suppose I can't blame anyone by myself, but I can still argue it's incredibly lame of the organizers to expect patrons to buy passes for every movie BUT the best ones in the schedule. Don't get me wrong, however, I'm still pretty pumped about all of the movies I plan to see and review over the next week-and-a-half. Below is my schedule (subject to change, of course):

Wed, Oct. 9 - All Or Nothing
Thurs, Oct. 10 - Roger Dodger
Fri, Oct. 11 - Tribute
Sat, Oct. 12 - Only The Strong Survive
Mon, Oct. 15 - The Dancer Upstairs
Wed, Oct. 16 - Rabbit-Proof Fence

Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze in a few more. I may even break down and pay the $13 to see Auto Focus and Bloody Sunday, though I suspect they are already sold out like Bowling for Columbine and Punch-Drunk Love were. I'll have some comments about Evelyn, the Fest's opening night movie starring Pierce Brosnan up tomorrow, along with a description of each of the movies listed above. If you've seen any of the movies that are playing here in Chicago, or actually plan to see some of the movies at the Festival, I'd love to hear (and post) your thoughts.

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