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Show -the movie. ‘Few. movies ‘can top what the imagination can do with the print_ed page, but Hannibal the movie is better than Hannibal the book, except for one scene. In the book, when the wild, blood crazed pigs break into the corral where they were supposed to eat -Hannibal’s feet up to the ankles, Hannibal. transfixes the pigs with his evil eye and the pigs hang their heads, tuck their tails between their legs and slink away from Dr. Lecter — an incredible scene of mindless, animalistic evil ‘Meeting its match in a true Prince of Darkness. : | The movie blew it, but it is hard to see how any physical representation of this scene could succeed. It all depends on the readers’ imagination, but that was what, like 30 seconds out of a two hour movie that otherwise constantly topped the book. Somehow your reviewer missed seeing the best half of the movie, the battle of wits between Dr Lecter and a emt fm Midway, UT 84032 Wasatch County’s Source for News (435) 654-2661 (435) 654-2531 (f) e editor@wasatchcountycourier.com _ MEMBER: UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION/ASSOCIATED PRESS _ Editor & Publisher ‘ Managing Editor Office Manager Education Editor Sports Editor | rT to, have 1 read, the book before seeing ea e i) Midway, UT 84049 Dan Stephens ‘Derek Jensen Dixie Bishop . Paulette Tillman Russ Riggs STAFF WRITERS Kirsten Shaw ¢ Paul Swenson © Tim Westby ee ; : Ss CONTRIBUTORS & Sam Allen ¢ Matt Heimburger e Aaron Taylor Art Director Books Advertising Executive Circulation/MIS Security $ x a: | ; Erin McGuinness Amber Stephens Dianne Davey. — Dylan Stephens Ramona . PRESIDENT/CEO saseecssz: Michael J. Kearns us” are, since Mr. Baker only identifies himself.) triumph of “Is that you, Clarice? i MI gi too much to expect products of Utah’s Why Bother? al canal | ae = Fe: ane Long, one.) tn fn manana It has been a while sinceI attended a public hearing meeting in Midway. Now it all comes back to me why. © I live on 400 West in Midway. This is a fairly quiet residential street with many 1O0-year-old homes. (Mine for Rem nh Sewih Sin mt ti Of course, the residents of the street were alarmed when a proposed 10-unit PUD was to be developed on a 2-acre parcel in the middle of this block. How could that be? Well, many of the residents did their homework and started digging into the issues for this public hearing. All in all, we understood to this point that the developer did comply nm of the greatest lines in theatrical history when Dr. Lecter answered the cop’s cell phone with “Is that you, Clarice?” Your reviewer ‘didn’ t get it. His mindless criticism was that it took 80 minutes before Dr. Lecter and Agent ‘Starling spoke to each other, but that was the whole point of the movie. It took that long to set the scene for the : 7 way, I’m curious to know who “both of inferior school system to get the alle- movie, this entire sequence set up one | a i the Italian cop, but then it probably is gories to Dante Alighieri that made these sequences a model of intelligent screen writing. On top of first rate English, major plot crafting, brilliant acting, great staging and directing, and one of the best soundtracks in any Fo gteatehnn SIRS time), both of us found Hannibal to be the better movie. « We usually find it the kiss of death that the Utah school system is analogous to Dante’s third ring of Hell;I must give the devil his due since it was in that very system that I became acquainted with the dude (Dante). Mr. ‘Baker has. cleverly. deduced. that: I gave short shrift to the Italian “sequences in which © Giancarlo Giannini’s Pazzi spills his guts for Hannibal Lecter. But I must thank him. These scenes make my case that Lecter himself has no worthy adversary for much of the movie, yet the . filmmakers encourage our identifica-— tion with the psychopath’s most egregious pathologies, while stripping Clarice Starling of those qualities that make her character so compelling in The Silence of the Lambs. Even the lines that Mr. Baker cites (among the best in the picture) are frustrating because Lecter’s words remind us that Starling’ s and Lecter’s relationship in this film is only a ghost of its former, complex self. What’s missing is what made Lambs a hell of a lot more than a horror movie. (By the PO Box 1030 210 East Main tt te een the third 3 Olde Swiss Square tact (for > St Lambs =WASATCH COUNTY TAT of the Paul Swenson replies: A oe critic likes nothing better than a worthy adversary, and Mr. Baker fills nee bill. While it’s a vivid aside to imply Liz Sprackland Midway —e Silence 7 meeting and we waited until the topic came up again. When all other business was put coat We do wonder at where your movie critic was when he claims to have seen Hanmibal, for he obviously did not see the movie we saw. While it has been about two years since we last saw we the public input and went on with their on tn This is Really Going to Hurt _ Well, needless to say, the developer had his time to discuss the project, and then the Council basically put a stop to = Keith Baker Heber net made up their minds before the meeting started that the developer met the zoning regulations. They did a great job of going through the motions. The facts, forget it. No wonder why the attendance is low at Public Hearings. Why bother?? looked into: After all, this is a public hearing. sae Lambert J. Deegan never answered. The City Council had be reassured that this had all been in reps plus two at-large. Who would complain then, Mr. Duke? Let’s let the chips fall where they may and see how it works out. Don’t fix it till it’s broke! Don’t cry till you’ve been hurt! Doomsday. in Heber isn’t for anothr _ year. Forget your troubles and just be happy, this is not a dentist appointment! KT, district representatives. RRO ic to their Think of Heber City with two district 7. grouping has. more voters sympathet- head, “Above or below’ the wrist?... This is really going to hurt. meee Hanibal was not a perfect movie. For one thing, a man of Dr. Lecter’s discriminating tastes would: never have used a stainless steel skillet to fry brains. No, Dr. Lecter would use only copper cookware, but even with such obvious flaws, very few horror movies of recent years were better than Hannibal. Possibly onlyA Simple Plan, The Sixth Sense, and Johnny Depp’s retelling of the tale of the headless horseman’ come to mind. As for movies in general, Hannibal is head and shoulders above the likes of Titanic, Erin Brockovitch, and American Beauty. tine tac represented districts a big advantage in electing one of their. own since their & cleaver to get free of the handcuffs and says, as he hoists the cleaver over his neighborhood and listen to the citizens of this town. ~ ~ | went to this Public Hearing fairly optimistic: that the residents on this street had genuine concerns and all our questions would be answered. ~ At the beginning of this hearing we ‘were’ told we each had three minutes to express our point of view. Of course, the neighbors came out with great questions. Density issues, traffic impact, height ordinances, open spaces, wetlands, but our biggest concern, stated in the Midway City Master Plan; “all development must be in harmony with the existing community”. We all wanted answers and to ce would give folks from those under- aside, this Aspen Hollow project surfaced. Now that we all knew more about the facts, we wanted to discuss — these issues. As each councilman had the opportunity to express their take on the development, my hopes quickly saddened to being preached to: They all felt it was important that we knew that they used to fish on that property, they also hated development, and they grew up here. (I grew up in Chicago, did' they caré???);iS2 Giuarte yern When were we going to| discuss the facts? Why was I told to be quiet and wait to be called on? (I graduated school years ago.) Did they not see that all our investments, our home, our street, our future was wrapped up in this meeting? « Public Hearing, I say NOT. The public wasn’t heard: Our questions tin tation of our proposed new five-district county commissioners never mentioned the “at large” commissioners. Unequal as the population distribution might be| among the five districts, the whole county would vote for at-large candidates, as I understand it. That with the zoning ordinances. He’s calling it “Aspen Hollow.” Not an aspen on site and clearly not in a hollow. Surely, the Planning Commission and City ‘Council would see that this is not in harmony with this old established hati, pie ae oat Unless I am mistaken, Mr Jerry Duke’s letter about unequal represen- Like some other ill considered commentaries on Hannibal, your reviewer erroneously focused on the brief scene of the preparation and serving of Cervelles au Beurre Saute as the focal point of the movie. No, this was merely the necessary prelude to setting up the second best scene in the movie, where Dr. Lecter, finding himself handcuffed to Starling, grabs his 7 = = , - . 7 - . = « - » - ~ - « * » Poe 2 . , * sa, 2 ; : tte Don’t fix it...don’t cry |