What can I say about Hannibal? With tongue in cheek, I can say it is gut-wrenching, or it is a sliver of life. I have watched many a movie over the years, and I’m familiar with all tricks of the trade. Hannibal special effects people, however, got me this time. In one special “brain-teaser” scene near the end of the film, I actually felt light-headed – no pun intended. I had to turn away from the screen lest I pass out in the midst of my film critic peers, some of whom I caught turning their heads at the same time. Hannibal is a craftily assembled array of cannibalism, mixed with a generous portion of sadism. The hero in this film, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins is portrayed as a renaissance man with an insatiable appetite for anyone he deems unworthy. He once had a flute player for dinner because the musician’s substandard talent interfered with the symphony reaching its fullest potential. The hero’s redeeming trait is refraining from eating his pursuer – I suppose because she is the movie’s heroine. If this was the story of a real person, like Jeffery Dahmer, the heroic imagery would be lost in the tragic reality of a true story. My advice is don’t be sucked in to see Hannibal, unless you want to send a message encouraging Hollywood to make more movies like this one. We don’t need to patronize Hannibal to know what man is capable of at his lowest, most demented state.