Episode 33 , August 30th 2012

Hello and welcome back for another episode of Highbrow! Lowbrow? the podcast where Jesse and Shaun get together to discuss movies. Every two weeks or so, we take a look at the Best Picture Academy Award Winner and top box office earner of the same year to see who was right: the critics or the masses. For this episode, the year is 1991 and the two films are Silence of the Lambs (Highbrow) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Lowbrow).

Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme, stars Jody Foster as Clarice Starling, a rookie FBI agent, who goes into the mind of Dr. Hannibal Lector, played by Anthony Hopkins, to find a serial killer. This film pioneered the procedural and crime thrillers of today, but as a result of that, it's lost a little bit of it's luster. Jody Foster really brought to life the idea of a strong independent woman with this film as Clarice is an iconic character. Anthony Hopkins chews up the screen as Hannibal Lector, outwitting police and confounding Clarice with panache. The sense of fear and impending doom is palpable with Silence of the Lambs, really bringing you into the mindset of Clarice and these serial killers.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day, directed by James Cameron, is the continuing story of John Connor as a terminator (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) from the past seeks to thwart John's assassination from the deadly T-1000. Schwarzenegger plays his best role in the film as the Terminator, selling his transformation into a robot with a heart while also bringing a lot of humor to him. Linda Hamilton's Sarah and Edward Furlong's John Connor really grow together and show a side of humanity that is fierce, resilient and caring. One of the most beloved James Cameron films, due to it's great action sequences and humanistic interactions between John, Sarah and the Terminator, Terminator 2 stands as a great action film with a satisfying story.

Which way did we end up going? The psychological yet clinical horror, Silence of the Lambs, or the action intensive thriller with humanity, Terminator 2? Check out the latest Highbrow! Lowbrow? to find out!