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Nerdy Norbit (Eddie Murphy) tries to woo his true love (Thandie Newton) in the silly 'Norbit.'
Gaspard Ulliel plays Hannibal Lecter in 'Hannibal Rising,' a prequel to 'The Silence of the Lambs.' |
STARRING: EDDIE MURPHY,
THANDIE NEWTON
RUNNING TIME: 102 MIN.
Once upon a time, Eddie Murphy made "The Nutty Professor" and played several different roles, making most of them humorous in a kind-hearted way.
But now comes "Norbit," and the only role Murphy plays that's at all decent and funny is the title nerd who gets pushed around.
Unfortunately, the horrible and horribly fat woman he portrays, Rasputia, is so coarse, gross and painful to watch that the movie sinks as quickly as she would in a 4-foot rowboat.
Even worse, a cast that includes talented folks like Cuba Gooding Jr., Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams and Marlon Wayans is wasted on characters who have nothing funny, but lots that's tawdry and low.
The silly story--the orphaned Norbit gets stuck with this horrible gal, missing the woman he truly loves (Newton)--goes nowhere.
Much like the cheap, coarse jokes that don't earn nearly as many laughs as you'd expect in a movie from this talented star.
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, some nudity and language. [RF, RA, M]
THE LAST SIN EATER (PG-13) HHSTARRING: LOUISE FLETCHER, HENRY THOMAS, LIANA LIBERATO
RUNNING TIME: 117 MIN.
(Leaving town tonight.) This beautifully filmed and nicely told story of faith, redemption and a secret sin is a nice surprise and delivers an emotional finish.
The title is tied to an old Welsh tradition of having an outcast member of the community come to funerals to eat symbolic bread and wine, taking away the sins of the deceased.
In an Appalachian community, the Sin Eater of a Welsh community comes to the fore because a young girl (Liberato) can't cope with her role in the accidental death of a sister.
Her pursuit of this outcast, strictly forbidden, leads to the discovery of dark deeds.
Though the movie is a tad long, the direction by Michael Landon Jr. makes this an engaging tale with a powerful message about the power of faith.
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some intense sequences of violence. [M]
HANNIBAL RISING (R) HSTARRING: GASPARD ULLIEL,
RUNNING TIME: 117 MIN.
You have to give this prequel to "The Silence of the Lambs" one thing: It creates some sympathy for the young Hannibal Lecter, pre-monster.
We understand why he's driven to revenge after we witness a band of Nazi thugs face starvation and solve the problem by eating his sister.
The film starts with that horrible moment, but settles into a tolerable, interesting segment with the young Lecter finding family and seeking training as a doctor.
But that horrible past eventually turns him to the dark side, with the revenge killings he engineers getting more and more sadistic, with his own cannibalistic elements.
The young Ulliel is passable and the rest of the cast fair. But no one could overcome the need this film feels to chop, slice and saute human flesh.
Enough already.
Rated R for strong grisly violent content and some language/sexual references. [RF, RA, M]
| HOW WE RATE 'EM
H Don't waste your time
HH HHH HHHH |
