"Rising" the dead

Weekends in my world mean only one thing; at least one trip to the movie theatre. I spend the week researching the newly released movies, reading reviews of both the critics and the viewers, and finally deciding which movie it is that I really must see. This past weekend, after doing all of aforementioned work, I finally settled on "Hannibal Rising."

Now my specific trend is that if the critics hate it, I'm going to love it. If the movie goers love it, I typically do as well. This movie looked as though it was going to be perfect for me. But for the first time, I was sorely disappointed. After absolutely loving "Hannibal" and "Silence of the Lambs," I was convinced that this one was right up my ally. An hour and 45 minutes later, I was wishing I would've killed a few less brain cells and gone to see "Norbit."

The idea behind the movie was a good one. The making of a mass murderer that the entire world has been infatuated with for generations. Not only that, but telling the story in a way that's going to make the viewers feel sorry for this murderer, which they actually did accomplish...eventually. The problem with this movie was that the acting, although Hannibal was stoic as we've become accustomed to, it was over-acted to the point of disbelief. The plot was entirely predictable and boring. Each time Hannibal set his sights on a victim, it was a course of repetitive events that ended up leaving the audience bored where we should have been intrigued.

In my opinion, the Hannibal story was dead after the previous movie. I liked the idea of writing this story, but making this movie was just going too far. The movie itself was too drawn out and being in the theater for less than two hours ended up drawing out and seeming more like four.

So if you're looking for a movie for this weekend, pass over "Hannibal Rising," and go for something a little fresher.