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Snakes On a Plane

“I hate snakes!” said Indiana Jones. I’m not much of a fan of the slithery reptiles either, but I liked Snakes... On a Plane. I liked it a lot.

As both a film fan and a so-called Snake cult member, I was, in a word, floored. Somehow the movie manages to be the perfect blend of straight comedy, drama/horror- and all the campy stuff we fans sooo desperately wanted. Samuel L. Jackson’s role as Agent Flynn is awesome. The persona he holds in his most memorable previous roles is revamped masterfully, making his performance just perfect. It’s kind of remarkable that his character would have been watered down PG-13 FBI agent dealing with the goofy, stereotypical-yet-charming passengers and all those Snakes- all if it wasn't for the change in Director and the "cult" status being taken seriously by the filmmakers. The awesome snake attacks I viewed as graphic content almost didn't happen. And when a movie has a present-time midnight-showing/1950s matinee quality, you really can’t cheat on the "horror with a side of cheese" feeling so expertly done here.

The plotline of Snakes attacking innocent people on said plane is not without reason as well- a young hawaiian surfer dude witnesses a murder while riding his dirt bike, executed by the eeeevil Eddie Kim (he’s like, bad and stuff). This witness needs protection- and the only person to do so will be Agent Nelville Flynn. But in order to take this twenty-something surfer Sean to give his much needed testimony on trail, he has to be escorted back to the mainland by Agent Flynn. However, Eddie Kim obviously doesn’t want Sean arriving at LAX safely... thus, Snakes on the Plane. Airport security can’t trace the cold blooded suckers, and with a timed release, away they go, through the cargo hold, and seeking out their prospective victims. All kinds of horrible things happen, and along with their leader Agent Flynn, the passengers strike back, with idiocy, hilarity, as well as other kinds of things one would hope to see in any kind of movie... except this one. Smarts? Heartfelt moments? You bet, as well as other welcomed surprises and groovy memorable moments.

So is your hard earned money worth spending on Snakes On a Plane? Sure. Go for it. It’s not the “fans only” motion picture I thought it would be - almost any individual can enjoy it on some level, as long as they’re not suffering from Ophidiophobia. As far as comedy, it works. Horror/Thriller? Yes. And a far-fetched fanboy masterpiece? Most definitely.

Posted by madamczyk at 12:45 AM | Comments (0)

Inside the "In" Joke : Snakes On a Plane

Coming August 18th, get ready for the best bad movie ever ... how is that so? Think of the title. Read it to yourself. Snakes on a plane. Still don't get it? Say it to yourself again, but picture Samuel L. Jackson fighting the snakes on a plane. Doesn't work? That's ok. Snakes on a Plane has gone from being simply a movie about ... snakes, on a plane... to a preemptive cult phenomenon.
How did it happen exactly? It could be the fact that several would-be fans discovered the project and felt the same way about it as the main star Samuel L. Jackson did. It's a movie about Snakes on a Plane. Sure sounds funny, huh? Jackson himself said publicly that he didn't read the script - the working title was enough. Then it could have been Flight 121, but they changed it back to Snakes. Good idea, since in the months since it was officially Snakes, fanboys across the nation have become one in their own. But how is this so odd that a movie can have a following so fast? Nobody has seen the movie. Footage for it was only released in April of this year, and even when it was released, the current following weren't disappointed. They told their friends. Friends told other friends, and so on. Right now, the full teaser is a thing of the past, with the trailer for the movie being released within the first few days of the summer. Come Friday the 18th, Snakes will play on over 3,300 screens across the nation - making it (if 12 screens are added, to beat Barnyard's 3,311) the 2nd biggest release in this month alone.

The best example of the Snakes cult is the website Snakes on a Blog, but what really got the motor running for the net were the first few fan trailers. Just check out Youtube.com, type "Snakes on a plane" into the search engine, and you'll find all the media you need. It all started with a simple audio trailer that sprung up somewhere on the net... I believe it was the imdb.com forums- then that inspired first few fan video trailers came out made completely from scratch- not a single frame from the movie they were based upon had been released, so fans had to get creative. The filmmakers caught wind of the trailers, especially the audio trailer, which contained a line uttered by Samuel L. Jackson ...

"I've had it with these mother fucking snakes on this mother fucking plane!"

the alleged line was so inspiring, the filmmakers reshot some of the movie, to make it an R rating, just so that fans could have the dialogue they so desperately wanted.
And this image helped a bit too ...

So come Friday the 18th, will Snakes on a Plane live up to the anti-hype that the movie has? Will it be the bad/good movie that so many people think it will be? We'll just have to wait and see.

Snakes Related Video through Time:

Samuel L. Jackson talks Snakes with Ellen
Fake Fan Trailer
SOAP Teaser
Snakes on a Plane promise from Samuel L. Jackson
Snakes on a Colbert Report
OFFICIAL SOAP Trailer
Samuel L. Jackson on The Daily Show

And just for fun, here's the faux trailer I made for a class I took at college. The project to do with the video was the marketing of a future summer movie... and here's the focus I had for the trailer cotent and its intended audience. Enjoy!

Posted by madamczyk at 12:58 PM | Comments (1)