Snakes on a Plane!
Movie review: This movie goes over the top for finding gruesome ways to be bitten by snakes; pretty much all bad places one could be bitten are done and shown on screen (yes, that includes the butt and the eyeball and the uvula and worse...). Shooting those extra four days of footage to bump the movie from PG-13 to R really shows. There are short bits of intense and often stupid violence. However, there are quite a few funny lines and the audience for the most part seemed to enjoy the ride. The plot is exactly what you would expect, with very few twists: one thing after another goes wrong but the day is saved for the few who survive and the bad guy loses. A couple of the stereotypical characters were more round than I was expecting, but they were still fleshed out in very static ways. For example, there is a rap star onboard who is OCD about hand sanitizing. That's about as deep as the film gets.
For my fellow herpetologists: You will certainly cringe at some of the snake science, but they could have done a much worse job with how the snakes looked, even if the snakes' behavior was entirely unrealistic. We identified quite a few species, both venomous and non-venomous. My favorite was of course the ominous slithering and hissing of the designer corn snakes and Honduran milksnakes. The role of a herpetologist expert, distracted about the hatching of his Antiguan rat snakes, offered one of the least quirky characters in the whole movie. This really surprised me, as all the herpetologists I know have at least one trait that would be easy to satirize.
If you have interest in seeing this movie: I would highly recommend seeing it tonight (opening night) or else saving your hard-earned money until you can rent it; the participation of a large and roudy audience is key for finding enough enjoyable humor to tolerate the scaly carnage.
Bottom line: Much of the movie will have you saying "that was totally unnecessary", and yet the movie wouldn't have much bite without those scenes.
What's even better than going to see the "sneak preview" of Snakes on a Plane? Going in costume, of course! My two friends and I whipped up, quite easily, flight attendant and pilot uniforms and acted our roles just before and just after the movie. If you're craft-handy, it only takes a few minutes and some around-the-house clothing and supplies to paint a convincing portrayal. Throw on $10 pilot hats from Raleigh Creative Costumes and you're set to be among the jet set. Bring along rolling luggage and fake snakes for added effect :)
Thank you for flying South Pacific Airlines! We hope you enjoyed the fright.
(http://chiideki.com/photos/soap/ for more photos.)
For my fellow herpetologists: You will certainly cringe at some of the snake science, but they could have done a much worse job with how the snakes looked, even if the snakes' behavior was entirely unrealistic. We identified quite a few species, both venomous and non-venomous. My favorite was of course the ominous slithering and hissing of the designer corn snakes and Honduran milksnakes. The role of a herpetologist expert, distracted about the hatching of his Antiguan rat snakes, offered one of the least quirky characters in the whole movie. This really surprised me, as all the herpetologists I know have at least one trait that would be easy to satirize.
If you have interest in seeing this movie: I would highly recommend seeing it tonight (opening night) or else saving your hard-earned money until you can rent it; the participation of a large and roudy audience is key for finding enough enjoyable humor to tolerate the scaly carnage.
Bottom line: Much of the movie will have you saying "that was totally unnecessary", and yet the movie wouldn't have much bite without those scenes.
What's even better than going to see the "sneak preview" of Snakes on a Plane? Going in costume, of course! My two friends and I whipped up, quite easily, flight attendant and pilot uniforms and acted our roles just before and just after the movie. If you're craft-handy, it only takes a few minutes and some around-the-house clothing and supplies to paint a convincing portrayal. Throw on $10 pilot hats from Raleigh Creative Costumes and you're set to be among the jet set. Bring along rolling luggage and fake snakes for added effect :)
Thank you for flying South Pacific Airlines! We hope you enjoyed the fright.
(http://chiideki.com/photos/soap/ for more photos.)