Film: Films Set On Planes
Tomorrow, far too early in the morning, I board the first of three planes for a commute that will feel three years long. So, fittingly, the last two cinema visits before these flights were Snakes on a Plane and United 93. You know, those movies with bad shit going down on planes?
Whoops.
Snakes on a Plane
If you're thinking "that looks SO stupid", don't see it. If you're thinking "this looks REALLY scary and cool!", don't see it. And also go sterilise yourself. If you're thinking "this looks like so much motherfucking fun, motherfucker!", you've got the right state of mind, and you may enter.
Here, you pretty much know what you're in for. The hype has told you, the trailers have told you, more than anything, the motherfucking title tells you: Snakes on a Plane. It's stupid, it's nonsensical, it's fun.
A serious review of the movie would point out how ludicrous the story is. Nathan Phillips from Wolf Creek and his horrible American accent witness a mob hit while on a surfing trip in Hawaii. The mob somehow track him down, but so do the FBI, who whisk him away to LA, accompanied by Samuel L Jackson and some cracker. Even with a decoy plane in play, the gangsters figure out what plane he's on... and put snakes on it. Bad snakes! Angry snakes.
Stupid, yes? Also stupid is the attempt to give many many minor characters their own subplots. Films can juggle a lot of characters- look at Short Cuts, or if we're sticking with the action genre, Battle Royale- but in a film with screenwriting this lazy, the subtle-as-a-jackhammer exposition and revations of character come off as laughable. And when the internet hype kicked in it seems that they supplemented these moments via reshoots with over-the-top violence and sex and swears. A reshoot included a moment so awesome I'm giving it its own paragraph.
Snake on a tit.
So despite deep, occasionally intentional flaws, this was some of the most fun I've had in a cinema this year. I saw it with a group of friends- I wouldn't advise doing otherwise- and we laughed and high-fived when the snakes arrived, and high-fived more when Sam Jackson finally said that line you already know by now. It was just a pure good time. And yet...
There is something really inorganic going on. This was designed to be a cult picture like The Chumscrubber was, and that was pretty ordinary. And it's not even the best bad-fun movie out there- I was reminded of Deep Blue Sea, that movie with the super-smart sharks, a premise that seems subtle and clever compared with a snake-ridden plane, which was more fun and less up itself. Although the most fun I've ever had with a bad movie was Uwe Boll's House of the Dead, although that was because of the remarkable level of ineptness at all levels of that movie. Please do seek it out, if you haven't already, and don't turn it off too early, or you'll miss the bit where Boll splices shots from the video game into the middle of action sequences. Spectacular.
So, it's hard to rate. Overall the existance of a movie named Snakes on a Plane is more fun than the actual experience of watching it, but watching it is a good time as well. It's too manufactured, for sure, but seriously...
...snake on a tit.
6/10
United 93
It's a hard watch. That really goes without saying. But it's an amazingly done hard watch, and that's what's important. And it's probably also a movie that I'm not mature enough to review well, so I apologise in advance.
You know what it's about, so I needn't repeat that. It spans just the morning of September 11 intersplicing people boarding the flight bound for San Fransisco that would only make it as far as Pennsylvania with those working in various air traffic control centres. As the situation worsens, we focus more and more on the passengers of the flight until the tragic, intense and bloody end.
Writer/director Paul Greengrass here has created something more realistic than any "dramitization" in a documentary has ever been. This is not just due to the unknown cast- in some cases, air traffic controllers are playing themselves- but also because of the style of the film. Dialogue was worked out through improvisation in rehearsals. Here we have no protagonist, no character arcs, no big characters, no witty dialogue. That morning on that plane was just normal people trying to fly across the country without engaging with anyone around them, and that's what we're given.
The movie is intense all the way through, and not just everyone knows what happened. There's a sense of foreboding that builds and builds. When it reaches its climax, we're not given a clean version of bravery, of people standing up for their country. It's people who don't want to die lashing out, and it's raw and painful. And it's acted subtly and very well.
Although it might be too soon.
United 93 handles the situation, from both sides, with as much sensitivity as possible. I believe the families of victims were involved, and, as mentioned, people involved on the day were present as actors. But I can see this movie, its mere existence, being painful for both families of the victims, as well as for Muslims. We can never discount how many people will be dickheads who miss the message of the film and abuse innocent people.
A question worth asking is whether or not we needed this movie. It's not a story that has to be told- everyone is familiar with the events. I can't see else this story could have been made, though. Big actors and increased characterisation would probably just make this movie really tacky. I guess I'll find out how that works when I see World Trade Center, although no one can accuse me of being an Oliver Stone fan, so I might be biased there.
So while it may be too soon, it's good that this was the first cab of the rank. It's a very well made movie without any feeling of cashing in to it. If you're willing to sit through the experience, it's highly recommended.
9/10
So there are my last two reviews before heading to Toronto. If I die on the way there, kill every snake you can. I want to be avenged.
Whoops.
Snakes on a Plane
If you're thinking "that looks SO stupid", don't see it. If you're thinking "this looks REALLY scary and cool!", don't see it. And also go sterilise yourself. If you're thinking "this looks like so much motherfucking fun, motherfucker!", you've got the right state of mind, and you may enter.
Here, you pretty much know what you're in for. The hype has told you, the trailers have told you, more than anything, the motherfucking title tells you: Snakes on a Plane. It's stupid, it's nonsensical, it's fun.
A serious review of the movie would point out how ludicrous the story is. Nathan Phillips from Wolf Creek and his horrible American accent witness a mob hit while on a surfing trip in Hawaii. The mob somehow track him down, but so do the FBI, who whisk him away to LA, accompanied by Samuel L Jackson and some cracker. Even with a decoy plane in play, the gangsters figure out what plane he's on... and put snakes on it. Bad snakes! Angry snakes.
Stupid, yes? Also stupid is the attempt to give many many minor characters their own subplots. Films can juggle a lot of characters- look at Short Cuts, or if we're sticking with the action genre, Battle Royale- but in a film with screenwriting this lazy, the subtle-as-a-jackhammer exposition and revations of character come off as laughable. And when the internet hype kicked in it seems that they supplemented these moments via reshoots with over-the-top violence and sex and swears. A reshoot included a moment so awesome I'm giving it its own paragraph.
Snake on a tit.
So despite deep, occasionally intentional flaws, this was some of the most fun I've had in a cinema this year. I saw it with a group of friends- I wouldn't advise doing otherwise- and we laughed and high-fived when the snakes arrived, and high-fived more when Sam Jackson finally said that line you already know by now. It was just a pure good time. And yet...
There is something really inorganic going on. This was designed to be a cult picture like The Chumscrubber was, and that was pretty ordinary. And it's not even the best bad-fun movie out there- I was reminded of Deep Blue Sea, that movie with the super-smart sharks, a premise that seems subtle and clever compared with a snake-ridden plane, which was more fun and less up itself. Although the most fun I've ever had with a bad movie was Uwe Boll's House of the Dead, although that was because of the remarkable level of ineptness at all levels of that movie. Please do seek it out, if you haven't already, and don't turn it off too early, or you'll miss the bit where Boll splices shots from the video game into the middle of action sequences. Spectacular.
So, it's hard to rate. Overall the existance of a movie named Snakes on a Plane is more fun than the actual experience of watching it, but watching it is a good time as well. It's too manufactured, for sure, but seriously...
...snake on a tit.
6/10
United 93
It's a hard watch. That really goes without saying. But it's an amazingly done hard watch, and that's what's important. And it's probably also a movie that I'm not mature enough to review well, so I apologise in advance.
You know what it's about, so I needn't repeat that. It spans just the morning of September 11 intersplicing people boarding the flight bound for San Fransisco that would only make it as far as Pennsylvania with those working in various air traffic control centres. As the situation worsens, we focus more and more on the passengers of the flight until the tragic, intense and bloody end.
Writer/director Paul Greengrass here has created something more realistic than any "dramitization" in a documentary has ever been. This is not just due to the unknown cast- in some cases, air traffic controllers are playing themselves- but also because of the style of the film. Dialogue was worked out through improvisation in rehearsals. Here we have no protagonist, no character arcs, no big characters, no witty dialogue. That morning on that plane was just normal people trying to fly across the country without engaging with anyone around them, and that's what we're given.
The movie is intense all the way through, and not just everyone knows what happened. There's a sense of foreboding that builds and builds. When it reaches its climax, we're not given a clean version of bravery, of people standing up for their country. It's people who don't want to die lashing out, and it's raw and painful. And it's acted subtly and very well.
Although it might be too soon.
United 93 handles the situation, from both sides, with as much sensitivity as possible. I believe the families of victims were involved, and, as mentioned, people involved on the day were present as actors. But I can see this movie, its mere existence, being painful for both families of the victims, as well as for Muslims. We can never discount how many people will be dickheads who miss the message of the film and abuse innocent people.
A question worth asking is whether or not we needed this movie. It's not a story that has to be told- everyone is familiar with the events. I can't see else this story could have been made, though. Big actors and increased characterisation would probably just make this movie really tacky. I guess I'll find out how that works when I see World Trade Center, although no one can accuse me of being an Oliver Stone fan, so I might be biased there.
So while it may be too soon, it's good that this was the first cab of the rank. It's a very well made movie without any feeling of cashing in to it. If you're willing to sit through the experience, it's highly recommended.
9/10
So there are my last two reviews before heading to Toronto. If I die on the way there, kill every snake you can. I want to be avenged.
posted by Simon A at 9:30 PM
1 Comments:
An interesting dichotomy .. perhaps it only shows how shallow I am, but here's my take .. Mr. Greengrass has a made a great film, and his real-time retelling of the events of that day was chilling .. that said, knowing how it all would end, I found myself turning away from the screen several times during the third act . though I'm glad I saw it, i never need to again .. with SoaP, however, it was easily the most fun I've had at the movies this summer, and I'll definitely get it on DVD ...
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