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james-plett
Reviews
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
As far as over-hyped movies go...
Snakes on a Plane stood out in a sea of over-hyped sequels and cookie-cutter over-the-top movies that dominated this summer. Take for example, Superman Returns, X-Men: 3, and Snakes On A Plane - all three of these movies were over-hyped to such an extent that the hype was greater than the movie - except for Snakes On A Plane, based on the very premise of hype. The trailers were souped up, the characters over-the-edge, and the premise downright silly - this played well for the movie.
A lot of people don't understand the brilliance in this movie - the plot is stupid, at best. I mean, come on : releasing snakes on an airplane? Give me a break! But this is exactly how it works - a few people come along, come up with a ridiculous plot line, create some extremely hardcore and downright stereotyped characters, and throw them on an airplane, and what do you have? Gold.
Personally, when I saw the first trailer, I looked to my pal and said "Uh, alright... so I don't think I need to see this movie." - the whole plot was explained in the title : There are snakes, on a plane. An over the top and super psyched Samuel L. "Generic Cop" Jackson goes and saves everyone, while stock characters (including the "last day on the job" hero, who happens to be an independent flight attendant, the flight attendant who has a definite appearance of homosexuality, the hardcore rapper who is really a bit of a wuss, and the devoted video gamer who treats life like a video game) react in horror and come out as heroes themselves at various moments.
For a movie itself, Snakes on a Plane isn't as good as I've claimed. For a movie with its intentions, that is, to point out how much hype blockbuster films receive (look at MI:3 - yawn), by taking a ridiculous premise and overloading it with special effects and the rest of the things you see in movies like MI:3, it is a cinematic masterpiece.
Vanished: The Tunnel (2006)
So far, so good
After seeing the first episode, I was at best, skeptical. Things were fast paced, and rushed, and well, many of the actors seemed out of place, especially Gale Harold.
Not so with "The Tunnel". Having just seen it hours ago, I must say, it is definite proof that this series is headed in a definitely good direction. Combine 24 and CSI and you easily have Vanished.
This series is definitely worth a watch, and hopefully, with enough viewers, Vanished will remain off the cutting block (scuzzlebutt has it that the first episode placed first for its time slot while the repeat placed second overall!). Its an amazing show, and the worst thing that could happen is it not getting picked up after the first half dozen episodes. The previous reviewer gave a good job of outlining the episode, so that's enough said in that regard.