Snakes on a Plane

Gratuitous. That’s the word I would use to describe Snakes on a Plane. Everything about this film is gratuitous; and yet, it works. Snakes on a Plane knows exactly what kind of film it is, and never tries to be anything different. It’s a standard, B-grade action/horror/disaster flick that follows the conventions and clichés of those genres to the letter and thereby ends up being a guilty pleasure. Snakes on a Plane is a fun film, but you’ll probably feel kind of dumb for thinking so.

A lot has been made of Snakes on a Plane and its internet marketing. It was an unusual way to push a film - to let the internet buzz be the driving force behind the marketing – and it doesn’t look like it’s going to pay off. After taking in a slightly tweaked fifteen million plus for the weekend, SoaP wasn’t nearly the success the hype would have led us to believe it would be. Much like the far superior Serenity, it seems that movies can’t be a success based on an internet fan base alone. But then again, it’s not like SoaP was trying to be a good movie. This isn’t a serious piece of film like WTC, or a summer blockbuster epic like Pirates of the Caribbean, SoaP is a throwback to those classic films that were so bad they were good.

Now I’m not saying that this was a bad film, perse, but then it also isn’t trying to be a really good film. SoaP takes the standards and conventions of the genres it emulates and follows them exactly. In fact, it adheres to these standards so closely that you can pretty much guess who will survive and who will be snake food as the characters board the plane; and therein lays the fun. You already know what’s going to happen – the title of the movie reveals it all – and you already have a pretty good idea of who it’s going to happen to. Now that may sound like you know too much, but it’s that fore knowledge that turns this film into a good time. As events unfold exactly as you know you would, there’s a certain giddy pleasure and comfort in the familiarity of it all. Every character in this film is a cliché, and the film does a good job of setting them all up and clearly defining them from the beginning. With just a few lines of dialogue, you know that this guy is the snobby, know-it-all jerk who’s going to be snake food, this single-mom lady will inevitably yell out, “My baby! Where’s my baby!�, and this amorous couple will find some place private for some fun that won’t end well. Yep, all the stock characters are here, and their fates unfold just as they should. You know, the sad thing is we can often make these same kind of snap judgments in real life as well. So often, we just glance at a person and already we have them pegged in a certain category in our mind. However, life isn’t a movie, and people aren’t caricatures of certain stereotypes. We need to learn to get past our preconceptions and take the time to really connect with people. Jesus did this better than anyone else. He saw past the stereotypes and looked into a person’s heart to see who they really were; to love them as they really were. It’s such an amazing realization to know that no matter how people might classify me, no matter what cliché I fit for others, Jesus will always love me just as I am; just as He has loved everyone for who they are, not who they appear to be. It’s nice to be more than just a cardboard cutout of a character, which is basically what everyone in SoaP is.

However, don’t get the impression that SoaP is some sort of spoof or camp movie. This is a serious action film…at least as serious as you can be about snakes on a plane. The movies doesn’t mock itself, nor does it have the sly insiders wink wink, nudge nudge kind of attitude. Although it may adhere to the all of conventions and clichés of disaster/horror films, it does so with serious intent. It’s not mocking those conventions; it’s using them to tell this particular story. It’s obvious that Samuel L. Jackson and the rest of the cast had fun making this kind of movie, but at the same time you can also see that they were very serious about it. Everyone commits fully to their role, and because they take it so seriously it helps the audience set aside all the things that don’t make sense and enjoy the ride. Sure the movie is funny in parts, but that’s because it wants to be funny, not because it’s so bad it’s funny.

As I left the theatre, I wondered why I went to see Snakes on a Plane. It’s not like it looked like it was going to be a great movie, and I wasn’t really expecting it to be all that good, so why did I bother to go? Why would anyone bother to go? It doesn’t have a lot of substance, there aren’t many surprises, it doesn’t always make sense, and it’s pretty much over the top in every way possible. But then I realized that I was grinning as I left theatre. I had a big, stupid grin on my face after watching a stupid movie about badly computer animated snakes terrorizing a bunch of stereotypical cliché characters around a 747 flying from Hawaii to L.A. That’s when I realized why I went; I thought it would be fun, and it was. Sometimes, movies are just fun. Snakes on a Plane is such a movie, and it doesn’t try to be anything else. It just wants the audience to have a good time. I can’t say I’d recommend going to see such a gratuitous film, but if you do happen to see it, odds are you’re going to have fun; and you’ll probably feel guilty for doing so. But then, that’s what a guilty pleasure is.

What Every Parent Needs to Know About Video Games

Video games have received a lot of press of late on just how destructive and harmful they are. One might think that this genre of entertainment could singly handedly undermine modern civilized society as we know it. But is that really the case? Are video games the bane of humanity that they’ve been made out to be? Richard Abanes tackles these issues in a very even handed manner in his book What Every Parent Needs to Know About Video Games. In fact, if you’ve been wondering what the big deal is about video games and why there’s so much controversy surrounding this subject, Richard’s book is a great way to get your feet wet as an introduction to the gaming world.

Like it or not, gaming is a major part of our culture, and we can’t remain oblivious to it any more. Games like Grand Theft Auto, Mario and Pac-Man have become a part of our collective consciousness. Not only that, but Hollywood and the gaming industry are increasing becoming partners in the entertainment arena, with the lines between the two industries becoming more and more blurred every year, and who can blame them? Video games are big business, raking in billions of dollars worldwide and bringing in more than the Hollywood box office (excluding DVD sales) on a regular basis here in the U.S. Despite all of this, a lot of people are still oblivious as to what video games really are. Very often they’re still viewed as just kids games that shouldn’t be taken seriously, which often sets up a serious backlash with parents and political leaders discover what sort of content some games contain. Still, those controversial games are just a small segment of this industry complex industry.

What Every Parent Needs to Know About Video Games is a very straight forward guide that introduces novices to the gaming world and helps readers come to grips with both the pros and cons of gaming. The book gives simple explanations to the various genres of gaming, the ratings system used to rate games and it explains why games are so appealing to so many people; kid, teens and adults. Richard then goes on to explore the controversy surrounding video games and he does an excellent job of explaining the position of both sides of this volatile subject. Although he’s a gamer, Richard is very balanced and honest about the hobby of gaming, presenting both the positives and negative effects that gaming can have. Yes, I did say there are positive effects from gaming, and you’ll discover what they are and how they benefit people when you read this book. Best of all, the book doesn’t use a lot of jargon or complex terms and it isn’t all that long and can easily be read in a weekend but will equip you with a lot of information.

The title sums up exactly what this book is all about. What Every Parent Needs to Know About Video Games is an excellent introduction to the gaming world for anyone unfamiliar with it, and it’ll also fill you in on the basics of the controversy surrounding video games without trying to sway you to one side or the other. Regardless of whether you’ve never picked up a controller or can’t put one down, you’ll come away from this book with a better understanding of the next generation of modern entertainment.

World Trade Center

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will got this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.�* If there’s one thing I took away from Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, it was to make every day count. I know that sounds trite or cliché, but if there’s ever been a day that has proved just how valuable each day is, and how uncertain every tomorrow is, it was September 11, 2001.

World Trade Center starts off so normal, so ordinary that the first several minutes of it might even be described as ordinary. People get up, they go through their morning routine, they get into cars and subways and ferries to go to work, they get their assignments and go about their day just as they have every other day. This ordinariness, the routine builds in the audience such a sense of dread because we know how that day turned out. However, when I think about it, the start of my day on September 11, 2001 was pretty ordinary as well, as it probably was for all of us. How could we know that it would turn into a day of unimaginable horror? We couldn’t, and hence the reason to make every day count. We can never take for granted that this day will be like every other day, a point that’s been driven home once again by terrorists who were plotting yet another attack that would have turned an ordinary day into a nightmare. This time they were foiled, in 2001, they succeeded. So again, the message is; make every day count and make sure that if this day were to be your last, you wouldn’t have any regrets. More importantly, make sure you know where you will spend eternity should this day be your last.

Oliver Stone treats the subject matter in World Trade Center with kid gloves, and I’m thankful that he did. Most of what happens happens off screen. We never see the planes hit, we only hear of the Pentagon and United flight 93 through TV and new reports. We see the collapse of the first tower from the inside, and hear the collapse of the other buried beneath the rubble with the two Port Authority Officers portrayed by Nic Cage and Michael Pena. We catch glimpses of the building crumbling again through TV news casts, but none of it is recreated with modern special effects, and why would it need to be? We have all had those images burned into our collective consciousness from that horrid. Few of us have forgotten what it looked like, so we certainly don’t need every detail recreated and portrayed on screen. However, thirty to fifty years from now, we probably will. Just as Saving Private Ryan had to recreated D-Day and the beaches of Normandy in extreme and bloody detail in order to help a new generation understand exactly what it was like, someday we will need all the details of 9/11 recreated in order for us to truly remember what that day was really like. But not now; it’s still too fresh, and fortunately Oliver Stone seemed to understand that.

Still, this is a dramatization, and unfortunately that fact is often much more apparent than in United 93, especially during the domestic scenes. Many of the scenes with the wives and family waiting to hear about their husbands come off as a bit flat, and quite honestly, these scenes often feel a lot like filler material to help the movie fill out its two-hour running time. They do have some moving moments, but the movie is really more about the two officers trapped in the rubble, and this is where the movie really shines. Stone helps capture the claustrophobic and helpless feeling of being buried in the rubble, and Cage and Pena do some talented acting, especially considering their limited movement and being covered in grime.

The one thing that really confused me is why when they two trapped man see Jesus brining them water, why is Jesus wearing a cross around his neck? I find it kind of hard to believe that Jesus would wear a representation of the device that killed him, so I’m assuming it’s there so the audience understands who this image is. But one the characters says who it is in a later scene, so in the end I just found in confusing, but I guess that really doesn’t have anything to do with the film.

World Trade Center is a moving reminder of the heroism and unity we all felt on September 11th. It’s also a stark reminder of why we should never take our loved ones, friends, or even each day we have for granted. At the end of the film, subways, ferries, and streets are empty. The ordinariness of the day was shattered by great evil, and yet in the midst of that darkness we found that humanity is also capable of great acts of self-sacrifice and unconditional love. This isn’t a great film, but I think the nearness of the event makes it so much more moving than it might otherwise have been. Those memories and emotions are still so fresh, Oliver Stone didn’t have to work too hard to make a moving reminder of way September 11, 2001 was an ordinary day that no one would ever forget.

*James 4:13-14 (NIV)

Barnyard

When you think of Barnyard, think of The Lion King except with cows. No, think of The Lion King except with cows that look like people in cow suits. No, that’s not quite it…ummm, ok, think of all that stuff I just said along with one of those little Playskool barnyard sets with the barn door that goes mmmmrrrrraaaawww and has all those little round characters and whatnot and then I think you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Barnyard is all about. If you’re still confused, just know that Barnyard is a lot of fun; a bit unbalanced, fairly cliché, but still fun.

Some animals are just funny, and cows are one of them. There’s just something about cows that for some reason tickles the funny bone. This is something Gary Larson understood when he was penning The Far Side, and I think some of his work must have inspired Barnyard ‘cause where else would you get the idea of having cows standing around on their hind legs talking to each other? It’s a great gag, but it’s a gag that’s hard to sustain for a full-length film, which is probably why the creators of Barnyard attached that gag to a well-worn, cliché yet familiar plot. It’s a story about a young cow that must learn to grow up and accept responsibility as a leader after his role model and father is suddenly taken from him…just think Lion King with cows and you have the basic plot. This isn’t really a detraction because the fun of seeing cows walking around and the energy of the humor helps differentiate Barnyard from its obvious inspiration…though not by much.

There was one thing about this film that really bugged me, however, and maybe someone can help me out with this. Do male cows have udders? I’m watching this movie that has these male cows, one of them voiced by the very manly Sam Elliot, and they’re walking around on their hind legs with udders jiggling around on their front. I found it disconcerting and confusing because I thought only girl cows had those while male cows or bulls were not so equipped. Granted it was a funny - although vaguely disturbing - sight gag, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that I thought boy cows didn’t have udders.

Well, if you can get past the whole udder thing, you’re in for a good time at the Barnyard, and who doesn’t like a good time? In fact, our lead cow Otis – voiced competently by the always affable Kevin James – is all about having fun. It’s his one purpose in life; to have a good time. Responsibility can wait, or so he thinks. In many ways, a lot of us are lot like Otis the cow. We may not have udders, but we do like to put off certain decisions until later so we can enjoy ourselves now. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say that they’ll get around to looking into the whole Christianity thing after they’ve had all the fun they want to have. However, just as Otis discovered, life rarely keeps to our schedule. The time we think we have isn’t nearly as long we might believe. Sooner or later, life will interrupt our so-called fun and than we’re suddenly left with an eternity of regrets and if onlys. If there’s one thing we learn from the cows of Barnyard, it’s that we can avoid responsibility only so long; sooner or later it will be thrust upon us. So, we can either accept it on our own terms or be at its mercy; the choice is ours…but only for so long. Don’t be like Otis and wait until it’s too late and it costs more than you can afford. You may think you have plenty of time to come to Christ, but then Simba…I mean Otis, also thought he had plenty of time to party while his dad Mufasa…I mean Ben, took care of the responsible stuff.

That’s a pretty heavy theme for a kid’s movie, I know, but that’s one of the problems of Barnyard; it’s a bit unbalanced. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely a kid’s movie; the animation style, the silly animals and the manic humor is all aimed squarely at kids, and one would expect nothing less from Nickelodeon. However, it also tries to work in some material for adults to enjoy as well, but it doesn’t really blend these two elements together quite as well as Pixar did in films like Finding Nemo or Monsters Inc. As I said, the gimmick of talking cows partying on their hind legs can only go so far, hence the need for some dramatic elements to move the plot forward from gag to action to gag. Smoother transitions between these scenes and better blend of the kid/adult elements would have gone a long way to making Barnyard more than just a Lion King imitator.

Still, Barnyard is a lot fun, and definitely the most kid-centric of the animated films to come out this summer. Despite the Lion King de-ja-vu I had, I found the adventures of Otis and his friends a lot fun. I laughed more than I did in Over the Hedge, but missed the greater depth of character and emotion of the Pixar films, including Cars. The cows may look like people in cow suits (complete with udders) and the animation may look a little plastic (which may be intentional), but the important thing is Barnyard is a lot of fun and it’ll put a smile on your face no matter what age you are, and you can’t ask for more than that from a kid’s film in the summer.