Snakes on a Plane (2006)

It was January 2016 when I first heard of Snakes on a Place, when many people picked it for the airplane themed week of Thursday Movie Picks. That's for how long I've been meaning to watch this but kept putting it off instead. 

The plot goes like this. After witnessing the murder of an American prosecutor by the powerful mobster Eddie Kim (Bryon Lawson) while on vacation in Hawaii, Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips) is persuaded by FBI agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) to testify against Kim in Los Angeles. For the trip back, they take the entire First Class section of a red-eye flight, thinking that Jones would be safe there. Unfortunately for them and everyone else on that plane, Kim has dispatched hundreds of venomous snakes with a crate with the intent of crashing the plane and hence stop Jones from testifying. 

At this point, we are about thirty minutes into the film. The remaining hour or so is nothing but snakes trying to kill people and people trying to kill snakes. It's certainly not the most exciting of plots; actually, there's no plot here as nothing really happens, it's all very predictable and the biggest plot twist is the steward not being gay —it did leave me speechless though. 

The characters are just as poorly written as they are nothing but horror stereotypes with zero characterization and depth. Most of them have no purpose whatsoever as they die as soon as they are introduced, and they all do the most idiotic, illogical things you could do in such a scenario. They also are pretty annoying and unlikeable, and the only character I cared about was a flight attendant on her last flight who wants to pursue a career as a lawyer, because how on Earth would Julianna Margulies play Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife if she died on that plane?

The acting is bloody awful. Not only most of the performances are beyond wooden, but they also are tremendously cheesy. Samuel L. Jackson and Julianna Margulies are the only saving graces as the first gives quite a humorous although typical performance, and the later is very likeable.

New Line Cinema

The special effects are pretty bad too. From the cartoonish snakes to the incredibly fake-looking plane, CGI certainly isn't Snakes on a Plane's strength. Also, I found the scenes from the snakes' point of view utterly annoying.

All of that being said, I didn't hate the film. Sure, it has many, countless flaws, but there's something it has accomplished, it kept me engaged and entertained throughout the whole running time. That sure is something.

Glass (2019)

If it wasn't for Glass, I probably would have never seen Unbreakable, one of the best origin films ever, nor Split, its marvellous standalone sequel. If I hadn't loved those two films, on the other hand, I would have never sat through two hours of whatever the hell Glass is. 

Set immediately after Split, Glass opens with an aged David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who, helped by his son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), tries to stop Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) and the twenty-four personalities that reside within him. Things don't go exactly as planned and both David and Kevin are locked up in a mental hospital where David's archenemy, Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), is also staying. As if that wasn't bad enough, David has to deal with a psychiatrist (Sarah Paulson) who is out to prove that the three men do not have super-human abilities. 

The plot was neither Unbreakable nor Split's strongest suit, so I was not expecting anything grand from Glass under this aspect. Unfortunately, it turned out to be even worse than anticipated. Not only it makes no sense whatsoever, it features twists that, at the same time, are predictable and unexpected as they are completely devoid of logic, and it just basically just a lame excuse to have the three characters reunited in one film, but it's not interesting, it's not compelling, it just simply does not keep you hooked like its predecessors did. 

The main reason both Unbreakable and Split worked for me was the characters —while not every single one of them had the depth or development they deserved, they were interesting —especially Kevin—, likeable and realistic. In Glass, they have the same issues —they are shallow and the development is nearly nonexisting—, only this time they are pretty uninteresting and quite annoying to be honest, especially the psychiatrist.

The performances are also disappointing. Bruce Willis gives a dull, uninspired performance as he essentially sleep-walks through the entire film; Samuel L. Jackson is mediocre to say the least as Mr. Glass; Anya Taylor-Joy, who reprises her role of Casey, has barely something to work with; and the same goes with Sarah Paulson who not only is given absolutely nothing to do but has the most excruciating lines of dialogue.

Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

M. Night Shyamalan's direction is also pretty bland and boring. The film indeed lacks the tension and suspense required by a psychological thriller —this is what Glass is supposed to be, right?—, there's no atmosphere, and the cinematography is lifeless.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel though, and it's James McAvoy's performance as Kevin and his multiple personalities. Already the most compelling aspect of Split, McAvoy is yet again mesmerizing, and the switching between personalities is more impressive than ever. This guy is just fascinating to watch and about the only logical reason to watch Glass.

Unicorn Store (2019)

I love Brie Larson so when I learnt that her directorial debut, Unicorn Store, was available on Netflix (by the way, fuck you Netflix for telling me about every single insignificant rom-com of yours but totally forgetting about notifying me about this, and thank you Film Twitter for making me realise it), I watched it immediately.

The story follows Kit (Brie Larson), a young woman who is ejected from art school and goes back in with her parents (Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack). After dumping herself on the sofa watching TV, she decides to join a temp agency, takes up an office job and soon finds encouragement from Gary (Hamish Linklater), the company's vice president, to pitch a campaign for a vacuum cleaner. But then she gets an invitation to The Store where the salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) promises that not only unicorns exist but that she'll be able to have one of herself to love her forever if she lives up to a few demands. 

While it's arguably not your typical coming-of-age story, Unicorn Store is yet another movie dealing with themes of growing up, letting go of childhood and living in the real world. Unfortunately, it's all been done before and more effectively too. In addition, it often gets cheesy and overly positive and it's quite annoying, and the romantic subplot never really takes off. It does, however, a good job at portraying how young people feel about failure and it's quite relatable because of it. 

The characters aren't particularly captivating either. Kit is not your typical twenty-something who is afraid of growing up and facing the real world, she is an immature young woman obsessed with glitters, rainbows and unicorns. What bothered me about her is that we don't get to know enough of her story to understand why she is so immature and acts the way she does. Also, the way she goes from laying on the sofa all day long wearing basically kids clothes to getting a job and wearing grown-up clothes just seems unrealistic. As for the supporting characters, they don't have a lot of depth. 

Netflix

Despite the lacklustre script, every single member of the cast does a wonderful job. Brie Larson is just fantastic as naive dreamer Kit, a character that seems to fit her personality like a glove. She gives such a charming performance that radiates so much happiness and joy, it's a delight to watch her, and makes the character very likeable and lovable. Also, she yet again shows off her comedic skills. Samuel L. Jackson is obviously having a lot of fun as The Store owner which makes us have a lot of fun watching him. Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford do a great job as Kit's parents. It's Mamoudou Athie though that steals the scene as Virgil, a new acquaintance of Kit's as well as about the only "normal" character in the film.

The visual aspect of Unicorn Store is quite interesting too. The film is indeed nicely shot, the shaky camera works well and so do the many close-ups, and it's very, very aesthetically pleasing with its bright pastel and wild colours.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Although it took Marvel more than a decade to make a movie about a heroine —and they probably made it only because they needed her in End Game— and the web filled with negative reviews earlier this week, I'm a Marvel ho and I love Brie Larson and I'm also a woman so of course I went seeing Captain Marvel. And I had pretty high expectations about it, even though I was said to lower them. 

Set in 1995, the story begins on the planet Hala with Vers (Brie Larson) training with her mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). They soon go on a mission to rescue an undercover Kree operative who infiltrated a group of Skrulls, shapeshifting aliens who have been fighting with Krees for centuries, but it turns out it was an ambush, Skrulls leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) captures Vers and tries to extract information. Instead, he revives some of her memories, she manages to escape and crashlands on planet Earth, where she joins forces with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to discover who she really is and to stop the Skrulls from getting an experimental engine designed by Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Benning).

After a pretty bad start —I don't know if it was just me, but the beginning was so tedious and uninteresting—, and despite the many plot holes and the fact that there's simply too much going on to fit in a two-hour film and because of it, it often feels clumsy and rushed, the story eventually becomes interesting and engaging and the major twist, while slightly predictable, is nicely pulled off.

As for the main character, there's something about Vers/Carol Danvers that didn't work for me. While I liked the way the filmmakers introduced her past —and I loved that she is just as clueless about it as us, the audience— and I adored Brie Larson's sassy and charming performance, I just didn't feel an emotional attachment to her. I rooted for her because I liked her, despite the character's striking arrogance, but when the film finished it felt like I still didn't know her. Also, her relationship with some of the supporting characters just didn't feel right —the friendship between Carol and Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) doesn't feel real; the relationship between Carol and Maria's daughter, Monica (Akira Akbar), on the other hand, feels way more genuine and warm.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The supporting characters, on the other hand, are quite interesting, specifically the twist they put on Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. He is not the serious man we saw in the previous MCU movies, he is more relaxed, trusting, and has this sarcastic attitude that fits Jackson like a glove. The Skrulls, despite their lack of everything really as they have no character, they are fun and Ben Mendelsohn is terrific as Talos and manages to give the character that complexity the script denied him.

While I wasn't a fan of the editing which at times reminded me of a Best Editing winner I do not want to mention, the special effects are great, for the most —the de-aging is really impressive and you would never notice it if you didn't know the cast—, the soundtrack is great, and the action scenes are quite good —I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but I liked that 90s spy movie vibe they have. Not to mention how hilarious the film is —there wasn't a lot of people at my 2:45pm screening, but it sounded like everyone was having a really nice time, adults and kids alike.

Unbreakable (2000)

Believe it or not, I was completely unaware of the existence of Unbreakable until a couple of weeks ago when it came up in a conversation about Glass and me not being interested in seeing it. I wasn't that interested in seeing Unbreakable either, to be honest, but then I saw it on Netflix and decided to give it a chance. 

The story follows David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a security guard who not only is the sole survivor of a horrific train crash that killed 131 people but also got away without a single scratch on him. As David starts to wonder what has happened to him and why he was able to walk away like that, he is approached by Elijah Prince (Samuel L. Jackson), a mysterious stranger who has a very far fetched theory about it, that David is unbreakable.

The plot is pretty far fetched —it's a superhero movie, afterall— and has the potential to be very cheesy, but M. Night Shyamalan knows what he's doing and delivers an incredibly compelling and gripping origin story that gets you hooked right from the start —it is very fascinating to see David discovering his abilities and each revelation to him feels like a revelation to us as well—and keeps you glued to the screen until the end with its amazing twist that will leave you speechless even if you saw it coming —like I did.

The characters, while they could have used more development, specifically David's wife (Robin Wright) and son (Spencer Treat Clark) who are really, really shallow, are likeable and feel realistic and therefore we care about them and connect with them.

And the acting isn't bad either. Bruce Willis is believable as the average father and pessimistic security guard who is struggling to find his place in the world. He yet again plays the hero but this time around he is a more grounded, human man. Samuel L. Jackson does a wonderful job as Elijah, a passionate comic book art dealer. He plays a bit of an unusual character as Elijah is very polite in opposition to the loud and cursing characters he usually plays; that's why his performance sticks with you.

Buena Vista Pictures

What makes Unbreakable better than most comic book/superhero origin movies is that, instead of relying on action like these movies usually do, it relies on the interactions between the characters, and on the suspense and tension delivered through the mystery that unfolds as the plot moves forward. Yes, it is slower than your average comic book/superhero flick, but it is also a more fascinating and rewarding experience.

Incredibles 2 (2018)

I'm one of those people who completely snubbed The Incredibles when it came out —mainly because I was 10, I had a bigger brother and therefore I had no power over which film to see at the movies— and I kept avoiding it for the following years because it just didn't appeal me —frankly, I thought it was a kids movie. Then, about a year ago, I finally watched it, and I loved it which made me very excited for the sequel. I guess it's karma hitting me back for waiting so long to see the original that I got to see Incredibles 2 only now. That or the fact that I live in a shitty country. 

Anyways, the film follows the Parr family who once again has to hang up their suits as supers have been outlawed because of the collateral damage of their heroics. Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) are soon approached by tycoon Winston Deavor (voiced by Bob Odenkirk) who wants to restore superheros' image, and offers Elatigirl a job. She accepts and, when a new supervillain, Screenslaver, wreaks havoc with his mind control abilities, she has to face this new threat. Meanwhile, Mr. Incredible is left to take care of the kids.

As it was for the original film, the plot is pretty much your typical, simple, straightforward and therefore predictable superhero story. It does have a twist but it came as a half surprise to me as I was expecting that a major character would turn out to be Screenslaver, only I didn't guess which one. Despite this, Incredibles 2's is a story that keeps you engaged and entertaining throughout. 

The characters are just as lovable and charming as they were in the previous film. Some of them feel more like stereotypes than anything else —this time around, Violet and Dash are nothing more than your typical high/middle school kids who are either struggling with boys or grades— there's very little development, and the villain isn't that threatening, but they are fun and relatable, with Edna Mode being as cool and amazing as before, for no other reason than her being Edna Mode, and Jack-Jack the most notable. He is nothing short of adorable and funny —and this comes from someone who does not like babies— and absolutely steals the show. 

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Yes, giving more importance to Jack-Jack means baby jokes throughout the film, but they do work and they bring balance in the film as most jokes are more adult than kid oriented. I don't know how kids felt/would feel about this, but I found Incredibles 2's humour quite amusing.

At last, the animation is fantastic, as expected. It looks amazing in every single scene, whether it's an action sequence or Mr. Incredible reading bedtime stories to Jack-Jack; the colours are gorgeous and vibrant; the attention to details, especially in the backgrounds, is impressive as always when it comes to Pixar.

Captain Marvel Confirmed As The Face Of MCU? Also AVENGERS 4 Spoiler Alert!

So apparently some fans from CineEurope are leaking some info about what they saw regarding Captain Marvel recently. Namely that Brie Larson's character will indeed be the lead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Who said it? Don't know.

But apparently, the content shown to audiences also displayed Captain Marvel's powers and her dominance. Larson told E! recently (See video below): "She’s so strong - she can move planets. So for me, it was like - how far can I go with this strength?"

Man, I'm excited to see what she brings. And for me, Brie Larson is perfectly cast.

Question for you guys: Do you think that the content is referring to CM taking a temporary lead of the MCU franchise? Or permanent? In other words, do you think some of the characters killed off in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR will make an eventual return to the land of the living?

** AVENGERS 4 SPOILER ALERT **
DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT POTENTIAL SPOILERS

After all, Nick Fury himself, Samuel L. Jackson told Vulture while filming AVENGERS 4: "Who’s really dead, and who’s really in the flaky wind of Marvel dust, I don’t know, but I do know there’s a solution that they didn’t even have to tell me, just because I know who Captain Marvel is and what all that means."

Jackson also went further saying Captain Marvel is "the most powerful character" in the MCU - heroes and villains too. She's the key guys.

CAPTAIN MARVEL is slated for a March 2019 release.

Watch: New JURASSIC PARK 3D Trailer Is Here!

Man do I have fond memories of seeing JURASSIC PARK in the theaters - loved that first scene when they encountered the giant plant eaters out in the SUV and of course the first T-Rex scenes.

I saw this trailer pre-roll in 2D in front of SKYFALL in IMAX on Wednesday night (midnight). Looked AMAZING.

With his remastering of the epic into a state-of-the-art 3D format, Spielberg introduces the three-time Academy Award-winning blockbuster to a new generation of moviegoers and allows longtime fans to experience the world he envisioned in a way that was unimaginable during the film's original release. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Attenborough, the film based on the novel by Michael Crichton is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen. 

Universal Pictures will release Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking masterpiece JURASSIC PARK in 3D on April 5, 2013. ENJOY!! And check out JURASSIC PARK 3D's poster right here.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer!

Marvel's THE AVENGERS: May 4, 2012!! Mark Ruffalo Is THE HULK!

YES! This is the news we have been waiting for (other than official confirmation that THE AVENGERS will be shot in native 3D)! Today at Comic-Con, director Joss Whedon walked on stage at the tail end of the CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR panel with the entire top line cast for THE AVENGERS armed with a release date - May 4, 2012!!

Who are THE AVENGERS? Robert Downey Jr. as IRON MAN, Mark Ruffalo as THE HULK, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as CAPTAIN AMERICA, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as THOR, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Clark Gregg as Coulson.

I don't have to say that this movie has the potential to be the all time greatest comic adaption. Better than SPIDER-MAN (my personal fav). Better than BATMAN (Ok, maybe not TDK!). Better than SUPERMAN. What a cast!

I have a few requests for Marvel and I would like to hear yours too! First, native 3D. Second, I want to see the Hulkbuster Iron Man armor. Third, make the darn thing LEGENDARY. How about you?

Photo courtesy of FirstShowing