HISSSSS AT THE VILLAINS IN `SNAKES ON A PLANE'.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor In a well-worn, time-honored tradition, the attractive young couple having sex are the first victims in ``Snakes on a Plane.'' I'm not giving much away. ``SOAP'' -- the most Internet-hyped film of the year, based on its title -- pretty much adheres to its B-movie roots, which is probably why it did much more modestly at the box office than everyone expected. Yes, it sounds like a cool concept -- better than Rats on a Train -- but where do you go from there? Well, the filmmakers do manage to keep things lively in the who's-going-to-die-next mode. There's a lot of slithering slith·er v. slith·ered, slith·er·ing, slith·ers v.intr. 1. To glide or slide like a reptile. See Synonyms at slide. 2. To walk with a sliding or shuffling gait. 3. about in ``SOAP'' -- some of it funny, some gross, and a lot of it not even done by the reptiles. The plot involves an FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. For the senator from Indiana, see Samuel D. Jackson. Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor. ) taking a murder witness back to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. from Hawaii on a passenger plane. The killer is a crime kingpin who has managed to smuggle smug·gle v. smug·gled, smug·gling, smug·gles v.tr. 1. To import or export without paying lawful customs charges or duties. 2. To bring in or take out illicitly or by stealth. onboard a bunch of hopped-up poisonous snakes with the idea of bringing the whole plane down. (No witnesses, see?) Even before the snakes start their midflight rampage, venom flows as director David R. Ellis introduces the passengers a la '70s disaster films like ``Airplane!'' giving the audience a rooting interest in who lives and who dies. Originally, ``SOAP'' wasn't going to have an R rating, but the Internet hype spurred the filmmakers on. They added Jackson's famous unrepeatable curse about the snakes, and amped up the gore, which meant that the dog- and baby-hating guy was likely to get it good. And the couple trying to join the mile-high club in the plane's restroom meet a memorable end. Let's just say that somehow the snakes like to aim for private parts private parts n. men or women's genitalia, excluding a woman's breasts, usually referred to in prosecutions for "indecent exposure" or production and/or sale of pornography. . Sure ``SOAP'' is dumb, but it's a fairly fun addition to the fear-of-flying genre. Rob Lowman (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman@dailynews.com NEW FILMS ``Snakes on a Plane'' (New Line; $28.98) ``The Covenant'' (Columbia; $28.95) ``Artie Lange's Beer League'' (Echo Bridge Echo Bridge was built to carry an aqueduct over the Charles River in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. The aqueduct carried water from the Sudbury River to Boston. Construction of Echo Bridge began in 1875 and was completed in 1877 by Boston Water Works (BWW). ; $26.99) OLDER FILMS ``Glory'' (Special Edition, Repackaged) (Columbia; $29.99) TELEVISION ``Love's Abiding Joy'' (Fox; $26.98) ``Martin - The Complete First Season'' (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; $29.98) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Samuel L. Jackson picks his poison in ``Snakes on a Plane.'' |
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