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Opinion

Snakes on a column

Jim McCormick
Opinion Columnist

Across the Internet, there has been a lot of buzz about the upcoming summer movie season, and a few movies that we, the denizens of the ether, are hotly anticipating. Currently, the most talked-about film of the summer season is not some particularly amazing, special effects-driven film, nor does it seem to have a particularly intricate plot. In fact, few are even expecting it to even be good, simply on the basis of the title alone: Snakes on a Plane.

For those of you out there thinking this couldn't possibly be real, let me assure you that it is, and that the plot is about as mind-numbing as the title. The movie is about how Samuel L. Jackson is forced to protect a witness on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles when an assassin releases a large number of deadly snakes on the plane. 

However, this isn't a column about a particular dud. After all, it does have enough appeal to get people to the theaters, simply because the title and premise are so dumb that people have to actually see it to convince themselves that this is no hoax. The fact is, though, that this movie has become rather indicative of what passes for entertainment in Hollywood. 

Over the past year, the number of movies that I personally felt were worth seeing was incredibly small. If box office earnings are to be taken as an indicator of the tastes of others, it seems I wasn't alone. While the Motion Picture Association of America will point to rampant film piracy, I point to the fact that the studios are insulting people's intelligence with some of their offerings. 

Even the films nominated for Academy Awards weren't particularly impressive in my opinion: I wasn't even remotely interested in any of them and it seems that most people shared my opinion.

If Hollywood wants to see a good year anytime in the near future, they need to step up the quality and imagination of the films. 

Moviegoers are generally tired of sequels and adaptations that completely lose the point of the original film or television series. They don't want to be preached at via the silver screen. They want to be entertained, which is the one thing that the studios seem to have forgotten. 

With the price of an evening movie running around $10 (if you're going alone), people expect something good. After all, $10 is a lot of money to spend in order to kill a couple of hours, especially when a better movie can be had on DVD for, at most, twice the cost -- and then one can enjoy the film, more than once, without getting completely ripped off on refreshments.

So yes, you might see me lining up to go see Snakes on a Plane. After all, something that potentially awful has to be seen to be believed. 

McCormick, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at thephotoman@gmail.com