Black Snake Moan Review

Director Craig Brewer's most recent serves a fine taste of the south, a hearty taste of the blues, and the occasional taste of brilliance.

Black Snake Moan is a film that isn't easily lumped into any specific genre. The movie shares elements found all over the world of film and lumps them all together, creating unique picture that's inevitably quite interesting. For starters, Craig Brewer decided to shoot a large portion of this film as a character drama, letting the performances dominate many of the shots and making sure that his film making didn't distract the viewer. That's only a portion of the film though. Black Snake Moan is unorthodox because it incorporates aspects from dramas, musicals, and psychological thrillers to create the the feeling and mood found in the film.

The premise for the movie is fairly simple. A nymphomaniac simply known as Rae is found unconscious on the side of the road by a withering bluesman named Lazarus who takes her in, hoping to cure her of her addiction to sex. Lazarus, who is played by Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Snakes on a Plane), finds the only way to help the girl is to chain her to his radiator, preventing her from leaving his home. Now, this act seems barbaric and harsh but it works well in the film and you understand what would motivate Lazarus to do such an obscure thing to a woman.

The performances from Sam Jackson and Christina Ricci (Prozac Nation, Sleepy Hollow), who plays Rae, are pretty amazing and keep you gripped throughout the duration of the flick. Jackson does an excellent job playing an often firm yet gentle man and you can see that his character has made sacrifices earlier in his life without the film going into any detail. Ricci is also top-notch. She plays an extremely intense character who seems to have a soft side hidden beneath her shell that she's afraid will leak out. Some of the scenes with Rae are downright scary as her addiction takes over and she's on the verge of exploding. Justin Timberlake is also in the film, playing Rae's boyfriend who's initially shipped off to Iraq. He does an alright job but is nothing spectacular, although I couldn't stop thinking "bye bye bye" whenever I saw his face.



Another highlight of the film was Brewer's use of music. As I mentioned above, a large portion of the film relies on music to get its point across and the scenes where tunes took the forefront were easily the best in my opinion. Sam Jackson did all of his own music for the film, both guitar and lyrics, and it fits extremely well and feels gritty and raw. I'm really contemplating picking up the soundtrack for Black Snake Moan just because the music was so powerful and well done.

The only complaint I have about Black Snake Moan is that I feel it could have been wrapped up in a better fashion than it was. The film leaves a little bit of the story open for interpretation, which I enjoy, but I felt as if the ending was a bit cliche. It worked fairly well with the film but I would have loved to see it interpreted in a fashion with a little less cheese.

Black Snake Moan was well worth the price of admission and I can't wait until it hits DVD so I can take it all in again. Both Jackson and Ricci's performances were top-notch and the music in the film really struck a chord. I can't wait to check out Craig Brewer's next film as he has really been striking up quite a career for himself.

One Sentence Review: You'll go for the story but stay for the music, Black Snake Moan is worth checking out.

Cheers.

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FILM: Spring Movies Not to Be Missed

There are quite a few films worth checking out in the upcomming months. I take a peek at what's just around the corner and tell what I'm looking forward to.

February:

Reno 911!: Miami. Hits theatres on February 23rd. Directed by Ben Garant (Reno 911! TV series). Starring Thomas Lennon, Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney, and Cedric Yarbrough. Reno 911!: Miami features all the characters you love from the hilarious TV show and throws them into the biggest mess of their police careers. While Reno 911! isn't everyone's cup of tea, I just love the characters and I'd gladly sit in a theatre for an hour and a half and watch them make even bigger asses out of themselves. Danny DeVito, Paul Rudd, Paul Reubens, and Michael Ian Black (Stella!) also play smaller roles in the film. Watch the Reno 911!: Miami trailer HERE.

March:

Zodiac. Hits theatres on March 2nd. Directed by David Fincher (Se7en). Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Cloe Sevigny. Zodiac tells the story of the investigators and reports who were terrorized by the Zodiac serial killer in 1970 San Francisco. David Fincher is a perfectionist and great at displaying tension and atmosphere so I'm sure that the film will be a great ride. The only worry I have about this flick thus far is the poor CGI establishing shots in the trailer, but they could be cleaned up before the film's release next month. Check out the Zodiac trailer HERE.

Black Snake Moan. Hits theatres on March 2nd. Directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow). Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake. Black Snake Moan is the story of an elderly blues musician who holds a victim of childhood sexual abuse against her will in an attempt to free her from her troubles. Read my preview of the film HERE and watch the trailer HERE.

The Host. Hits theatres on March 9th. Directed by Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder). Starring Song Kang-Ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-IL, Bae Doo-Na, and Ko A-Sung. The Host, or Gwoemul as it's known in Korean, is the story of a fairly poor elderly man, Park Hee-Bong, who runs a snack bar on the banks of Seoul's Han River. One day a mutant creature emerges from the river and kidnaps Park's granddaughter. The film, which released in South Korea during the summer, has gotten international praise and will hopefully awe North American audiences. Check out The Host trailer HERE.



300. Hits theatres on March 9th. Directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead). Starring Gerard Butler, David Wenham, and Lena Headey. 300 is the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name. 300 Spartans must face over 1 million soldiers of the Persian Empire in an attempt to be free from slavery. The film has gotten both praise and disgust after early test screenings and will most likely do well at the box office. It is unclear though whether or not it will be as critically superb as Frank Miller's recent adaptation, Sin City. Check out the trailer to 300 HERE.

Reign Over Me. Hits theatres on March 23rd. Directed by Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger). Starring Don Cheadle, Adam Sandler, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Liv Tyler. Reign Over Me is the story of a pair of old college roommates who restart their friendship by running into each other after living very different lives apart. While some may think this is a comedy because it stars the likes of Adam Sandler it seems like a fairly heavy-handed drama, although I'm sure there are comedic qualities throughout. I'm also a fairly large Don Cheadle fan and feel that he's chosen his roles wisely over the past few years, hopefully Reign Over Me turns out to be another good choice. Check out the trailer for Reign Over Me HERE.



Rescue Dawn. Hits theatres on March 30th. Directed by Werner Herzog (Little Dieter Needs to Fly). Starring Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, and Jeremy Davies. Rescue Dawn is the story of a downed fighter pilot who must find a way to survive in a Vietnamese POW camp. I watch anything Christian Bale does and I also have a lot of respect for Herzog so I'll definitely be checking this one out. Read my preview of Rescue Dawn HERE and check out the trailer HERE.

April:

Grindhouse. Hits theatres on April 6th. Directed by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City). Starring Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, and Michael Biehn. Grindhouse is two extreme action flicks for the price of one. Both directors shot a segment, Tarantino doing Death Proof and Rodriguez shooting Planet Terror, and they will play back-to-back with fake trailers playing during the intermission. Grindhouse is a throwback to the old cinemas that would show two over-the-top films in one sitting for the price of one admission. Now, this could turn out to be a great idea or it could be a complete bomb, either way I have to check it out. Watch the trailer for Grindhouse HERE.

Hot Fuzz. Hits theatres on April 20th. Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, and Timothy Dalton. There are a lot of reasons to be interested in Hot Fuzz. For starters, it's done by the same creative team behind the top notch film Shaun of the Dead and shares a fairly similar cast. some may even say it's a sequel to the zombie film, while it's a completely different universe. The film has been out in the UK for a little while now and has been getting rave reviews with many critics saying it's better than Shaun, which is very high praise. Hot Fuzz has been on the top of my to-see list since I first heard about it at San Diego Comic-Con over the summer. Check out the trailer for Hot Fuzz HERE.

The Invisible. Hits theatres on April 27th. Directed by David S. Goyer (Blade: Trinity). Starring Justin Chatwin, Michelle Harrison, and Marcia Gay Harden. The Invisible is the story of two teens who are invisible to the rest of the world. It's a concept that's been done before, and done to death, but for some reason I'm interested in the project. It's probably the psychological thriller fanatic inside of me that hasn't been fed for a few months. Hopefully this film feeds that hunger. Check out the trailer for The Invisible HERE.



May:

Spider-Man 3. Hits theatres on May 4th. Directed by Sam Raimi (Army of Darkness). Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Hayden Church, Topher Grace, and Rosemary Harris. Spider-Man 3 kicks off where the second film left off. Peter is with Mary-Jane (who knows he is Spidey), Harry Osborn is still bent on revenge, and the world is beginning to respect the web-head. Raimi's third film is supposedly darker and more intense than the previous two, but may also be more convoluted as three enemies are thrown into the mix. I have doubts that Spider-Man 3 will be as good a film as the previous two but I'm still pumped to go see it. Check out the trailer for Spider-Man 3 HERE.

Well, those are the films I'm looking forward to in the next few months. Is there anything I missed. Let me know what flicks you're looking forward to seeing.

Cheers.

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FILM: Trailer for Black Snake Moan Hits the Net

Sam Jackson has has been choosing some pretty interesting roles recently. His character in Black Snake Moan is definitely on of the more interesting ones.

Black Snake Moan, which is directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), is a story about a troubled blues musician who takes in a young woman in an attempt to shelter her from her abusive lifestyle.

One reason I'm so interested in this film is because it appears to have such a heavy style. One thing that I've noticed about Craig Brewer so far in his early career is that he has a great sense of aesthetics and can really make a film look and sound great while adding to the general feel of the thing. While other directors add in effects for the hell of it, Brewer seems to know to only pull the effect lever when it will benefit the story being told.



Brewer also has a very strong sense of music in his films. Like Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan at times tells the story using on-screen musical sequences. Also, I should note, that Sameul L. Jackson did all of his own music for the film, along with guitar.

Another reason I'm pumped for this film is how off-beat the characters are from anything most people are used to seeing in a Hollywood film. Sam Jackson plays an extremely traumatized blues musician and alongside him plays a powerful Christina Ricci as, essentially, his female prisoner. Justin Timberlake also plays as Christina Ricci's boyfriend who has been shipped off to Iraq, and, while I've heard he did a fairly good job in Alpha Dog, I'm hoping he doesn't get much screen time.

You can view the trailer HERE and check out the MySpace page (along with some of Sam Jackson's tunes from the film) HERE.

The film comes out in North America on February 23rd, I'll post a review sometime after then.

Cheers.

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