SoaP

Last night I saw Snakes on a Plane. How was it? It, in a word, rocked. I had *so much fun*. I realize this was in large part due to the fact that it was opening night and the crowd was very much energized and ready for the ride. So much so that the Regal's 7:30pm show was stopped mid-climax (so I overheard) by theater managers to allow Charlottesville police to come into the theater and remove "rowdy patrons". April, Mallory and I got there fairly early, with 20 minutes of sitting time in the actual theater before the commercials -- oh, I'm sorry, "previews" -- began. There was an unremarkably sizeable crowd that was also relatively calm. Just before showtime, the lights were turned up and an official looking fellow ducked his head in from above near the projection booth. He informed us of the removal of the disordly moviegoers from the previous showing. As soon as he finished his lecture about having a good time and being respectful of others in the theater, our crowd errupted in whooping and hissing, suddenly invigorated and chompin' at the bit. I wish I could thank that guy. I'm not sure if the crowd would've been that excited had he not tempted us by the threat of police intervention. I won't get into SoaP too much. I will say however, that Manohla Dargis' review for the NYTimes is pretty much right-on (spoilers: don't read if you'd rather not know anything before seeing it). I was worried I would be disappointed, worried the film could not possibly live up to the hype, but was delightfully surprised. Impressed, even. It was ridiculous at all the right moments, gratuitously violent in just the right ways and delivered Samuel L. Jackson on a silver platter of badass with a side of cool. I mean, it's what you would hope and want from a movie with such an incredibly blunt title. Its play with the theme and its audience is very smart, almost brilliant. See this while it's still in theaters or get the tub ready to invite friends over for a SoaPy party for the DVD release.