On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
20/22 |
Amanda Jones |
I didn't like the way this movie was edited, and that kept me at its arm's length. |
28/50 |
Michael Bentley |
Better than it should have been, it has enough solid acting and folksy Southernness to make it mostly enjoyable. |
145/214 |
Max Braden |
Dirty, trashy blues. It felt wrong to look, but I couldn't look away. The movie certainly isn't lacking in style. |
So, let's get this out of the way; yes, Samuel L. Jackson's next movie after Snakes on a Plane is Black Snake Moan. It's a coincidence worthy of Ripley's. The plot seems no less contrived on first look, featuring Jackson as a blues musician who must cure a young lady of her nymphomania through his music. I think I saw this (with the same title) in a porno film once.
The content of the film starts to make a little more sense when you realize it's Craig Brewer's follow up to last year's outstanding (and surprise Oscar-winning) Hustle & Flow. Music is quite central to Brewer's films, and it will be interesting to see how he incorporates this musical style into the film, and if he can be as effective with blues as he was with hip-hop.
Christina Ricci will play the woman seeking Jackson's musical cure, while Justin Timberlake has a supporting role as a competitor for Ricci's attentions. The success and critical acclaim of Hustle & Flow will probably allow Black Snake Moan to be a little higher in profile to start, though as it is with Paramount Vantage and the subject matter is a bit risqué, expectations should be managed. (Reagen Sulewski/BOP)
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