Anaconda (1997) - Limited fun in slick jungle escapade

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A giant anaconda lurks in the dark on this effective poster for Luis Llosa's Anaconda

A documentary film crew on the Amazon river quickly meet resistance, which gets them to turn around. - With a monster anaconda on their trail!

 

Anaconda is written by Hans Bauer (Komodo (1999)), Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. (Top Gun (1986), both) and directed by Luis Llosa (Crime Zone (1988)).

It is a very silly and flat studio invention, - almost more package than film. The different actors are more so in the picture to activate certain demographics than for any other reasons, pick up a paycheck and maybe have a laugh or two. None of them get to show what they can in this stupid story: Ice Cube's (Three Kings (1999)) character is laughable; Jonathan Hyde (The Tailor of Panama (2001)) as the sneering Brit, who doesn't seem to serve any function on the trip, is also ungainly.

The giant snake is very well-made, and that is what gives Anaconda its bite of entertainment value. SPOILER Also this is the place to go, if you were wondering where to see Jon Voight (Rosewood (1997)) gobbled up and then thrown up by a giant snake!

 

Watch a very short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 45 mil. $

Box office: 136.8 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.04 times its cost)

[Anaconda was released 11 April (USA) and runs 89 minutes. Jennifer Lopez (My Family (1995)) was paid 1 mil. $ for her performance. Shooting took place from May - August 1996 in Brazil, Las Vegas, Nevada and in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 16.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another weekend in the top 5 (#3), grossing 65.8 mil. $ (48.1 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. 3 sequels and a 2015 crossover movie (with Lake Placid (1999)), all without the involvement of any of the filmmakers and stars of the first film, have been made. Llosa returned with La Fiesta del Chivo (2005). Lopez returned in U Turn (1997); Cube in two music videos prior to his theatrical return in The Players Club (1998); and Voight also in U Turn (1997). Anaconda is rotten at 38 % with a 4.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Anaconda?

Barbershop (2002) - Story's tiring, overrated chatterbox hit

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+ Most Undeserved Hit of the Year 

A collection of endeared stars align curbside on this poster for Tim Story's Barbershop

Calvin is a dreamer, but his dreams cost money, and therefore the barbershop that he has inherited from his father is nearly bankrupt. Now he decides to sell it, - but is that the right decision?

Barbershop is written by Mark Brown (The Salon (2005)), Don D. Scott (House Party: Tonight's the Night (2013, video)) and Marshall Todd (Woke (2020, TV-series)) and directed by Tim Story (One of Us Tripped (1997)).
Ice Cube (Ride Along (2014)) is pretty good as Calvin, and Anthony Anderson ('Til Death (2006-07)) has comedic chops, - but unfortunately he is mostly tasked with yelling in Barbershop. The same type of problem goes for Eve (Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)), who doesn't seem to be doing anything at her job besides hollering aloud about apple juice and other matters.
Cedric the Entertainer (Dance Fu (2011))'s character is a tiring know-it-all who talks incessantly; and similarly to the film's languid story, he moves around in grounds that are very close to self-parody while often dripping more or less truthful 'wisdom' into the mortar.
The major problem for the plot in Barbershop is that Calvin is dead tired of his shop, - SPOILER but then changes his mind about it anyway. Where the new-found realization comes from on this apparently normal day in the small chatterbox that we look in on is a mystery. The staff soon becomes extremely tiring for the audience as well (as they are for Calvin), and it is involuntarily funny how very few customers the barbers have, and how exceedingly rarely they seem to actually get paid in proper money. - What kind of a business is this? ...

 

Related post:

 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 12 mil. $
Box office: 77 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 6.41 times its cost)
[Barbershop premiered 7 August (USA) and runs 102 minutes. Shooting took place in Chicago, Illinois from ? - January 2002. The film opened #1 to a 20.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it was #1 for a second weekend and then spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#5), grossing 75.7 mil. $ (98.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 230k $ (0.3 %) and New Zealand with 51k $ (0.07 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches higher than this one. The film spun a franchise; the first sequel was Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), and after that came a spin-off, a TV-series and in 2014 a second sequel. Story returned with Taxi (2004). Cube returned in The Bernie Mack Show (2002, TV-series) and theatrically in Friday After Next (2002). Barbershop is certified fresh at 83 % with a 6.59/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Barbershop?