Anaconda (1997)

Anaconda: Directed by Luis Llosa. With Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz. A “National Geographic” film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world’s largest – and deadliest – snake.

“Let me tell you about a little film called Anaconda. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI watched this film a dozen times as a kid, I loved monster flicks. Anaconda was bad, it was utterly bad, yet Iu0026#39;ve seen it more times than I want to admit. Now we visit it again, years later, so we can laugh at how ridiculous this film is. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe open with Danny Trejo, for some reason they dubbed his lines. He doesnu0026#39;t speak English, but the voice the use is so much higher than what we all know to be the gravel voice of Trejo. Just something that I found funny.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe monster effects are laughably bad at times and worse at others. When the snake is animatronic, the obviousness of it all makes it seems like a bad ride at universal. Then we have the CGI effects, which make the snake seem like it doesnu0026#39;t even belong on the screen. The first attack on a human, the entire thing looks like one giant blur. The first time we see the snake in general isnu0026#39;t with some Jaws like reveal, itu0026#39;s simply the thing slithering around in the jungle before it attacks a puma. No big reveal, no slow reveal…just the damn snake out in the open. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn Ebertu0026#39;s review of the film, which is enthusiastically gave a thumbs up, he claims Jon Voight delivers a brave and slimy performance. That I can agree with, but I wouldnu0026#39;t necessarily call it a great performance. Itu0026#39;s without a doubt, memorable, but in the campy way. He glares at almost everyone on the screen, his skin is slimy like a snake and immediately untrustworthy. No one else seems to think they are in a bad movie here. Voight seems to know this from the get go. Watch this film and then watch The Room and tell me the performances from them are not almost identical. Is he doing DeNiro? Is he doing Brando? Who the hell knows. Itu0026#39;s one wacky performance, that much is a guarantee. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis was one of the early Jennifer Lopez films that probably helped launch her career. Why? I donu0026#39;t know, she doesnu0026#39;t offer anything interesting here. Ice Cube and Owen Wilson play against their usual type, I donu0026#39;t think weu0026#39;ve seen either of them in a monster flick since this one, u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSuffice to say, Anaconda is a bad film that boarders on being highly enjoyable. Sit back, laugh and enjoy the absurdity of Anaconda. If you take this film seriously…at all, even for one second, then you will utterly hate it.”