Snakes
I was really hoping that Snakes on a Plane would be a blockbuster, simply because I think there aren't enough action movies aimed at topologists. I was hoping it would be followed up by such sure-fire hits as Snakes on a Sphere, Snakes on a Torus, and the mind-bending thrills of Snakes on a Möbius Strip.
Then I saw the trailer.
Dammit.
Comments
Eh.
Snakes on a Sphere: "A mere rehash of the original. With all suspense punctured, the film felt deflated and stretched."
Snakes on a Torus: "Stylish, but suffers from a plot hole you could drive a truck through"
Snakes on a Mobius Strip: "Its one surprising plot twist proved not so much thrilling as disorienting"
Posted by: Rick Rubenstein | March 17, 2006 03:02 PM
that can't possibly be a real movie, can it? I mean, its gotta be some sort of hoax being perpetrated by Samuel L. Jackson on an unsuspecting populaces, right?
Posted by: Heresiarch | March 17, 2006 04:06 PM
Damn. Outpunned.
Posted by: Lore | March 17, 2006 04:41 PM
There is probably a brilliant joke out there to be made involving "Snakes on RP2". I'm not gonna make it.
Rumor was, Jackson only agreed to do the film if that was kept as the title.
Posted by: Edmund Schluessel | March 17, 2006 05:01 PM
Dammit. I'm so glad I didn't reply earlier after I'd been trouble-shooting my computer for seven hours without a break even for food. I read "aimed at topologists" and absolutely comprehended "topologists" as "herpetologists", even in spite of the topological puns following, and I could not understand your disappointment. Nor why you were bringing spheres, tori and mobius strips into it. There are many snakes. They are on a plane. What more do you as an avid topologist (one who studies reptiles) want?
But now a couple of hours and a meal later I read it and think "Oh. Topologists. Ha ha. Got it. God, I need a pint."
Pardon me while I scroll down to the beer recommendations from last week.
Posted by: maija | March 17, 2006 05:35 PM
by miles, well done rick. In other news the trailer has been removed from you tube. but here is another link http://www.tagworld.com/snakesonaplane You must use IE or firefox to see it, which is unfortunate considering how awesome opera is
Posted by: ctsc | March 17, 2006 06:48 PM
Urgh -- using Firefox isn't sufficient. I'm using Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Linux, and I get a pop-up window telling me I must use either Firefox or IE. Thanks, browser-detection-geniuses.
Posted by: Matthew Miller | March 18, 2006 08:40 AM
"Snakes on a Klein Bottle" got a rave review from the one critic on Earth who was able to follow it, but was pulled from theaters because it gave people headaches.
Posted by: Brother | March 18, 2006 11:09 AM
Bah. This whole Snakes On a Plane thing is viral marketing. We're being played, sucka!
Also, go check out the director's "experience" on IMDB. Mostly he's a stunt coordinator. This has "suck" written all over it.
Posted by: Charlie | March 20, 2006 01:47 PM
Re: "Snakes on a Klein Bottle":
The people stayed away in droves, only to discover to their horror that they were all in fact inside the theater.
Posted by: Rubrick | March 20, 2006 04:24 PM
Rubrick -- good one! I just spit popcorn all over my keyboard.
Posted by: Brother | March 20, 2006 05:05 PM
Snakes are 1 dimensional, so unfortunately a snake on a sphere will suffer the same fate as a snake on a plane. I.e. the snake must fail to cover some point on the sphere (or could be isotoped to do so), and then puncturing the sphere at that point demonstrates that the poor snake, like it's counterpart on the plane, is contractible.
However, jellyfish on a sphere would be in much better shape.
I wonder if "Snakes on a plane" has any relation to the early "Lion in the Sahara"? series?
Posted by: Henry Segerman | March 20, 2006 05:20 PM
Centipedes on a Segway! Tarantulas in a tricycle! Sloths on a flatbed truck! Pandas in a caravan!
This is the franchise that Hollywood's been waiting for... either that or the beginning of some truly odd nature/home decorating programme. This week: Snakes on a Plane. next week: Armadillos on a Nailgun.
Genius.
Posted by: nickandkeith | March 27, 2006 07:46 AM
It is my promise to you that this Snakes on a Plane tie-in is nothing but two-dimensional (but in a different way than the movie will be two-dimensional):
http://www.yarnivore.com/francis/archives/001504.html
Posted by: Francis | March 27, 2006 01:29 PM