SamuelJackson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Very often when I'm watching a movie trailer these days, I'll be thinking to myself "What is this crapola? Who agreed to be in this nonsense?" And then Samuel L. Jackson comes walking into frame all solemn-like and says something about how "we only have 48 hours to return the diamond to the magic factory," or some such hoo-ha. I know Jackson came from humble beginnings, and if someone was offering me millions of dollars to travel to exotic locales and be treated like a king, I'd take it too. But with each dud project, the guy becomes a lot less exciting as an actor. Remember how thrilling he was in Pulp Fiction all those years ago? I certainly don't get that same feeling watching, say, The Man. It's starting to seem like Jackson accepts every project that is placed in front of him.

Which brings me to today's announcement. Variety reports that Jackson has signed to star in Man That Rocks the Cradle. The comedy "revolves around an overworked husband and father of four who decides the solution to all his problems is a live-in nanny." Jackson will naturally play the "manny," Marion Delacroix, a highly respected "kid whisperer" from down South. Josh Cagan wrote the script, which is based on a story by Cagan and Rob McKittrick (the decent comedy Waiting...). Don't get me wrong, Sam Jackson screaming and cussing at little children could be hilarious. But I have to suspect this is going to be a warmhearted family comedy that hits the exact same tired bases as Three Men and a Baby, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Pacifier, etc, etc. We shall see. Until then, you can see Jackson in...every third movie released.

Let me just state up front, for the record, that Samuel L. Jackson is the man (although his movie The Man did kinda suck). No matter, he's still the man and can do no wrong (well, except maybe for xXx and that shark movie. Oh, and that snake movie too). Ok, fine, he's the man who can mostly do no wrong.

Putting his few filmic transgressions aside (hey, he's gotta pay the rent and afford golf balls, right?) Jackson is still one of the most versatile, dynamic and busy mo-fos working in Hollywood today. Besides, anybody who can say they were in Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Coach Carter, S.W.A.T and Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith deserves all the props he can get, don't you think? That is a tasty list of credits.

And now, Jackson is adding another film to his already impressive, and crowded, resume -- The Cleaner, a thriller scripted by Matthew Aldrich. Who does Jackson face in this new thriller? Is it terrorists, greedy drug dealers, Dark Lords of the Sith or maybe more of those mother f-ing snakes on that mother f-ing plane? No, in The Cleaner, Jackson, playing an ataxaphobic neat-freak who cleans up crime scenes for a living, must overcome his compulsive fear of untidiness in order to solve a murder that he helped cover up while doing his job. As he investigates the crime, he eventually uncovers secrets of his past that threaten to change his life forever.

Cool. Sounds good to me. Sorry James Brown, Jackson is the hardest working man in show business. And I, for one, couldn't be happier about it. The Cleaner starts shooting in January. No word yet on co-stars or a release date.

What's your favorite SLJ flick?

Although it ultimately fell rather short of expectations after the wild internet popularity experienced during run-up, Snakes on a Plane seemed to have impressed somebody over at New Line, because they've wrapped up star Samuel L. Jackson and his still-unnamed company to a two year "first look" production deal. On the heels of his mid-$30 million run with Snakes (which is not a dreadful box office sum), Jackson said of the deal: "I have made four movies with New Line so far, and they have all been immensely positive experiences for me."

While they may have all been "immensely positive" for you, Jackson, I certainly can't say the same. I haven't seen Snakes yet, but I remember what you and Eugene Levy did with The Man; and let me tell you, there was nothing positive about that experience at all from my end of things. Nonetheless, I continue to like Samuel Jackson, and I'm excited to see what he brings to the table with the help of his new friends at New Line.

Is there really anything clever left to observe about Snakes on a Plane? It's unique existence of a cultural phenomenon (likely the only film to be a hit cult-classic before it was released) has been studied and commented on by far better minds than my own. At this point, I really feel it is simply best to sit back and enjoy it for what it is. We can watch it all unfold before us and when it is all finished playing out, we can start the second round of observations. In the meantime, we can tide ourselves over by reading Snakes on a Plane: The Comic Book. Yes, the comic book.

Snakes on a Blog (yeah, it exists) has shared the details of a forthcoming comic book based on the story of the upcoming Samuel L. Jackson vehicle Snakes on a Plane. It will be comprised of a two issue set (each with two unique covers), written by Chuck Dixon. They'll weigh in around 32 pages each and will retail for three bucks. You can nab the first one on August 16, and the second on August 30 -- mature readers only!