Black Snake Moan

I just finished watching "Black Snake Moan" after renting it 2 times before and never getting to it. There was something about the subject matter, a black former blues singer (Samuel Jackson) trying to save a young white town slut from her sex addiction (Christina Ricci) by chaining her to the house, that just didn't seem appealing to me.

Yes, it was strange, and slow, and long, but in the end it redeemed itself. It was simply a tale of when we are able to let our guards down, and reveal our faults to those who will not judge us but love us unconditionally, there is absolutely nothing better in life.

I won't talk about it too much, though, because
I don't really consider it black cinema, though Samuel Jackson's in it and John Singleton produced. I would like to take a second to comment on his choice of roles for the past few years, which are, for lack of a better phrase, just plain wierd.

I am baffled about why someone would voluntarily choose to do "Snakes on a Plane", "Formula 51", "Freedomland", "The Man" "The Caveman's Valentine" and "S.W.A.T" for any reason other than a paycheck. I found all of these films painful to watch. Besides the fact that he seems to do a movie a week, the only time I really enjoy him is when he collaborates with Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown).

I'm hoping he has paid for all of his mortgages and will settle down a bit. At least in "Black Snake Moan" he wasn't yelling.