Burmese Python

Two of the 10 episodes on the DVD "Buddies" were shown on air, before the plug was pulled on this turkey. The remaining 8 episodes were already filmed and finished, but remained on the shelf until now. Dave Chappelle's celebrity status has prompted interest in his early works, which is fine. And to their credit, the releasing company has at least been kind to consumers, making the MSRP for this DVD sub-$20.

But, as most fans of the Comedy Central show will soon realize, this production was just awful. It is beyond formula for a sit-com. It is so bad it is still bad. Our buddy Dave shines in his on screen moments in just a few of the bits where he gets to be himself, but mostly, the writing is just so poor, and the directing so dull, that the show is just unwatchable.

Now, perhaps, if you like all of what the current crop of TV comedies have to offer, you will disagree with my opinion of "Buddies" - but looking at the latest Nielsens for USA, it is safe to say MOST of the networks can't produce a watchable comedy show to save their a**es.

I gave my new DVD about 3 episodes of wear before promptly listing my copy on e-bay.

I absolutely love the new Chappelle show, so it's not that I don't like Dave's style. I hope Dave gets his life back in order, and is able to continue with season three of his latest show - Get well Dave!

As you might be able to tell from my nickname, I am a snake NUT. So, viewing this movie was essential for me, no matter what the quality of the film was SUPPOSED to be. Going in with my eyes wide open, I was aware immediately of two things: 1. The movie is VERY low budget, and 2. The effects were, for the most part, very realistic.

While I can't say that the movie fails to entertain, it does have problems. The acting is average at best, the plot is predictable, and the style of filming is very much like a made-for-TV movie. Think of a Stephen King ABC Mini-Series, and that sums up the film's style.

That said, what the movie does right also impressive. There is no computer animation, and at no point do any of the slithering baddies of the film do anything "supernatural". The reptile action is very plausible, a refreshing change from other recent pictures like "Anaconda" and "Python". What the film also does right is not take itself too seriously. There is not a lot of over-acting, and no character in the film seems beyond belief. One thing I also appreciated was the fact that the snakes are treated as a menace, but not as villains.

Where "Venomous" fails most notably is its lack of ability to build suspense. There is one particular scene that stands out among the rest, but aside from that golden moment, little else is particularly chilling.

I have read reviews of this film that call it a copy of "Outbreak". While there are several similar elements, "Venomous" does stand well on its own. The running time is nearly an hour shorter between these two movies, and "Venomous" does a good job of character development. It also focuses more on the carriers of the virus than the virus itself.

"Venomous" also relies on stock footage more than once, perhaps to keep the overall budget down. I will be general here not to spoil any of the film's moments: There is one crash scene where the vehicle crashing is TOTALLY different from the one in the previous shot. Watch for it with your remote in hand, it is amusing that the film makers thought no one would notice.

My overall opinion? Rent before you buy, and only buy if you really like snakes.