Bringing you movie reviews a year late...
I forgot to mention that Netflix brought us Constantine this week, a movie I actually enjoyed even though I've read and loved the comic. No, there were some small changes to accommodate the odd casting. Constantine isn't British or blond, or walking on the edge of being evil. I mean, come on. It's Keanu "I'm-Ted...I-Mean-Neo" Reeves. What else could they do? I'm grateful they didn't dye Keanu's hair or make him affect an accent.
I have friends who are HUGE Keanu fans, HUGE Matrix fans. I don't quite get it. We own the first Matrix movie, so we liked it. But, to be honest, I skip through the the pseudo-philosophy-matrix crap on the DVD. When we saw the last two movies in the theatre -- actually didn't see the last movie in the theatre, so disgusted were we with the second -- I rolled my eyes through those parts and waited impatiently for Trinity to start shooting people again. So, casting Keanu as Constantine didn't thrill me at all.
Rodney and I watched the movie while muttering the mantra, "This has nothing to do with Hellblazer. It's a guy who just happens to be named Constantine. Isn't that a coincidence?" It got us through. There were serious problems with the film, and on our TV anyway, the sound was muddy (or perhaps Ted was just being tough), then excruciatingly loud. But it did some things right, was clever in parts, and we enjoyed it and even liked Keanu by the end (though I liked the SheMan Angle Gabriel much better).
But why must we redeem our hero in the end? That's my biggest gripe with the film.
So there's your unsolicited DVD review for the week. For those who have kids, you understand seeing films a year late. For those who don't have them yet, wait. You'll understand.
To end my good day yesterday, Rachel and I ate dinner at Outback with three wonderful female friends and one psychotic one-year-old boy nicknamed "Mr. Egg". It was good food, good company, and luckily the lady in the booth behind us did not end up with a chocolate sundae poured over her head, though Egg was really trying. It would have been the end-all of lame should we have been kicked out of Outback. Of course, I would have laughed.
I have friends who are HUGE Keanu fans, HUGE Matrix fans. I don't quite get it. We own the first Matrix movie, so we liked it. But, to be honest, I skip through the the pseudo-philosophy-matrix crap on the DVD. When we saw the last two movies in the theatre -- actually didn't see the last movie in the theatre, so disgusted were we with the second -- I rolled my eyes through those parts and waited impatiently for Trinity to start shooting people again. So, casting Keanu as Constantine didn't thrill me at all.
Rodney and I watched the movie while muttering the mantra, "This has nothing to do with Hellblazer. It's a guy who just happens to be named Constantine. Isn't that a coincidence?" It got us through. There were serious problems with the film, and on our TV anyway, the sound was muddy (or perhaps Ted was just being tough), then excruciatingly loud. But it did some things right, was clever in parts, and we enjoyed it and even liked Keanu by the end (though I liked the SheMan Angle Gabriel much better).
But why must we redeem our hero in the end? That's my biggest gripe with the film.
So there's your unsolicited DVD review for the week. For those who have kids, you understand seeing films a year late. For those who don't have them yet, wait. You'll understand.
To end my good day yesterday, Rachel and I ate dinner at Outback with three wonderful female friends and one psychotic one-year-old boy nicknamed "Mr. Egg". It was good food, good company, and luckily the lady in the booth behind us did not end up with a chocolate sundae poured over her head, though Egg was really trying. It would have been the end-all of lame should we have been kicked out of Outback. Of course, I would have laughed.