Tao of Troth was rejected this week. It only took eight days! I understand the preliminary judging for WOTF is done and I should either something or not here something in the next week or so. Not hearing something would be good news here since that would mean that Of Tapestries and Daemons had moved up to the next level. But having Tao rejected twice in two weeks has me in the duldrums, so I decided to take time off of "writing" (since at this point it was mostly self-loathing in front of a computer) and watch a movie instead.
So I picked up Constantine. See how we circled back?
I was expecting to be unimpressed. The reviews had been mostly tepid, and I understand the fans of the comic really hated it. I'm familiar with the character from Swamp Thing and the issue of Sandman he was in, but the only issue of his own title I've ever read is the one Gaiman wrote. I have a Hellblazer graphic novel, but it's buried under a bunch of Dr. Strange and Robert E. Howard books in the stack of things I totally intend to read when I have the time (come on, Powerball!). So you can say I went into the movie knowing the basic facts but without a real emotional investment in the character.
It needed more humor. There was a some in there, but they should have kicked it up a notch. I know that much about John Constatine; he has a smart mouth. Otherwise I was pleasantly surprised; I really liked it. I would like to thank the director for making a movie with a dark theme without feeling the need to shoot it so dark I can't watch it at 2:30 in the afternoon. It's such a rare treat to be able to see the action. Also, it was violent but not gory. Well, the scene were Lucifer puts his hands into Constantine's chest was a little intense, but no gushing spouts of gore.
I understand the chief comic-book-fan complaint was that Keanu doesn't look the part. John Constantine is blond/blue-eyed in the comic. I can only assume this is to make him look angelic, but that's a stereotype that bugs on so many levels I (personally) am happy they deep-sixed it.
I watched this movie alone because my husband won't watch anything with Keanu in it. Or at least he won't watch them with me (he's seen Hard Ball and I haven't). Part of what I like about Keanu is I can always see what appealed to him in the scripts he chooses. Not every movie works, but I usually enjoy them on some level. Something else that drives Quin crazy, I can like a movie that he thinks sucks just because I can see what they were going for and enjoy it for that. Which is why I don't usually recommend movies to other people. They just get mad.
Examples? Johnny Mnenomic. Cool idea, not executed really well. A different director might have helped. Another actress in the role of Molly. It's hard not to think of Carrie-Ann Moss now since Trinity was clearly modeled on Molly on some level. She would have been great. But I can say I liked Johnny Mnemonic just on the basis of the scene where they are on the trash heap and he is listing the things he wants: Laundered shirts! Room service!
Worse than Johnny Mnemonic was The Watcher. I don't like serial killer movies (or books or TV shows), but I liked the idea of making James Spader the good guy and Keanu evil. That pretty much tapped out the film's cleverness, and the visual effects were distactingly bad. Still, there's this one scene where the two meet up in a cemetary and Spader hands Keanu his gun. At the end of the scene as they are walking off Keanu fires the gun into the ground and says something like "Shit! That was loaded?" Which just struck me as completely hilarous. It was so out of context with the rest of this super-serious movie it was like an outtake they just left in there. Well, it's never a good sign if the part of the movie that I really liked didn't seem to belong. Don't see The Watcher.
The thing is, I don't like that school of acting where it's all about the shouting, going over the top. Overacting. Al Pacino. The only thing I liked him in was Insomnia. So when people tell me they don't like Keanu because he underacts, well there's not much I can say to that. My spectrum is cranked down and he's right where he should be. Part of the problem is half his movies are special effects extravaganzas (not meant to be acting showcases), and half are independent films the general public doesn't see. If you watched a bunch of Keanu movies, you'd see the real range. Try this:
Permanent Record. Not a particularly good movie; the ending is really bad. Offensive bad. Singing a song makes everything OK? But Keanu is great as the best friend of the boy who commits suicide, dealing with the survivor guilt. He's a pup in this one; it predates Bill and Ted.
My Own Private Idaho. I didn't really get this movie when I first saw it. What was I, 18 or 19? I picked it up again a few months back when the DVD came out, and wow. It also has River Phoenix in it. It's hard not to think what he'd be doing now if only.
The Last Time I Committed Suicide. He's not the main character in this, and having read Kerouac's On the Road is probably crucial to getting the movie, but I liked it.
The Gift. Keanu is a redneck wifebeater. See it.Something's Gotta Give. In which Diane Keaton makes the wrong choice.
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