Of good and evil

Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons, and God and the Devil.

Any movie about these things would go into my must-see movie list including Constantine. And it also helps that Mr Reeves is in it.

Constantine I can simply say is different and that is what makes it a great watch. I didn't have any expectations apart from seeing his cute face on the big screen. But after I got the 5 second dosage of seeing his face I just have to shift my attention to the story. Like I said earlier anything about good and evil, Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons, God and Devil and everything in between (mainly humans) has always intrigued me. I love the Hellraiser series, Warlock and even Hideaway. I love movies where men try to play God with little success like Island of Dr Moreau. And how men can still find faith in God like Dead Man Walking; and even something other than God like Contact.

Movies like these are not always about the whole package. It's not about how good or bad the acting was, or how juvenile the script is, or how laughable the special effects were. What I would usually loook for is the message that it's trying to convey and how they do it.

Like recently, I watched The Gathering on Astro. Christina Ricci was terrible. I believe her talent has run out after she did The Addams Family. But the story of how a group "who came to watch not for salvation but for lust" is pretty interesting. The thing that they were watching was Jesus' crucifixion. As punishment they are destined to watch men experience their greatest tragedies: the world war, nuclear bomb, public massacres, assasinations. I have to close one eye on Ricci's acting to enjoy the movie. But all in all the message I truly took to heart. When you see something wrong don't just stand there and watch, at least try to do something to change it. With the Hellraiser it is in simple terms, ultimate pleasure does not come without pain. How you interpret that is up to you.

Hehe you must have thought that I'm going to write a review on Constantine, not this time. I think one of the reason why I enjoyed this movie was because I didn't read any reviews, or see any making-ofs. All I got was the trailer, the vision of black wings and Keanu Reeves. I cannot write a review without drawing on some scenes and I'm afraid that would just spoil the experience for you. You should try it some time. Go see a movie without reading any reviews, hear any comments from your friends or see any making-ofs or interviews. I did that once for House of Flying Daggers. I was halfway through the movie and I was going, "Wait a minute, where's the House of Flying Daggers???" But the movie was still good to watch. It's just that if I knew the movie is a love story I wouldn't even consider watching it.

But what I can give you is the rundown of the main cast so you don't have to do your own research on them.
Constantine - Keanu Reeves (of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dracula, Speed, A Walk in the Clouds, and what else... oh yeah! The Matrix trilogy of course how could I forget that)
Angela/Isabel Dodson - Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, Enemy at the Gates)
Chas Kramer - Shia LeBeouf (Holes, Charlie's Angels 2)
Midnite - Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator, Lara Croft 2)
The ones to watch out for,
Gabriel - Tilda Swinton (Orlando, The Beach)
Lucifer - Peter Stormare (Armageddon, 8MM, Fargo)
and last but not least
Balthazar - Gavin Rosdale (Bush's frontman, Mr Stefani)
If you're interested with Hellblazer, the comic that Constantine was based on, you can click here. It is a very comprehensive site with a lengthy description of who John Constantine, the comic book character is down to his family tree. It even has the full summary of all the comics.

For a full review on why I like this movie I would have to wait until about 50% of the general population have seen it. So maybe I'll wait until the movie has run its course in the cinemas. Then I'll be comfortable enough to talk about it in great lengths. Anyway, I just have to watch it again. The cinema I was in was not a conducive atmosphere to fully understand this type of movie. Now, what's with all the half-breeds? Why her? There was a couple sitting beside us and he was wooing her while watching the movie. What kind of people who goes to a movie to talk? I don't understand. Go lepak at a mamak stall la. You can talk all you want and no one is gonna shush you. Or you can come to this place where no one will care if you want to scream at the top of your lungs, and where you can talk on your phone as long as you want, provided that the phone can stand the heat.