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williamjmI went to the cinema a couple of times this weekend.
First thing I saw was "Sideways", I've been meaning to see this for a while, after it was recommended by a lot of people and I think I just managed to see it before it slipped out of the cinemas. I really liked writer/director Alexander Payne's previous film "Election", and "Sideways" was similarly good. It's one of those comedies that doesn't really have any jokes, but there are a few very funny moments in this, I found the fight with the other golfers particularly amusing.
Today I went to see a very different movie - "Constantine", the 243rd Hollywood comic book adaptation to be released in the last 5 years. I've felt that recent comic book movies have been getting a bit repetetive, there's too many movies (especially sequels) that may not necessarily bring anything new to the genre ("Blade:Trinity" or "Spiderman 2", for example). Constantine does at least manage to be a bit different, it is unusually gloomy and cynical for a Hollywood blockbuster. Although the plot is atypical for a comic book movie (Constantine doesn't really have any superpowers), it does feel a bit generic in a different way - most of the plot points seem a bit familiar from other occult-inspired movies.
Fortunately, the role of a brooding, world-weary, friendless exorcist does fit Keanu Reeves' single expression quite well so his lack of acting ability doesn't hamper the movie too much. Rachel Weisz's acting is much better, and most of the supporting cast are quite good (admittedly, sometimes they are a bit over-the-top, but this is a comic book movie after all). As the plot, well I was entertained by the film, and quite liked it while I was watching it, but thinking about it afterwards I'm not convinced the ending makes much sense. The main bad guy's plan failing is reasonable enough (Constantine's solution would be difficult to predict, I suppose) but the ending does seem to rely on Satan being quite stupid and unobservant, which is quite lazy storytelling. I also don't understand why one of the supporting characters died, and Constantine's magical abilities seem to be that he can do whatever the plot requires at that particular moment. A decent enough film, but not great.
First thing I saw was "Sideways", I've been meaning to see this for a while, after it was recommended by a lot of people and I think I just managed to see it before it slipped out of the cinemas. I really liked writer/director Alexander Payne's previous film "Election", and "Sideways" was similarly good. It's one of those comedies that doesn't really have any jokes, but there are a few very funny moments in this, I found the fight with the other golfers particularly amusing.
Today I went to see a very different movie - "Constantine", the 243rd Hollywood comic book adaptation to be released in the last 5 years. I've felt that recent comic book movies have been getting a bit repetetive, there's too many movies (especially sequels) that may not necessarily bring anything new to the genre ("Blade:Trinity" or "Spiderman 2", for example). Constantine does at least manage to be a bit different, it is unusually gloomy and cynical for a Hollywood blockbuster. Although the plot is atypical for a comic book movie (Constantine doesn't really have any superpowers), it does feel a bit generic in a different way - most of the plot points seem a bit familiar from other occult-inspired movies.
Fortunately, the role of a brooding, world-weary, friendless exorcist does fit Keanu Reeves' single expression quite well so his lack of acting ability doesn't hamper the movie too much. Rachel Weisz's acting is much better, and most of the supporting cast are quite good (admittedly, sometimes they are a bit over-the-top, but this is a comic book movie after all). As the plot, well I was entertained by the film, and quite liked it while I was watching it, but thinking about it afterwards I'm not convinced the ending makes much sense. The main bad guy's plan failing is reasonable enough (Constantine's solution would be difficult to predict, I suppose) but the ending does seem to rely on Satan being quite stupid and unobservant, which is quite lazy storytelling. I also don't understand why one of the supporting characters died, and Constantine's magical abilities seem to be that he can do whatever the plot requires at that particular moment. A decent enough film, but not great.
