Hell of a role
I got to talking about movies with a patient customer of mine at the comic store yesterday, and I mentioned the last movie I saw was "Narnia". So he asked me how it was and while I mentioned how good the visual effects were, etc., etc., my praise went to Tilda Swinton who played the White Witch.
"Oh, I know who she is!" said P. "Did you see 'Constantine'?"
Let's recap before I tell you my answer.
1. As a comic seller and afficianado... HELLO? John Constantine (aka "Hellblazer") is... BRITISH.
2. As a comic seller and afficianado... HELLO? The original template of John Constantine was... STING.
3. As a comic seller and afficianado... John Constantine in the movie is... KEANU REEVES?
Can you guess what I said?
"Are you nuts?"
"Oh, you have to see it," P told me. "She's in it and steals the entire movie."
Well, no surprise there; Tilda Swinton rocks. So I broke down tonight and rented it. To save those poor souls who want to see Tilda but don't want to sit through Keanu Reeves chainsmoking his way through the movie, she shows up around the 20 minute mark for about 2 minutes. Then not again until about the 1:35 mark, where she's in and out for about 5 minutes. Yeah, 7 whole minutes of Tilda Swinton in a 2-hour movie.
But they're wonderful 7 minutes! And she's got a very key scene that the movie basically hinges on. Oh, and she's got wings. (Very, very clever casting of the arc angel Gabriel... as an androgynous woman.) And I swear she's wearing chaps in her last big scene, but that could just be an active mind. Heh.
As for the movie itself, it didn't follow any Hellblazer story arc (or at least, none that I've read so far), so it wasn't like it had to stick to a well-worn mythology (ie. Spiderman). So in that regard, as a stand-alone movie, it was... okay. Sorry, I've never seen the Keanu love beyond The Matrix (and only the first one, because whatever love I had for him was swallowed up by the moronically complex story of part 2 and 3). Cool special effects, a bit predictable, but good character actors playing small but key roles. And who knew Gavin Rossdale (lead singer of Bush) could act?
But I gotta agree with P- Tilda Swinton steals the entire movie. I've given you the bookmarks for when she's on. Rent it as cheap as you can and just ff to her parts. :)
"Oh, I know who she is!" said P. "Did you see 'Constantine'?"
Let's recap before I tell you my answer.
1. As a comic seller and afficianado... HELLO? John Constantine (aka "Hellblazer") is... BRITISH.
2. As a comic seller and afficianado... HELLO? The original template of John Constantine was... STING.
3. As a comic seller and afficianado... John Constantine in the movie is... KEANU REEVES?
Can you guess what I said?
"Are you nuts?"
"Oh, you have to see it," P told me. "She's in it and steals the entire movie."
Well, no surprise there; Tilda Swinton rocks. So I broke down tonight and rented it. To save those poor souls who want to see Tilda but don't want to sit through Keanu Reeves chainsmoking his way through the movie, she shows up around the 20 minute mark for about 2 minutes. Then not again until about the 1:35 mark, where she's in and out for about 5 minutes. Yeah, 7 whole minutes of Tilda Swinton in a 2-hour movie.
But they're wonderful 7 minutes! And she's got a very key scene that the movie basically hinges on. Oh, and she's got wings. (Very, very clever casting of the arc angel Gabriel... as an androgynous woman.) And I swear she's wearing chaps in her last big scene, but that could just be an active mind. Heh.
As for the movie itself, it didn't follow any Hellblazer story arc (or at least, none that I've read so far), so it wasn't like it had to stick to a well-worn mythology (ie. Spiderman). So in that regard, as a stand-alone movie, it was... okay. Sorry, I've never seen the Keanu love beyond The Matrix (and only the first one, because whatever love I had for him was swallowed up by the moronically complex story of part 2 and 3). Cool special effects, a bit predictable, but good character actors playing small but key roles. And who knew Gavin Rossdale (lead singer of Bush) could act?
But I gotta agree with P- Tilda Swinton steals the entire movie. I've given you the bookmarks for when she's on. Rent it as cheap as you can and just ff to her parts. :)