ACCKK!!
Have you seen what it’s doing outside this morning?
Chickadees - snowed in
I don’t know anything about the nesting habits of chickadees, but we watched a little guy hop into that hole in the branch and not come out - at least not while we were there. Either the tree is carnivorous (yikes!) or somebody’s is setting up housekeeping inside. That would be so cool as this is right outside the kitchen window - a chickadee family would keep both us and the cats vastly entertained!
But I was talking about snow. Myria has been contending, sadly, that winter is over. Winter is her favorite season; she absolutely blooms and thrives in the cold weather. I have been staunchly maintaining that winter won’t be over until the vernal equinox (I tend to take the orthodox line) - until last Thursday. We were doing a bit of grocery shopping up in Hudson, NH and what should we spy driving past Wal-Mart? A robin! At that point I was willing to concede that Myria had the right of it - winter was indeed over and spring was right around the corner.
We’re supposed to get 7 or 8 inches of this crud before it stops later this evening :(
On to movies.
Constantine and Hellboy
We did get to see Constantine on Friday. We enjoyed it quite a lot. We both like Keanu Reeves and we were both intrigued with the basic concept. The acting was good, the story was coherent (absolutely amazing for a visual effects kind of film!) and interesting, the pacing was good and the visuals were stunning. The look of this film will just carry you away and do it so well that you won’t even realize it until you’re out of the theater. This is what CGI should be - so well done and so well integrated into the story it’s intended to supplement that it looks perfectly real and ordinary to the viewer’s eye.
Constantine is all about the search for redemption and it posits a world where God and Satan have agreed to a sort of “hands off” policy. They both, however, send and use their emissaries (angels and demons) to influence mankind towards good or evil. For most people, these emissaries are invisible. John Constantine, however, can see, hear and interact with them. This “gift” caused him to attempt suicide as a teenager. He was clinically dead for two minutes before the doctor succeeded in bringing him back to life. Therefore, he is guilty of the one unforgivable sin - despair and is therefore, according to doctrine, going to hell. No forgiveness. No reprieve.
This film was not the roller-coaster ride the advertising would have you believe. In fact, contrary to type, it has nothing in it that I would consider gratuitous and is actually fairly cerebral - a huge departure for this kind of film. It tells a cogent and interesting story that makes sense from beginning to end (given the framework of the world in which the story takes place). It also avoids another pitfall endemic to movies in general lately - it doesn’t indulge in multiple endings and it’s length (just under two hours) isn’t excessive. It opens, introduces its characters and its theme, tells its story and then leaves. No padding.
Definitely recommended.
We’ve had Hellboy for a while now, just waiting for an appropriate time to view it. That time came Saturday evening. I suspect there’s nothing coincidental in the decision to watch it so soon after seeing Constantine. While there wasn’t anything conscious about it either, it seems to be the way our minds work :)
Hellboy is a demon, brought out of Hell as a “child” at the end of WWII by Hitler’s occult practitioners. He is “rescued” and raised by the “paranormal advisor” to President Roosevelt. When the actual story begins in the present day, he is 60 years old which, we are told, is sort of like dog years in reverse. He is immensely strong, fairly cynical and very fond of cigars, cats and candy bars. The advisor, an old man now, looks after him and a few other “atypical” folks but is searching for a successor as he has cancer and is dying.
Ron Perelman does a nice job (and has a good time) in the title role. The problem is mainly one of plot - there’s about 15 minutes worth. There are characters present for whom no explanation is given and there are a great many special effects for which there is no reason except to impress the audience. Unfortunately, the visuals in Hellboy do not blend seamlessly into the story but instead stand up and announce themselves; Look Ma! I’m making special effects! The pacing is abysmal. By the time the film was over, I felt it had been going on for hours and we had both pretty much lost interest in whatever was going on.
The critics loved Hellboy but the reviews so far for Constantine have only been middling for the most part. Go figure…
Child’s hat
I finished this yesterday and am still working on the socks. I haven’t had a lot of success working on stuff for me with the Dulaan project sitting in the back of my head. I have to finish up the shawl (and it is nearly complete) and I have to decide what I’m going to do about the shawl-shrug-bolero for the “enhancement” of the black dress. Also there is the mate to the peppermint sock, and another pair of socks for Dad to think about.
I suppose the trick is just to stop worrying about it and let it all flow in its own time. Think I can do that?
Nah, me neither :)
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you write the most interesting reviews- they are entertaining and informative-
snow there- drizzle and muddy mess here- we don’t have real harbingers of spring around here as we will just suddenly leap into summer and probably soon too-
don’t you just love busy little chickadees? they always look so plump and endlessly cheerful- the bird population here today consisted of a yard filled with noisy grackles- i know many think they are annoying and don’t care for them, but i love that indescribably deep green/black they wear on their satin-shiny feathers-
dulaan is keeping my mind preoccupied with little projects too, but that is good as it implies my mind is actually in use-
stay happy-
Cute hat! I know, I wish I could just let projects go at their own pace, but it’s never as fast as MY pace. haha. I either need a time machine or no job. hmmm
Barb - I like grackles too - that iridescence is so beautiful. They sometimes look like small, slender crows to me :)
Laura - good idea - how about both? Wouldn’t that be fun!
Love the hat - esp the gorgeous colours! cheers nat
Thanks Nat - I’m a bit jealous, at the moment, of the warm weather you folks are enjoying down there :)
I can’t wait to see “Constantine” - although I’ll be waiting for DVD. I was really hoping Keanu redeemed himself after the Matrix fiasco and it sounds like he did. :) I’ve had “Hellboy” since it came out and for once I sided with critics - I loved it. I think I’ve watched it over a dozen times. (A good knitting movie, hehehe) Funny how two people can see the same movie & have vastly different reactions, eh? DH wasn’t particularly thrilled with “Hellboy” either. I think my love for Ron Perlman (ever since his “Beauty & the Beast” days) has something to do with it.
Knit on! (And at least *try* to go with the flow, ok?)
Bron - Myria said something similar about Hellboy in that she thought it would be a good doing-her-nails movie :) I do want to see it again and will probably put it in the computer sometime in the next couple of days to knit to! And Constantine goes on my must have DVD list.
