During my the first preview, I didn't get to hear the words well of the possesed girl in the first part of the film. Although, I was already told me that the girl had supposedly spoken in Tagalog. When I saw it again, yes, indeed! She said, in a devil's voice, "Papatayin namin sila..."
It was an ecstatic feeling hearing our language being spoken on a Hollywood movie. Remember "Her Alibi" starring Tom Selleck with a Filipino maid cursing? T'was very funny!
Or this B-movie actually shot in the Philippines with an eating crocodile monster called "Krocodylus" (not the international title). It has Filipino actors in it, as well, like Rez Cortez and Maureen Larazabal canoodling with the ever handsome (model) Joel West, among others.
The truth is, I'll be proud of it as the concept is clear to me! Heck, it is seldom that we get to be "recognize" in Hollywood! It is just I'm a Filipino and fighting off prejucides against our race is hard enough, what more put to a movie unabashingly?
With "Constantine", I wonder why the devil has spoken in Tagalog and not some language that truly didn't exist? Could the people behind the film have some connections with the Filipino community? Actually, the character who played the possessed girl was a Filipina named Joanna Trias. Could be she related to Jasmine? Or is it because Filipinos, being devout Catholics, believe in such - exorcism, possession, and the devil? Or does it want to portray again the kind of Filipinos that the movie called "Aswang" did?
"Aswang" is about an American family who lived in the Philippines for quite a long time, particularly Samar, if I remember it right. They went back to the US and committed murders because they had to - they are aswangs! They need to feed themselves. They were with a Filipina helper who was the one who turned them into such. They even know how to speak our language! The film wants to portray that Samar is truly the land of the aswangs. It didn't make mention that aswangs are Filipino legends or myths or that some Filipinos actually practice in certain parts of the province. They just told it as if it was a simple known fact.
Hollywood have a knack of turning other nations into villains. They were done with the Europeans and Africans, now they are targetting the Muslims and Asians! Are they turning the Filipinos into their own kind of villains? I hope not.
(full write-up here: The "Tagalog-Speaking" Demon in Constantine and other Trivia)
I wasn't too keen on seeing "Constantine" when I first saw its trailer. I thought that, after "The Matrix Trilogy", Keanu should stay away from movies with such genre. It was like Viggo Mortensen coming up with the epic "Hidalgo" after the epic trilogy of "The Lord of the Rings". However, when I saw the making of the film and some scenes of it on "Opening Night" at Star Movies, I thought that it had a good premise. Besides, based from what I saw, the special effects of the film, particularly the demons, were spectacular. I said, hey, what not give it a try, right?
Truly, the effects were awesome! I liked the way they have shown the demons on screen - really scary! Aside from those, the angels' wings were magnificent! Its texture, its motion, its span. The angel Gabriel was characterized very well. It was played by Tilda Swinton and she was truly a sight to look at. In the movie, she was neither a woman nor a man. Her breasts were wrapped by a cloth so that she would look androgenize. 'Cause, according to books, angel are genderless.
Contanstine may be the center of the film but I believe that it was Gabriel who gave it the heart. Gabriel, in its childlike ways, has so much love for God that it wants men to see Him the way He wants them to. So much love that she was able to commit a sin - making a deal with the son of the devil. Its intentions may be noble yet its ways aren't. Of course, that is not acceptable! So, as a consequence, its wings were clipped and it became a human being. Sometimes, we are blinded by so much love that we commit grave mistakes just for the betterment of the one we love.
Another premise of the film was self-scarifice. Self-sacrifice is truly a tricky value because of its counterpart, pride. Pride, according to one "Charmed" episode I saw entitled "San Francisco", is the sin one can never get rid of - especially if one knows fully about it. I believe that, too. Why? You see, pride can be characterize as "too much love" for oneself. One needs to let go of it by self-sacrifice. Now, if that person knew that his "salvation" is only through self-sacrifice, he would try to do deeds that he may be consider self-sacrifice. Then, in the end, he could tell him, "See, I could do such a thing!" So pride comes back in again. It is like humility. Humility can never be noble if one knows how "humble" he is. Humility has to be seen by others, not by oneself. If a person talks about his humility, then he isn't humble at all! Tricky, right?
In the film, Constantine has to make sacrifices for other people in order to get to heaven. So, when Lucifer asked him what he wants after he informed Lucifer about Gabriel and his son, he told him to free Isabel's soul. Lucifer granted it and immediately pulled him to hell. Yet, he wasn't able to. 'Cause, he has saved himself by saving other people instead of his. I can't believe that Lucifer fell for that trick! When Constantine was about to be raise to heaven, he gave Lucifer the dirty finger. So could that be a sign that Constantine's self-scarifice wasn't genuine at all? If it isn't, why didn't God see it? Anyway, as a revenge, Lucifer took away all the toxins in his lungs and made him continue his life! In that way, everyday would a constant struggle for him to be good! That is one hell of a trick from Lucifer! No pun intended! :-)
Re Keanu, leave it to him to showcase how an awesome acting should be! In "The Matrix Trilogy", he fought the villains in the computer world so he gave us a computer-character acting - 2D! Now, "Constantine", based on a comic, he gave us a comic-character acting - 2D! Isn't he marvelous?! I wonder what's keeping him away from the Oscars! Dammit!(full write-up here)
Without mention of "The Sound of Music", the ultimate movies of the same genre (i.e. musical) for me are "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago", so far. Nothing tops the two in terms of grandeur, spectacle, and effects they have on the viewers! So that would mean that the film adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera," as far as my taste is concern, is nothing but ordinary. Sure, the production was great but there's nothing spectacular about it. It has been done in several movies. The music was awesome yet as some parts repeat over and over in the course of the film, they became boring and cheesy. Gerard Butler's voice wasn't too strong and as hypnotic as it should be (the way Ewan McGregor sounded in "Moulin Rouge"). I felt that it wasn't enough for one like Christine Deiyi to get swayed by it. His voice was hoarse and somehow thin to get the high notes properly. Hats off, though, to Emmy Rossum who was outstanding as Christine! Overall, "The Phantom of the Opera" is an entertaining film. It could stand on its own but it isn't so memorable.I wish, though, that the film adaptation of "Miss Saigon" would be soon. I wonder what it would be like... (Note: I've been listening to the Special Edition 2-CD Soundtrack these days and I'm getting the hang of it. Perhaps, I need to see the movie again. --March 24, 3:35 AM)
