Pilot Review: Constantine

Hello guys!

Let’s talk about TV series: this new one was already famous even before the actual teaser. It’s “Constantine”.

Anyone remembers the movie with Keanu Reeves? That’s right. And it’s even better: John Constantine is actually blonde and with a trenchcoat (and who am I to ignore a series with a trenchcoated handsome guy?)

The series is based on a comic series of DC called “Hellblazer”. John Constantine, the protagonist, is a cynic, snarky anti-hero who is also a master in occult and magic. He has a smoking addiction and… lots of sarcasm.

[attention: spoilers]

In this pilot, we see Constantine (Matt Ryan) being pulled in a world of Demons and Angels and supernatural creatures again, after he decided to put himself into a mental hospital to forget something really bad: the fact that he couldn’t save a little girl from Hell’s damnation after she was possessed by a demon.

Constantine receives a message and decides to get back to “work”. He needs to save the daughter of an old friend, Liv (Lucy Griffiths). For an unknown reason, a demon is trying to kill her. So, John steps in and informs the girl: her father, whom she thinks died when she was little, was actually a medium and died just a year ago. After convincing the girl, they work togheter to send the demon back to Hell. But that’s just the beginning: seems like something big is coming for John and Liv.

Well, what do I think?

I like the resemblance with the original character: maybe the actor is a lil bit younger but that doesn’t hurt, does it?
I like the supernatural atmosphere and the snarky attitude of Constantine. He’s a man who has seen many bad things and isn’t pulling up a face of happiness or solidarity: he just doesn’t care. And it’s part of the charm.

I did like the presence of POC, like the angel who warns and follows John and Astra, the little girl, even though they don’t have a preminent role for now.

What I did not like was that all the people who were possessed at some part of the episode were all women, in contrast to the team of “experts” of the occult who all seem to be men, and I don’t get the reason behind this choice. I still don’t know how to categorize Liv: she seems to be part of both worlds. I hope that in the next episodes we’ll see more women in the part of the supernatural hunters, and less in the part of the passive possessed body.

I understand it’s just a pilot, so they needed the story to be quick and interesting. It’s actually at a very fast pace, and hopefully the next episodes will be a little bit slower (I don’t mind some simmering 😉 ).
I loved some references in the images, like the fire behind the angel or the faces of demons on the wall in the dark alley.

In conclusion, it seems a nice show, with some problems that can be fixed in the long run.
I’d say you should give it a try, especially if you’re a fan of supernatural, occult and snarky characters.

I’m looking forward to see the next episode, airing on 25th October (my birthday!).

See you soon, John Constantine.

 

The awkward geeky girl

We love the baddies: Game of Thrones

In a good book or movie or tv series, there’s almost always a bad character. You know, the evil, cynic, cruel but somehow fascinating baddie who always tries to kill or manipulate the hero or heroine?

It seems like lately baddies became quite charming despite their evilness.

You know, maybe they use their charm and smartness (while they think of the best way of cooking you)…

…or they had a bad childhood that made them plot against their own brother (and that makes the fangirls go ‘awww’)…

…or they live enough to become *kind of* good and deserve your sympathy…

…or, let’s just admit it, they’re terribly sexy and their voice makes you wanna faint.

It’s been more and more usual to fall in love with the bad character, the one you’re supposed to hate or despise. Sometimes it’s not only about the good looks (even though it’s actually a very important aspect), but also the character, the background story and the charm of the baddie.

Here I’m gonna choose my favourite baddies and explain why I like them even though they would probably kill me. Instantly. Poor thinghies ❤

 

Game of Throne’s Cersei Lannister

[I kindly warn my crazy followers that there might be spoilers]

The Queen of Evilness, ladies and gentlemen.

She’s powerful and beautiful, but, at the same time, selfish and calculating. She doesn’t care about anything, except her children and his lover, his brother Jaime. Twin incest? Check.

Despite her efforts to kill his husband and her incestuous love, I like her. It’s hard not to sympathize with her, as the story goes on.

We find out, for example, that she never felt free. She had a co-dependent and symbiotic relationship with her twin brother and felt disappointed and hurt when she realised females and males had different duties, and the one she had to obey to? Not exactly what she was interested in. She was forced to “learn her manners” and be “a lady” when she just would had liked to do the same things his brother did.
Wasn’t this enough, she then had to marry a man she didn’t love and always felt a pawn in the hands of her rich, powerful father.

I think she’s so bound to her children and brother because maybe she feels they’re the only things she has control on in her life. I mean, she couldn’t choose her interests and had no control whatsoever on her life choices, not even her marriage. So she clung to her forbidden love and the offspring that it generated.
She’s so afraid of losing what little she could have done by herself she eventually spoils his older son so much he just acts selfishly and childishly.
She is constantly plotting against everybody not because she’s just evil, but because she seeks the safety of her children.

I also enjoyed a lot the twisted relationship she has with Sansa Stark.

She’s very aware of the fact she’s a hostage. She doesn’t harbor tender feelings towards Sansa, but she constantly reminds her not just her place, but the place every noble woman has to keep. Sansa is her bitter reminder of how she couldn’t decide for her own life.

We often see Cersei warning Sansa about almost everything. She tells the Stark how to behave, what people expected of her, and mind, she knows that everything the Little Bird chirps about “not being a traitor” and “loving the King” is bullshit. But I think she also admires the way Sansa is handling the situation, deep inside of her. I think she could remind of her little self, obeying and not objecting, but rebelling and crying inside of her.

She’s not “kind”, not as we mean it. But it’s like Cersei is trying to let Sansa know what’s the best way of surviving and coping as a woman who has no power over her life.

 

Sure, Cersei Lannister acts cruelly and is a very selfish and cold woman, but knowing her background story I began liking her more and more. And I still like her, and I’m looking forward to see what’s going to happen next.

 

So, what do you think about Cersei Lannister? And who’s your favourite baddie?

 

Viciously yours,

 

The awkward geeky girl