Movie - Constantine - Directed by Francis Lawrence

Constantine is yet another comic book adaptation.

While doing movies based on comic books is truely nothing new, one could recall Dick Tracey and even earlier adaptations, it seems as though every 3rd or 4th summer blockbuster for the last two years is based on a comic. This year alone promises to bring Sin City, The Fantastic 4 and others to the big screen.

Mind you, as long as they are done well, I have no problem with comic book adaptations. Though I'm not personally a fan of the Spider-Man movies, both it and the X-Men series have set the benchmark for superhero films.

Though it may be something of a misnomer to call Constantine a superhero film.

The character of John Constantine is taken from the DC Vertigo Hellblazer series of comics and first appeared in 1985, gracing the pages of the Saga of Swamp Thing by Alan Moore. Born with a gift he didn’t want, the ability to clearly recognise the half-breed angels and demons that walk amongst us unsuspecting mortals disguised in human skin, Constantine was driven to take his own life to escape the torment that this ability caused him. But he failed. Resuscitated against his will, he found himself back in the land of the living, condemned due to his attempted suicide to patrol the borders of heaven and hell, using his unique ability to help others.

True die hards of the comic may not like some of the changes the movie takes. The setting is different for one. Keanu Reeves doesn't really look a lot like the Constantine of the comic book. Then again, when has anyone who is a die hard lover of the book ever really appriciated the movie as well? A movie is a different genre for a different target market... sometimes change is neccessary, and given that about 99% or the cinema-going public won’t have read the comic, how does the film play? Well, large parts of it are great.

Shot in muted colours, director Francis Lawrence has created a suitably brooding, atmospheric-looking thriller that paces itself well. Constantine is enlisted to help a sceptical police detective, played with conviction by Rachel Weisz, to solve the mysterious death of her twin sister, a quest that will take both of them to hell and back and will involve the angel Gabriel (an androgynous Tilda Swinton) and Lucifer himself, who in this film takes the form of Coen brothers’ favourite Peter Stormare.

At the end of the day there have been better comic book films than this, but there have been more made that are far, far worse. Alan Moore has much more source material that can be drawn on, and this could be just the beginning.

Constantine looks great, has some cool moments and is a pretty good set up for what could be a franchise that has potential to get better and better.

Book - The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

This is a fun little book. I like to think of it as the perfect read for when you are travelling.

I picked up at an airport in Florida and read the entire book in the space of the 3 hour flight. In fact, it was so well timed that I had scarcely closed the back cover when the seatbelt light came on in preparation for my landing in Toronto.

The book features an 83 year old protaganist. Hardly the sort of main character I would normal relate to.

Eddie had worked for years at maintenance at Ruby Pier Amusement Park insuring the rides were safe for patrons. He did his job meticulously and everyone kind of knew Eddie, but he wasn't really close to anyone. Children seem to like him but even Eddie when he became an octogenarian reflecting back on his life felt he achieved zero. Eddie recently died trying to save a little girl. Then the book really begins.

Eddie regains consciousness in heaven where five people, one at a time, show him the positive impact of his life on others. Though his deeds may seem small, Eddie begins to understand that humanity consists of a vast series of interconnecting networks that mesh the lives of everyone.

Each of the five people have been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs. With each meeting he relives in part that time of his life, but now the gaps are filled in.

I think the book connected well with me because of several of my own beliefs, such as: it's the little things that sometimes have the biggest impact on people's lives, there is a reason for your existance if you choose to find it, and you can learn something from everyone.

A story like this can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and some readers may feel that this one does in moments. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to tales like It's A Wonderful Life.

Perhaps one of the most profound thoughts in the book is that death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed lives are changed.

Eddie is human and likable for his foibles, fears and faults. The writing is often lyrical and fable-like. While the book is intended to be a deep commentary and thought provoking, I personally found it most enjoyable as just a relaxing read.

I recommend it to anyone looking to curl up with a good book for a few hours.