ENTERTAINTMENT

'Constantine' beats hell out of Devil in New Film
Jason Kimbro | Staff Reporter

What if you could see all the angels and demons playing hopscotch together, whilst eating cotton candy and contemplating the rituals of modern-day professional sports?
This is exactly what Keanu Reeves is able to see in his new flick “Constantine,” except that the demons and angels aren’t exactly getting along.
Mr. Reeves has played in many philosophical films, from the wonderfully sacrilegious soiree in “The Devil’s Advocate” to the somewhat meandering “Matrix” trilogy.
This time, with the help of music video director Francis Lawrence in his first feature length attempt, Keanu takes us straight into the pits of hell, all the while warning us of the dangers of smoking cigarettes.
Gender-bending angels and all, here’s the gist:
John Constantine (Keanu) is a chain-smoking exorcist. As a matter of fact, he is the best exorcist that has ever walked the face of the planet, well, except for Christ himself.
He cannot be the best exorcist this side of 32 A.D. alone, though. He gets assistance from some very quirky sidekicks, including “Even Steven’s’” Shia LaBeouf, and “Gladiator’s” Djimon Hounsou.
After Constantine deported a demon possessing a cute Hispanic girl back to hell, LAPD detective Angela Dotson (Rachel Weisz) appears at his doorstep.
She has heard that he is a dabbler in the occult, and she has come to ask for his help. Her twin sister supposedly killed herself by jumping from atop the hospital from which she was committed. Angela feels that it had to be foul play, for her sis was a devout catholic and would never commit the worst of unforgivable sins.
Constantine blows her off at first, but after taking a quick trip to hell to find out for sure what happened, he realizes that Angela’s sis had the same gift he has: the ability to see demons and angels and such.
From this point, he is led down a path of evil and darkness, being attacked by demons of all sorts. Eventually he finds out that the son of Satan (since God had a son [Jesus], Satan had one of his own in this tale) is trying to get his way into our plane so he can take it over.
Constantine has a few run-ins with some famous figures such as Gabriel (played by the effeminate Tilda Swinton – wait, Swinton is a female, what the?) and Balthazar (Gavin Rossdale of the rock band Bush, but more importantly, the hubby of Gwen Stefani).
In the mix of it all, there’s a dirty Latino guy running around with the Spear of Destiny, the blade that pierced Christ’s side. He plays a central role. Well, not really, but the spear he is carrying is pretty significant.
It turns out that Angela is a significant part of a very specific recipe for demonic mayhem. You will just have to go watch the movie to find out how the cauldron bubbles in this horrific action romp! Muahahahaha!
The movie had its entertaining moments and was not too awfully boring, but it could have been a lot better. I hate sitting back and watching good ideas not necessarily go to waste, but not be put to their full potential. It could have been a lot more entertaining.
The atmospherics were decent. The film had a nice noir tone, but the overall attempts at trying to make this freaky kind of fizzled out. I felt more disturbed watching the “Look Who’s Talking” flicks. Especially “Look Who’s Talking Now.” That was even a waste of John Travolta.
The film told a pretty good story. Nice plot, good characterization and development, for Constantine anyway. Even Satan himself (played deliciously by Peter Stormare) was written fairly well.
Performances weren’t too awfully bad. Keanu has never been much of an actor, but he held his part and did much better here than he did with Neo. Stormare was great as always and Rossdale isn’t too shabby an actor himself. Weisz was somewhat basic.
This movie made me smile. Not because it was funny or campy, but because it delivered exactly what I expected. It’s about time.
Besides, demons aren’t too scary at the level of CGI mastery Hollywood is apparently leveling off at. 
Nice cartoonish demons in mirrors and in hell itself, flying and crawling around, all trying to get their hands on Keanu Reeves. Sounds like a scene from an all-female Matrix convention. INXS put it best when they said “Every single woman’s got the devil inside.”
Don’t know why I brought that up. I guess it was all the evil thoughts in my head.  Or are they really in my soul? Muahahahaha!!!!!


Texas Kids release Debut
Richard Carter | Dance Critic

The city of Tyler in South Texas is best known for its sprawling rose fields and Earl Campbell, the former University of Texas running back.
Most music lovers could care less.
What Tyler has bequeathed to listeners that might make them take notice is the youngish alternative pop band, Eisley. A group consisting of three Dupree sisters, and a rhythm section made up of their brother and a neighbor, Eisley plays somewhat melancholy-ish pop music in the vein of Belly.
Eisley’s first release, “Laughing City,” was an inspired five-song EP that got them the opening slot in the 2003 Coldplay tour. Friends of mine who saw the show said the pop smart group, with its lovely melodies and harmonies, clearly smoked Coldplay at its own game.
Six months later, the Tyler band released a somewhat less inspired, but still tasteful four-song EP titled “Marvelous Things.” It wasn’t a bad effort, but it lacked the confidence of the first recording. I blamed it on the hectic-ness of the Coldplay tour.
After a full year to recoup and put a follow-up together, the band finally released its debut album, “Room Noises.” But oddly enough, of the new album’s 12 songs, four are from previous EPs. For a band that has been together for five years and is releasing its first album, that’s not a good sign.
Plain and simple, Eisley should have had a stronger backlog of material they could have drawn from. Groups with one-horse songwriters eventually end up playing lousy bars.
“Room Noises” is a pleasant enough listen. The problem is that the 12 songs run together. The similar songs on the two EPs sort of suggested that might be a problem. Eisley management likely thought they could address it by employing five producers.
Five carefully selected producers should have created five different versions of the band. 
It didn’t work.
Furthermore, Stacy DuPree’s vocals, which are sometimes harmonized by sister Sherry, tend to become a little whiny after about six or seven songs. She has a decent voice, but without dynamic range within similar songs, it begins to repeat itself.
Over the course of their new record, Eisley shows that they should probably be releasing shorter EPs that allow them to showcase their better material and their relative strengths.
If this review is a bit harsh, it’s because “Room Noises” largely fails the band’s talent and considerable promise.
Judged by contemporary pop music standards, the album’s three good tracks and three okay songs are actually a little above average. The problem is that these guys were supposed to be more interesting than the pop acts that radio plays to death nowadays.
 Considering the eldest member of Eisley is still only 24 and the youngest a little over 16, they have time for musical growth. The problem is that despite the band’s musicianship, which is ample, record companies rarely tolerate bands for long without hit singles, strong sales, or at least a devoted coterie of fans.
I wish Eisley well and look forward to seeing the band play Trees in Deep Ellum, a favorite Dallas haunt of theirs. But I won’t recommend their new album. I would rather have listeners find the band’s first EP, “Laughing City.”
That’s the band’s work that I like listening to, anyway. Hopefully, Eisley’s next CD will reflect some of that earlier stronger writing and more assured arrangements.
This is Texas after all and we expect our roses to smell 100 percent sweet, not just half good.

This CD was loaned for review purposes by Hastings Entertainment on Southwest Pkwy, 696-8029.