Jumaat, 9 Disember 2022

Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling


Every day Harry hides from the Dursley inventing new ways to listen to the news, anxious for any news about Voldemort, since they don’t let him if they see him. 

Dudley tells them he goes for tea to his friends houses every night, but Harry knows he is around with his gang, vandalising. Harry is very skinny, with old, almost ruined clothes; Dudley is something of a little boxe champion now. Harry has fun teasing him now because Dudley is scared of his wand, but Dudley heard him having nightmares at night, saying “don’t kill Cedric” and tease him asking if he’s his boyfriend. While they are quarrelling outside, the sky turns dark. Dudley hits him hard and stumbles away, but then Harry feels them. Dementors. One gets near, Harry tries the patronum charms twice but it doesn’t work, he can’t find any happiness, then he thinks of his friends and it works. He saves his cousin from another one with the same stag. 

Mrs Figg arrives, she knows about what happened. She’s a squib. She and Mundungus Fletcher were supposed to keep an eye on him to protect him, but he left. She couldn’t tell him over the years because Dumbledore ordered it, and she had to be a little unpleasant because the Dursley wouldn’t have let him go to her if they thought he’d enjoy it… (which means she knew well how the Dursleys were, so Dumbledore must have known too… at least if he ever asked…) . Mundungus arrives, carrying an invisibility cloak, and she sends him to warn Dumbledore, then she walks the boys home. He carries Dudley home and yet he says that Harry did this to him, point his wand at him and made them feel things in his head, voices and despair. Vernon raises his fists when an owl arrives (ok, it’s a kids book so no violence is shown, always prevented like now, but what about the many days of summer we don’t see, did Vernon ever hit Harry? That ‘raised his fists’ is suspicious and worrying…). A letter from the Ministry of Magic tells him he’s expelled for doing magic a second time, and that his wand will be broken, and that he’ll have to go to a hearing at the Ministry, but another owl from Arthur tells him not to give up his wand, not run away, and that Dumbledore will try and sort it out.

Harry tries to explain to Vernon it wasn’t him but two dementors, and Aunt Petunia knows what they are! Another letter from the Ministry tells him to stay put, that he’s only suspended and they will decide at his hearing about his expulsion and his wand, then Sirius writes to him to stay in the house and not go out. Nothing more, Harry is very disappointed by this. Vernon insists on asking questions, and Harry explains about Voldemort being back (why do they call him Lord, I know he likes the title but why do they give him such an honor…) and now Vernon has reached his limit, he says that if he’s back and after murdering his useless parents is now after him, then Harry must go so not to endanger his wife and son. At that moment, a howler arrives… for Petunia, addressed to her, in the kitchen of Prived drive n.4. “Remember my last, Petunia”. She simply says that the boy will have to stay, without explaining anything.

Harry writes to Sirius, Ron and Hermione saying he wants to know what’s going on, very frustrated. He’s quite harsh to Hedwig and then feels guilty about it. He has no replies for days, then Vernon locks him in while going out, then people arrive: Moody, but also Lupin and Tonks (with violet hair). Also Shackebolt and a few others. Tonks turns her hair bubblegum pink, saying she’s a metamorphmagus and can change her appearance at will. She packs for him, then Moody disillusions him for the broom ride. Lupin leaves a letter for the Dursleys then they fly away. They land and Harry reads a piece of paper: “the headquarters of the order of the phoenix may be found at number 12, Grimmauld Place, London.” Inside Mrs Weasley hugs him and hushes him towards Ron’s room, where Hermione hugs him very tightly. Harry is rather pissed hearing that Dumbledore made them swear not to tell him anything, and that everyone knew he was being followed but him. He’s also rather bitter for being left with the Dursleys. So bitter he starts yelling that he’s the one who did so many things and saved their lives and battled dragons and sphinx… but they could not tell him, and Hermione has desperate tears in her eyes, and they still don’t have much to tell him because they’re not allowed in the meetings because too young… they have eavesdropped a little (the twins invented extendable ears…). The twins are there, and Ginny too. Snape is part of the order. Harry is surprised to hear Bill is there too, he was working in Egypt last he heard, but is now here to help the order, and Fleur works with him for Gringotts. Charlie is in the order too, but still in Romania. Percy had a row with Arthur because he had been promoted at the ministry, very close to Fudge, so Arthur told him it was to spy on his family, so Percy told him he had no ambition and that’s why he was poor, and also that he was an idiot to side with Dumbledore… Percy said the only evidence of Voldemort’s return was Harry’s word and it was not good enough. Even though Skeeter is not currently writing, others in the Prophet have been writing about him, ridiculing him. Meeting over, they see Snape but hear nothing. In the house, everyone whispers, but Tonks falls down tripping over the umbrella thing, and a life-size portrait of a woman started screaming. Then the other portraits yelled too. Mrs Weasley stunned the others, then Sirius and Lupin managed to close the woman’s portrait’s curtains and she stopped screaming. Sirius tells Harry it was his mother. This was his house, and he gave use of it to the order. He is quite bitter, not as enthusiastic to see Harry as one would expect. He resents that Dumbledore wants him to stay inside the house. He speaks as if Harry was lucky to be at the Dursleys, as he could at least take a walk outside… (really? Does anyone have an idea what’s it like there? And he was even followed and monitored, so they ‘should’ have a pretty good idea…).

After dinner, he wonders why Harry hasn’t asked questions, quite a thing to say since Harry has done little else, and immediately he starts quarrelling with Mrs Weasley because the woman doesn’t want to tell the kids anything, says Dumbledore ordered that he shouldn’t be told anything that he doesn’t “need to know”, which is… you know, and she goes on and on about how he is too young, but Sirius insists on at least telling him something, so he learns that Voldemort hasn’t made any major moves, no killings, he’s probably trying to recruit his own army like he did the last time, while they are trying to inform as much people as possible about his return, but the ministry makes it difficult. He only tells him something, then Mrs Weasley insists furiously that it is enough and sends them all to bed. She acts like a mom, and also like it doesn’t involve Harry… but well, at this point in time did any of them know about the prophecy? Probably not, so it is understandable, I guess.

The twins are now of age, seventeen, and they got their apparition license so they keep apparating all around the house. 

Mrs Weasley wants the kids to help with the cleaning of the house, infested with various creatures. They also meet Kreacher, the houseelf loyal to his old mistress, who keeps calling them all either mudblood, halfbloods, or blood traitors. Sirius shows Harry the family tapestry where his name has been burned out, after he ran from home at sixteen and stayed a bit with the Potters before he found his own place. His younger brother Regulus died young, he had joined Voldemort. The rest of the family didn’t, but they did believe in what he preached. He despises his family and house and positively loathes Kreacher, who tries to save as many things as he can because Sirius would throw everything away. Tonks is his cousing, and both her and her mom Andromeda have been taken off the family tapestry. “Andromeda was my favourite cousin” says Sirius. Harry sees that Bellatrix and Narcissa are still on there. Sirius tells him how the pureblood are all interrelated. 

The day of the hearing Harry is terrified of expulsion.He goes with Arthur, taking the )I think) subway, and using the public entrance via a muggle phone box out of use. They got there early, fortunately, because the time has been changed and now Arthur has to drag Harry hurriedly to a courtroom and they’re already late. Arthur can’t go in and Harry is scared, but inside, for the defence, there is Dumbledore. Fudge, Umbridge, Amelia Bones and even Percy are there to judge him, and from how Fudge speaks it looks like they changed the time hoping that one or both of them didn’t show at ll. 

Fudge doesn’t want to believe a word Harry says; Mrs Figg testifies that he was battling dementors (which, I learn now, muggles can’t see, now I kinda understand why Dudley thought it was all Harry’s doing…) but they really want to make it look like Harry is a liar. The majority votes to clear him of all charges, so Fudge has to let it go. Arthur was astonished to see that he had been tried by the full court. Percy went with the others ignoring them completely.

They see Fudge talking to Lucius Malfoy. Sirius seems to be a little bit upset, and Hermione thinks he hoped he would stay with him in the house, and that Mrs Weasley is right and Sirius thinks of Harry as James.

Ron has been made prefect and has his own badge. Everyone’s shocked that it was Ron and not Harry. Only his mom is all happy and proud. Harry doesn’t say but he would have expected to get it himself. Ron gets a new broom as a reward, a new Cleansweep, one they can afford.

Moody shows Harry a picture with many members of the old  Order, with the Longbottoms, his own parents, Wormtail… then Harry sees Mrs Weasley losing battle with a boggart: it kept transforming into members of her family, even Harry at last, dead, and she kept crying failing her spells until Lupin did it for her.

When they need to leave for the train, Moody insists on a guard for Harry, and Sirius joins too as a dog. Tonks is there as an old woman. They go on foot, then Moody carries the trunks, Arthur comes with Ron and Hermione, and the twins with Lupin. The kids board the train.

Ron and Hermione have to go for Prefect’s duty; Neville can’t find a compartment - a totally empty one, but Ginny drags them into one with only Loony Lovegood (Ginny calls her that)

Ginny introduces her to Neville. Luna is Ginny’s year, but a Ravenclaw. Neville shows them his new Mimbletonia plant proudly. Cho Chang stops to say hi to Harry. When they come back, Ron and Hermione are pissed over the Slytherin Prefects: Malfoy, Harry guesses immediately, and also Parkinson (Hermione calls her a cow). Ernie and Hannah from Hufflepuff and Goldstein and Padma from Ravenclaw. Luna shocks everyone laughing like crazy at something Ron said, then Harry notices her Quibbler. there’s a cartoon on Fudge and an article saying he kills and cooks goblins, and one on Sirius, saying he’s innocent because he’s actually a singer in disguise. Hermione says the Quibbler is rubbish and Luna turns serious and tells them her father is the editor, then she goes back to read it upside down. Draco appears and mocks them on him being a prefect and Harry being second best to Weasley, and tells him he’ll be dogging him this year, making him scare that he might know about Sirius. Prof Grubbly Plank is here again in place of Hagrid, and she’s the one to call for the first years. They use the ‘hundred or so horseless stage coaches’ but now Harry can see the creatures. Ron can not, then Luna explains that she can see them too, has always been able to, and that he is ‘just as sane as she is’… 

Luna says Hagrid is not a good teacher. They though are worried because Hagrid is nowhere to be seen. Harry recognises Umbridge among the teachers. The hat then sings a new song, one that speaks of unity and common goals, of the founders being united and friends, of Slytherin and Gryffindor being friends just as Hufflepuff was friends with Ravenclaw, and how could it go so wrong, and that is because Slytherin decided to teach only those ‘whose ancestry is purest’, and Ravenclaw only those ‘whose intelligence is surest’, and Gryffindor only those with ‘brave deeds to their name’, and Hufflepuff … ‘I’ll teach the lot, and treat them just the same’. Still they got along for a long while until discord started and then Slytherin left; houses became divided and even though the hat has to sort the new students now, he fears that it’s a wrong thing to do. Nearly-headless-Nick tells them that the hat has given such advice before, when it thought the school was in great danger, but Harry looks at Draco Malfoy and thinks it will not be possible to be friends with Slytherins. (There are two Creevey, Colin and Dennis; I don’t remember Dennis’ age, when did he join his brother?) - (Ron stuffs his mouth with food and disgusts Hermione by speaking with his mouth very full) - Dumbledore announces that Plank will be again the Magical creatures teacher, while Umbridge will teach Defence against the dark arts. She stands up interrupting his speech and gives a very boring one that only Hermione understands it means that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts and what the students can learn. Hermione is also annoyed when Ro calls the first years ‘midgets’. All the students stare at Harry and whisper about him and stop talking if he comes near, then Seamus tells him his mom didn’t want him to come back because she believed everything the Daily Prophet wrote about Harry, and so Harry gets angry, they fight, then Ron stops it, saying he totally believes Harry (Seamus then calls them both mad). Dean’s parents are muggles and know nothing of what happened since he didn’t tell them, while Neville’s grandma believes Dumbledore and cancelled her Prophet’s subscription. 

Fred and George are looking for test subjects for their inventions. 

Harry and Ron think they’d like to be aurors after school, but Hermione would like something “more worthwhile” like her spew… This is the year they’ll have to sit their OWLs.

Cho approaches them again, rather awkwardly. At potions, Snape targets Harry again (he was not the only one who did it wrong, but still, Snape was right, he did it wrong)

Harry keeps snapping at Ron and Hermione, frustrated with everyone thinking he’s a liar and also at their constant bickering.

Umbridge’s lesson is to return to “basic principles” and “theory centered”. She has them read the first chapter of a book like little children, but Hermione doesn’t read, instead she asks what about “using” defensive spells. Umbridge says they have no need to ‘use them’, they won’t do magic in her class. When Harry says they need to protect themselves against Voldemort, she says his return is a lie and gives him a detention. Several evenings in fact. McGonagall gives him a biscuit but also snaps at him for being an idiot.

(he is a hotheaded idiot, what use is shouting at Umbridge, they all know who she is and why she’s there, he won’t change it shouting loud enough)

Harry is so angry at everything that snaps even at Hermione.

Fred and George do tests on first years - who fall unconscious - and Hermione gets angry at them (sweets to make people faint). They mock her, not worried about detention, but she threatens them with writing to their mother. 

Hermione leaves around knitted hats for the house-elves - but she covered them in papers and broken quills so Ron is right, she’s trying to trick them, she’s so sure they do want to be freed. In the morning she’s all pleased because they’ve disappeared and she thinks the elves do want to be free and took them. In transfiguration, they are taught vanishing spells (too early for conjuring spells). 

Malfoy makes his friends laugh with something probably about Harry, he thinks, and mocks Hermione with her hand in the air making Pansy laugh more.  They study Bowtruckle creatures (and really, what’s Hermione doing in class if she knows everything already?). Malfoy then makes him angry talking about Hagrid, Harry is still very worried about him. Malfoy says that his father is working against “sub-standard teaching” at Hogwarts. Plank is a good teacher and that annoys Harry a lot; he stubbornly insists Hagrid is better. Luna tells Harry that she believes him, but she is so odd that people laugh at her all the time and Hermione says that the creatures she believes in do not exist. Ernie McMillan also tells him that his family is totally behind Dumbledore and believes him. 

Angelina is angry at Harry for getting detention on Friday when she wanted to do Quidditch tryouts. He goes to his detention with Umbridge that night and asks her if he can skip Friday, but of course not. She gives him a special quill and no ink and has him write I must not tell lies. He writes and the letters also appear on his skin and it hurts, but he keeps writing. Afterwards she checks his hand and tells he’ll have to do it again. He doesn’t tell his friends about the blood, only about the lines. He has to do it the whole week. Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri. At Thursday the skin does not heal anymore. Ron kept it a secret but now that Harry insists he tells him he wanted to try out as keeper now he has a new broom and of course Harry doesn’t laugh, but now that the words do not heal Ron sees it on his skin. Harry does not want to tell others, to not give Umbridge ‘the satisfaction of knowing she got to him’, which is stupid, and does not want to go to Dumbledore because he has ignored Harry until now , which is… well childish, but he is a child after all, he’s only fifteen. At Friday’s detention, his cuts open and bleed. He tries to look outside the window to see the tryouts, but doesn’t see Ron. Later, he learns that Ron made it on the team. Hermione is very tired, spending her free time to knit for the elves.

Finally Saturday of the first week. He writes a letter to Sirius in code, quite well I admit, then he meets Cho and talks to her a bit, until Filch arrives to harass him. He’s happy that she called him brave for standing up to Umbridge. 

At Quidditch practice, the Slytherins are there to mock them, and Ron plays very badly. Ron is upset because Hermione won’t let him copy her homework. Percy writes to Ron to congratulate him on being prefect and also to tell him to stay away from Harry, that Dumbledore won’t be in charge for long and that he can talk to Umbridge, a “truly delightful woman”… After such an infuriating letter, Hermione does their homework. Sirius appears in the fire to talk to them, and also tells them that the ministry is worried that, if trained, they might become an army, that Dumbledore is forming his own army to go against the ministry. Sirius wanted to meet them in Hogsmead as a dog but they tell him no, that it’s too risky, and Sirius is upset and tells Harry that he is less like his father than he thought, not taking risks. He’s rather bitter to the poor boy. 

The Daily Prophet reports that Umbridge is now the first High Inquisitor. She can now inspect other teachers lessons. Umbridge keeps making them read the book in class, and not doing anything else, but Hermione has read already the whole book, and also has her own opinions about some of what is in there, but Umbridge does not appreciate it. She even takes points from her. 

Harry starts arguing with her loudly, and gets another weeks of detention, not telling anyone that his hand hurt and bled. 

McGonagall takes points from Harry because he lost his temper again gaining another detention after she warned him not to. She herself does not have much patience with Umbridge as well when it’s her turn to have her lesson inspected. 39 years of teaching at Hogwarts, she has a hard time ignoring Umbridge. 

At Care of Magical Creatures Malfoy answered Umbridge telling her he was injured by a hippogriff during a lesson, and of course Harry called him stupid and earned another detention. Ron wants him to report the use of blood quill, but Harry does not want to. Hermione is the one to suggest they should learn defence by themselves, and she suggests Harry be their teacher. He says he always got lucky and had help, but they insist. Hermione says Voldemort’s name for the first time, and Harry calms down.

Eventually he agrees and they go to the Hog’s head to meet others who might be interested. Of course there are Lavender, Neville, Dean, the Patils, Cho and a friend, Luna, Katie, Alicia, Angelina, both Creevey, Ernie, Justin, Hannah, a Hufflepuff girl, three Ravenclaw boys (probably Anthony, Michael Corner and Terry), then Ginny with a tall blond boy in the Hufflepuff Quidditch team (turns out to be Zacharia Smith), and also the twins and Lee Jordan. Zachary questions Harry about his tale that Voldemort is back.

Susan Bones asks about his ability to produce a patronus. Cho smiles at him and also mentions all the tasks he passed at the tournament. 

When they all agree, Hermione makes them sign that they won’t tell anyone about it. The High Inquisitor bans all kinds of clubs, then when she inspects Snape’s lesson, Harry keeps watching them and makes a total mess of his potion, and is angry when Snape assigns him an essay on how to do it!

It takes a while but Angelina gets permission for their Quidditch team. Sirius agrees with their secret Dada group and Hermione is worried about that, she thinks he likes to incite them to break rules.

Harry’s scar hurts often, he knows it’s when Voldemortt is particularly happy or angry; he’s also hurt and upset that Dumbledore keeps avoiding him. 

Dobby tells Harry than Winky drinks a lot, still sad about being free, and that the other elves feel insulted by Hermione and refuse to clean Gryffindor’s dorm so he has to do it all alone. Dobby also gives him the perfect place where to hold his lessons. 

Hermione makes them all coins to communicate when they’ll meet. 

Their first game against Slytherin is won but Ron played terribly, Malfoy’s song Weasley is our king make him too nervous. 

Malfoy keeps insultin the Weasleys and then Harry’s mom too, and nobody says anything, it’s only when Harry and George hit Malfoy that teachers intervene. McGonagall is furious with them, but Umbridge has too much power and bans them from Quidditch, and Fred too.

Hagrid is back, he went with Madame Maxine in search of giants, but it didn’t go well, and some of them were clearly friendly with Death Eaters. 

For his first lesson he takes the kids into the Forbidden Forest…he shows them the Thestrals, but only three kids can see them, Harry, Neville and a Slytherin boy. Umbridge arrives for her inspection, and it’s bad.

Their last DA meeting before Christmas he’s left alone with Cho and she cries thinking of Cedric and tells Harry she likes him. She kisses him while still crying so to him it was just ‘wet’.

Hermione writes to Viktor and Ron is jealous.

At night, Harry has a vision of Arthur being attacked, he tells the boys who call McGonagall who takes him to Dumbledore. Arthur is brought to St. Mungos, and the kids all go to Sirius’ house, and the next day to visit Arthur. 

The adults don’t tell them anything and Harry is worried about seeing the attack from the eyes of the snake, as if he was the snake. Ginny tells him he was not possessed, she knows how that is.

Kreacher has been missing for quite a while, but instead of calling him, Sirius dismisses their concern and doesn’t care. 

At the hospital, the kids meet Neville and his Gran visiting his parentss. 

With the end of the holidays, Sirius is in a foul mood and Harry doesn’t want to go back to school and Umbridge - and he still hasn’t told anyone of the scar on his hand from her ‘detentions’ writing in his own blood grrr:. Then Snape tells him of Dumbledore’s orders: he has to study Occlumency and Snape will teach him but Harry can’t tell anyone. 

Sirius hates him so much he insults him and almost curses him, but everything Snape says is actually true - not about Harry being like his father, but then Harry never did anything to change his mind, he does act always defiant and hostile .

Arthur comes back, healthy again, so they stop.

All the kids take the Knight Bus with Tonks and Lupin. Lupin warns Harry he must study seriously, that Snape is an excellent occlumens. 

Harry gets a date with Cho for Valentine’s Day.

Snape explains quite a few things to Harry, then they try the actual lesson, but Harry is always so angry he can’t ‘clear his mind’. He barely listens to Snape’s instructions, keeps saying Voldemort’s name and can only think of what he just realised: what he keeps dreaming about is real, is the Department of Mysteries, and the ‘weapon’ Voldemort wants is there.

Voldemort frees ten Death Eaters from Azkaban. 

After Lee Jordan is cheeky with Umbridge, Hary sees that his hand is bleeding.

Everyone works hard at the DA meetings, Neville more than anyone, but at Occlumency Harry gets worse every time, and Ron wonders if Snape is doing it on purpose to help Voldemort.

During their date, Cho wonders why there are no Dementors around when there were so many after Black’s escape, and now for ten Death Eaters not one single Dementor. When she thinks of Cedric, she starts crying says she needs to talk about it. She also acts jealous that Harry wants to meet Hermione later, and she storms away. Hermione is blackmailing Rita Skeeter with revealing that she’s an unregistered animagus, and wants her to write the whole truth from Harry’s pov. The Quibbler will publish it, but so many people don’t want to believe that Voldemort’s back that it’s eaiser to say that Harry’s crazy. Umbridge bans it, though, so of course everyone reads i t and many students believe it.

He even gave the names of the Death Eaters: Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott. 

Harry has more visions and doesn’t tell anyone because he doesn’t want to stop. He fights with Snape more than ever. 

Umbridge fires Trelawney; Dumbledore has already hired Firenze the Centaur, and for that he’s been exiled. 

The DA works on the Patronus. Cho has a swan, Hermione has an otter. Dobby warns them Umbridge knows about the group and everybody runs. Harry is caught by Malfoy. Marietta told on them.

The list of names was also found, so Dumbledore takes all the blame of the Dumbledore’s army. Fudge is happy and Percy writes it all down for him. Dumbledore warns Harry to study Occlumency and do everything Snape tells him to and then he disappears. Umbridge is the new Headmistress now.

Malfoy is part of the Inquisitor’s Squad. The twins set fireworks everywhere in the castle. 

Harry never practices Occlumency, he wants the visions to learn what’s happening. Left alone in Snape’s office, Harry watches the memory he put in the pensieve, Snape’s worst memory of James and Sirius bullying him and humiliating him, so much that when Lily tried to defend him he lashed out and called her a Mudblood. She was so offended she insulted him too. (Non even understanding a little… how hard it might be this situation for her best friend… pride is everything to boys, in every era…). When Lily runs, the boys keep bullying Snape, but Harry doesn’t see how it ended because adult Snape found him. He is furious, of course, bu does nothing more to him that throw him out and stop the lessons.

Harry now knows that all Snape said about his father was actually true. 

Harry tells McGonagall that maybe he’dilke to be an auror as his career of choice. The twins help Harry have a secret conversation with Sirius via fireplace. Heneeds to talk about his dad’s behaviour but all Sirius says is that they were 15, like it wasn’t a big deal :/  Sirius and Lupin are alarmed though when they learn that he stopped the Occlumency lessons. 

Caught red-handed, the twins accio their brooms and fly away, telling everyone they have a shop in Diagon-Alley. 

Hagrid takes Harry and Hermione to the Forbidden Forest to show them his brother and to tell them to come talk to him and teach him English after Hagrid’s gone, probably fired. Gryffindor won the game but they didn’t see Ron.

It’s time for their OWLs and they go well enough. During Astronomy they see aurors attacking Hagrid, and even McGonagall when she tells them to stop. Hagrid escapes.

During History of Magic Harry has a vision of Voldemort having captured Sirius. Hermione wants to make him see reason, but he’s frantic and she can only get him to try and contact Sirius at home to see if he really isn’t there. Kreacher answers and says Sirius is not there and will never be back home; Umbridge stops him and calls Snape for more Veritaserum but he has no more for her. Harry has ot speak in code to tell him about Sirius and when Snape doesn’t reply he thinks he won’t help. Hermione lies to Umbridge - the only smart one, really, how could the boys really think she’d tell Umbridge about Sirius? I’t just, Umbridge was about to crucio Harry, so she had to do something. She guides Harry and Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest making lots of noise. Harry still understands nothing, until Centaurs arrive, armed. Umbridge insults them, and they take her away, more than angry. It’s hagrid’s brother who helps the kids, and they go away while he fights the centaurs. 

Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna join them and give Harry back his wand. Ron and Harry don’t really want any of them, but they join anyway and Luna suggests flying on the thestrals. They all fly to the Ministry and run around until Harry finds the Hall of Prophecies, but no Sirius.

He takes the prophecy with his name, and Lucius and Bellatrix appear. They want it. They fight, Dolohov gets Hermione; Neville’s wand gets broken, his dad’s old wand. Ginny, Ron and Neville are already not in good shape, then Luna gets hit too. At thei worst moment, finally help arrives: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley. Dolohov floors Moody, uses Tarantallegra on Neville (??) and then fights Sirius, it’s chaos. Even Dumbledore appears, the prophecy gets broken, and while fighting Bellatrix Sirius falls over the Veil. Harry tries to crucio Bellatrix, but with only anger behind it, it does little. 

Voldemort appears and tries to Avada a numb Harry but Dumbledore saves him. The two adults fight then.

Voldemort possesses Harry then leaves. Fudge and other men saw him and can’t deny his return anymore. 

Once in Dumbledore’s office, Harry yells, breaks stuff. Dumbledore tells him that he (AD) should have told him more(HP), so he HP would have knows that Voldemort would have set a trap like that for him, and also that Snape hurried and found out Sirius was safe at home, but not seeing Harry come back he called the Order, he even gave Umbridge fake Veritaserum when she tried to use it against Harry, but he won’t listen to any of it, Harry is determined to idolize Sirius and hate Snape.

Dumbledore then tells him of the blood wards on Petunia’s house, working because even if she doesn’t love him she willingly took him in. He tells him that he got too close and wanted Harry to be happy, so he kept avoiding telling him the truth, and finally he tells him about a prophecy made before he was born, the reason Voldemort tried to kill him. Dumbledore heard the prophecy being spoken and lets Harry hear it.

Now the Prophet is all pro-Harry again. Dumbledore brought Umbridge back from the forest and to the infirmary, Hermione is still in bad shape but good enough to leave it. Malfoy is furious because his father is in Azkaban, although there are no more Dementors there - they don’t listen to the Ministry anymore.

McGonagall is back, Harry thinks he’ll never forgive Snape and hates him more than ever - which is so stupid, this child is so lacking the bases of normal emotions foundations that he’s all over the place, Sirius was his fantasy of a different life and he can’t cope now that it’s all gone, and nobody ever helps him…

When Harry finds the package Sirius gave him and he never opened, he finds one of two communicating mirrors, but breaks it when Sirius doesn’t appear. He asks Nearly Headless Nick, but Sirius won’t come back as a ghost, he moved on. 

Luna tells him about people hiding her things and that her mom died when she was 9.

On the train, Malfoy tries to attack Harry with Crabbe and Goyle, but many DA members help him. Knowing that Cho goes out with someone else doesn’t matter to Harry now, things have changed. Ginny tells them Michael Corner now goes out with Cho while she dates Dean Thomas now. Once they arrive, they see the twiins with new jackets, business is good, plus Mr and Mrs Weasley, Moody, Tonks and Lupin, come to tell Vernon that he must treat Harry right or they’ll know and they’ll come to the house. 


The end.


I know these came out as books for children, and since there’s magic in it they’ll always be considered things for children from some people (tsk) but there are a lot of real things in it that would need considering.

How someone in power has it so easy to abuse that power; how people swing from love to hate so very easily, even ‘good people’ turn to hate as if it were nothing; and many more like this.

















Agatha Christie's Poirot: The adventure of the Egyptian tomb

It wasn't bad, Poirot was kind of funny ^_^ Sometimes her books about Egypt, although fascinating, can also be a bit boring, but this isn't a long story, and lots of things happen. 

It starts with the usual British archeologist, Mr John Willard, having discovered a new tomb. He is being filmed for the occasion, so he breaks an ancient sigil to enter. As soon as he enters, followed by all the others, they have time to film a bit of what's inside before the man has a heart attack and dies right there. People start talking of the curse of the tomb.

Mrs Willard, in England, calls for Poirot. She's worried because her son wants to continue his father's work, and go to Egypt. The young man is unconcerned and quickly dismisses Poirot.

The American millionaire, Mr Bleibner, who gave the money for the expedition, and his nephew Rupert are still in Egypt with a few others. 

Poirot wants to know more, wants information on Rupert, the nephew, and since Hastings is in New York where now Rupert is, they ask him to go meet him.

Rupert appears rather in shock, still in his pajamas, drinking liquor. They exchange only a few words then Hastings goes to breakfast and reads in the paper that millionaire Bleibner died in Egypt, and goes back to Rupert, probably to tell him and give his condolences, but he finds him dead, he shot himself. The suicide note comes as a big surprise, it states he had nothing other than misery ahead of him, and it was better to die sooner and spare others the misery. But he was young, and about to get married...

In Egypt, Mr Schneider of the Metropolitan museum is sick as well. 

Poirot unceremoniously tells Hastings that they're going to Egypt.

Schneider dies too, and shortly after that the doctor seems to be slightly ill as well. Poirot searches the doctor's tent, leaving Hasting outside to guard the entrance.

Poirot phones Miss Lemon for the information on the deceased's wills. Back to their tent, it appears that Poirot died after drinking something, and Hastings hastily calls the others. When the doctor recognises the smell of the poison in the glass, Poirot gets up saying there was indeed poison, but he didn't drink it, he kept it in a little bottle as proof. 

He knows everything now, and explains. The first death was indeed a natural heart attack, but it gave the murderer the idea to blame everything on the Egyptian tomb 's curse. 

Rupert and the doctor had been at school together, and doctor Aimes once saved his life. For this reason, Rupert's will leaves everything to him.

Aimes killed Mr Bleibner, but is also responsible for Rupert's suicide, since he told the poor guy that he was a leper.

Mr Schneider was killed to add a number to the curse.


Selasa, 8 November 2022

Extinction - 2018

I liked it, it was a good movie. Entertaining with a twist. I don't know if I'd watch it again, the beginning was rather slow, and now I know the twist there's no surprise anymore, but the first time I enjoyed it a lot.

I know some people complained about the annoying children, and I think they should not watch movies with children because this is how real children would react. There are exceptions, of course, but here, in this movie, it was important to show that they were common, normal little girls, no past hardship to toughen them up, no heroics of any kind, just average, common little girls.

The main actor is not a favourite of mine for sure, but then again, his rather common, quiet demeanor was important, there had to be nothing special about him... it was all important to the story and to maintain the surprise when you learn the truth.

The character of David should have had more space, really, it would have been an improvement overall. I think he should have been at the party, so you would have had the friends to sacrifice and the friend with a mysterious side that would have had you wondering whose side was he on for a while, since he couldn't stop and explain what was going on while the girls cried, the wife yelled, the husband turned his face this way and that and the enemies kept shooting ... I really think it would have been better.

They could have also made it better, in my opinion, because the nightmares were rather short, very short, you just had a glimpse of them, and I think they could have improved them a little, made them a bit longer. I understand they had to be careful not to show too much, but athey didn't really impress enough on the viewer the gravity of what he saw every night, the reason why he didn't seek help. 

Also, there are a few points that I will address at the end.

Going further into details, there are major spoilers from this point on!

It starts with Peter having yet again another nightmare, we learn that they happen so often his wife Alice can't stand it anymore, the both of them barely sleep anymore, but he refuses help saying he can do it alone... yeah, right. He keeps dreaming of some kind of attack, of his family being in danger.

He has a little girl called Lucy and an older daughter, Hannah. Their relationship is not the easiest because he seems to never be home, he forgets a lot... not surprisingly, since he can't sleep.

His boss, David, is worried about him and gives him the number of a clinic that will help him make the nightmares stop, but when he goes there, he meets a man who tells him that what they see is real but the others don't want them to remember... the man goes in anyway, saying he only wants it all to stop, but Peter leaves.

During a party at their house, a small happening with their friends Ray, Samantha and their daughter Megan, suddenly lights appear in the sky. Peter is surprised that everyone can see them, and Alice thinks he somehow saw the future in his dreams and wants to know what he saw, what happened to their children.

Ships come down, explosions, creatures shoot everyone in sight, their building is breached and they are all terrorised. Lucy leaves her hiding place to get her stuffed monkey, so when the "alien" enters, she's alone under the table... and yet, when they find themselves one in front of the other, the girl is not killed, the alien looks at her but doesn't shoot. After a few seconds, of course her father comes to the rescue, knocking the alien out and taking his weapon, even if he can't use it right away, he will have to modify it.

The family escapes the confines of the apartment and run to the roof - the floors down were too risky, too many aliens shooting people.

They find their friends, and try to go forward together. They must find a way to get to street level and reach Peter's workplace where they might be safe. Before they can reach the road, Ray is killed, and trying to save Megan who is about to fall down, Samantha dies as well.

Their family is now alone. Alice knows some tunnels underneath the city, and they run there. During all of this, there is a lot of crying from the daughters, of being incapable of moving or of going in the wrong direction... a lot of this can be annoying, or it could be annoying if it were showing grownups doing it. These were little girls who just saw people getting killed, it was totally natural that they were in shocked and scared to death.

Also, before someone insists on their being annoying, the truth is many adults would do the same, or worse, much worse, because when adults panic they kill others, that they want to or not.

So, they're all scared, but they go on feeling strongly that they must save their children, and reach a tunnel. What they don't know is that they are being tracked through the rifle he took, so all too soon the owner of the weapon finds them and in the shooting Alice is gravely injured. The girls are terrified, and he refuses to leave her behind. Peter captures the "alien", but instead of killing him he orders him to carry Alice while Peter keeps the weapon and looks after the girls. Peter also takes off his "mask", and underneath it we see the face of a boy. A totally normal looking young man, he doesn't look very alien at all, and they understand each other perfectly, no language problem or anything. 

They reach the point where David and his men are waiting for them. They are not surprised by the boy's face, or by anything that's happening, honestly. They don't look confused like Peter does.

They say that Alice is too injured and there's nothing they can do, but the boy, probably about to be killed or taken hostage, shouts that he can save her, or at least buy her more time, so Peter asks the others to leave the boy to him. 

When the base is also attacked, Peter and the guy stay behind while David and almost everyone else runs down to take a train to escape that place, promising to wait as long as they can for them.

The guy sort of cuts Alice open, but inside her body is not as it should be... Peter doesn't understand, but agrees when told that the only way to save her is to give her some of his energy, connect them with some kind of cable... and to do that, Peter has to cut himself open... which feels terrifying at first, until he starts and realises that he feels no pain and can do it easily enough. As soon as he is connected, he starts remembering things, everything that happened decades ago. Humanity built artificial intelligence to work the poor jobs, and then treated them like objects (not really surprising, we all know humanity loves slavery)

Despite opposite factions, the majority of humans started making trouble for them, they were attacked, in danger of being all destroyed, so Peter and all those around him started to fight. This is when he "knew" Alice, before that they had only vaguely seen each other while working.

All the "machines" started killing all the humans, to the point that the survivors evacuated the planet.

Peter and Alice found a couple of girls crying and scared, because their human parents had been killed and they were alone.

 After all the humans are gone, a clinic is established to wipe all their memories. They are not forced, everyone agrees to forget about being AI and start afresh, Peter Alice and the girls together as a real family. Only a few people choose to remember, because someone had to, to be ready when the humans inevitably came back. 

The young man, his name's Miles, helps them because he was surprised at what he found, nobody ever told him he had to kill children, fight families... he heard tales of what had happened from his grandparents, but he had been taught that all AI were like monsters. 

Miles stays behind while Peter and Alice try to reach the train. Hannah and Lucy wanted to wait for them, but someone finally grab Lucy and carried her to the train. 

When they finally arrive, the train is moving, they yell and... the train stops? 

Peter and Alice get on the train and they all leave, all remembering everything now, and they'll have to regroup and prepare for battle.

While they go, we see the bridge is made of many small parts that detach themselves after the train has passed and lower until they're under water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, they never said what year it was or where they were, or if the fight took place all over the planet... well, we can guess we're much in the future, and also it should be everywhere, otherwise why did humans leave the planet instead of changing Country or even Continent? It must be because the war was everywhere... not going to talk about how long did the fight go on, because I see that AI see time in a very different way, so it doesn't really mattered.

What I'm thinking about is the language. Did the US finally conquered the whole planet forcing everyone to speak their language? Or only the English-speaking humans managed to escape? I mean, there must be a reason why a young soldier arrives here from another planet and lands right where "people" might understand what he's saying... I mean, if he meant to explore, then yes, it could have been planned, but he wasn't supposed to talk to the synthetic, so it was pure chance that having to choose from a whole planet he landed right where people spoke his language? I mean, I suppose the attack was global, right? Or did they only attack this city? There must be many other communities of synthetics somewhere, otherwise this small group that filled one train could not have driven away the whole human race...


Cast 

Peter - Michael Peña 

Alice - Luzzy Caplan 

Hannah - Amelia Crouch 

Lucy - Erica Tremblay 

Ray - Lex Shrapnel 

Samantha - Emma Booth 

Megan - Lilly Aspell 

David - Mike Colter

Miles - Israel Broussard 










Rabu, 2 November 2022

Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Cornish mystery

EDIT: I checked and according to IMDB the names are: Mr and Mrs Pengelley, Freda and Jacob Radnor, but I can't be bothered to go and correct it all.

 It wasn't bad, not the best but not bad. It's not too difficult to realise the truth, but it is enjoyable nonetheless. Well, the ending is very unticlimatic, but it's not so uncommon in the minor episodes.

It starts with Miss Lemon seeing a woman outside Poirot's office. She won't come in but gave him an appointment outside. The woman tells Poirot that she thinks her husband Edward is poisoning her. 

He is a dentist, with a pretty, young assistant, and Mrs Penghelli thought there was something between them. She has a niece, Frieda, but they're not on the best of terms right now, and a friend, young Mr Rednord, and she swears there is nothing between him and her young niece... in a vehement tone that makes clear right away that she's infatuated with him...

Poirot goes to investigate the matter, but arrives a mere half hour after her death.

The local doctor insists she was ill and not poisoned, but Poirot is not convinced.

Frieda explains that she was at odds with Mrs Penghellii because she (Frieda) is actually engaged to Mr Rednord.  The young man talks to Poirot saying he knows something but it would do noone any good to make a scandal, and he'd like Poirot to "hush it up". Poirot tells him it will be impossible because of vox populi: people talk...

The will leaves some money to Frieda and all the rest to her husband.

Poirot and Hastings go home, and Poirot predicts that Mr Penghelli will be tried for murder very soon and they'll have to save him...

After Edward made public his (new?) relationship with his assistant, people talked even more, and noe he's on trial, just like Poirot predicted.

Japp is of course sure that it was him, but Poirot knows better. He knows it was Jacob Rednord: he wanted her money, and not only the little bit left to Frieda, but all of it, so he had to get rid of both husband and wife. He seduced Frieda but also Mrs Penghelli, so he was always present and poisoned her while the husband was in the house.

Although Poirot knows all this, he actually has no proof whatsoever, so he bluffs and scares him into signing a confession that will free the man.


As always:

Poirot is David Suchet

Hastings is Hugh Fraser 

Japp is Philip Jackson 

Miss Lemon is Pauline Moran 







Isnin, 26 September 2022

The sandman - season 1

Only eps 1-->6

From someone who has not read the original story !!!

I got tired of it, I was expecting wow-scenes, effects and magic, dreams... but instead only a small, very small part is magical, the rest is sad, or cruel... I don't know, I kept at it for a while, but got bored.

s1e1- Sleep of the just

Roderick is an old, bad man. Already the fact that he was the leader of a ‘cult’ and had even his young son call him Mage said it all. He lost his oldest son, the only one he cared about, and now wants to perform some kind of magic ritual to capture Death and order him to give him his son back. 

Lord Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, is in the waking world about to capture Corinthian, a nightmare who escaped his realm of dreams to kill humans, but before he can do it he is captured by the ritual and brought to Roderick’s mansion. Roderick takes his Tools away.

Corinthian is quite happy to leave him a prisoner, so he advises Roderick on how to do it so that he can’t escape. Morpheus never speaks to anyone, and Roderick won’t set him free unless he gives him something in return, like his son, or immortality…

Nobody, not him or his son, seems to care all that much, if at all, that since they captured him so many people started to being unable to fall asleep, or remained trapped in their sleep…

The son doesn’t like it, and seems like he would gladly set him free, but he’s a weak, useless thing, and shoots Jessamy, the raven that tried to free Dream.

Ethel became Roderick’s lover, maybe for his power or his money or both, but when she gets pregnant and he orders her to get rid of the baby without giving her a choice at all, she escapes. She steals money and Dream’s tools and flees.

After Roderick dies, his son does not free Dream, afraid of his vengeance. Many years later, his parter is pushing his wheelchair when he ruins the magic circle around Dream’s glass cage - I don’t know how intentional it was, but he certainly knew he had done it, and said nothing. Dream is able to enter the dream of one of the two guards, who shoots at his cage freeing him.

Dream goes back to his real, to find it almost empty and in ruins. Only Lucienne stayed behind, knowing he would come back.


s1e2 - Imperfect hosts


Lucienne has faith in Morpheus, she tells him she never felt abandoned and knew he’d be back, so she stayed, even being a Royal Librarian without a library anymore.

Morpheus doesn’t have the power to do much without his tools, so he plans to get them back.

Lucienne suggests asking for his siblings’ help, like Destiny or Desire, but he points out that they knew for sure what happened to him and no one tried to help him. He gains a bit of power back by vanishing a Gargoyle he created, Cain and Abel’s pet Gregory. (So Cain and Abel live in his realm but are not created by him…I thought everything there was created by him… were they created by people? Or are just… there, like his subjects?…. I’m not too clear on that…

So, with that bit of power he looks for offering - he takes some stuff from people’s dreams…? but then he only gives a snake to the Fates he calls forth. He gives an egg to Abel (he finds it as soon as he wakes up and climbs out of his graves, after Cain killed him again), so they will raise a new baby gargoyle.

He asks three questions to the Fates, and has three answers. Rather vague, but still that’s something, so he can start his search. He plans to go after the pouch of sand first, sold to a woman in London, then his elm, now a demon has it.

We see Ethel again, who looks rather well considering how many years have passed. Corinthian goes to see her, wanting to know about the Tools - he can’t use them but doesn’t want Dream to have them back. The ruby wan taken by her son; the ruby can give life to dreams and nightmares, and she says than in turn the ruby took her son. We see later that he is now locked up in a prison/hospital.

Corinthian attempts to harm her, but she traded the elm with a demon for some stone of Protection, so he is vanished instead. He ends up back in the ream of dreams, but since Morpheus already left, he is free to go away again.


s1e3 - Dream a little dream of me


Dream goes to London to find Constantine (constant-i-n) who works as an exorcist. She’s rather sad and bitter, not exactly likeable, and plagued by a nasty nightmare that doesn’t let her rest. At first she doesn’t even want to talk to him, then she understands, and maybe hopes he’ll help her rest. Anyway, she tells him that she left him the pouch with the sand with someone… for some time she lived with Rachel, then six months ago or something like that she left. Without a word, she got out and never went back, and she left the sand there, since she was never able to use it, never even managed to open the pouch.

They go to Rachel’s house, but she wants to enter alone, expecting a tense encounter, but what she finds is a dream, meaning she dreams instead of seeing reality, and only realises it when Dream arrives to wake her up. She dreamed of a nice reunion, but the reality is: Rachel is in bed with the pouch in her hand, she looks terrible and seems stuck in the dream or something, and Morpheus says that that pouch was never meant for mortals and that she’s still alive only because she’s attached to it, so she will die when he takes the sand back. He gives her a nice ending with a nice dream, and goes out.

A raven, Matthew, has been sent to him even after he repeatedly said he didn’t want one, not after Jessamy died. Matthew is someone who died recently, if I got it right, and was some kind of scoundrel. Anyway, now Dream and Matthew head to Hell to find the elm.

Ethel asks her son John for the ruby, again and again, afraid of when Morpheus will come for it, she’s scared for him, she has her protection, but wants to help him too. 

This guy is someone who murdered people thinking it was self defence, and Ethel knows he is a murderer, but still tries to protect him, but John does not give her the ruby, or tell her where it is, or give any indication that he would give it up, he still sound rather obsessed with that ruby and even says that a solution would be to dream a world without Sandman or something like that.

At last she gives up trying and changes her tactics; she wanted to protect him, and she decides to do just that, she gives him her stone of Protection.

!!!

She does, the idiot. Sorry, she’s a mother and she’s sacrificing herself to protect her son, but she’s still a criminal, knowing what he is she’s sort of condemning the world, I understand one’s children come first, but not when they’re crazy murderers!!!!!!!

She insists and insists until he takes it, and she dies in his arms, she was already 116 years old (although looking half of that or less) and ages all at once and dies. Guards arrive, but everyone that tries to stop him, can’t. Anyone who shoots at him dies a horrible horrible death. He goes out, simply walking out the door, and Corinthian gives him a jacket and a good luck.


s1e4 - A hope in hell


John wanders around, crosses the street, is startled by cars and almost hit by one. The driver, Rosemary, stops to worry about him. She sees him in his night attire, in slippers, alone, he says he doesn’t even know where he is, so she offers to drive him whenever he wants to go. She’s very kind and nice, but while they talk he admits first that his mother, when alive, was a thief and a liar, and then that he himself stole something from her and was in prison for that, and for arson, and for murder, and spent 30 years in a psychiatric hospital… no doubt the woman is terrified now, she has a dog in the car and two daughters at home, and when she stops for gas and asks the guy at the counter to call 911, the stone protects him again when the guy shoots at him.

She drives him to the place where he keeps his precious ruby…

In the meantime, Dream has gone to Hell, with the capital H, and brought to Lucifer. He explains why he came but the demon who has his helm refuses to just give it up so Dream challenges him for it. The demon chooses Lucifer as his champion and they… fight? Sort of, with illusions, they say I am a wolf, I am a wolf hunter (and Lucifer feels the wound of the arrow), then a serpent who bites and poisons the horse, than a bird of prey to tear him apart, then bacteria to destroy the bird… stuff like that, you know, then all of a sudden Dream goes all big, I am a world, she (Lucifer) is a supernova, he’s a universe, and she’s anti-life… and he’s down, almost defeated, but Matthew comes to him, tells him that dreams can’t die, not until someone believes in them, and he does believe that Dream will not leave his raven alone in Hell… and Dream gets up and is Hope… and what defeats hope?… She can’t find anything and tells the demon to give him his helm. Dream is rather amicable, of course, thanks him for being honourable, but Lucifer is pissed, tells him dreams have no power in Hell and he has yet to get out, but Dream remarks that what would Hell be is all of them could not dream of Heaven? Which stroke a cord with Lucifer, of course. He may have been pissed off, but Dream gets his helm and can now see where his ruby is, and transports there directly, and finds it, takes it in his hands but senses that something is wrong and the ruby repels him away. 

Dream is down on the floor when John enters and takes his ruby, that as he said to his mother is now modified to answer only to him, and walks out to find Rosemary still there. I’m not sure why, but she’s still there to see if he needs a ride somewhere, but he goes away on foot after telling her she’s a good person and giving her his stone of protection, saying nothing will hurt her now and he doesn’t need it anymore because he has his ruby now.


s1e5 - 24/7


John enters a diner and uses the stone to force the people inside it to reveal the truth, stop the lies. There’s a CEO and her husband, a young man named Mark hoping for a big job, a girl sad because her girlfriend broke up with her after she hit her after a fight, the waitress Bette who wants to be a writer and the cook Marsh who turns down her attempts at flirting, and then reveals that he only accepted her invitations to dinner because he liked to eat something cooked for him and then after she fell asleep he had sex with her son, her 21 year-old son. When the husband gets angry at Mark having sex with his wife right there and almost chokes him, Mark kills him. Bette confronts John and he sort of pushes them to hurt and kill themselves (that part wasn’t exactly clear to me, the why they did that), then Dream appears to confront him and John insists he wants to stop the lies. Dream says that they were not lies, they were the dreams that kept those people alive, take away their dreams and their hope and nothing remains.

John wants to kill Dream and take his place, and they ‘fight’ each other in the dream world, and John thinks he’s draining Dream’s life inside the ruby that he then sort of crashes in his hand… ? But then Dream is more powerful than before because by destroying the ruby all the power he had put inside it was released into him again.

Now, the end is cryptic, the raven did ask if he will undo the damage done by the ruby… will he? Or will those people stay dead? Also, was John affecting only the diner or everywhere? A lot of people might be dead..


s1e6 - The sound of her wings


Dream is feeling down, he has accomplished his quest of retrieving his tools and even if now he is more powerful than he ever was, he feels kind of empty, sort of without purpose… so his sister Death approaches him, talks to him and has him follow her around while she meets some new souls… she says that their job, what they do is their purpose, that they do it all for the people, or something like that, and she sort of ‘cheers him up’, between the soul of an infant and that of a young man… well, she also tells him that she missed him, that she knew he was captured instead of her… (and yet not a word on the small issue that nobody tried to help him…)

She seems very much the optimist.

Second half of the episode: already in 1389 Death tried to bring Dream more in contact with people, and had him join her in a tavern, where they heard a man saying that he chooses not to die, and Death grants his wish for Dream’s entertainment, sort of; Dream tells the man that they will meet right there in 100 years and the man Hob (Robert) will tell him how he liked it. Dream bet with his sister that he would be begging for death but no, the man had the time of his life for quite a while, they meet every 100 years in 1489, 1589, 1689, 1789, 1889 and on only one of those occasion the man was at his lowest, but despite having hated the last 80 years he still wanted to live… in 1889 Hob told him that he figured out why they keep meeting, he thinks Dream is lonely and wants some friendship or something, but Dream takes offence and storms out, and Hob yells that if they’ll meet again it will mean that they are friends… and then, in 1989 they didn’t meet. Hob waited and waited, but Dream did not arrive. He could not know that Dream was currently imprisoned and unable to go anywhere. When he hears that the place (a place where they could sit, drink and eat and talk for hundreds of years) will not be there much longer because it was sold or something, Hob can’t have that. 

After taking with Death, now Dream goes to meet Hob, and although the place is no more the same, he follows a writing on the wall signalling the ‘new Inn’ and meets Hob there, it seems to be his place, and they sit in recognised friendship; Dream admits openly to it.

At the end of the episode, we see Desire, another sibling, talk about her new plan after the first failed… so she’s the one who wants Dream out of the way… and probably someone else since it seemed like she was talking to someone…


Isnin, 28 Februari 2022

Don't look up - 2021

It was a good film, but not as funny as they showed in the trailer. It was satirical, yes, but also bitter. It does not have a happy ending, and it did leave me with a rather sour taste… not unexpected, though, so I was rather prepared. Still, I was glad to watch it once, but no more than that.


It shows… well, pretty much our real world, let’s admit that. Politicians who care only about their image, social media who monitor and control our society, people who listen to politician’s lies and social medias and willingly let them influence what they think (this is more and more common, the raising number of ‘influencer’ on the internet shows how people are happy to have others tell them what to think, what to wear, what to buy).

It shows how easy it is to manipulate the truth - although this isn’t all that much different from how it was before social media invaded our lives. Most people believe everything they hear on television, but now that is also complicated by how everyone can tell their own through social media and thus making things even more confusing.

The title is significant because at some point in the movie people could actually see the comet with their own eyes, so the ‘good guys’ told people to just look up. To defeat that, the president made speeches about how the people are being manipulated and in order to avoid that they simply have to NOT look up, launching her own slogan of “Don’t look up”, which a lot of people did. Not look up, I mean, until it was so near they could not avoid it. 


PLOT in details now:

Kate finds a comet yet unknown and the staff celebrates it until her professor, Dr Mindy, makes some calculations and it turns out that the comet is very big and is heading straight for Earth. So big it will wipe out human kind. They try immediately to warn someone. After some difficulty they manage to contact Dr Oglethorpe who checks their data and agrees with them that it is indeed a deadly serious situation. Literally.

They contact the White House, and they are left waiting for hours and hours, because despite their credentials and the fact that they are accompanied by a NASA guy, Oglethorpe, the President and her chief of staff (her son Jason, an idiot who thinks he’s everything because he has a powerful parent, the world knows the kind all too well) do not believe it. 

At this point, Oglethorpe suggests going public with it. They’re not allowed, but they do it anyway. They talk about it at a talk show, but the two hosts are interested only in a bit of show, not in anything serious, and treat the matter like a joke. Kate is so scared and incredulous and overwhelmed that she screams that they (we) are all going to die, but instead of talking her seriously now the hosts refuse to invite her back and she’s the victim of online mockery. Even her boyfriend at this point leaves her, even if he almost had a heart attack when she told him the truth beforehand. 

When there is a scandal (the President sending her nude pictures to someone about to be elected or something) she wants to gain back the favour of the public by showing that she cares and that she will save the world, and they make a plan. She makes speeches reassuring everyone that they will destroy the comet with nuclear weapons.

The plan goes on, to great relief of the two astronomers, and the launch is successful, but it is stopped very soon because a super-mega-rich man, who makes phones that monitor people, that buy things on their behalf and do other things by themselves (personally I hate things that do too much automatically, it should be my choice!) comes in and talks to her. Because of what he said, she stops the plan and calls everything back. It turns out that that comet is full of rich elements, like seriously rich, billions and billions of dollars in materials, and he wants to get to it. He wants to break it into tiny pieces that will fall into the oceans and that he will later retrieve (still, the comet was really big, so it would be either many pieces not really small like pebbles but quite larger, and that would cause no problems for humans? Really? Not for the rich ones, of course, but for the others?) So they change to a new plan, explaining that they could make so much money, the whole world would be richer… yeah right, how could anyone believe that? They only want to make themselves rich, not the rest of the people, surely not the ‘common people’. And yet, just like in the real world, many people believe it. When Kate goes back home, disgusted by the whole thing, her own parents won’t open the door to her, saying that they are in favor of the many jobs this new plan will provide and therefore do not share in her side.

Meanwhile Mindy has almost bought into it, they give him a position and he even makes commercials on how good it will be for everyone… and of course he starts an affair with Brie, the tv-show host.The media go crazy with the whole thing, some believe like Kate that they will all die, some believe that the new project will improve their lives with jobs and all, and others who say it’s all fake news and the comet is not real.

Kate works at the counter in some kind of shops, but when she sees that a group of boys has stole some stuff, she doesn’t care (she can’t find it in herself to care about anything really, because she knows everyone’s gonna die), and they recognise her from the tv-show and she starts hanging out with them and even starts a relationship with one of them, because as she eloquently puts it, Why not?

Dr Mindy finds his wife in his room when he enters with Brie. His wife is a bit angry, sure, but she’s more hurt and very much disappointed, as she should be. (Under normal circumstances I’d be much harsher against him, but it’s a damn awful situation where he’s probably still worried they will all die, so let’s leave it at that).

Dr Mindy is quite alarmed when he learns that all the big brains that should have been at the heart of the new project are no more a part of it, and is frustrated that nobody wants to ask any question, that nobody is taking the matter as seriously as they should, and he starts yelling at Brie’s tv-show. Of course the white house send him away, and he goes back home. On the road, he happens to look up and can see the comet arriving. Kate saw it too, and they talk on the phone and plan to meet. 

They try again to alert the world using the internet and the slogan “just look up”.They hope that some other Country will try their own operation and succeed. If I got it right, China and Russia were about to try their own launch but it blew up (there’s no word of sabotage, that’s not a detail that matters at this point in the movie, but I still suspect it…)

Dr Mindy, Kate, Oglethorpe, everyone is now desperate because their last, their only chance is to hope that the rich guy’s plan will work.

The president’s side replied to their campaign with their own: “don’t look up”, don’t do what they want you to do, don’t let them manipulate you… to me it seems that it is always best to look with your own eyes if you can, but of course here many people followed this.

When it’s time to break apart the comet, things don’t go as planned, not at all. Earth is doomed. Wait, no, humans are doomed, that’s different.

The president and a circle of rich people and the ones they bring along have a shuttle prepared that will keep them asleep until it will find another planet like Earth. For some mysterious reason she offers Mindy to go with them and bring one with him, be it Brie or his wife - there was no reason really, only a cinematographic one, so that Mindy can learn of this plan, show how he is totally not surprised and yet he choses to stay back, because he’s at home with his family, with Oglethorpe and with Kate and her new boyfriend. The president hadn’t even noticed that she had run away without her son…


The comet hits and everyone dies. 22 thousand years later, the spaceship finally finds a planet similar to Earth and lands. They all wake up and get out, and it’s all so pretty and colourful, but as the president walks near an animal that sort of looked like an ostrich or something only alien, the animal attacks her and eats her, while all around the people keep looking around and if nothing had happened, and other animals of the same species get closer.

After the credit we see that Jason is still alive, and tries to call his mom and use his phone, probably the only two things he knows how to do.

Still, at this point one might wonder if someone, somewhere, survived as well. Possible, very possible. Not our characters, they died, but someone else.


Cast

Dr Mindy- Leonardo di Caprio

Kate- Jennifer Lawrence

President- Meryl Streep

Oglethorpe- Rob Morgan

Brie- Cate Blanchett

Jason- Jonah Hill

TV-show host- Tyler Perry

Kate’s new boyfriend- Timothée Chalamet


also:


—Paul Guilfoyle is a general that takes them to the white house and makes them pay when he brings them free snacks. Kate is very annoyed by that. As she should be.

—Ariana Grande is a singer and her break up and subsequent engagement to another celebrity catches everyone’s attention much more than the news of the comet. In the movie she sings a lovely song, lol, I liked it a lot, at least they got her on their side. I think she’s an amazing singer, really really amazing, but I also often think that she doesn’t have the right songs.

—Ron Perlman is an old military man who was supposed to be the hero of the first plan to blow up the comet. They call him old-fashioned, I’d call him something else, but it doesn’t matter here. Unfortunately too many people have their heads full of bullshit.


I read somewhere that the movie was written because of climate-change-fear… which is quite relevant. I know people that say it’s not true whenever the temperature gets so cold everything freezes over, unbelievable but I heard it myself. Also, that kind of news never seem to be as important as football or other stuff… there would be so many things to say here, but the movie’s ended, so…. bye.