Harry Potter - the series of TDN pages, current and archived, about the boy wizard and his friends in the wizarding world @ Professor McGonagall Index
Haxan (narration Wm. Burroughs - recommended with caution - not for the faint of heart) Heartwarmers and World Servers; also see Vittles
Hereafter -
Beautiful career woman Marie Lelay [Cécile De France] and two boys (Frankie/George McLaren), identical twins, experience mystic relationships with George Lonegan [Matt Damon], a man trying to escape his ‘gift’ much in the same way Jonah, the Hebrew prophet, attempted to avoid his calling. These characters navigate a sea of confusion, feeling displaced and tossed about in time and space, yet manage to reach a meeting of minds eventually, when they all attend the same London Book Fair.
The tsunami - Mother ocean is the constant symbol for a return to the source/womb/the wisdom of the first ‘universe’ where we exist as water creatures. The whale or great fish is the vehicle that transports us [Jonah] to a new shore, a new beginning, the new life/new day. Every dawn is a miracle. It heralds a new day never lived before. Because we experience aurora with frequency/ and predictability, the phenomena seems covered by veils over our eyes, so we don't recognize the miracle, we see another day as inevitable.
Monad - an experience we all enjoy every night in a level 8 sleep state, the easiest awareness of the monad. This experience is suggested in Hereafter during the tsunami when Marie Lelay is lifted by the tidal wave that floats her in an altered state till two fishermen revive her. See similar references in two other films associated with rebirth and soul mates: in connection with Trump XIX, Resurrection and Ghost. The ability movie stars have, to “work on the psyche places you tend to block,” as Jane Fonda reminisced while speaking about the film she made with her father, On Golden Pond, she added, “you can develop an arsenal of tools to use when the need arises.” The characters in Hereafter all accomplish their quest for the tools they need to get through the whole cycle as they enter the rebirth phase of their lives.
[Director Clint Eastwood is a Gemini, the third sign of the Twins, in the zodiacal circle about the earth]
Indiana Jones @ George Lucas
The Indiana Jones themes capture everything that was going on during the aftershock of the psychic revolution during the early 1900s: the scholastic trend, philosophy, and emerging paranormal community in the United States - that itself evolved in the fifties, during the period covered in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. One of the important goals of the Russian program involved manipulation of subtle magnetic energies and raw materials via the sunstorm cycle that generated harsh eruptions every eleven years.
Indiana Jones trilogy research @ Mystique includes Spielberg Star Chart
Indiana Jones Complete Adventures
Moneyball
Billy Beane is the current general manager of the Oakland Athletics. He is the subject of Michael Lewis' 2003 book on baseball economics, Moneyball, which was made into a 2011 film starring Brad Pitt as Beane. Beane’s style on the diamond dramatically changed the year he played his first pro game, on 9-13-84
against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Until his birthday in 1984, he channeled volatile power, like the storm at sea. Near his birthday that year, Beane's progressed Sun entered the earth sign Taurus, the Bull, a magnetic sign that will often succeed by bringing the objective to him instead of running toward it. Mercury moved into
Taurus a couple years before, so Beane’s updated Sun-Mercury conjunction in '84 provided sharp hand-eye coordination in general - in the style of Taurus, the methodical, steady, and dependable player. Simultaneously, Mars shifted from an intuitive, innovative, intense water sign Pisces, to the fiery garment of Aries, the Ram, Beane's radix Sun Sign. His progressed Moon entered watery Scorpio, and held the fire-water ratio in play for a couple years.
Twins baseball card
From September 13, 1984 through October 1, 1989 there was no other change in the planetary line-up in Beane’s progressed star chart, with an exception that involved his Moon. Billy Beane’s Lunar Return occurred during May-June 1989 [Beane's hour of birth is unknown]. Shortly after this event, on October 1, 1989,
he played his last pro game. When the Moon travels around the whole zodiacal girdle and returns to her place at birth, part of the personality governed by Luna undergoes a rebirth-renewal. Older plans and ideas about success and domestic matters undergo reassessmet. Self-evaluation and a set of new goals and ideals for career and personal relationships move everything to the next higher step on the psyche power ladder. The emotional renewal will often bring about change in the self-wish, appearance, residence, career description and title. Many feel it is time to make over home & garden or visit the nest of origin and nuclear family.
What did Billy Beane think about the movie?
"It was very nostalgic to me to some extent," Beane said of recalling those days.
"They did a great job with the 20-game streak. It brought back a lot of emotion
for me. They really captured what was going on, and that was one of the best
parts about it." read the full
USA Today article here.
Baseball brainiac Beane was asked what Brad Pitt characters he identified with. Beane answered, "There’s the detective in Seven, the casino thief in the Ocean’s movies, Death in Meet Joe Black. I remember Fight Club, too, but that’d probably be giving myself too much credit. His character on Head of the Class, I think that’s where he first broke in. I think that’s the one I identify with." read the whole interview with The Daily Beast here.
Moneyball
Director: Bennett Miller (Capote) Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright
Based on Michael Lewis' nonfiction bestseller "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," the book's subject is Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, who assembled a contending baseball club on a shoestring budget by employing a sophisticated computer-based analysis to draft players.
Like a cold beer under a bluebird sky; like a flawless line drive on a warm summer's day; like a long, languorous seventh-inning stretch - Moneyball satisfies.
--Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
A smart, intense and moving film that isn't so much about sports as about the war between intuition and statistics. I walked in knowing what the movie was about, but unprepared for its intelligence and depth.
--Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
...renews your belief in the power of movies.
--Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
The movie is an absolute triumph of culturally relevant filmmaking - a film that will thrill and fascinate sport junkies and non-fans alike. If you like baseball, you will love this movie. If you hate baseball, you will still love this movie.
--Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
The Mothman Prophecies
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
Director: Mark Pellington
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Gary Goldstein
Screenplay: Richard Hatem, based on the book by John A. Keel
Cast: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing, Will Patton, Lucinda Jenney, Alan Bates
Pre-destination versus free will - it's a metaphysical debate that has obsessed religious scholars and philosophers alike through the centuries. The Mothman Prophecies works best if you accept the former: that the future is as immutable as the past. Admittedly, that may sound like weighty material for a movie that toes the genre line between thriller and horror movie, but director Mark Pellington is aiming for a more elevated plane. This is no run-of-the-mill psycho-on-a-rampage motion picture. Instead, it asks us to carefully consider what's real and what isn't, and whether anything we attempt can truly change the course of events. To act or not to act, and, if we do, does that action make a difference or just vanish like a drop of water into the pond of inevitability? Like a time-travel movie, but without the time travel, The Mothman Prophecies delights in playing with cause-and-effect relationships.
For Pellington, this is his third time in the director's chair, and The Mothman Prophecies bears more than a passing resemblance in tone and approach to his previous outing, Arlington Road. Like the earlier film, this one expects viewers to pay attention to the plotline as it unfolds, then rewards us with an explosive ending. But, unlike The Sixth Sense and its clones, appreciation of the experience does not demand slavish admiration of a key twist. The Mothman Prophecies is smart and taut, and unfolds in a manner that will provide satisfaction to both those who do and don't figure out what's going on before Pellington tips his hand.
The film opens with John and Mary Klein (Richard Gere and Debra Messing) purchasing their dream house. For John, an ace reporter at the Washington Post, happiness has finally been achieved - but it's a fleeting thing. On the way home from house-hunting, the Kleins are involved in a car accident. Mary is injured, and, at the hospital, the doctors discover that she has a rare form of brain cancer. Within weeks, she has lost her battle, but, upon her death, she leaves behind a cryptic puzzle for her husband - drawings of a strange, moth-like creature and a question: "You didn't see it, did you?"
Two years later, John has come to terms with his grief, but he is still not interested in dating. He has immersed himself in his job, which takes him away from his Georgetown home to Richmond, Virginia to interview a would-be Presidential candidate. While driving in the wee hours of the morning, he loses his way and inexplicably arrives in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, more than 400 miles distant from where he expects to be. There, from a local cop, Connie Parker (Laura Linney), he learns that a number of strange things have been happening in town - people seeing apparitions and lights in the sky, hearing strange voices, and experiencing bleeding around the eyes and ears. As John investigates, he becomes convinced that what he first believed to be hallucinations may be warnings of an impending tragedy from the same moth-like being his wife sketched - a suspicion that is re-enforced in the wake of a conversation with a reclusive author named Alexander Leek (Alan Bates).
The Mothman Prophecies is more in the nature of a supernatural thriller than a traditional horror movie. Although the film features a creature of sorts, the "Mothman" is never clearly seen, nor are its nature or intentions explained. Pellington uses a lot of clever camera trickery (including numerous perspective shots, intriguing transitions, and grainy video images) to give the film a stylish feel. It's an approach that not only makes The Mothman Prophecies look interesting, but heightens the sense of tension - all without demanding clear shots of a hideous and deranged computer fabrication.
This is easily Richard Gere's best performance since 1993's Sommersby. If nothing else, Gere's work here illustrates that, when he wants to, he can do more than look suave, mouth dialogue, and act woodenly. He fits comfortably into the skin of the emotionally wounded John Klein, a skeptic by nature who finds himself confronted with incontrovertible evidence that things are going on that defy conventional explanation. Like Jeff Bridges in Arlington Road, Gere convincingly takes his character from a state of normalcy to the brink of frantic paranoia. Laura Linney provides a reliable companion for Gere - strong, smart, and solidly anchored in reality. It doesn't hurt that there's a spark between them (and that the screenplay doesn't force a romance, which would have been out of place, into the open). Support is provided by Debra Messing (star of TV's "Will and Grace") as John's wife; veteran stage and screen actor Alan Bates as a former physics professor who knows something about the Mothman's history; and character actors Will Patton and Lucinda Jenney as a husband and wife who are being haunted by the Mothman.
The Mothman Prophecies is loosely based on a 1975 book by John A. Keel, which related events that transpired in and around Point Pleasant, West Virginia in late 1966 and 1967. For the film, the time frame has been transposed to the present day and a fictional protagonist has been introduced. But many aspects of the movie, including the climax, have their basis in the historical record. Ultimately, however, the skill evident in crafting The Mothman Prophecies reduces the "based on real events" caption to a curiosity. The truth or fiction of the underlying story is inconsequential. This compelling motion picture offers enough mystery and suspense to keep the average viewer involved to the end.
The mythology of Mothman differs from country to country, perhaps due to the widespread presence of the beautiful Death's-Head Hawk Moth—an insect that often attains a breadth of five inches from tip to tip when the wings are fully expanded. It is on the wing during August and September. Its popular title has been applied on account of the peculiar markings of the thorax, which are said to resemble a human skull; and this feature has certainly some connection with the superstitious beliefs of ignorant country folk concerning this moth.
But this characteristic is probably not the only one that has caused the creature to be regarded with superstitious alarm. Both its superior dimensions and nocturnal habits serve to intensify the unfounded fear; but, what is particularly striking and unique about it is its power of uttering a squeaking sound, which it does when disturbed. Even the earlier stages of the insect possess this strange power. The caterpillar makes a peculiar snapping noise when irritated, and the chrysalis has been observed to squeak shortly before the emergence of the perfect form.
With a little perseverance it is possible to obtain some caterpillars and rear them. The colour of the caterpillar is generally pale yellow, with numerous small black dots, and seven oblique violet stripes on each side. The horn is yellowish and rough, and is bent downward, but recurved again at the tip. These larvæ feed on the potato, the deadly nightshade (Atropa Belladonna), and the woody nightshade (Solanum Dulcamara); and they are well known to potato growers. This Hawk Moth feeds during the night, and remains hidden throughout the daytime. In August it is fully grown, and then retires into the ground to undergo its transformations.
The fore wings of this moth are of a very rich dark brown, beautifully mottled with lighter tawny shades, and with a small but conspicuous yellow dot near the centre. The hind wings are yellow, with a black band and margin; and the body is yellow, with six broad black bands, and six large blue spots down the middle.
The Tribe of Sphinges or Hawk Moths
This group consists of three families—the Sphingidæ, including the largest of the 'Hawks,' and the 'Bee Hawks,' the Sesiidæ or 'Clearwings,' and the Zygænidæ, including the 'Foresters' and the 'Burnets'—numbering in all about forty species.
Pinocchio - Disney production
Pinocchio's father searched for his son and was swallowed by Monstro, the whale. Scenes with Monstro mirror the story of the Old Testament prophet Jonah, or Jonas, the son of Amathi, the prophet, who "was of Geth, which is in Opher." [in the tribe of Zabulon]
He was swallowed by a fish, and remains there three days and three nights; Matt. xii, 40: "it was a sign"
Portland Vase Interpretations — An Update @Minerva Magazine page Phenomenon * Jon Turteltaub 1996 Quicksilver * Thomas Michael Donnelly 1986
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, Paul Rodriguez, and Laurence Fishburne (Larry Fishburne) as Voodoo
'Riches to Rags' and 'Rags to Riches' again chapter in life of stockbroker genius Jack Casey (Bacon); breaking out of, and into, lifestyle choices like changing jackets in the closet. Good look at the role friendship and empathy can play if life changes are on the horizon. Memorable bike duel between Fishburne and Bacon riding across the city to music by Roger Daltrey, "Quicksilver Lightning." Soundtrack also with "Rebirth" (Instrumental) performed by Tony Banks.
Red Sonja * Richard Fleischer 1985
Resurrection * Directed by Daviel Petrie * 1980 Stars: Roberts Blossom, Ellen Burstyn, Clifford David, Richard Diamond Farnsworth, Eva Le Gallienne, Pamela Payton-Wright, and Sam Shepard as Cal Carpenter
running time: 103 minutes
Lewis John Carlino wrote this powerful tale of a woman who is revived after being clinically dead, and discovers she now has amazing abilities to heal the sick. But Edna McCauley (Ellen Burstyn) is the person she was before her accident with the same belief system, moral codes and relationships. The only difference in her life, beyond her ability to assist others with physical infirmaries, is her hypersensitivity and self-repair work – she is eventually able to remove the braces and even walk again. Her insistence that God is not responsible creates an uproar in her Bible Belt community. Ellen Burstyn won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Edna McCauley and Eva leGallienne won for Best Supporting Actress.
This film is recommended for those who have friends with clairvoyant ability gained overnight through an accident, sudden event, or in the shadow of death. My experience with people who have become newly ‘gifted’ is close to what Resurrection conveys on screen through the story of Edna McCauley. Music: Maurice Jarre Set Decoration: Bruce Weintraub Art Director: Edwin O'Donovan
The Rohirrim - The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers The Royal Marriage - Marriage of the Sun [Gold] and Moon [Silver]; Narsil, 'light of the Sun and light of the Moon' is the sword that took the Ring of Power from Sauron, later reforged as Anduril, 'Flame of the West'
Rumi ~ Poet of The Heart Saragossa Manuscript poster offer with links to the 'key' page The Secret of Roan Inish * John Sayles 1994
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Han speeds up Luke's return from nigredo phase of birth-death-rebirth cycle by moving near-frozen Luke into the belly of the dead Tonton; Han's Millennium Falcon seeks escape from Imperial warships and asteroid belt, and accelerates a dive into the inside of a cave that almost becomes a tomb for the Falcon and its crew. Later, Luke and R2 enter a similar atmosphere when the X-wing crash lands on the swamp planet Degobah.
source: The Hero in Star Wars
from The Power of Myth
MOYERS: There’s something mythological, too, in that the hero is helped by a stranger who shows up and gives him some instrument--
CAMPBELL: He gives him not only a physical instrument but a psychological commitment and a psychological center. The commitment goes past your mere intention system. You are one with the event.
MOYERS: My Favorite scene was when they were in the garbage compactor, and the walls were closing in, and I thought, “That’s like the belly of the whale that swallowed Jonah.”
CAMPBELL: That’s where they were, down in the belly of the whale.
MOYERS: What’s the mythological significance of the belly?
CAMPBELL: The belly is the dark place where digestion takes place and new energy is created. The story of Jonah in the whale is an example of a mythic theme that is practically universal, of the hero going into a fish’s belly and ultimately coming out again, transformed.
MOYERS: Why must the hero do that?
CAMPBELL: It’s a descent into the dark. Psychologically, the whale represents the power of life locked in the unconscious. Metaphorically, water is the unconscious, and the creature in the water is the life or energy of the unconscious, which has overwhelmed the conscious personality and must be disempowered, overcome and controlled.
In the first stage of this kind of adventure, the hero leaves the realm of the familiar, over which he has some measure of control, and comes to a threshold, let us say, the edge of a lake or sea, where a monster of the abyss comes to meet him. There are then two possibilities. In a story of the Jonah type, the hero is swallowed and taken into the abyss to be later resurrected—a variant of the death-and resurrection theme. The conscious personality here has come in touch with a charge of unconscious energy …
