Little Talks

So for those of you keeping up on world events, this weekend has been a particularly important one for the LGBTQ community. I am sure some of you have already noticed, but I want to let you know now that this blog is for expressing my views and so it will reflect my Christian beliefs. That being said, I want everyone to know that I do not hate gays. I have a relative who is gay, and I love them and their spouse and children very much. However, this does not mean that I feel that their lifestyle choices are right. Living in Canada, legalized gay marriage is not a new concept to me. But the changes in America are an indication of the direction that the world is headed. I don't always like to say this (as there is progress constantly being made all over the world) but America is at the forefront of every major change in the world. If attitudes in America have begun to change, it won't be long before the rest of Western society follows. I don't feel that it is the responsibili

Let me explain a little something about The Hobbit  movies: my friends and I made it a Christmas tradition over the past three years to watch the newly released films during the Christmas break. Of course this means that we need a new Christmas tradition. 😝 But seriously, this means that I haven't yet made it to the point in the list where the things I am blogging are things I've read or seen in 2015. I really need to work in that. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies  is the throes instalment in the Hobbit  movie franchise. I realize that I have planned this out very poorly. You see, my blog didn't exist when I watched the first two movies, and so those blog entries do not exist. But I don't want to have to go back that far to work on blogging those. I apologize if you haven't seen the others and this causes spoilers or confusion for you. That is not my intent. So Smaug is out of the mountain and intent on attacking the people of Laketown. The remaining elves and

Happy Father's Day to my amazing dad and all the dads out there. You are appreciated more than you know.

Yup, that's right, we've already made it to the end. So sad 😢. Thursday (I'm sorry I didn't publish Thursday) my friend and I watched season 3 of the amazing Sherlock.  The third season shows some more advances in filming methods, a bit of a re-emergence of the need to capture modern settings in most shots, some new special effects, and a development of all the main characters. The Empty Hearse After two years, Sherlock has finally been freed from the lies that Moriarty created. Anderson, and other believers in Sherlock Holmes, begin to theorize about how Sherlock may have actually survived this event. (Anderson, as shown in a pre-episode not present on the DVD but probably still on the Internet, has been tracing activity that he believes points to Sherlock still bein alive and in Europe. Other believers join with him to theorize a  little later on, but they too think he survived somehow.) We are then shown clips of a man being chased, caught, and tortured in Eastern E

Maybe I'm feeling philosophical? Oh and I know it's a little late (especially considering the coincidental nature of my last post, but congratulations to Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter in the birth of their little boy! Please give him a super British name like his daddy, please!

Today my friend and I made it to season 2 of the amazing Sherlock . I believe that the writing not only got more skillful this season, but the editing and filming got more artful and creative. Having established this as a modern adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the creators were less focussed on ensuring that modern aspects appeared in every shot, and this allowed them to really use the cameras to help tell the stories. Another important thing to note about this season is that it explores the depth of the relationship between John and Sherlock, as well as showing a development in Sherlock's emotional capacity and his ability to express such things. He begins to discover, and admit, to love and friendship. I'm hoping that by the time you're reading this you have actually seen season 1, so nothing that I say should be a surprise to you. A Scandal in Belgravia Ending their pool confrontation, Moriarty allows John and Sherlock to live when he receives a call with a be

Unfortunately, this is the last movie in the series that I got to watch. But I have the rest, I just need to find time to watch them. Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts is far different than any so far. Dementors attack him and Dudley one day on the way home, but the family blames him since muffles can't see the creatures. And Harry using his Partronus to protect them means that he goes to court. Thankfully he is saved by Dumbledore, but the headmaster seems to be ignoring Harry more recently. All summer Harry has been lonely, and has received no news from his friends. Finally, he is brought by the Aurors to 13 Grimmauld Place, the home of his godfather, Sirius, and the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a group lead by Dumbledore against Voldemort's and his followers. All of the Weasley's and Hermione are there, as well as Lupin, Snape (occasionally), and several Aurors (Tonks, Moody, and Kingsley to name the main ones). Unfortunately the kids are not allowed to kno

Harry begins his third year at Hogwarts. And just like every year, things go wrong and Harry is right at the middle of it. The Tri-Wizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts, bringing the French Beauxbatons and the European Durmstrang schools to Scotland (yes, Hogwarts is in Scotland). All students age 17 (seventh year) are able to place their name in the Goblet of Fire, which will then choose a champion to represent each school. Fred and George think that they are clever enough to get past the age barrier, but of course they are not. The time comes for the goblet to choose champions. From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour, a beautiful quarter-Veela whom all the boys fall for on account of her heritage. She is also very intelligent. From Durmstrang, Victor Krum, a world-famous seeker for the Bulgarian Quidditch team (and one of the best in the world). He attracts a lot of fans (including Ron) and the affections of One Hermione Granger. From Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory, a sweet and smart Hufflepuff. An

This movie follows Harry as he enters his third year at Hogwarts. Once again things don't go well at home, and he accidentally inflates his aunt (which I find both hilarious and terrifying). On the train to Hogwarts he discovers a few newcomers to the school, but not students. A cold, dark, overwhaelming feeling introduces him to the Dementors. These creatures, made to be guards of all of the worst wizarding prisoners at Azkaban, have been sent to guard the school because one of their worst prisoners, Sirius Black, has escaped. The Dementors have a bizarrely strong effect on Harry. And so he meets professor Remus J. Lupin, the new DADA (defence against the dark arts) teacher. Side note: we learn that chocolate is more than just a sweet treat if you're a wizard (I always knew it was good for you). It soon becomes clear that the escaped convict is hunting down Harry, probably to finish him off after he survived Voldemort's first attack on the Potter family. For the first time

A Disney favourite

The game, dear readers is on! My best friend and I decided this week that we want to rewatch the whole series. Our goal is to fit in one season per day. As you can tell, today we completed season 1 (bonus features and all). I would like to do this short series of blogs on the day of rather than adding them to my to-blog list like everything else I read and watch. There are several reasons for this: one, I would prefer to do this while they are still fresh in my mind; two, this will allow you readers to have something other than the usual material to read. As an added bonus, this will force me to try to do more blogging on a regular basis. P.S. I will not give away the endings to the cases for anyone who hasn't seen this series yet. If you have, then you already know it. So here it goes. Sherlock  is an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories into our modern age, and the creators worked hard to make that evident in every part of the show. The writing of Mark Gatiss and St

The second movie in the series lived up to the page-to-screen adaptation of the first movie. As always, it is not completely accurate to the books, but as a movie it was great. Harry Potter has finally found a place where he feels at home; Hogwarts. Before the school year starts, things start going awry in Harry's life and he receives warnings that he shouldn't return to the school. This trouble is caused by none other than Dobby the house elf. Being the somewhat rebellious child he is, Harry doesn't heed Dobby's advice. Someone at the school is petrifying students, ghosts, and pets. Threats arise about the Chamber of Secrets being reopened. Harry keeps hearing whispers in the walls, but everyone else thinks he may just be crazy or lying. Can Harry save the one place that makes him feel safe and comfortable? Once again, if you haven't seen this movie yet, then don't wait any longer.

I know how popular this book and movie franchise is worldwide, so I am guessing that a large majority of people have seen this movie. And probably long before I did. By the way, for any American readers who didn't know, The Philisopher's Stone  was the original title for the first book/movie in the Harry Potter series. This movie follows the life of the boy Harry Potter, who was orphaned while still an infant because the evil Lord Voldemort murdered his parents. He managed to survive with only a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. His terrible aunt and uncle raise him, but they know that he is a wizard and so they mistreat him, mainly by making him sleep under the stairs and wear his cousin's hand-me-downs, although the neglect and hatred go much deeper than that. On Harry's 11th birthday he begins to realize that he is unique. His aunt and uncle hid the fact that he was a wizard! And now he gets to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While there he wi