Don’t Fear the Reaper

Guess What Today Is?

At work everyone was talking about how it is a Friday the 13th, and a full moon.

I know that freaks some people out.

So I thought I would bring you something to put you at ease:

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult

This song was written by the lead guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and is about accepting the fact that we are mortal and eventually our time will end. In the song he tries to talk about how we shouldn’t be afraid, after all:

And that when our time eventually ends the love we have with others will carry on until we can meet again on the other side.

“And then he [the third brother] greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly.” J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I love this song, not just for the message, but the guitar:

And the cowbell! I just LOVE it. It is just perfect.

And of course this song has been on countless films and TV shows, including Halloween (original and remake)

And Supernatural.

It is a fantastic song.

For more on Friday the 13th, go to Who Ya Gonna Call?

For more of my musical choices, go to No Mere Mortal Can Resist the Evil of the Thriller: Thriller (1983)

For more on Jean Froissart, go to It’s A Hard World: Backfire (1950)

For more Harry Potter, go to What Separates the Real Fans from the Fakes

So you guys know what Friday the 13th means to me. My annual tradition:

Time to Ghostbuster up in uniform or shirts:

Bring out the pizza!

And horror films:

Or TV shows:

Have Frightful Night

She’ll get what’s coming to her.

Love Makes You Do Crazy Things: Hercules (1997)

Romantic Moment #8

Hercules (1997)

Hercules (1997) is based on the greek myths but given a Disneyian twist. This is one of my favorite Disney films as it is fun, hilarious, and has an awesome collection of songs.

In this story, Zeus and Hera are the parents of Hercules. When he is born they have a huge party, give him lots of gifts, like a pegasus, and have everyone come. Unbeknownst to the happy couple, Zeus’ brother Hades, lord of the Underworld, wants to dethrone him and take over Olympus and the world. He meets with the Fates and discovers that his plans will work out in 18 years as he will be able to release the titans. Only one problem…Hercules. If he fights, game over for Hades. So Hades hatches a plot to poison Hercules and make him mortal. Hades’ minions give Hercules the potion, but fail to give him every last drop, making him mortal but leaving him with super strength. Hercules is found by an old couple who were unable to have children. The couple see him as a gift from the gods and raise him.

Fast forward through the years and Hercules is a teenager. He doesn’t have very many friends and people don’t really like him as he doesn’t know how to control his strength and causes a lot of damage, all on accident. After a truly horrible mishap, Hercules’ parents tell him the truth about how they found him. Hercules travels to Zeus’ Temple in order to ask for guidance and discovers that Zeus is his father! Zeus tells him that he was stolen as a child, made mortal, and cannot return to Olympus until he becomes a “true hero”. Zeus sends him to Philoctetes, a satyr, to train him.

Hercules spends a long time training on Philoctetes’ island. As they are heading to Thebes, to put his training to good use, they make a stop to help out a damsel, Megra or Meg. Meg doesn’t want his help as she feels she isn’t really a damsel in distress.

But Hercules helps her out anyway. After he leaves, we discover that Meg is working with Hades. When Hades finds out that Hercules is alive he makes it his mission to send every kind of creature he can to him in order to utterly destroy Hercules.

After Hades runs out of creatures and as the time is getting close, he decides to try something new. He promises to free Meg from her contract with him, IF she can discover Hercules’ weakness. So Meg goes out with Hercules. Through their time together she discovers that she is starting to have feelings for him, after she said she would never love again.

Hades figures out that Hercules feels the same way about Meg and uses it to his advantage. Hades chains Meg up in order to get Hercules to agree to give up his strength for 24 hours, all the time Hades needs to take over Olympus. Now it’s up to Hercules to figure out how to get his powers back and help save the world.

********Most Romantic Moment********

For me the most romantic moment happens after Hercules has traded his powers. The trade was that as long as Meg is safe, Hercules is super strength free. So Hercules finds himself a mere man while the whole area is in peril from Titans. Hades especially sends a cyclops to ensure that Hercules is taken out. As Hercules trips the cyclops in order to destroy it, the cyclops accidentally knocks over some columns. As one is heading for him, Meg pushes him out of the way and gets hit with it; sacrificing herself for him and breaking his contract with Hades.

Perfect!

Now I know most people who have seen this movie would think that the scene when Hercules offers his life for Meg or refuses Olympus to be with Meg as more romantic, but I disagree. You see both of those actions were perfectly normal and ordinary for Hercules. He was a sweet and really nice guy. Everything he did, he always did for other people, hardly thinking of himself. That’s the type of person he is.

Now with Meg, her sacrifice is HUGE!!! First, we have to back up and tell her story. So she sold her soul to Hades in order to help her boyfriend. Now we don’t know exactly why, as the writers don’t go into it, but for her to sell her soul you know that her boyfriend has something really bad going down. Death, imprisonment, etc. Had to be some hardcore stuff.

So after she sells her soul to save him he dumps her for another woman!

I know what a jerk!

She SOLD HER SOUL!!!!

So after all that she decided she will never love again.

Afterwards she became sarcastic, cold-hearted, and uncaring. Set on doing her own thing, no matter what situation she gets into. She thinks that’s the end of the story. No more love and no more heart, but she’s wrong.

So meets Hercules and he is nothing like she has ever seen. At first she thinks it is all an act and doesn’t trust him, but after encountering him multiple times she starts to like him. And is actually pretty nice to him. She takes him out on Hades’ command and tries to get the dirt on him, but finds nothing. And by the end of it, if she had found out anything she  never would have told Hades anyway.

By the time she realizes the mistake she made, it’s too late. Hades has used her in his plot. Meg tries to warn Hercules, but is unable to. When Hades reveals how she worked for him, Meg knows that it’s over and she has no hope of changing any of it. She could just leave, she could just walk away, but she stays with him because she loves him and cares for him. She willingly lays down her life to save him knowing they had zero future, but doing it anyway because she loves and cares for him.

To start Romance is in the Air: Part III from the beginning, go to I Can See Your Beauty: The Breakfast Club (1985)

For the previous post, go to You Look Beautiful Just the Way You Are: How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

For more on Hercules, go to Snakes on a Post: Chinese New Year

For more Disney, go to Short But Sweet: Up (2009)

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Shall We Dance?: What Happens in Vegas (2008)

For more on the All-American Rejects, go to I Don’t Wanna Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem)

For more Boy Meets World, go to Simply Fantastic

For more Home Alone 2, go to 25 More Films of Christmas

What is Immortality Without You?: The Two Towers (2002)

Romantic Moment #8

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

So The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, is based on the book series, The Lord of the Rings,  by J.R.R. Tolkien. I loved both the books and the films and highly recommend both (jeez I feel like I say this all the time).

Anyways so The Two Towers is the second book in the series. For those of you who have not read/watched these, to catch up on the first film click here. So in this film the fellowship has been broken up.  Frodo and Sam have separated from everyone else and are trying to reach Mordor to throw in the ring. They run into Gollum, who has been corrupted by the evil of the ring and is determined to get it back. Frodo takes pity on Gollum and has him lead them. Frodo, Sam and Gollum travel through the Dead Marshes, evading a Nazgûl. They come upon the Black Gate but find it heavily guarded by Orcs. Gollum convinces the pair that he will lead them to an unguarded entrance, but on this new path they are captured by the Rangers of Ithilien, who is lead by Faramir, who is also Boromir‘s brother. Frodo reveals Gollum’s presence to save him, but he is captured and mistreated by the Rangers. Faramir has the Hobbits taken to Osgiliath, where they are attacked by Orcs led by a Nazgûl. Faramir frees Sam and Frodo and sends them on their way, joined by Gollum. Gollum decides that he will find another way to get the ring.

Pippin and Merry have been captured by Orcs, and just barely managed to escape from them and flee into the Fangorn Forest. They meet Treebeard, one of the Ents.  Treebeard and the Ents don’t want to get involved, but when Pippin tricks him to go by Isengard, they discover that Saruman the White has cut down all the trees; completely decimating the area. They join in the war, defeat the Uruk-hai and break the river dam; drowning the surviving Orc defenders, flooding Isengard, and stranding Saruman in his tower.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the Uruk-hai, in their attempt to save Merry and Pippin. They run into King Théoden of Rohan’s nephew Éomer who has been banished along with all the other great warriors. They have killed all the Orcs, but the trio is determined to find them. They go into Fangorn Forest where they are confronted by Gandalf, reborn as Gandalf the White. They travel to Rohan, where King Théoden has been entranced and physically weakened by Gríma Wormtongue, who is secretly in the service of Saruman. The four of them free Théoden from Gríma’s spell, and inform the king of his son Théodred‘s death. As Saruman’s forces attack Rohan, Théoden moves his people to the stronghold Helm’s Deep for safety. Gandalf leaves to find Éomer and the other riders. Théoden’s forces travel to Helm’s Deep, and are attacked by Saruman’s Warg riders, in which Aragorn is thrown from a cliff to his apparent death in a raging river. Arwen saves him, guiding him back to safety, even though her father Elrond has been trying to convince her to leave Middle-Earth forever. Meanwhile, Éowyn, Théoden’s niece, starts falling for Aragorn. Aragorn washes up on the river bank and makes his way to Helm’s Deep. They and a battalion of Elves led by Haldir join Rohan’s troop and help them fight the Uruk-hai. Gandalf appears, accompanied by Éomer and his men. Their combined forces defeat the Orcs.

Most Romantic Moment:

So during this film we have a flashback scene between Arwen and Aragorn that is soooo romantic. So Arwen has given up her immortality for Aragorn. She loves him so much that she would rather spend a shorter life with him than an eternity without him. She gives him the Evenstar so that he will never forget how her love for him is unending.

“Arwen: I choose a mortal life.

Aragorn: You cannot give me this.

Arwen: It is mine to give to whom I will. Like my heart.”

So romantic!

And to make this an even more swoonworthy scene, Aragorn gives it back. He loves her, but because he loves her he wants more for her. He wants her to have a long life with her family and to find someone else who can live forever with her. Aw, he just loves her so much that he wants only the best for her. Even if that makes him sad, lonely, and breaks his heart into a million pieces.

But to make that even more romantic! (The romance is just piling on). Arwen refuses to take the Evenstar back. She knows that he is trying to do what’s best, but what he hasn’t realized is that, while he might not be the best choice (a mortal), he is the best one for her.

So she leaves it with him. Letting him know that no matter what she still loves him and would choose him over immortality any day.

I want a relationship like Arwen and Aragorn

For more on the Lord of the Rings go to A Horse’s Tale