China Invades Tuscany, England Embraces Confucianism

I picked up Civilization IV this weekend and played it like the obsessive fiend I am. I am still working my way through all of the changes made to the game but I am very happy with it. And you get Leonard Nimoy intoning pithy phrases every few minutes! What's not to like?

I tore myself away from the game long enough to take my wife to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We enjoyed it. I appreciate the fact that much of the story had to be stripped away in order to meet the demands of the medium and I think they did a good job with the story's two main themes: the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Teen Angst. The filmakers did a great job illustrating the simmering resentment the kids at the school have of Harry and how that came to the fore when he was picked to play in the tournament (although I think Ms. Rowling is a fair writer, I haven't really seen this in the books - Harry sometimes just comes across as a whiny git) and the adults' sheer panic when events spin out of their control (again, not something I really see in the books). I could see the almost impossible pressure Harry must feel every time he faces adversity and I have a better understanding of why his adolescent ranting is so overblown. Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson and Brendan Gleeson were AWESOME in their roles too. And did you know that the fellow that plays Crouch in the film is the same actor who played the earthy farmer in the Vicar of Dibley (the same comedy that featured Dawn French - the Fat Lady in the painting that guards the entrance to the Griffindor common room)?

What interested me most about the film was the misplaced love triangle. By that I mean the obvious chemistry between Harry and Hermione and the resounding lack of it between Hermione and Ron. I think it is supposed to be the other way around. I get that Ron and Hermione are supposed to be attracted to each other (scenes that focus on one or the other of these characters do a fine job showing this - particularly Hermione's scene after the ball) but I didn't see that spark between them when they are together. I don't blame the actors (they are excellent); the story just isn't set up to accomodate the relationship. Harry and Hermione, by virtue of their characters and the circumstances of the plots, just have more opportunity to "hook up" and their pairing makes more sense.

Which leaves Ron is an even suckier situation. He's the average guy cursed to be in the shadow of greater people. Harry is the savior of the wizarding world. Hermione is smart and proactive. Ron is just...Ron. He is steadfast and brave (at least he is in the books, not so much in the films) and we are led to understand that he will get together with Hermione in the end. But for the time being he suffers from some serious self-esteem issues. Adolesence magnifies everything and in this instalment, we see how this knowledge starts to gnaw at him. Frankly, he is ripe pickings for Voldemort's crew: in exchange for attention and a sense of importance, he could act as the Death Eater's inside man (a sort of reverse Snape). This would generate some interesting conflict for the character. But it is no spoiler by now to learn that this is not the direction the story takes. In the end, Ron chooses his subordinate position as the least of the three main characters. Oh well.