Movie Review- The Last Keeper

Being a witch, I am often disappointed when I watch movies on the topic, as we are often depicted as crazy, vengeful and evil. Hollywood loves to enhance the misconception that one, we can all wield magic and two, that doing so will turn us into bad people. Of course there are a few movies and TV shows that have depicted us in a better light, albeit usually a comical or sappy one.

Tonight, I stumbled upon an old DVD I had purchased last year with a dozen others, when a video store was going out of business. I love the cast which is why I purchased it, but I had completely forgotten about. So since there really wasn't much to watch on the tube, mom and I settled in with a nice plate of spaghetti and a glass of wine.

Now for those of you that like hard core witchy movies, filled with flashy special effects, where good and evil battle it out, this may not be a good pick for you. This is more of a family movie. It's simple and has a nice story that presents witches as Goddess worshipers who are in-tune with the earth.

Here is the write up from the back of the DVD:

"Rhea (Zosia Mamet) is the last in a long line of female mystics who have practiced their magical traditions in secret for centuries. She lives a quiet life in the company of her parents Abigail and John (Virginia Madsen, Aiden Quinn) and her grandmother Rosemarie (Olympia Dukakis). Abigail and Rosemarie each have their own individual powers, but legend has it that a chosen one will inherit all the powers of the mystics and use them to fight evil. As Rhea becomes aware of her destiny and develops her considerable gifts, she is faced with the biggest decision of her young life."



I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was light-hearted and mostly realistic. You could empathize with each of the characters. In fact, several of them reminded me of people I know. While Virginia Madsen's Abigail did get on my nerves as the over-protective mother, she didn't over play it. The mother annoyed me, but I knew where she was coming from. Of course, her behavior gave the story it's element of predictability. The more she tried to shield her daughter from her destiny, the more Rhea rebelled. As for Olympia Dukakis' portrayal of Rosemarie, I instantly loved her and she never disappointed me the entire film. And then there is Aiden Quinn as John, the father. Okay, I admit, I have always had the biggest crush on Aiden and this movie is no exception. He plays the husband, father, son-in-law we all want in our lives.

Now of course, every teenage coming of age movie has to have some romance and school bullies. Sam Underwood (who I know best as the serial killing twins in "The Following") does an amazing job as the boy, Oliver, who falls in love with Rhea. He is so convincing in the role, I didn't have to remind myself once that Ryan Harding wasn't going to show up and shoot him (The Following fans will get that). Jee Young Han (Nika) and Nat Wolff (Simon) add humor as the best friends of Rhea and Oliver. And in the vein of  with any good John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles) teenage film romance, there is the hot guy Rhea dreams of but he won't have anything to do with her. He is played by Joshua Bowman and he is basically the teenage version of the evil Daniel on Revenge (his current acting gig).

The screenwriter and the director have done a good job of balancing the teen angst, school drama and family in this film. It's a simple and likable story. My only complaint is that it ends with Rhea decided what she wants to do with her gifts but leaves you wanting to see the outcome of that decision play out and how the community deals with witches in the neighborhood. I definitely recommend seeing this film.

Here is the YouTube trailer:



On a side note: the little girl is distracting in the bad wig. Not sure what they hair stylist were thinking.

The Passing of Time

It is so hard to believe it has been 18 months since we lost David. It feels like yesterday, we were talking and laughing, yet it also feels like it was another lifetime ago. So many things have happened in these past eighteen months yet not a day goes by that he is not in my thoughts or I come across a reminder of our short life together. We believe in past lives, multiple lives. I often wonder who we were in our past lives and who will be in the future ones. I wonder how long it will take for us to find each other in the next life. In this one it took me 41 years. We had such a short time together, yet we knew each other better than most people ever get a chance to know one another. I learned so much from our time together.

We started this blog together, as we started our journey into paganism. We had both been touched by it and drawn to it throughout our lives, but it was not until we found each other that we felt comfortable pursuing our path. We started this after we had received our priest and priestess status in Wicca. Something that is supposed to take a year and a day, but is a journey that last much longer. The coven, we originally belonged to is no more, at least not in that form. It dissolved and began anew in a new light. I learned and continue to learn so much from my sisters. None shared my blood, but they are my family and will continue to be in this and the future lives I live.

For those who read this and are new to their path, maybe new to Wicca or to another form of paganism, I share what I have learned these many months since I was introduced to my former coven and since the death of my beloved. Like any type of group, our coven changed over time, with members no longer being a apart of our rituals or with some coming and going, personalities clashing, repelling each other and then coming back together. What we shared as a coven was a beautiful yet sometimes hurtful thing. Each of us has gone our own way at this point, but the important thing, the thing I cherish, is that I have a bond with those magical ladies, that no matter what happens in life or how far away we travel, in distance or in ideology, we are connected by a thread.

David and my dream for this blog was to share what we learned. I gave up that, when he passed. It was too hard to do this on my own. The words would not come. Hell, I couldn't even read any more. For those that know me, that was hard. I had been known to read three to four novels a week. I had over 2000 books and they began to gather dust. I tried, many times to read, but I could never focus on more than a few pages. As much as I wanted to get lost in the words of others, I just remained lost. Then one day not long ago, a very dear friend, Anna L Walls sent me a box of her books and I was able to read one. Maybe it's because she writes from a different place than most of the books I read. Maybe because she is just that gifted (which I believe is the truth behind it).  Maybe because her characters are able to touch parts of me that I allowed to go dormant. Sadly, many books, authors, who I used to love, can no longer keep my focus.

Writing has also become harder, but I'm not giving up. I am determined to take Ember through her journey and I thank the many fans who have patiently waited for me to continue her story. I have learned that sometimes, I have to post short passages, because her story will start and then go dark in my head. Maybe that is because she is also on a journey and her story is teaching me more abut my own. This blog also is going to be a journey. What started as our journey to help other novices, will now be my journey and hopefully it will still help the novice practitioners but also those who are just looking for something that rings true for them as well. I can't promise it will always be exciting or posted on a regular basis, but it will true and life as experienced by one someone eccentric yet simple woman trying to figure it all out.

Blessed Be
Willow Drake