Magic Rings as a Diversion

A somwhat more coherent dream last night. I alternated between participating as a character and watching, but for simplicity I'll leave it all in third person.

A group of teenagers was gathered in a carpeted room full of round plastic picnic tables, and this room was in a mall. There were four or five females (none of whom struck me as overly bright) and two males. In walks Jeremy Irons, but skinnier and younger than I've ever seen him. He tells them an incredible story, about a magic ring lost in the mists of time. Then, in case they don't believe him, he makes them experience some memories of the thing.

We/they are subjected to memory after memory. The ring, appearing to be a simple gold band, can be used to control another person. Most common usage seems to be to force someone to fall in "love" with the wielder. But when the ring is not being worn, it is a constant danger. People throw themselves at it, desperate to acquire it. People die in the crush to possess it. And even when it's wielded, there's no guarantee things will work out as the wielder planned.

Come back to the present. The gaggle of girls in the back are practically swooning at the possibility of getting the ring. The younger male (whose perspective I occasionally share) has a vivid image of them tearing each other apart trying to get at it. He pointedly asks Jeremy Irons whether he really thinks the ring is in the shopping mall. The answer is somewhat evasive. Essentially, Jeremy Irons has just traveled forward in time some three thousand years, and this is the location of the ring in the prior time period, and somehow he's certain that it cannot have been moved. (Hmmm... Not part of the dream, but maybe he found it elsewhere, brought it back in time and hid it, and is certain that there were never two of the thing active at once) So it has to be in the mall somewhere. The younger male (who looks a great deal like a four-year-old I met at Kim's baby shower yesterday, only transposed to a teenager) reluctantly begins to look for it, more because he doesn't want the goosegirls to find it than anything else.

Sceneshift to a manager taking Jeremy Irons aside. "This wasn't in the plan." He's not happy about the forced memory sharing; perhaps he was forced to participate.

Jeremy Irons (in an American accent ala one he used in Die Hard 3): "You said to put on a show, so I put on a show." Now they wait.

The next bit makes less sense, but somehow this is not about the ring itself. It's about the search. As the search progresses, a strange, shell-like thing/creature grows. I woke up before I found out what the thing was, though. As soon as I woke, I vaguely recognized it as looking like something the evil sorceress in Supergirl had, but that doesn't tell me how it's connected to the ring and/or the search for it. *shrugs*


Incidentally, Jeremy Irons is probably my favorite actor. It's something about his voice and the way he holds himself. I've never seen him do a poor job. However, he has somewhat odd taste in movie roles.

Recommended:
-The Mission (conflict at a South American mission, a century ago)
-Kafka (entirely surreal, almost 1984ish)
-Reversal of Fortune (good story and acting on all parts)
-Die Hard 3 (sort of; Jeremy Irons is fun to watch in it...the rest...*shrugs*)
-Man in the Iron Mask (very well done; minor quibble with casting of Leo DiCaprio)
-The Time Machine (2002) (I know lots of people hated this one, but I enjoyed it)
-Kingdom of Heaven (everyone did a good job here)
Oh, wow. Guess what, Fibonacci and Kate: They're making a movie out of Eragon, and it's in post-production. Jeremy Irons is playing Brom (tells me nothing, unfortunately)

Odd, but somewhat interesting:
-House of the Spirits (I'm not into generational movies, but I didn't hate it)
-Madame Butterfly (based on the memorable spy incident, involving a male who claimed he didn't know the "woman" he had spent many years with was really a male)
-The French Lietenant's Woman (really odd intertwining of a movie plot and the real life involvement of the actors in the movie)
-Stealing Beauty (weird coming of age story, set in Italy; Irons is a man dying from cancer who sort of acts as an advisor to the other characters)
-Dungeons and Dragons (to be honest, this was rather lousy, but I still enjoyed Jeremy Irons' performance)

Avoid:
-Dead Ringers (about two rather disturbing twins, both played by Jeremy Irons; he does a good job, but it's not remotely enjoyable, especially at the end)
-Damage (love triangle involving Irons, his son, and his son's wife; ends with the son dying)
-Lolita (based on the Nabukov novel, about an old pervert and a young girl; I couldn't watch this one if I tried)