Today is February 2, 2015, Groundhog Day. On this day, the groundhog, a large fat furry flat animal with buckteeth, emerges from its den, and, in a half-dazed state of semi-hibernation, predicts the weather. It is an annual event, a frozen frivolity celebrated in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with a certain groundhog by the name of “Phil.”

In the 1993 movie, “Groundhog Day,” Bill Murray, who, in the movie, is a TV weather reporter whose name is also “Phil,” repeats the day over and over again, until he finally breaks and can’t take it anymore. Each morning, he wakes to the same grating radio weather report. Reaching a hand from under the bed covers, he smashes the transistors to bits. Unshaven and coat unbuttoned, he charges to Gobbler’s Nob and predicts the weather: “You want a prediction about the weather, you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a weather prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last for the rest of your life.”

That was not a very nice prognostication, even if it is accurate. Phil did see his shadow this morning and that does mean six more weeks of winter. But, does it have to be so bleak?

Bleak is where Potter, Harry, travels in Years 4 and 5. I write his name as “Potter, Harry,” because the young wizard is criminalized, lined up, and targeted in these two movies. At ages 14 (Year 4) and 15 (Year 5), Potter, as he is addressed by friend and foe, comes of age. It is not a pretty site. It is a very entertaining pair of pictures, but troubling. And, I miss the muggle-boy, Harry.

To return to the thread, the book of Year 4, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” won the Hugo Award, one of the top prizes for a novel of science and fantasy fiction. This 4th movie pictures the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and it is the one of the most successful shows of the series. Don’t ask me for a single word or thing from this film. We are beyond that. The dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, has returned. At the end of the Goblet of Fire, the evil mechanizations of Tom Riddle (Voldemort’s real name) rise from a steaming cauldron to form the menace of the picture and the worry of future films. It is not a pretty site. It is sad and dark and bleak and confused. I watched parts of Year 4 over to try to understand who and what had happened. With its disheartening finish, we have reached the mid-point of the eight films. Harry Potter is not the same, and it is here that the thread can be lost.

There are attempts to make Harry human again in Year 5, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” but I fear they must fail for Potter to be the wizard he must be. A kiss under mistletoe is sweet and words of friendship endearing, but they are not enough to lift the relentless downward march of the plot. “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,” Lord Voldemort, “You-Know-Who,” is finally recognized by those in authority to have returned. Those in authority are mean and little and deadly slow. The pettiness of their administration almost overshadows the threat of their annihilation. But, through it all, Harry rises to the challenge, and his friends join with him to match “the Dark Lord” and his pawns. Their efforts are enough for this 5th show. I wonder if they will be enough for the coming films.

I don’t know where things will go from here for Harry. I resist calling him “Potter.” He is still a boy. I have resisted reading on. What happens next will be new to me. I make no predictions. My expectations are bleak, but I am hopeful.

I have watched “Groundhog Day” — many times. I will watch the show tonight and I will be encouraged by the ending — again.

I am hopeful for both — Phil and Harry.

Grandpa Jim