The China Syndrome (1979)

Kimberly Wells (Jane Fonda) is a reporter for KXLA.  She primarily does the feel-good stories, not hard journalism.  With camera man Richard (Michael Douglas) and sound engineer Hector (Daniel Valdez), Kimberly arrives at the Ventana nuclear plant to do a puff piece about energy.  Bill Gibson (James Hampton) offers a brief presentation about how a nuclear powerplant generates electricity and then shows them around the non-restricted areas of the power station.  The tour ends in a viewing gallery where they can see the control room.  Then there is an incident.  Though told not to film, Richard surreptitiously recorded the events.  Kimberly wants to show the film immediately upon returning to the TV station.  Having no sound and no expertise to determine if this was a mundane or serious incident, the management declines.  Meanwhile, Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon) knows there is something serious wrong.  Though they handled the incident effectively, there was a tremor that concerned him.  As he investigates, he discovers that some of the construction reports that were submitted are duplicates.  Further, he finds a radioactive puddle near the turbine.  Though he reports this, everyone above him wants to restart the station.  His efforts to expose the problem through contacts with Kimberly and Richard are thwarted by hired goons.

This movie, released in March 1979, coincided with the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and crippled nuclear power in the US since.  Though described by the nuclear industry as fiction and character assassination, there had been problems prior to Three Mile Island.  The Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama had a fire in 1975 that was much more dangerous than Three Mile Island.  That there were issues with nuclear energy is entirely true, but the portrayal of the executives was cartoonish in their villainy.  Despite the incident and being shown that construction guidelines were not followed, the executives choose to silence those trying to prevent a meltdown.

Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 have further added to concerns about nuclear power.  However, in the history of US nuclear power, there have been 7 deaths (3 in Idaho in 1961 and 4 in Virginia in 1986).  By contrast, 5,788 coal miners have died in accidents since 1961.  Then there are other energy sources to consider.  In June 1984, a Union Oil refinery explosion in Illinois killed 19.  In May 1988, a Shell Oil refinery explosion killed 7.  In June 1999, a pipeline explosion in Washington killed 3.  In March 2005, the Texas City Refinery explosion killed 15.  In 2010, an explosion at a Connecticut plant killed 5.  In April 2013, a gas well blowout in Texas killed 2.  To be fair, one should also compare how much of our energy is provided by these sources and determine how many deaths per megawatt, but that would take more time than I want to commit.  The point is that all sources of energy have dangers, but we are cavalier in our attitude toward deaths from coal and oil production.

In any case, the movie is entertaining and certainly worth watching.

Confess, Fletch (2022)

Fletch (Jon Hamm) is exploring the house he rented in Boston when he discovers a dead woman.  Soon, detectives Monroe (Roy Wood Jr.) and "Griz" (Ayden Mayeri) are on scene to investigate.  Monroe says it will be much easier if Fletch just confesses.  Fletch counters by offering to assist since he was a somewhat famous investigative reporter.  When asked why he is in Boston, he claims it is to research a book.  In fact, Count Clementi Arbogastes De Grassi (Robert Picardo) hired him to locate several stolen paintings, two of which were resold by Mr. Horan (Kyle MacLachlan), a Boston art dealer.  To further complicate matters, Countess De Grassi (Marcia Gay Hardin) arrives in Boston to demand a progress report on 'her' paintings.  Additionally, Fletch is having an affair with the Count's daughter, Angela (Lorenza Izzo).

Though a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the novel, the most noteworthy change is the lack of Inspector Flynn.  Flynn's appearance in the novel launched a series of Flynn mysteries and those rights were not available.  Thus, Detective Monroe is his replacement.  However, Monroe is overshadowed by his partner, Griz.  Whereas Flynn's sidekick was mostly a mute notetaker, Monroe's is the brains of the operation while Monroe is literally asleep in many scenes.  Though I was skeptical of Jon Hamm as Fletch, he is quite good in the role.  In fact, he is much closer to the literary Fletch than Chevy Chase.  He doesn't do goofy disguises and slapstick silliness.  He's got the smart aleck comments and the clever social engineering to convince strangers to talk to him.

The movie ends with talk of Walter March, a character from Fletch's Fortune; clearly, there is a path to a sequel.  Sadly, that looks unlikely.  It only opened a week ago and yet is only playing in one theater here.  The box office is unimpressive, and I've seen no ad campaign for it.

Good popcorn fun!

"The Pandemic is over"

Tonight, President Biden declared the pandemic over.  Normalcy may now resume in those jurisdictions that haven't already done so.  The curve is flat enough, the spread is slow-ish, and Dr. Fauci submitted his 4-month notice.  Overall, it was poorly handled.  Thanks to our advanced communication technology, we were able to do treat this pandemic in a way that would never have been contemplated.  The continuing advance of technology and likely rise in robots will allow even more stringent lockdowns in the future.  Life has risks.  Those who are at threat should 'voluntarily' self-isolate.  People should be free to weigh the odds.  If I had been in my 20s, I would have been frustrated that a disease likely to be mild and non-fatal had put my life on hold.  One of the annoying things from this pandemic is the new definition of vaccine.  I get a flu shot most years, not a flu vaccine.  However, vaccine sounds so much better and gives the impression of immunity.  Really, we've been doing Polio vaccines for decades and there have been virtually no cases.  Covid vaccine and multiple boosters didn't prevent infections, though reportedly reduced the severity.  Yeah, that's what the flu shot does.  This redefinition of terms is how the CDC has sown distrust.  Once lost, trust is very hard to restore.

Let's not do this again.

Musings: 2010 to 2013

I've published another book.  This is the first four years of this blog.  It will make a great addition to your collection and brighten any shelf.

Bill Maher on Presentism

Bill Maher had a terrific monologue recently in which he talked about presentism.

Presentism: an attitude toward the past dominated by present-day attitudes and experiences.

It is ludicrous to hold people who lived centuries ago to the standards of today and declare that "they should have known better."  He offers a reality check on that view, which happens to be hilarious.  The tearing down of statues and the denouncing of historical figures has ravaged the country since the rise of presentism.  As one who earned a degree in history, this trend has been particularly irksome.  Everyone was bad and we must universally condemn them.

Martha's Vineyard Immigration Policy

I have discovered an immigration policy that I like.  Martha's Vineyard recently had an influx of 'undocumented' immigrants.  Within 48 hours, those immigrants were deported from the island.  Yes!  There we go.  The self-proclaimed sanctuary had a different view once those asylum seekers landed on their tony shores.  Much like windfarms, the wealthy elite are heartily in favor, as long as it doesn't ruin their picturesque views or property values.  When it was the border states absorbing the floods of migrants, it was immoral to oppose the migrants.  No human is illegal!  That formulation changes a bit when they are expected to carry their "fair share" of immigrants.  Apparently, 50 was too many.  In any case, all jurisdictions should have the same deportation authority as Martha's Vineyard.

Journal of Francis Collins: An Artillery Officer in the Mexican War

Francis Collins (1820-1882) graduated West Point in 1845 and was assigned to the 4th Regiment of Artillery.  In 1846, war was declared.  Second Lieutenant Collins was assigned recruiting duty in North Carolina before eventually being deployed to the theater.  Not until November did he find himself in a camp on the Texas-side of the Rio Grande.  This did not last long.  The navy reported that Mexican forces had withdrawn from Tampico; on the 23rd of November, Collins found himself as part of an occupying force.  For three months, Collins remained in Tampico, which became the collection site for Major General Winfield Scott's invasion force.  At the end of February, the army embarked on transports and sailed to Vera Cruz.  He participated in the siege and capture of Vera Cruz.  As soon as the city was captured, he was part of the vanguard under Brigadier General David Twiggs, marching inland.  The battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Mexico City followed.  Though a war journal, much of it deals with waiting.  After Cerro Gordo, he spent two months in Xalapa before advancing to Puebla where he spent another month.  He spent two months in Mexico City, and almost five months posted at Toluca.  In May of 1848, the US Army withdrew from Toluca and began the long march back to Vera Cruz.  It was not until mid-July that the 4th Artillery was embarked and sailing for home.

Though similar to the journal of Albert Brackett, Collins was a professional soldier with different attitudes.  Where Brackett viewed it as a grand adventure, Collins sees bad logistics and poor command, especially among the volunteers.  He complains of training volunteers while idling at Perote Castle.  He often found himself assigned as an adjutant general - like a chief of staff - to volunteer generals who had little idea what they were supposed to do.  Many of the volunteer officers "play gentlemen" but could not effectively command.  He also made note of the numerous fortifications that had been erected by the Mexicans but then abandoned.  Several choke points along the main road from Vera Cruz to Mexico City had been prepared for a defensive line and then left.  He frequently is surprised that the Mexican Army did not oppose the American advance, especially the landings on the beach near Vera Cruz.  His strongest complaints are reserved for the withdrawal of troops at the end of the war.  Many soldiers were left standing on the beaches of Vera Cruz where yellow fever was rife.  Indeed, 40% of the men on his transport had yellow fever during the voyage home and he himself nearly died of it upon return to Virginia.  If the transports were not ready to receive men, then the troops should have been left to wait in the safe zone of Xalapa.

Brackett had followed Collin's inland march and, interestingly, observed many of the same things.  Both were fascinated by the pyramid at Cholula, remarked on the snow-capped mountains and the lush valleys, and how the local people appreciated the law & order that American occupation brought.  This last is unusual, as it has been reported in many accounts.  Is this a case of locals stating what they think the conquerors want to hear or their true opinion?  Did multiple American memoirs falsely proclaim that they had brought order to a lawless land?  Though American soldiers surely plundered, the policy of General Scott was to pay full price for goods from the local population; he had enough trouble facing the Mexican Army that he didn't need a hostile populace as well.

Most of the entries are brief recaps of the events for the day and only occasionally extend to commentary or description.  Not for everyone, but rewarding for those interested in the Mexican-American War.

See How They Run (2022)

It is 1953 in the West End of London where a celebration is being held for the 100th performance of The Mousetrap, adapted from one of Agatha Christie's mysteries.  The success of the show has brought Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody), a Hollywood director, to London with plans of doing a film version.  During the party, it becomes clear that he has not endeared himself to anyone.  Thus, it is no surprise at all when he is murdered.  There are plenty of suspects.

Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) arrive on scene to begin the investigation.  Stalker is an avid note-taker, having missed her calling as a court stenographer.  She also has the problem of deciding that the latest person to be interviewed is the guilty party.  "Don't jump to conclusions," Stoppard counsels.  While Stalker is eager and full of energy, Stoppard is world-weary.  He is clearly not pleased to have Stalker - a woman constable - as a partner.

Some historic people are among the cast.  Notably, Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) is the star of the play.  Why was a 6'2" Dickinson cast to play the 5'6" Attenborough?  Also, Agatha Christie (Shirley Henderson) appears in the final act.  Other casting choices show the diversity requirements of the modern movie industry rather than an accurate look at 1953 London, just like Death on the Nile.

Definitely funny but not uproariously so.  The laughs are mostly regarding the awkwardness of the characters in particular scenes, not laugh out loud jokes.  As is common in many such mysteries, much is telegraphed in earlier scenes.  However, some of this is misdirection.

Good popcorn fun.

Sanctuary in Name Only

Mayors, governors, senators, and representatives from cities and states that are far from the border have long labeled anyone who wants a border wall to be racists.  The sitting vice president has repeatedly declared that the border is secure and the fact that a couple busloads of illegal immigrants just arrived near her residence has not changed that view.  Governor Ron DeSantis raised the ante by chartering a flight to Martha's Vineyard for 50 undocumented migrants.  The very people who virtue signal by stating that no person is illegal are now crying foul.  They don't have the resources to deal with all these people.  Oh, really?  Thousands are coming over the Texas border on a daily basis, but home of the super wealthy Martha's Vineyard is unable to cope with 50.  Similar caterwauling has been heard from New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago.  What happened to the compassion that dripped from every proclamation about the border?  Yeah, it was great as long as it wasn't in your backyard.

Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is a bookish scholar who studies narratology.  Having landed in Istanbul for a conference, she is confronted by a small man who doesn't seem entirely substantial.  During a presentation at the conference, she sees a scowling ghostly figure in the crowd.  No matter where she looks, there is the increasingly angry figure that suddenly attacks!  After being revived from having feinted away, she explains that she has an overactive imagination and sometimes hallucinates.  Later, during a visit to the Grand Bazaar, she buys a bottle.  While brushing her teeth the following morning, she decides to pull the cap, which is firmly stuck by some resin.  No sooner does she pop the top than out swirls a Djinn (Idris Elba).  Though he offers her 3 wishes, she is resistant.  She knows that the wishes never end well.  The Djinn offers his tale of woe regarding his imprisonment in the bottle and his multiple attempts to fulfill the three wishes and free himself, all ending badly.

Is the Djinn just another of Alithea's hallucinations?  Are his tales just a figment of her fertile imagination that is fueled by long years of reading?  That all his tales end exactly as she predicts might say so.  However, there are times when it seems others see the Djinn.

Not at all what one expects from George Miller, most noted for his apocalyptic Mad Max films.  Then again, he also did Babe: Pig in the City and the Happy Feet series.  Interesting and engaging but not satisfying.  It is an unusual love story, a romance of two oddballs.  Then again, maybe it is the descent into insanity of a lonely woman.

Just okay.

Barbarian (2022)

It is a dark and rainy night and Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) arrives at a house outside of Detroit that she has booked online.  Though her code works on the lockbox, there is no key.  Her calls to the rental company are not answered.  Pounding angrily on the door, she is about to leave when the lights turn on.  Keith (Bill Skarsgard) opens the door.  He states that he rented the house and shows his reservation from a different website.  Though Keith offers to share the house, Tess isn't about to stay with some stranger.  She is forced to reconsider when she discovers that hotels are booked solid on account of a convention.  Keith offers her the bedroom and points out that it has a lock.  Though she is awoken in the night by someone creeping around, the night is otherwise uneventful.  In the morning, Keith has already left and she sets out for her interview.  Returning to the house, she finds there is no toilet paper and heads down to the basement.  The door swings closed and she's locked in.  Then she finds a secret room that looks like a torture dungeon.  Then it gets really weird.

Meanwhile in California, AJ Gilbride (Justin Long) is driving down PCH when he gets a call that sends his life into a tailspin.  His acting career may have just come to an end and his finances are unlikely to survive the year with his current level of spending.  As luck would have it, he owns some property in Detroit.  He flies to Michigan, gets a key from the rental company, and heads to his house.  Looking at the neighborhood, every other house is in ruins.  Two cars are parked out front.  Inside, there is still luggage.  His interest in the house is how much he can get by selling it.  As such, when he stumbles upon the secret room, he starts measuring the added square footage.

In an extended flashback that shows the fairly nice neighborhood in the early 1980s, Frank (Richard Brake) is shown leaving the house and stalking an unsuspecting woman.  The events of today are a result of the extensive crimes of Frank.

A surprisingly good, entertaining, and frequently humorous horror film.  Good popcorn fun and definitely recommended.

General Lane's Brigade in Central Mexico

In June of 1847, Albert Brackett joined the 4th Indiana Volunteer Regiment and set out for Mexico.  The regiment set off down the Ohio River and thence to the Mississippi.  By the 4th of July, they were camped near New Orleans.  A month later, the regiment had sailed up the Rio Grande to the training camp in Mier, Mexico.  After a month of marching and drilling, the regiment went back down the Rio Grande and embarked for Vera Cruz.  Brigadier General Joseph Lane's brigade departed Vera Cruz on September 19th, not yet aware that Mexico City had been captured 4 days earlier.  As the brigade marched inland, they did not know that Santa Anna intended to attack this relief column, hoping to break the Americans' supply lines and starve the US Army.  At Perote, the brigade met Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Walker who commanded a company of Texas Mounted infantry.  He had already won fame during the early battles of the war under General Zachary Taylor.  Continuing west with the Texas Mounted infantry, General Lane learned of Santa Anna's forces at Huamantla.  He marched his force for battle.  Though there had been guerrilla skirmishes on the roads, this was Albert's first taste of battle.  Though only 18 years-old, he was a Lieutenant and marched his men down the streets while gunfire erupted.  Though the Americans won the battle, Samuel Walker was killed.  The brigade soon arrived at Puebla where they lifted the siege that Santa Anna had waged; the American garrison - hard-pressed for 4 weeks - was relieved and the supply lines secured.  It was the middle of October, and the 4th Indiana would be based at Puebla until April.  After a brief redeployment to Nopalucan, the regiment marched for Vera Cruz.  Standing on the beach with the rest of Company I, he saw that 46 of the original 90 men were gone, almost all of them having died.  By July 16, 1848, Lt. Brackett was back in Indiana and discharged from the military.

This memoir is a fascinating narrative of the war and provides glimpses of the many officers and men with whom he had contact.  In these days, the states would raise companies and regiments that would support the regular army.  Volunteer forces were generally mustered for a limited time.  In the early days of the war, there were 3 month and 6 month volunteers, which dictated when an offensive might be launched.  Taylor was hampered after some of his early victories as his volunteer forces went home.  Colonel Joseph Lane had commanded the 2nd Indiana Volunteer Regiment at the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847, winning his promotion to general in the aftermath.

The book is as much of a travelogue as a campaign journal.  Brackett offers details about plants, animals, food, culture, architecture, geography, weather, and more.  He records some songs he heard, both English and Spanish.  There are short biographies of officers in his regiment and occasionally details on their lives after the war (his memoir having been written in 1854).  Some of these post-war details go too far, offering lengthy tangents that are narrated by others; it's like he copied and pasted a news story into his book to add some pages.

Certainly not a book for everyone but highly recommended for those interested in the Mexican-American War.

The Terminal List

The book opens with James Reece, Navy Seal, concealed on the side of a mountain overlooking a road toward Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  He's on a private mission and it involves murder and vengeance.  Soon, a financier in a Mercedes drives into sight and Reece puts a bullet through the windshield.  One down, many more to go.

Some months earlier, Lt. Cmdr. Reece was in Afghanistan and cursing the brass who gave his team short notice to take out a target.  It was unlike normal mission flow and had all the hallmarks of an ambush.  The brass was adamant, brushing aside his concerns.  Sure enough, just as his team is about to descend a ridge to the target location, the mountainside explodes, killing the majority of the Seals.  He calls in support and medical evac only to have a secondary explosion wipe out the arriving Army Rangers and support helicopters.  It is the largest loss of life for such a mission.  While recovering in a military hospital, the physician discovered that two of slain Seals had brain tumors.  The doctor asks if the men had been having headaches; Reece does not mention that he has been suffering headaches.  He has hardly arrived home than he learns the only other survivor from the ambush has committed suicide.  He doesn't buy it.  Worse still, a home invasion resulted in the death of his pregnant wife and 3-year-old daughter.  There is no chance that this is all happenstance.  Reece means to find out who engineered so many deaths and why.  His first thread leads him into a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government.

There are some impolitic similarities to certain politicians who were of note at the time the book takes place: 2016.  There is a cabinet secretary who is expected to announce for the presidency and whose husband is a former politician who, while popular, is infamous for his philandering.  Gee, who could this couple be model upon?  There is no mention of political parties but there are the occasional digs against the growing surveillance state and gun control.  The villains are only too willing to use military forces inside the United States.

One of the few weaknesses of the book is that Reece seems to have just the right asset in the right place.  Most of these contacts seem entirely reasonable and fit with the life of a Seal.  A couple of them are entirely too convenient, most notably Marco the Mexican millionaire with a private commando squad and an eagerness to provide money and material for Reece's mission.  Then there was Liz, a former Army pilot who happens to work for another millionaire who gives her carte blanche to fly around the country.  Though I very much liked these characters, it is hard to see how Reece could have eluded capture for his cross-country trail of vengeance without exactly such allies.

A topnotch thriller with plenty of action, frequent suspense, and a larger serving of ultraviolence.  This blood-soaked tale of revenge sees Reece use not only his Seal training but also many of the skills that his terrorist adversaries used.  Jack Carr, himself a former Navy Seal, has written an outstanding debut novel.  Highly recommended.

Now to see the Amazon series.

Rough Cut (1980)

A hot air balloon with 'Happy Anniversary' is launched into the night sky from the grounds of a magnificent English mansion.  A beautiful woman kisses an elderly man and announces her joy at their first wedding anniversary.  Among the guests is Jack Rhodes (Burt Reynolds).  He spots a strikingly attractive woman, Gillian Bromley (Lesley-Anne Down), and tries to pick her up with a Cary Grant impression.  She is not impressed.  However, his persistence leads to a lunch date the following Friday.  It so happens that Gillian was sent to the party by Chief Inspector Cyril Willis (David Niven) of Scotland Yard.  Rhodes is a diamond thief who has never been caught and Willis has only a short time to catch him before his mandatory retirement ends his career.  Through Gillian, Willis provides details to a diamond shipment that is sure to lure Rhodes into a prison cell.

This is less of a heist film and more of a romantic comedy with a heist as the setting.  The chemistry between Reynolds and Down is terrific.  The heist is background noise while they flirt and banter, Reynolds with his natural charm and Down with a smile that lights up the room.  The heist is clever, but beside the point.  Inspector Willis was not really a likeable character, and the big twist comes too late to change that.  It was strange to see Sergeant Apone (Al Matthews) of Aliens (1986) as a musician in a Paris disco.  The gold digger wife from the opening is played by Cassandra Harris, future Bond girl (For Your Eyes Only) and wife of future James Bond, Pierce Brosnan.

This was the first Burt Reynolds film I saw in theaters, and I thought it was awesome.  Of course, I was thirteen.  I had always thought it was a big hit back then, but it barely earned back the production costs.  Even so, it's great popcorn fun.

Grim Speech with Bad Optics

Who picked the optics for this speech?  This is the standard color scheme for villains.

Like Darth Vader.

Or High Chancellor Sutler in V for Vendetta

This is exactly the wrong backdrop to use when accusing your political opponents of being a threat to the nation.  What happened to the 'uniter not a divider' theme from the campaign.  Now half the country is a clear and present danger to democracy.

Come on, man!