Better to be Wrong?

In the 19th century, Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) suggested that doctors should wash their hands between patients.  It so happened that roughly 10% to 15% of women were dying after childbirth.  However, Semmelweis was able to reduce that to less than 1% through his handwashing regimen.  He called for all doctors to do this.  They called him crazy, and he eventually died in a mental institution.  A doctor who had tried Semmelweis' handwashing found that deaths did indeed plummet.  The realization that he had killed so many of his patients led him to commit suicide.  To embrace Semmelweis was to also accept that they had fatally infected many of their patients.  For their own sanity, doctors rejected Semmelweis.

Recently, I listened to a woman - Helen Joyce - who said that the trans debate is not going to fade away.  There are too many parents who have had their children surgically transitioned.  They are committed to the trans camp for life.  To accept that transgender is a mental disorder that should be treated as such is to admit to needlessly mutilating - and likely sterilizing - their children.  Better to stay the course.  In fact, not just stay the course but, like the doctors opposing Semmelweis, denounce those who argue against transgender.  This also applies to abortion.  Those on the pro-choice side are locked into their views because the alternative means they have championed infanticide.  No one wants to swallow that pill.

Quest for Fire (1981)

It is 80,000 years ago and a clan of primitive humans live in a cave.  Though they have fire, it is not something they can create.  Fire is stolen from nature and maintained.  Another tribe, more primitive still, attacks to steal the fire and perhaps some of the women.  Their cave overrun, the survivors flee to an island in a nearby marsh.  They have no fire!  Three warriors are selected to find fire: Naoh (Everett McGill), Amoukar (Ron Perlman), and Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi).  The journey is truly epic, with the heroes escaping saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, wolves, a cannibalistic tribe, a bear, and more.  They inadvertently rescue Ika (Rae Dawn Chong), who follows them despite their efforts to send her away.  Of course, male-female relationships are fairly simplistic at this point and Naoh is the alpha male of the group.

Though the characters speak, it is all gibberish without subtitle.  The meaning is understood through context.  Despite the primitive setting, the adventure is truly epic.  Not only did they overcome immense odds to retrieve fire, they learned new things by interacting with Ika and Ika's tribe.  They get new technologies, they learn to laugh, they discover the missionary position, and more.  Once they have returned and reoccupied their cave, Amoukar tells stories around the campfire of his encounter with mammoths.

The acting is tremendous.  McGill is amazing when he sees another tribe make fire from scratch.  The emotional rollercoaster he shows is quite impressive.  Ron Perlman is Amoukar.  It is always possible to see what he is thinking and feeling whenever he is onscreen.  An outstanding performance.  Rae Dawn Chong shows some dedication in appearing nude - clothed only in mud paint - throughout.  She is the most talkative of everyone (women, right?).

Great popcorn fun and highly recommended.

Asteroid City (2023)

Wes Anderson's latest movie is a tangled mess.  Merely outlining the 'plot' should demonstrate that assessment.  The narrator (Bryan Cranston) states that Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) is a famous playwright.  His latest play, Asteroid City, follows a variety of people who happen to be in Asteroid City for a science competition.  During the festivities, an alien arrives and confiscates the famous asteroid for which the city is named.  A quarantine follows.  Mildly humorous antics follow.  The quarantine is lifted after a week and everyone leaves.  Throughout the play, there are breaks to show behind-the-scenes events or flashbacks to Conrad Earp's creative process, and so on.  To clearly separate these events from the main story, they are shown in black & white.

Augie is a photographer whose wife recently died.  He and his children will be living with his father-in-law (Tom Hanks) for awhile.  Augie's son, Woodrow (Jake Ryan), is part of the science competition.  Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) is a famous actress who views herself as a bad mother; her daughter is another competitor.  There are many other characters, but they are mostly here as background.  As usual for an Anderson film, most of the lines are delivered in something close to a flat monotone.  There is very little emoting.  Based on some of the behind-the-scenes footage and the budding relationship between Augie and Midge, it appears that he is on the mend from his wife's death.  Was that the story?  There was a lot of other stuff here that advanced that plot not in the least.  The playwright claimed the story was about infinity.  I must have missed that aspect.

The movie-play dynamic didn't work.  The set didn't work.  I liked the vibrant visuals, but the silly incomplete overpass was stupid.  I understand that he wants the audience to view this as a play rather than a movie, but that is being too clever by half.  Why do we have background of the play's director's marital issues?  The vending machines that offered virtually anything was amusing, but again beside the point.  It was like a clip show at times.  Oh!  This would be a great bit!  Let's put that in the movie!  Wouldn't it be funny if we had a police chase zip through the town every now and again?  Yeah, let's do that!  Let's do this routine of Augie's car breakdown with Matt Dillon as the mechanic.  Sigh.  Sketch comedy.

Despite a talented cast full of Oscar winners and nominees, this is no better than mediocre.  This is also the first Wes Anderson film in 27 years not to star Bill Murray; maybe that's the problem.  Watch The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom or The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou instead.  Only for the diehard fans of Wes Anderson.

The Gates of the Alamo

San Antonio, April 1911: Terrell Mott, a 91 year-old who fought at the Alamo, rides along in the Battle of Flowers parade that his granddaughter organized.  While riding in the back of a Buick, he notes how the city has changed.  Then, he spots a dark man in a jaguar suit who seems to be taking a particular interest in him.  Has death come for him?

La Bahia Road, Spring 1835: Edmund McGown rides toward the coast from San Antonio.  A botanist in the employ of the Mexican government, his payments have stopped.  He attributes this to the frequently changing governments and worries that he will not be able to renew his contract.  On his way, he becomes deathly ill and encounters Comanche.  While crossing the lowlands of Texas, Edmund is always watching for new plant species to catalog: this is the great work for which he will be remembered.

Refugio, 1835: Mary Mott runs an inn with her son, Terrell, and Fresada, a Karankawa Indian.  During a trip to the coast to gather oysters, she is very nearly killed by raiding Karankawa Indians.  In the brief fight, she shot the chief but had her face bashed in by one of the warriors.  Only the intervention of Fresada saved her life.  She is only partly recovered when Jim Bowie visits.  There is also an aloof man named McGown on his way to Mexico.  McGown had missed his original ship to Veracruz and thus stayed at the inn for an extended period.  Most conversations concern the riled state between Texas and Mexico.  Will there be war?  McGown is doubtful.

Zacatecas, May 1835: Telesforo Villasenor is an ambitious lieutenant of the Zapadores with a talent for mapmaking.  During the Battle of Zacatecas, he is wounded in the arm but nevertheless finds his way to Santa Anna to give him a box of chocolates he pillaged.  Santa Anna is touched by this gesture and soon has Telesforo on his staff as a mapmaker.

San Luis Potosi, 1835: Blas Montoya, first sergeant in the Mexican Army, meets with some new recruits.  He likes what he sees.  Afterwards, he is called upon by Captain Loera.  Loera notes that Blas does not have a woman and arranges for him to take charge of Isabella, the woman of a deceased soldier.  Blas reluctantly agrees.  Isabella proves to be a Mayan from Yucatan who speaks virtually no Spanish.  She is viewed as a witch by many, but she has a talent for healing.  When word of rebellion comes, Blas leads his company north to Texas on a brutal winter march.

Terrell, Edmund, Mary, Blas, and Telesforo converge at the Alamo and offer a view of the siege and final battle from various perspectives.  All the principals - Crockett, Bowie, Travis, Santa Anna, Houston - are met by one or more of the characters.  Even after the battle, survivors provide a view of the slaughter at Goliad and the Texas victory at San Jacinto.

The book paints the setting brilliantly, giving one a strong feel for the time and place.  The characters are fully realized, feeling every bit as real as Davy Crockett or Santa Anna.  Better still, the historic events are faithfully related.  Some places where it appeared he was taking liberties proved to be little known incidents that are not typically shown in movies.  Outstanding book and highly recommended.

Indiana Jones & The Sanctuary of the Black Order (2021)

Italy 1939: Indy, Short Round, and Marcus Brody are spelunking through caves in search of the Holy Shroud that covered Jesus when he arose from the dead.  They find a one-eyed woman who claims it has already been stolen.  Then, a trio of Crusader knights attack the heretics who came to steal it.  Indy and crew flee.

Barnet College: Government agents report that some American archeologists have gone missing in Germany; they were looking for the Holy Shroud.  Among the archeologist was Anais Watson, who accompanied Indy on his quest for the Crown of Thorns.  In flashback, Indy and Anais lived together, she got pregnant, he was iffy about the parenthood thing, she miscarried, and they broke up.  Yikes!  Brody declares the situation hopeless and counsels against a rescue mission into Germany.

Prague: Ignoring Brody's advice, Indy arrives in Prague to meet with Sallah and Sallah's brother-in-law, Husani.  Yes, Husani will serve as guide as they ride through Germany on their way to Hamburg.  Okay.  The trio arrive and learn that all relics have been moved to Wewelsberg Castle.  Let's get back on the horses!  Husani complains that it isn't a camel.  At Wewelsberg, Indy encounters a resurrected Colonel Krakauer - he had beheaded him in Crown of Thorns - who proves to be virtually invulnerable.  Uh oh!  The Nazis have created a super soldier.

This is the third Indy fan film with Lluis Ortega and the longest.  The length does it no favors.  Much of the movie drags and the action scenes are often just characters firing from cover and not achieving anything.  Many of the gunfights should have been shortened.  Some action scenes are stolen from other movies, notably Indy chasing down a truck on a horse and then kicking the driver out of the cab.  Why is Sallah in Germany?  Indy should have different contacts for different regions.  Sallah is Indy's Middle East contact and should remain there.  By that same reasoning, what is Short Round doing in Italy?  The love affair between Indy and Anais didn't work.  Another funny thing was that the travel map was modern, showing Prague to be in the Czech Republic.

Resurrection/divine healing features prominently in each of Lluis Ortega's outings as Indy.  There was the Crown of Thorns that brought Anais back to life, the Holy Grail which healed Indy from a gunshot wound in the back, and now the Holy Shroud that created the invulnerable Colonel Krakauer.  If another episode is made, I fully expect them to seek the Holy Rood and discover it has divine healing properties.

Though the weakest of the trilogy, it was still entertaining.

John Wick 4 (2023)

It has been several months since John Wick (Keanu Reeves) survived being shot and falling off the New York Continental.  He has spent the time under the protection of the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) to heal and train.  He is now ready to take his revenge.  That does not go so well.  Meanwhile, the Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) deprives Winston (Ian McShane) of his hotel for failing to kill Wick (cf. John Wick 3).  Winston contacts John and suggests that he challenge the Marquis to a duel.  Of course, in order to do so, Wick would need a clan, which he no longer has.  Side quest time.  While Wick shoots his way through the various assassins sent to stop him, Caine (Donnie Yen) is also tracking him.  Though a friend of Wick's, he has been sent to kill him.  Of note, he is blind.  Can Wick survive long enough to attend his duel to the death?

The action is plentiful, perhaps too much so.  John Wick has gone from skilled assassin to superhero.  In one of his action pieces, he gets hit by several cars but keeps going.  The bulletproof suits have gotten ridiculous, such that anything but a headshot is negligible.  With how effective these suits are, why don't you all have hoodies?  The assassin world has become too big.  Of all things, I was reminded of Harry Potter and how ludicrous it was that the wizarding world was unknown to the muggles despite how vast it was.  They run radio stations with assassin boards and regular notices; scores of assassins are available at a moment's notice in Paris to run into John Wick's bullets.  Why do they all want to run up to Wick and shoot at pointblank range?  Have none of you heard of a sniper?

Though great fun to watch, the setting has gone off the rails.  Nonetheless, great popcorn fun and recommended.

Indiana Jones & The Crown of Thorns (2018)

Iraq 1922.  Indiana Jones is enjoying a drink with friends when a Frenchman asks to join them.  His name is Rene Belloq.  It turns out there is trouble at the archeological digs as several artefacts have gone missing and two soldiers have been murdered.  Soldiers enter the bar and arrest Dr. Jones; they find a stolen artefact in his jacket pocket!  Belloq smiles deviously as Jones is hauled away.

Marshall College 1934.  Dr. Jones has recently begun teaching.  However, he has received a letter from Jerusalem that claims a map to the crown of thorns has been discovered.  Marcus Brody agrees to cover Indy's classes so he can investigate.

Jerusalem.  Indy arrives in Jerusalem and meets Anais Watson, the possessor of the map.  The pair set out to find clues at a local church.  Soon, they are trekking through the countryside to locate an ancient underground complex that contains the crown of thorns.

This low-budget fan film was the first of three to star Lluis Ortega as Indiana Jones.  It has a lot of the trademarks of an Indiana Jones film.  There is the map that shows his flight from New York to Jerusalem, there is the beautiful damsel with whom he must team though she may not be trustworthy, there are Nazis in search of ancient relics, and there is even Rene Belloq, the best of Indy's adversaries.  Sadly, the fight choreography is weak and the action scenes are mediocre.  Of course, the film is in Spanish and requires subtitles for those not fluent.

Good popcorn fun!