The Report (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Report (2019): Dramatization of Senate's study into CIA's illegal and ineffective torture program and its cover-up. The CIA, DOJ and both Bush and Obama White Houses all look bad here. An important movie if too dry. Adam Driver is only actor with any life and that barely. B-

POTD: Ollantaytambo

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is not Machu Picchu. The Incans were nothing if not prolific city builders in places no rational person would think to put a building. These photos are from Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley of Peru, another impressive archaeological site. You might say this is where the Incan empire died. Ollantaytambo served as a center of Incan resistance to the Spanish conquest.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Maras Woman

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the town square of Maras in southern Peru. Compare with Chinchero Woman. In my judgment, the women of Peru have the best hats of anyone in the world.

POTD: Moray

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Moray Inca ruins in southern Peru. The exact use by the Incans is a mystery. Agriculture, sure, but they went out of their way to make the site more interesting — architecturally and artistically — than would have been needed just to grow potatoes or corn.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019): More of the same. Battles with everything from light sabers and blasters to flaming arrows against a fleet of star destroyers. No one stays dead, no one stays alive. Don't ask me who's related to whom. I don't care anymore. C-

P.S. I confess that during the climax's fiery destruction of the Final Order's home base, I privately imagined that George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch was burning instead.

I Lost My Body (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

I Lost My Body (2019): French. The strangest animated feature of the year. Like "Lassie Come Home" but instead of a lost pet, it's a severed hand that seeks to return to its body. Accept it on its own terms and it's not ghoulish, it's sweet and even hopeful. But it is strange. B-

Oscar Snubs

The 2020 Oscar nominations are out. As always, some worthy movies are snubbed. Before these movies unloved by Oscar are forgotten forever, here are some, in no particular order, that The Wheel recommends catching wherever they are streaming. These movies received an "A-" grade by The Wheel.

The snubs are after the jump.

1917 (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

1917 (2019): Two soldiers in race against time through no-man's land in WWI. 110 minutes of continuous intensity. Reminded me of Dunkirk. The praised long tracking shot became tiresome. Any WWI movie that doesn't end in senseless total disaster is false but still worth seeing. B+

POTD: Marasal

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the salt evaporation ponds of Maras, Peru. They have been in use since Inca times and are still actively used today. The salt ponds are interesting by themselves, but their location makes them worth a visit just for the scenery. Terraced on a steep hillside in a canyon, the view is stunning.

Bonus photos after the jump.

POTD: Machu Picchu in Stained Glass

From 2019 08 18 Sacred Valley, Peru

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the lobby of Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel in Peru. The sprawling hotel and grounds, almost a resort, is beautiful. It makes a great "base camp" for exploring the Sacred Valley. That's Machu Picchu in stained glass in the hotel lobby.

A closeup photo after the jump.