Fire of Love (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Fire of Love (2022): Oscar-nominated documentary about husband and wife volcanologists who died together in an eruption. Lots of pretty images of volcanoes, not much science. Not even much of a love story, unless the love is an obsession with the danger of getting too close to volcanoes. B-

Stay in Your Lanes, Candidates

It's campaign season. If you are a regular reader of The Wheel you know that I don't like political parties getting involved in nonpartisan local elections. I also don't like campaigns mixing up city politics with school politics. Stay in your lanes, candidates.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): Mashup of old stories (Moby Dick, Poseidon Adventure, war movies from the Old West to Vietnam). Characters are stereotypes (Marines are bad guys, parents are dumb, kids are plucky). But give it the Oscar for special effects. C-

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022): On the plus side, women take over the franchise. In an existential war of world powers, Wakanda and an undersea kingdom, there's an awful lot of hand-to-hand combat and little of the world political intrigue that gave the previous installment some heft. C+

POTD: Karmann Ghia (Type 14)

From 2022 07 10 Rothenburg and Wurzburg

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Not only are the streets of this medieval town old and classic, the cars you might find parked there are, too. This is a Karmann Ghia. From the license plate, it looks to be a Type 14, produced in the 1950s and 1960s. If anyone can pin this one down more specifically than that, let me know. The city itself dates to 1170, but I seriously doubt the Karmann Ghia is anywhere near that old.