Joel Fry-days: 10,000 BC (2008, PG-13)

Look, this movie has 10% on Rotten Tomatoes—I knew what I was getting into. Every actor has stuff like this in their filmography, and because I’m me, I can’t just not watch it if I can get my hands on it. I had to see it for myself, and now I have.

When a band of “four-legged demons” (a.k.a. slavers on horseback) attacks the hunter-gatherer Yagahl tribe, one of the captives includes the beautiful Evolet. D’Leh, who’s in love with her, vows to rescue her. His mission takes him across the known world—he encounters frightening beasts and rallies other tribes in his quest to rescue Evolet and the rest of his people.

We’ll get this out of the way first: history accuracy, I don’t know her. Yes, this is a prehistoric action movie, but these characters have all kinds of things that humans didn’t develop until much later. I have no idea how the geography works. And while some of the other tribes D’Leh meets are specifically Black and meant to be from what is now Africa, the members of the Yagahl tribe are cast with an assorted range of Black and brown actors…but Steven Strait, who plays D’Leh, is white. Of course he is. Oh, and part of the reason Evolet’s beauty is so striking is because she has blue eyes.

For the most part, the story is just dull. Generic prophecy, generic action, generic love story. There’s just not much to it, and the most interesting action set pieces come at the beginning, with a dramatic mammoth hunt, and the end, with the climactic showdown against the slavers. In the middle, the film drags, and I don’t have any interest in D’Leh’s big savior narrative.

The moments I like are mostly small—the moments where we remember that prehistoric people were still still people. Two captured boys from different tribes navigating the language barrier. A pair of Yagahl crying out when one of their friends is killed. D’Leh struggling to keep his composure when another tribe invites him in and their hospitality involves spicier food than he’s ever eaten before. Little human moments in the midst of the larger disengaging plot.

10,000 BC was Joel Fry’s feature film debut. Kinda wild to have your first movie being a big action film with CGI beasts, although he wouldn’t have gotten in on too much of that stuff. Fry plays Lu’kibu, one of the Yagahl. He has a moderate amount of screentime but very little to actually do. Lu’kibu is among the group of captives, and mostly he’s there to help fill out the large group scenes. He has maybe six or seven lines, sprinkled throughout the movie.

So yeah, not much there. To the extent that Lu’kibu has any characterization, its, Are we sure that this D’Leh guy is really all that? Any time someone is expressing doubt in D’Leh’s abilities or leadership, there’s a decent chance that it’s Lu’kibu. That’s what most of his limited lines are about, and it comes through in Joel Fry’s facial acting as well. Lu’kibu’s side eye is another one of those “prehistoric people were still people” moments for me, and I admittedly find it kind of amusing.

Accent Watch

I don’t know. All the Yagahl use some kind of accent, but I have no idea what it’s supposed to be.

Recommend?

In General – No. A Big Dumb Action Movie can be fun under the right circumstances, but this one just isn’t very interesting.

Joel Fry – Naw. As a Joel Fry movie, this is more a series of glimpses than anything else. There’s just not much for him to do.

Warnings

Violence, scary moments for kids, drinking, and thematic elements.

Y tu Luna también: Narcos: Mexico: Season 2, Episode 6 – “El Dedazo” (2020)

*One spoiler from episode 5.*

We head into the second half of the season with an episode that ups the ante all around. Whether you’re looking at the cartel’s operation, the DEA’s investigation, the feud between Tijuana and Sinaloa, or the lengths Félix is willing to go, the stakes are getting higher and higher.

As regular disruptions of senseless violence keep breaking out between Sinaloa and Tijuana, Félix attempts to lay down the law, but there may not be peace to be had between the plazas this time. At the same time, he’s seeking new political alliances. The DEA follows intel on Amado, who’s buying new planes to support an enormous increase in traffic, and Isabella and Enedina look to ramp up their own operation.

In the last episode, Félix’s big confrontation with Cali went south immediately. They anticipated that he was moving against them and cut their own separate deal with Guerra, breaking his monopoly. Without that leverage, he couldn’t go ahead with his plan to force the Colombians to pay them in cocaine instead of currency and was left floundering for a reason why he called the meeting. He wound up saying they needed more product, agreeing to move an exorbitant amount of coke that his cartel is in no way prepared to handle.

Hence Amado buying planes. This puts the DEA in a strong position. They’re tipped off to this development by their inside man, and with the cartel rushing to increase their infrastructure ahead of the monster shipment, Walt and co. are preparing for them to get sloppy, at which point they plan to swoop in and make the biggest bust of all time.

The Tijuana vs. Sinaloa stuff in this episode is interesting, because it reflects how quickly “fun and games” can turn real. At first, their escalating violence is almost cartoonish, and the show plays it for entertainment—Ramón maims the hand of Cochi’s favorite mariachi, Cochi responds by flattening a few Tijuana guys with a steamroller. But as the episode goes on, the level of violence doesn’t change, but the severity of it does.

In the first half of the season, Félix was so focused on his Colombian plan and his DEA issues that he kind of dropped the ball on dealing with these tensions; he offered distracted commands and mild solutions that would only work if both sides were behaving reasonably, which neither were. So here, as the situation spirals out of control, Félix finally steps in more actively. But it’s gone on too long for pragmatic fixes. He’s been distracted, and Benjamín has grown bolder in his absence. Félix’s nephew won’t be placated anymore.

While he’s dealing with that, Félix is also courting a new government alliance. His old pal Mr. X isn’t likely to become president anymore, so at the start of the episode, he has a meeting with the new candidate’s brother. His purpose is twofold: 1) buy himself more political cover and 2) get in the way of one of Guerra’s political relationships after Guerra blew up his Colombian deal.

But things aren’t going Félix’s way here, either. We’ve seen Félix make his pitch to numerous people across the series, tailoring his approach for what people want/need and finding his way to get them to say yes, and Diego Luna is always great in them. But what’s interesting about this scene is how it doesn’t work. Throughout, we watch Félix take in new information and adjust on the fly, retuning his internal dials to try and find something that’ll work, but the candidate’s brother isn’t picking up anything he’s laying down. What’s more, he has to do all this without giving away his frustration, anger, or confusion. It’s not until he leaves the meeting that he exclaims, “What kind of fucking politician doesn’t want money?”

Other Doctor Lives: The Importance of Being Earnest (2025)

I’ve been waiting for this production to come to National Theatre Live ever since I first heard about it last year. Ncuti Gatwa doing Oscar Wilde? Yes, please! While the play isn’t up on the streaming service yet, it was available to stream on YouTube for one week only back in March. So, since I’m taking a break between Twenty Twelve and W1A, I obviously knew what was the first Other Doctor Lives project I wanted to review in the interim!

Algernon gets quite the tale from his friend Ernest—who, it turns out, isn’t Ernest at all. He confesses that his real name is actually Jack. A respectable young man with a country estate and a ward under his protection, Jack invented a “wicked brother Ernest” in London, giving him an excuse to go into town whenever he wants to drink, play cards, and generally be less than respectable. Only now, he’s in love with Algernon’s cousin Gwendolen and wants to marry her…but first he has to confess who he really is. Meanwhile, Algernon’s never been to Jack’s house in the country, and if his friend is giving up the name Ernest, it seems like the perfect time for Algernon to start using it in his stead.

This production is so much fun! I read The Importance of Being Earnest back in college, but this is the first time I’ve seen it performed. It’s just a terrific romp all around. Oscar Wilde’s dialogue sparkles, as it rightly should: the sly commentary, the cheeky witticisms, the winking references. All fantastic! The staging keeps the farce brisk, the romance is frothy with a bit of spikiness, and the banter volleys between the characters like a tennis match. Also, there are some nice interstitials in front of the curtain to keep things moving during the set changes, such as Algernon modeling wardrobe choices while he packs for an excursion.

And can I just say: for a play that prominently features two male/female romances, this production is so gloriously gay! Algernon opens the show playing the piano in a pink ballgown. There’s flirty banter between Algernon and Jack and a homoerotic rivalry between their respective love interests. There are Outfits!!! galore. Everything is camp, everything is arch, everything is fun. There’s voguing during the curtain call. This is the gayest ostensibly straight show I’ve ever seen, and I think we can all agree that’s what Oscar Wilde would’ve wanted.

The whole cast understands the assignment and plays their roles to the letter. Hugh Skinner is great as Jack, bewildered by the tangled web of his own making and incensed at Algernon for cheerfully making everything worse. Ronke Adekoluejo is a firecracker as his would-be fiancee Gwendolen, and Eliza Scanlen (Beth from the Greta Gerwig Little Women) is an absolute hoot as his ward Cecily. Sharon D. Clarke, who played Grace during the Thirteen era of Doctor Who, is a splendidly imposing Lady Bracknell, serving court every time she enters the room. Meanwhile, Julian Bleach, another Whoniverse alum (most recently as Davros during the Twelve era) does double duty as both Algernon and Jack’s manservants.

And then we have Ncuti Gatwa, who is just a delightful force of nature as the incomparable Algernon Moncrieff. The costumes are excellent, the poses are camp, and the wit is delicious. He handles all of Algernon’s clever lines with charm and humor, and he handles all the scheming with puckish enthusiasm.

I loved Algernon when I read the play, and I adore Gatwa’s performance here. This is a man who is utterly and inescapably himself, even when he’s pretending to be someone else. Regarding his piano playing abilities, he declares, “I don’t play accurately—anyone can play accurately. But I play with wonderful expression.” He eats when he’s hungry, bored, stressed, excited, etc., and makes no apologies for it. He lives for drama and has an answer to everything. He causes trouble and refuses to be shamed for it. Gatwa plays Algernon with music in his movements and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Yes!!!

Accent Watch

RP.

Recommend?

In General – Definitely. This production is such a good time!

Ncuti Gatwa – 100%! Gatwa is totally in his element here—he just exudes Algernon!

Warnings

Suggestiveness, drinking, and thematic elements.