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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 7, 2022

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I got roped into this by a lady friend. Yes, I really feel I need to make excuses for how I wasted two hours of my life on this.

#5 is the worst. The most eligible bachelor in the city, a Marquess with model looks, wealth and a seat in the House of Lords who is fawned over by the most eligible debutantes in an actual scene in this movie. He tolerates being insulted and emasculated by the protagonist before declaring his love for her. At which point she insults him again before telling him she returns his feelings.

#4 was pretty bad too. London police with clubs, swords and pistols unable to contend with the unarmed female trio throughout the film. Why didn't Grail use his weight to just throw her off the catwalk at the end?

I understand this is a Feminist movie, but every time I see women out-brawling men of twice their weight through 'martial arts' I'm reminded of the times I've seen women try starting fights with the wrong sort of man while drunk at the pub.

You can have women beat men in fights with the use of ingenuity, surprise and weaponry, just not hand to hand in a stand up fight. It breaks suspension of disbelief.

Another bugbear was Sherlock's obsequious thanks to the black judo instructor towards the end of the film.

#2 - I kind of expect diverse casting these days, but I really hated them trying to turn Moriarty into a sympathetic figure. She only turned to crime because of how she was treated by the pompous privileged 'real' villains; the white industrialist and Minister of Finance. She had to accidentally have the kind hearted industrialist's son murdered, but she didn't mean to because she didn't know Grail was a blunt instrument even as she used him as a puppet. Convenient that she is incompetent enough to allow her to retain sympathy when necessary despite being a criminal mastermind.

I think I'll skip the sequels.

I'd be interested in "Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes" movie, but only if they stripped out the obnoxious brat sister and all the DEI stuff. Of course, objecting to stuffing in black actors for made-up parts for DEI points means I'm a racist, see Rings of Power 😉

A black criminal mastermind? Even a female black criminal mastermind? Go for it, but that's not Moriarty. Invent your own original characters.