On its face, Bunker Spreckels’ story is that of a young man who seems to have been born to die, of a boy who flew too close to the sun with wings of feathers and wax, of greatness stunted by greatness as it only could be.

Apart from pandering to the politically correct with a jumbled social justice salad, “Terminator: Dark Fate” offers thin gruel in the way of decent sci-fi action.

If “The Dark Knight” proved that regular people can become heroes in response to a bleak and unstable society, then “Joker” proves that regular people can become villains for the same reason.

Anyone who is still celebrating the liberal-capitalist "defeat" of communism needs to reckon with the field of Democratic presidential candidates; subject themselves to scold Greta Thunberg as she calls for Stalinist central planning to “fight” climate change; and must explain why virtually every mainstream media and academic institution is lurching us toward totalitarian darkness.

“Modified” is an object lesson in propaganda, which applies whether the target is fracking, e-cigarettes, nuclear power, or some other disfavored technology or product: When the facts aren’t on your side, tell a story.