Atheists and Other Freethinkers

What does it mean to be human? What is freedom? What is family? These questions and more are explored artistically and powerfully in the 1999 movie “Instinct” starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Donald Sutherland. Hopkins plays Ethan Powell, an anthropologist imprisoned for murder. The alleged murders occurred in Africa while Powell was living in the forest with the gorillas he was studying. Nobody has heard Powell speak since the murders. Gooding, as Theo Caulder, a young psychiatrist looking to make a name for himself, takes on the challenge of getting Powell to speak. The resulting interaction between the two is very well-acted as one might expect from these two. Sutherland plays Gooding's academic mentor. Some reviews of this film have criticized it for cribbing from a variety of movies such as “Gorillas in the Mist,” “Silence of the Lambs” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.” Sometimes, when you combine quality ingredients, the result is a Frankenstein, but other times, like this, the result is a decent meritage.

Directions: 44669 S El Macero Drive, El Macero, CA (just south of Davis). Turnoff of Mace Blvd at the first left where there is no traffic control of any kind on Mace. There will also not be a 4-way stop at the correct intersection. Usually people mistakenly turn at the previous intersection (El Macero Dr. to the right and N. El Macero Dr. to the left) where there is a flashing red light and a 4-way stop, and then because the street numbers are roughly parallel to my street they get real confused, even people that right-smart educated.

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