Apocalypto will not be on my agenda in the foreseeable future. It's disappointing to have to say that because the culture and history of MesoAmerica is one of my strong interests. I've made a couple of trips to the Maya Weekend at the University of Pennsylvania, and I've learned and forgotten how to read a few basic Mayan glyphs.

The reason I'm not going to see Apocalypto is the same reason I still have not seen The Passion of Christ. I just don't believe that this sort of intense depiction of violence serves any useful or edifying purpose. I have read enough about the removal of beating hearts and the atrocities committed against Jesus to get the picture. I don't need to see someone's morbid depiction of it.

I read and heard a couple of provocative reviews of this latest Mel Gibson bloodfest, so I'll pass on the links.

Professor Zachary X. Hruby of U. C. Riverside's review on MesoWeb

L.A. Times and Morning Edition movie reviewer, Kenneth Turan on NPR