A News Aggregator That Covers The World's Major Wars And Conflicts. Military, Political, And Intelligence News Are Also Covered. Occasionally We Will Have Our Own Opinions Or Observations To Make.
It's a grim picture, even with Nick Offerman playing the president.
Men, Ex Machina, and Annihilation director Alex Garland examines an America tearing itself apart in Civil War, and honestly, the trailer feels deeply uncomfortable to watch.
A24 dropped a chilling first look at the upcoming film which sees a "near-future" U.S. descending into brutal conflict. We're introduced to Nick Offerman as the president overseeing a dominant U.S. military suppressing state by state. He's accused of using air strikes against his own citizens, while armed forces take over the streets of New York and Washington DC. Then, the Lincoln Memorial is blown up. It's a grim picture.
WNU Editor: I saw this trailer for the first time only last night. And this follows watching the movie "Leave The Word Behind" only a few days ago (trailer here). I am a follower and consumer of American culture. There is obviously something in the air about unrest in the U.S. exploding into something like a Civil War. At least that is what Hollywood is promoting.
DOD will no longer work with directors if their movie will be censored by Beijing.
If you’re a filmmaker and you want the Pentagon’s help, from now on you’ll have to guarantee that you won’t let China censor your movie first.
On Wednesday, the Defense Department updated its rules for working with movie studios to prohibit any assistance to directors who plan to comply or will likely comply with censorship demands from the Chinese government in order to distribute their movie there.
The issue came to a head with last year’s release of “Top Gun: Maverick.” In trailers for the film, viewers noticed that the studio removed the flags of Taiwan and Japan from Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s flight jacket in an apparent attempt to appease Chinese investor Tencent.
But after criticism in the U.S. — and after Tencent reportedly dropped its investment in the film –– the flags were restored in the final version.
WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. The Chinese movie market is massive. Hollywood will find another way to accommodate China and ignore the Pentagon's edict.
It’s not everyday you see an Embraer Phenom private jet fly an approach on a U.S. Navy carrier, but Top Gun: Maverick made it happen.
While the plot of the box-office smashing Top-Gun: Maverick will likely be known to many readers by now, the full story of how the film was made is still unfolding. Two and a half years ago, The War Zone reported on how many of the aerial sequences that would become the movie's most impressive moments were being filmed. More recently, we discussed how Lockheed's Skunk Works brought the film’s fictitious ‘Dark Star’ aircraft to life. Now we are seeing how special, extended aerial sequences were shot, including this wonderfully bizarre footage of an Embraer Phenom private jet flying a missed approach to the U.S. Navy supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
Jewish leaders, groups, and educators on Sunday condemned as “antisemitic” a “Saturday Night Live” skit in which a cast member joked about Israel’s vaccine campaign.
In the regular news parody segment “Weekend Update,” broadcast on Feb. 20, cast member Michael Che said, “Israel is reporting that they vaccinated half their population, and I’m gonna guess it’s the Jewish half.”
* James Bond actor Sir Sean Connery died aged 90 at his home in the Bahamas
* Sir Sean is known for playing British fictional spy James Bond between 1962-71
* Sir Sean, who celebrated his 90th in August, was knighted by the Queen in 2000
James Bond actor
Sir Sean Connery has died aged 90.
Sir Sean died last night in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas.
He was unwell for some time, the BBC reported.
Sir Sean, whose acting career spans decades, is best known for his portrayal of British fictional spy James Bond who he played between 1962–1971.
He also starred in The Hunt for Red October, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Rock.
War movies nearly always automatically get filed under “Stuff Your Dad Likes,” whether your own personal dad has any feelings about them or not. But don’t let that stop you from seeing Greyhound, starring—and written by—Tom Hanks, as a World War II naval officer who’s just been given command of his first Fletcher-class destroyer. Don’t know what a Fletcher-class destroyer is? Don’t worry—Greyhound, out now on Apple TV+, is perfectly enjoyable even if you don’t catch every nuance of the lingo. A war adventure set on the bleak, pearl-gray seas of the Atlantic, it’s tense and quietly thrilling, though it’s brushed with somber elegance, too. There’s an abstract, poetic quality to Greyhound; it’s less about rah-rah heroics than it is about the secret burden of heroism—because with wartime heroism, there’s always a price to pay.
WNU Editor: Watched the movie last night. It is only 80 minutes long, but it's intensity and story grabs you in the first 10 minutes. If you have the chance to see this movie, you will not be disappointed.
* US-navy owned Hornet F/A-18 undertook the daredevil flight in south California
* Plane is part of the navy's Blue Angels squadron which does demonstrations
* The film has had its release date pushed back by six months due to coronavirus
This is the moment a Blue Angels F/A-18 fighter jet swoops so low it leaves a cloud of dust swirling around Ed Harris in sneak peak of Top Gun: Maverick scene.
The US navy-owned Hornet aircraft, capable of reaching speeds up to 1,360mph, undertook the flyover for a practice shoot at the Naval Weapons Station in China Lake, south California.
The plane is part of the Blue Angels squadron, which perform flight demonstrations across the country.
* Hollywood acting legend Kirk Douglas died on Wednesday aged 103
* The Spartacus star is survived by his wife of 65 years Anne Buydens and his three sons Michael, Joel, and Peter. A fourth child, Eric, died of a drug overdose in his 40s, in 2004
* His son Michael Douglas, an acting icon in his own right, revealed the news of his father's death in an emotional statement
* Douglas suffered a stroke back in 1996 that left him with slurred speech and damaged facial nerves
* Douglas was the son of Jewish Russian immigrants who rose through the ranks to become one of Hollywood's biggest-ever stars
* The famed actor, who was one of the last of Hollywood's Golden Age, made more than 90 movies in a career that stretched across seven decades
* Films such as Spartacus and The Vikings made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and 60s
* He was nominated three times for the best actor Oscar in 1949 for Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful in 1953 and Lust for Life in 1957
* Douglas never received an Academy Award for an individual film but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him an honorary Oscar in 1996 for his role as a creative and moral force in the industry
Hollywood acting legend Kirk Douglas has died aged 103.
The Spartacus star died on Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He is survived by his wife of 65 years Anne Buydens and his three sons Michael, Joel, and Peter.
His son Michael Douglas, an acting icon in his own right, revealed the news of his father's death in an emotional statement to People magazine.
'It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,' he said.
'To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.
WNU Editor: When my parents immigrated to Canada and were exposed to Hollywood movies, Spartacus was their favourite movie. And when my mother learned that he passed away today, she cried. But Kirk Douglas played an even more important role in my life. He had a stroke two years before my father had his, and both of them experienced the same type of paralysis and inability to talk to make themselves understood. Fortunately for Kirk Douglas, his stroke was not as severe as my fathers, and he was able to go home. But instead of just doing nothing, Kirk Douglas wrote a book about what he had to go through when he had his stroke, and his long road to recovery .... My Stroke of Luck Paperback – Jan 7 2003 by Kirk Douglas. I immediately bought the book, and in the last two years of my father's life I used his book as my reference guide when I was with my father. Thank you Mr. Douglas for helping me during that time. RIP.
More News On The Passing Of Hollywood Acting Legend Kirk Douglas
* Rene Auberjonois has died at 79 after a battle with metastatic lung cancer
Star Trek actor Rene Auberjonois has died at 79 after a battle with metastatic lung cancer.
The actor best known for his roles in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, MASH and Boston Legal passed away at his California home, his son Remy-Luc has confirmed.
WNU Editor: It was about 25 years ago and I was in a coffee shop in Montreal on an early Sunday morning having a coffee and a muffin and low and behold the person who sits at the table next to me was Rene Auberjonois. I kept to myself for a few minutes until some Star Trek fans recognized who he was, and then everyone started talking.A gifted actor, he will be missed.
The studio's decision came a day after President Trump took aim at the film, saying it was "made to inflame and cause chaos." The story follows a group of elites hunting "deplorables" for sport.
Universal has decided to scrap the release of The Hunt — an R-rated satire in which elites hunt "deplorables" for sport — following a series of mass shootings across the country. The film had been set to hit theaters on Sept. 27.
The studio's Saturday announcement came a day after President Donald Trump took aim at the film — though he didn't name its title — and Hollywood, saying on Twitter, "Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate! They like to call themselves “Elite,” but they are not Elite. In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite. The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!"
* Rutger Hauer died at his home in the Netherlands on July 19 and his funeral was held Wednesday
* His rep confirmed the sad news that the actor passed away
* He suffered a short illness before his death
* Rutger was known for projects like True Blood and Buffy the Vampire Slayer but his most memorable role was that of Roy Batty in Blade Runner
* Fans are quoting lines from Roy Batty's famous monologue to commemorate the star writing 'Tears in rain. Time to die.' in social media posts
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer died at the age of 75 at his home in the Netherlands.
Known for roles in Blade Runner and True Blood, the star passed away following a 'short illness,' according to a statement from his non-profit association Wednesday.
Steve Kenis, the rep for Rutger, also confirmed the sad news that the star died on July 19 and his funeral was held on Wednesday.
36 years ago today we learned that when it comes to nuclear war between superpowers "the only winning move is not to play."
On this day, June 3rd, 1983, War Games starring Matthew Broderick hit big screens across the United States. The movie had all the staples of a 1980s Cold War techno-thriller—a super powerful, blunt, and ruthless military-industrial complex, cutting-edge tech way beyond reality for the time, computers and more computers, and of course, 'super kids' that play the film's protagonists and the main problem solvers. The movie actually spoke to an ever more glaring reality of the time, that a major nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union would end in a world-shattering loss of life. The film's most memorable line, voiced by a computer, underscored just how depraved the stakes were: "The only winning move is not to play."
* Hollywood presents a lot of misconceptions and downright errors around how firearms work and are used.
* But sometimes the movies show things so well that even the pros use them as training demonstrations.
It's no secret that movies get a lot wrong about firearms and the ways they're used in a fight. From every 80's protagonist refusing to shoulder their rifles when they fire, to the seemingly infinite magazine capacity in every hero's gun, filmmakers have long prized what looks cool over what's actually possible in their work, and to be honest, it's hard to blame them.
After all, diving sideways while firing pistols from each hand does look pretty badass, even if it's just about the dumbest thing someone could do in a firefight.
The destruction that happened in King’s Landing can happen in our world, too, writes Beatrice Fihn, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
“Atomic bombs are primarily a means for the ruthless annihilation of cities.”
Famed physicist Leo Szilard wrote those words in 1945, entreating President Harry Truman to give Japan a chance to surrender before using the nuclear weapons Szilard had been instrumental in developing. His words rang in my head as Tyrion tried and failed to convince Daenerys to spare the surrendering King’s Landing from her dragon’s fire in the latest Game of Thrones episode, “The Bells.”
There is a significant difference between weapons of war and nuclear weapons. The former target their opponent’s military force. The latter yield absolute and indiscriminate power to kill civilians. Harry Truman admitted that nuclear weapons were created for the destruction of cities when he said, “You have got to understand that this isn’t a military weapon. It is used to wipe out women and children and unarmed people, and not for military uses.”
Portrayal of Soviet withdrawal from country distorts historical facts, claims politician.
A row has broken out in Russia over a film about the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, after politicians and former servicemen criticised its unflattering depiction of Red Army soldiers as unpatriotic.
Leaving Afghanistan, directed by Pavel Lungin, is based on the experiences of Nikolay Kovalyov, a veteran of the Afghan war who went on to lead Russia’s FSB spy agency. It tells the story of a group of Red Army soldiers whose departure from Afghanistan is delayed after they are ordered to free a Soviet general’s son taken captive by mujahideen fighters. Lungin told Variety magazine last year that the film depicts the “senselessness and cruelty of war”.
* Volunteers from Australian Red Cross spent six weeks watching the last seven seasons of Game Of Thrones
* They decided evil Ramsay Bolton committed the most number of war crimes with 17 - most notably for torture
* But they also put Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow high for war crimes, such as for using child soldiers
With thousands of deadly White Walkers and even the good guys often murdering without cause, it may seem an impossible task to decide who is the worst war criminal in Game Of Thrones.
But volunteers from the Australian Red Cross spent six weeks watching the franchise and have compiled a list of the characters who could be prosecuted for war crimes - and Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow make a surprise appearance high up the list.
Keanu Reeves doesn't fuck around when it comes to training. For the last several years, there's been a steady trickle of behind-the-scenes clips showing how the actor went from playing space cadets who only seem to know how to look confused and say "whoa" to a bespoke-suited murder machine who once killed a man using just a pencil.
Now, thanks to Vigilance Elite, we can see what new tricks Reeves has up his sleeves when John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum premieres on May 17.
The IMAX smash "Aircraft Carrier: Guardian of the Seas" has just been released by Shout Factory home video in a 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital Copy set. IMAX movies have been a great source of 4K home video content, and this film is one of the best you can find for a home setup.
The film joints the Nimitz-class carrier Ronald Reagan as it participates in RIMPAC, the world's largest joint maritime training exercise. Nothing compares with the overwhelming experience of being on one of these ships in person, but this movie does an admirable job of capturing the scope and size of life on an aircraft carrier.
If there were ever a good time to be British it would have been on Nov. 11, the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, when BBC Two premiered Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old.
As for those of us stuck on this side of the pond, we still have a few more weeks to go before we too can watch the film, which debuted in the U.K. to rave reviews. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave it five out of five stars, writing, “The soldiers are returned to an eerie, hyperreal kind of life in front of our eyes, like ghosts or figures summoned up in a seance.”
I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.
