What Are You Watching

[bourbon]

****Wrote the review before I logged on and saw ganulv's post****

Sunday night on Showtime was the premier of 'Homeland' by the producers of '24' and adapted from the Israeli series 'Hatufim' (Prisoners). The first episode is also available free online.

The series begins with a female CIA case officer receiving a death-bed tip from a source that an American POW has been turned as a double-agent by the terrorist mastermind Abu Nazir. Forward ten months later, a Marine Scout/Sniper – gone MIA eight years ago and presumed dead – is recovered after a raid on a terrorist safe house; now benched to an analysts desk at Langley, the CIA officer scrambles to reveal the double-agent and thwart Abu Nazir's plot.

This show has potential. It is also deliberately unsettling and very unlike '24'.

The CIA officer/analyst – played by Claire Danes – is a bipolar anti-heroine, consumed with Abu Nazir. She is manipulative, amoral, and generally unlikeable. The Marine – played by Damian Lewis – returns home to a world that has moved on without him and a wife that has been sleeping with his best friend. You feel sympathy for his situation, even though you know he has probably gone over to the other-side; like I said – unsettling.

[TDB]

Well we're now three episodes in to season two of Boardwalk Empire which is fantastic. Thoroughly recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it.

[ganulv]

and each has been better than the last. Very good actors given the opportunity to act is a big part of why.

After having watched the show the coverage of Gilad Shalit’s release makes me cringe just a bit. Am I wrong to think that the guy might appreciate some space right now?

[davidbfpo]

At the recommendation of a Muslim community worker I watched 'Five Minarets in New York' or 'The Terrorist', a 2010 film which moves between Turkey and New York, USA, with Danny Glover as the best known actor and it is well worth watching.

It is fully available on:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrz3L...eature=related or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrz3L...427BE60D70A120

One plot summary:

Two Turkish anti-terrorist agents are sent to New York City on a mission to find and bring back the dangerous Islamic leader codenamed "Dajjal", believed to be hiding in there. Working with the FBI and NYPD, the agents orchestrate the arrest of Hadji Gumus, a well-respected Muslim scholar and family man who years before fled to the United States after being released from a Turkish prison, where he served time for murder. This tale love, friendship, peace and prejudices, takes us on a journey seeking to answer the question of whether innocence or guilt even matters to one who lusts for vengeance.

One urban gun battle reminded me of 'Kingdom', some of the scenery is excellent, the NYC scenes did jar at bit, but the theme of the good Muslim -v- the evil Muslim is brilliant. Notably the very short scene in a Turkish cellblock.

A mixture of reviews on:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1686039/reviews

[slapout9]

Today is the 35th anniversary of the King's Death. Cable is running 24 Elvis movies, good Elvis music all day on some radio stations. And now for your listening pleasure and cultural enhancement here is a link to Elvis singing his famous "American Trilogy" very good sound and video quality. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9saX9cF248

[Bill Moore]

For Greater Glory is a very good movie that is historically accurate. The Cristeros War in Mexico in 1926-29 is a great case study for Small Wars.

I watched it on DVD, recommend you also watch the special features section.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPi5cXlVHo

http://www.thenewamerican.com/cultur...stian-campaign

“¡Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long Live Christ the King.”) That was the rallying cry for millions of Mexicans during the second and third decades of the 20th century, as revolutionary governments, modeled after the Bolshevik regime in Russia, unleashed round after round of persecution and terror throughout Mexico. For Greater Glory, the newly released epic film starring Andy Garcia and Eva Longoria, provides a stirring introduction to the “Cristero War,” or “Cristiada” (1926-1929), a heroic chapter of Mexico’s history that, until now, has been almost virtually unknown in the United States (as well as in Mexico, where the government has suppressed true reports of the persecutions and all favorable mention of the Cristeros, who finally rose up to fight for religious liberty).

The wholesale raping, pillaging, destruction and desecration of churches, torture and murder of Catholic priests, closing of Catholic schools, the takeover of education by anti-Christian propagandists, and other outrages initiated by the regime of President Plutarco Elias Calles, ultimately drove the long-suffering Mexican people to take up arms against the dictatorial oppressor. Tens of thousands — mostly peasants — joined the Cristero army, led by Gen. Enrique Gorostieta (played by Andy Garcia in the movie). Although poorly armed and usually outnumbered, the Cristeros repeatedly inflicted decisive defeats upon Calles’ army. Unable to defeat the Cristeros militarily, Calles resorted to diplomatic treachery, suing for peace and promising to restore religious liberty. Hundreds of Cristero leaders who accepted his amnesty and laid down their arms were tortured and executed; thousands of Cristero supporters were hunted down and murdered.