Entertainment

North Korean spy to be charged in Sony ‘Interview’ hacking attack

On Thursday, the American Justice Department announced plans to charge a North Korean spy with hacking into the computers and servers of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014. The hacking, which many believe occurred as retaliation for a film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco about a plot to assassinate the North Korean leader, reportedly wiped […]

Amazon’s ‘Jack Ryan’ may not be totally realistic, but it is good television

As a kid, I loved the Jack Ryan movies because they seemed like they offered more realism than Ryan’s British counterpart over at MI6. While Bond was bedding women and drinking martinis, Ryan was sitting at conference room tables, using Harrison Ford’s trademark pointing gesture or Alec Baldwin’s steely blue eyes to convey the drama […]

Three survival skills you learned from movies (that will get you killed)

We tend not to go to movies looking for realism. Even the movies we watch that are “based on” or “inspired by” true stories tend to bend the facts of the tale around a more logical (or marketable) narrative that audiences would be more likely to get behind, but some common tropes have become so […]

Old Man Fitness: The momentum of complacency

It happened. The website that I’ve poured just about every waking hour into for the better part of the last two years is gone, and in its place, we find this shiny new bit of internet real estate. The responses I’ve had come my way following the change have ranged from excited support to outraged […]

Hollywood and the old man warfighter

You probably know the image — a worn and weathered man with salt-and-pepper hair, a gruff 5 o’ clock shadow, and that thousand-yard stare emanating from his aged, experienced eyes. He’s been fighting since he was 18-years-old, and the actor is probably in his 40s. He’s the leading man in the vast majority of action […]

In pictures: Everyday Afghanistan

The internet is an incredible tool, and it gives us the ability to see things happening on the other side of the planet. That can mean text from those who are there on the ground, pictures, or even video — these things are often anything but entertaining, but they give us an idea as to […]

‘Witness’ and the other worlds around us

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t spoil it here — watch it first, then come back. There are a substantial amount of films with the same rough outline: a protagonist is caught up in some violent conflict, is forced to stay or live among a more “tribal” people, and learns that what many consider […]

Modern Candidates Pass Selection For British WWII SOE

Have you ever wondered if you could pass the Selection and Assessment course standards for our World War II predecessors in the British Special Operations Executive? The SOE was the forerunner to the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and it was that the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army Special Forces was […]

The two types of respect

Like “love,” the word “respect” is fairly limited. It’s another good example of why the English language can only take you so far, and why we must use other tools in order to understand and investigate these concepts a bit further. You can love your best friend, you can love your kids, and you can […]

‘You Were Never Really Here’ — An original and authentic take on PTSD

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t spoil it here — watch it first, then come back. “You Were Never Really Here” is a brutal, slow-burn film by Lynne Ramsay, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Joe. It’s about a military veteran with a troubled past that extends beyond his service — when he’s not taking care […]

Weight gain with age: Metabolism change or activity change?

It’s no secret: many people tend to start adding on the pounds as they get older. They often chalk it up to their waning metabolism — after all, the same pattern seems apparent in everyone around them, and it seems to be a natural progression with age. They hit somewhere around 30, start gaining weight […]