Free Republic

The sniper is an incredibly efficient fighter, compared to the typical infantryman. Consider that in World War II, American infantry units fired 25,000 rounds to kill just one enemy soldier. By the Korean War, that figure jumped to 50,000 rounds, and the select-fire M14 and M16 infantry rifles of the Vietnam War only seem to have produced more misses, requiring the expenditure of 200,000 rounds to kill one enemy combatant. It is ironic that a country built on a tradition of rifle marksmanship took nearly 200 years to formally embrace the sniper, the man that represents the military apex of...

It is one of Hollywood's classic films. So fans of Blade Runner will be delighted that Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role of Rick Deckard in a newly-announced sequel to the 1982 smash-hit. The 72-year-old actor will return to the cult classic in the screenplay written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green and directed by 'Prisoners' filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.

It is 30 years since Amadeus swept the board at the Academy Awards. Miloš Forman’s 1984 film of Peter Shaffer’s 1979 play, took home eight statuettes that night, including best film, best director, best actor and best adapted screenplay. Arguably the finest movie ever made about the process of artistic creation and the unbridgeable gap between human genius and mediocrity, it has taken its place in motion picture history and is invariably described as a masterpiece. All this is despite the fact the film plays shamelessly fast and loose with historical fact, taking as its basis a supposedly bitter rivalry...

As an example, Sisko's father runs a restaurant. Seats at that restaurant have to be a finite resource (because they require labor), so they would not be “free” to everyone—the owners get to choose whom they give it to. (That brings up the interesting question of whether the Federation would have anti-discrimination laws, but I digress.) Let's say Sisko chooses to feed people in his neighborhood; choosing to live in that neighborhood is the “price” his customers pay for his food. Similarly, Picard's brother makes real wine; since that requires real grapes and, again, labor, that would also be a...

Season 2 of Turn starts April 13 on AMC. Link is to trailer.

So I was watching Glee the other day (yes I watch Glee, okay?!), and man has that show jumped the shark. It’s frustrating, because Glee went down in flames the way a lot of good shows do: it got too busy constructing a leftist fantasyland to tell a decent story. It’s another victim of what I like to call “liberal backslide.”Bear with me here for a second. I realize Glee was never an elegant allegory of fiscal conservatism. And no one could claim that it ever had an ironclad grip on reality. The show takes place in an underfunded Ohio...

ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann will not anchor his show for the rest of the week after a series of tweets directed at Penn State students. Olbermann, who was most recently critical of Penn State on his ESPN show in January after Joe Paterno's vacated wins were restored, was told on Twitter by a user about the $13 million raised by Penn State students for pediatric cancer. He responded to the tweet with a response of "pitiful." "We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect...

Principal photography has started on the six-part adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic War And Peace which is being made by BBC Cymru Wales in partnership with The Weinstein Company and BBC Worldwide/Lookout Point. Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton are already aboard to star, with new additions to the cast including Jim Broadbent, Gillian Anderson, Brian Cox and Ken Stott. The epic drama is written by House Of Cards and Bridget Jones‘ Andrew Davies. Anderson was nominated for a Golden Globe for her turn in his 2007 adaptation of Dickens’ Bleak House.

Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy has been rushed to the hospital after experiencing severe chest pains. After a 911 call, the legendary star was transported to UCLA Medical Center last week. No word yet on his current condition…

All the awards have been given out and it looks like the final numbers for the 87th Oscars are in. Running from 8:30 PM to 11:48 PM ET last night, the Neil Patrick Harris hosted show garnered a 10.8 rating among adults 18-49 with 36.6 million viewers. Among the key demo that’s a 17% drop from what the final ratings for the 2014 Academy Awards were and the worst the AMAPAS ceremony has done since 2008.That show had a 10.68 rating. The total viewership for last night’s Oscars were down 18% from last year to hit a 6-year low. The...

Well, the hills really were alive at the Oscars tonight. Sorry, but we had to. Amazingly, this year marks the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music, and the Oscars decided to pay tribute in a big way. Things kicked off with a speech by Scarlett Johansson in which she praised the film for its five academy awards (including Best Picture), and made a few "problem like Maria" jokes. Then none other than Lady Gaga emerged onstage to sing a compilation of the movie's best songs. Rumors had been floating around that the singer was going to be paired with...

ABC - Tune In Live Sunday Feb 24 7e|4p Nominees -- The 87th Academy Award Nominations for the 2015 Oscars

Michael's life after Forest mirrored the hapless hero's. Instead of taking Hollywood up on a number of high-profile offers, he decided to sign up for military service. Michael said: 'Where we were filming was very close to Parris Island, the Marine Training Camp in South Carolina where all the helicopters that were used in the Vietnam scene came from. 'I would often tell the director and producers how cool I thought all the helicopters were and then one weekend they actually arranged for some of the Marine Corps to take me over to Parris Island and show me the fighter...

This Oz sheila newsanchor / movie-critic gives her right devastating review of the movie.

A great little heist/noir flick tonight. A down on his luck nobody (John Payne) is implicated in an armored truck heist and, after being worked over by the local police who are sure he's guilty, sets out to find who set him up and why. The truth behind it all might be a lot deeper and more dangerous than even he thinks, however... Co-starring Colleen Gray, and a perfect trio of heavies in Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, and Jack Elam.

Word has been circling for some time that Disney is mulling a reboot of the Indiana Jones series and wants Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt to take the whip. Deadline is now reporting that Steven Spielberg himself is interested in stepping behind the camera should all the pieces fall into place. It's remarkably early for this kind of news — Jeff Sneider of The Wrap points out that there's no contractual obligation or even script at this point — but any kind of reboot would certainly gain immediate prestige coming from Spielberg. The filmmaker directed all four of...

Simply a question: Is anyone watching this show and if so, do you like it?

Seven out of ten Americans say that despite his apology, suspended “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams should resign from NBC for repeatedly lying on national television, according to a nationwide poll conducted last weekend by McLaughlin & Associates. The poll was commissioned by the Media Research Center (MRC), which is the parent company of CNSNews.com. “This poll confirms that the American people no longer trust Brian Williams to report the news,” said MRC president Brent Bozell. “This is no longer about Brian Williams’ reputation. This is about NBC News having any chance of being a credible source of news.” …

 HARLAN, Ky. - The Harlan City Police Department has issued an all points bulletin for Queen Elsa. Elsa, a character from Disney's Frozen, is an ice queen who can control the weather with her magical powers. Needless to say, many people are blaming her for the recent cold snap to hit the Bluegrass State and officers decided to have a little fun on her behalf. The A.P.B issued on the Harlan County Police Department's Facebook page reads, "All points bulletin!!! HPD has issued an arrest warrant for Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Suspect is a blonde female last seen wearing a...