Sachin Tendulkar is enjoying India’s tour of England at the moment, where he is cheering for India. On July 15, Sachin Tendulkar achieved a milestone and the lord of cricket completed the 1000th post of him on his Instagram.

Sachin met West Indies all-rounder Sir Gary Sobers, Sachin posted a photo on social media and wrote

“I have to watch the game at Lord’s with the One and Only Sir Gary! My 1000th Instagram post couldn’t get any better! #Special moment”

He got 1.4k likes on that post in 3 hours.

Disclaimer: This channel does not promote any illegal (copyrighted) content or images. The images/photos provided by this channel belong to their respective owners.

“Articles” Copyright ©2022 by News P1

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For over sixty years, James Bond, Agent 007, has been protecting the world from megalomaniacs who want to end the world, evil businessmen trying to get even richer than they already are, and terrorists who they plan to take over the world the old-fashioned way. With such a long history, it is not surprising that some of James Bond villains have carved out a place for themselves among the vilest and most memorable villains ever put on the screen. Let’s take a look at the best of the worst. For this list, we’ll only be including the main villain, so no henchmen like Jaws or Oddjob. Since multiple actors have played SPECTER boss Ernst Stavro Blofeld, each actor will be ranked separately. After all, each actor who played him brought something unique to the role.

9 Alec Trevelyan – Golden Eye (1995)

Distributed by MGM/UA

An evil 00 is such a fantastic premise for a villain, and it’s a good thing Goldeneye’s Alec Trevelyan lives up to that premise. Trevelyan, played by Sean Bean, plans to electronically steal all of London’s finances and then use the Goldeneye satellite to erase all traces of the crime. The reason he is doing this? His family descends from the Lienz Cossacks, a group of soldiers handed over to Stalin’s death squads by the British at the end of World War II. Bean’s performance is wonderful. Trevelyan even claims to have considered asking Bond to join his scheme, but he knew our hero would refuse. The only negative thing against him is his evil plan. If he is successful, then all the money he has stolen will become useless. Still, everything else about him works wonderfully.

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8 Le Chiffre – Casino Royale (2006)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/ Columbia Pictures/ Eon Productions

Like his counterpart in the novel, Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre is indebted to some pretty nasty people. In the novel, he lost money investing in brothels just before the French banned them. In this movie, his plan to short-sell an aircraft manufacturer’s stock (using his clients’ money, no less) backfires thanks to the intervention of James Bond, played by Daniel Craig in his first time on film. paper. As a result, Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes poker game to recoup his losses. Le Chiffre is a desperate villain, which makes him more dangerous and unpredictable. If he doesn’t get the money, he’s lost. Mads Mikkelsen gives a wonderful performance, especially during the scene where he tortures Bond. Cold, calculating and dangerous, Le Chiffre is a great villain.

Related: Every Daniel Craig James Bond Movie, Ranked

7 Franz Sánchez – License To Kill (1989)

Distributed by MGM/UA

Timothy Dalton’s first James Bond movie, The Living Daylights, pitted him against the two most forgettable villains in franchise history. Dalton’s second (and last) film, License to Kill, corrects that problem by pitting him against Franz Sanchez, one of the most brutal and sadistic villains Bond has ever faced. Sánchez, a drug lord with an invisible empire, has two sides: a trusting and loyal side to his best friends and a cruel and ruthless side to his enemies. What makes him so menacing is how quickly he alternates between the two. A downright terrifying villain, Sanchez is definitely not a villain you want to meet on a bad day.

6 Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Distributed by United Artists

The second Blofeld whose face we can see, the version of Telly Savalas’s character in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is the most physical of all the Blofelds. His evil plan must be recognized with the title of Earl, and if he does not obtain it, he will release viruses over the world that will cause complete sterilization in a single crop or group of livestock. While Bond thwarts this plan, it is Blofeld’s revenge on Bond that puts him so high on this list: he shoots Bond’s new bride to death on her wedding day. No other Blofeld, no other Bond villain, really, has damaged Bond as much as this one.

5 Francisco Scaramanga – The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

Distributed by United Artists

He is played by Christopher Lee, which automatically puts him in the very memorable category. Scaramanga, from The Man With The Golden Gun, is the world’s deadliest assassin. Price per job: $1 million. With a unique weapon at his disposal and complete joy in the line of work he has chosen, Scaramanga sees himself as a dark reflection of James Bond and makes a very good case for it. He even tries to get Bond to admit that he likes to kill, to which Bond admits that he would enjoy killing Scaramanga. Like Alec Trevelyan, his evil plan holds him back. He’s trying to corner the solar power market, a big deal in 1974 when the movie was released, but he also admits that science isn’t his strong suit, so why bother with this in the first place? ? However, everything else about him is top notch.

4 Dr Julius No – Dr No (1962)

Distributed by United Artists

The first main villain has a lot to live up to, especially since he only appears in the last 24 minutes of the film. Before then, Dr. No is built as the mysterious and menacing force whose minions would rather die than betray him. Half Chinese, half German, with robotic hands (he lost his real ones experimenting with radioactivity), Dr. No is intelligent, menacing, and dangerous. Joseph Wiseman, who plays the titular doctor, has high expectations, but more than meets them. With fanciful lines like “East, West, just points of the compass, each as stupid as the next” and “Unfortunately, I’ve misjudged you. You’re just a stupid cop,” Dr. No gives future Bond villains a very high bar to clear.

3 Emilio Largo – Ball of Thunder (1965)

Distributed by United Artists

Possibly the most active villain Bond has ever faced, Thunderball’s Emilio Largo has no problem getting in on the action. Whether it’s retrieving the nuclear bombs he stole (and killing the henchmen who want more money) or fighting the American frogmen at the end, Largo is in the thick of it all. The founding father of the “hijack some nukes and hold the world hostage” plan, Largo is a very dangerous villain. He is also quite intelligent, as seen in the scene where Bond sneaks into his mansion at night and causes his guards to shoot each other, something Largo immediately sees and reprimands the men. him for falling in love. All in all, Largo is a great villain.

2 Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) – You Only Live Twice (1967)

United Artists

What is the first image that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “supervillain with plans for world domination”? It is most likely Donald Pleasence’s version of SPECTER mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice. This is the first time we see the face of the SPECTER leader, and Pleasence makes sure we never forget him. His evil plan is to start World War III between the US and the USSR by hijacking their space probes and making the two superpowers blame each other for it.

He states that “extortion is my business.” He is not wrong. It’s what the last “E” in SPECTRE stands for. Pleasence’s performance is appropriately menacing. It’s easy to see why everyone who works for him is terrified of him. The first time we see the face of a man who was faceless in the previous films, and it’s one that movie-going audiences will never, ever forget. Pleasence is the best Blofeld of them all.

Related: James Bond Movies In Order: Chronologically And In Order Of Release Date

1 Auric Gold Finger – Gold Finger (1964)

aeon productions

The main theme of the movie is about how evil he is, and boy does he measure up. The founding father of the “destroy a large amount of a resource to make the villain’s stockpile of said resource that much more valuable” scheme, Goldfinger is one hell of a villain. He plans to use a nuclear bomb (given to him by the Chinese) to irradiate Fort Knox, making his own gold supply that much more valuable. He’s one step ahead of Bond for most of the movie and he’s very close to finishing him off with that laser. He is one of the few villains who is justified in keeping Bond alive. If Goldfinger kills Bond, then MI6 will simply send 008 after him. Goldfinger is simply the best villain in the franchise. He has a brilliant plan, a disturbing obsession with gold, and he is ruthless. What more could you ask for in a James Bond villain?

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Households across the country are looking for ways to cut costs and overcome the current cost of living crisis.

Ideally, most would like a pay raise to help them cope, but of course this isn’t always possible, and even if it were, it’s unlikely that companies would be able to keep up with rampant inflation.

However, there are many other ways that employers support their staff to improve the way they manage their money and improve their financial well-being.

Jonathan Watts-Lay, director of Wealth at Work, a retirement and financial wellness specialist, said: “Nearly half of adults say money worries affect their lives, so it’s crucial that they get the support they need.

“Many workplaces provide financial education and guidance to their employees to help them understand their finances, including ways to save money, manage debt, and how to build savings and prepare for retirement. This is especially helpful right now.”

i, with the help of Wealth at Work, below describes some of the ways your employer can help you weather the cost-of-living crisis and protect your savings.

1. Company discounts: Some workplaces negotiate discounts for their employees to save money on things they want and need to buy. These can really make a difference now that people are seeing increased pressure on their finances.

For example, many offer retail discounts, transportation deals, company gym memberships, discounts on dining and days out, but also better rates on mortgages and financial planning. Some even offer tech buyout schemes, where technology spend can be paid for over time.

2. Increase the frequency of salary payments: As prices rise, the number of people struggling to make it to payday before running out of money is likely to increase. In fact, 36 per cent of UK adults say they are already cutting back on what they spend due to the rising cost of living.

Some employers are looking for ways to pay their employees the wages they have already earned before payday and others offer to pay in advance. This could be useful in an emergency, such as urgent car repairs, but it may not be the best option for those who find themselves continually overloaded each month.

More about Savings and Banking

3. Employee Assistance Programs: Many workplaces offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help employees deal with personal problems that may affect their job performance, health and well-being. This benefit is often overlooked. An EAP can offer employees a wide range of support, including online resources, advice, legal support, and referral services on what to do if they’re having trouble with their finances.

4. Debt support and loan consolidation: 23 per cent of UK adults say being in debt is one of their biggest financial concerns. Many companies offer financial education seminars on debt management to help employees understand how to manage and pay off debt, and what help is available. Some now also offer loan consolidation through payroll to support those who need help paying off debt.

5. Salary sacrifice: One way to save money is to pay for things through your company’s payroll, so that the amount you pay in taxes is reduced. This is known as salary sacrifice. It is very common to pay pension contributions in this way, but it can also be used to pay for transport such as company cars, bicycles and bus passes, as well as mobile phones, gym memberships and medical care. and teeth.

6. Savings: 42 percent say the increased cost of living means they cut back or stopped saving regularly. However, for those who can still afford to save, it’s more important than ever to make the most of these hard-earned savings.

Savings and investment accounts offered at work, including workplace ISAs, can provide a convenient way for people to save, as deposits are often taken directly from salary, making it common and without effort. Additionally, these accounts may also offer discounted rates.

Many workplaces also offer the opportunity to invest in company stock through a company stock plan. Typically, these plans offer attractive tax savings or offer employees the option to purchase shares at a fixed price in the future.

7. Pensions: Another 30 percent of adults say they know they should be saving more for retirement, but it can be tempting to stop or reduce their pension contributions when times are tough. In fact, according to new research, 7 percent of people plan to reduce their workplace pension contributions to keep up with the rising cost of living.

However, this is something you will probably regret later in life. Many employers will match not only pension contributions made through automatic enrollment, but additional contributions as well. This means that your savings will automatically double, as well as savings on National Insurance and taxes.

8. Hybrid work: Some employers have introduced hybrid work to encourage employees to work in the way that works best for them. For example, some people are worried about the cost of heating their home and want to work in the office more often, while others are more concerned about the cost of travel and would like to work remotely for a while.

9. Financial Literacy: 88% of adults say they know how much money they spend on all their essential bills (mortgage, rent, bills, food, and energy) each month, but only 35% keep a budget and know what they can spend each month, suggesting that many don’t really know how much they spend.

Financial education and job coaching can make a big difference by giving employees the opportunity to learn about budgeting, money-saving tips, saving, debt management, retirement planning, and more. If your employer offers financial education, don’t think it’s too late to make a difference: Many people discover really important lessons that make a big difference in their finances.

10. Eliminate the stigma: One of the biggest problems when it comes to debt or other money concerns is talking about it. This may be due to the stigma surrounding debt and people are often embarrassed about it. A survey found that 14 per cent of UK adults say financial worries make them feel embarrassed, rising to 23 per cent of 18-34 year olds.

The reality is that a change in circumstances could mean that anyone could find themselves in this situation. Many proactive employers encourage their employers not to suffer in silence and to access available support to help.

Survey of 2,000 UK adults was conducted by Opinium for Wealth at Work in April 2022

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Actress Parker Posey has appeared in some classic movies, from Best in Show to Personal Velocity. That’s fitting for an actress who, after a brief stint on the soap opera As The World Turns, made her feature film debut in Coneheads, quickly followed by her breakout role in Richard Linklater’s ’90s cult classic Dazed and Confused. . She spent less than a year working on the soap before landing the lead role from her, and Posey hasn’t slowed down since. A queen of independent films, Posey has also made memorable appearances in bigger movies like You’ve Got Mail and Blade: Trinity.

He was born (along with his twin brother Christopher) in Baltimore, Maryland in 1968. Parker’s family moved to Monroe, Louisiana and later to Laurel, Mississippi due to his mother’s career as a chef and his father’s career working for car dealers. He studied drama at the State University of New York at Purchase and landed his first role (in As The World Turns) shortly after graduation. She has been working steadily ever since and is a frequent collaborator with director Christopher Guest and has appeared in five of his great mockumentary films: Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003). , For Your Consideration. (2006) and Pets (2016).

While Posey hasn’t achieved A-list fame in her more than three decades of professional acting, she has achieved something far more elusive and important: a strong, stable, and enduring career as a film and television actress, and one of the most important. Iconic and modern faces of Gen X. One of the most underrated actors of the last three decades, let’s take a look at Parker Posey’s best performances.

7 Price inquiry

IFC Films

Price Check is a 2012 film starring Eric Mabius as Pete Cozy. Pete is going through a rough time in life. His debt is high, he hates his job, and all of that is affecting his marriage and his family life. Parker Posey plays Pete’s new boss, Susan, a human power bunny, who draws Pete into the chaos of his life and work style, forcing him to work harder than ever. Posey is a force of nature here, playing a bit against type but going all-in on paper.

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6 Henry the Fool

Sony Pictures Classics

Henry Fool (1998) is the first film in a trilogy that also includes 2006’s Fay Grim and 2014’s Ned Rifle with Aubrey Plaza. Henry Fool (an incredible Thomas Jay Ryan) is a novelist just released from a seven-year prison sentence for attempted statutory rape. He befriends the socially awkward Simon Grim, a garbage man who is inspired by Fool to write a poem that ends up winning the Nobel Prize. Parker Posey plays Simon’s sister, Fay Grim, whom he seduces and impregnates. As Simon’s star rises, Henry descends into a life of drinking in dive bars. This unclassifiable film from Hal Hartley is a funny, weird and brilliant indie film that paved the way for a surprisingly suspenseful trilogy.

RELATED: Dazed and Confused Reunion Screenings Announced with Matthew McConaughey and Parker Posey

5 Fay Grim

Pictures of Magnolia

Fay Grim takes place seven years after the events of Henry Fool. Parker Posey reprises her role as the title character, who is coerced by a CIA agent (Jeff Goldblum) to try to find the mysterious notebooks allegedly kept by her fugitive husband, Henry Fool. Believing her husband to be dead, Fay plunges into a world of espionage as she travels to Paris in an attempt to retrieve part of her diary. All the journals, at one time or another, ended up in the hands of her brother Simon and Henry. As the mystery deepens, Fay is informed of what the diaries contain, raising her stakes and putting her life in danger. A surprisingly cool and downright incredible movie, Fay Grim is a stylistic, exciting and mysterious film that positions Posey as a badass female lead she doesn’t usually play.

4 Best Of Show

Warner Bros Pictures

Best in Show is a 2000 mockumentary from the minds of Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy chronicling the characters surrounding an exclusive dog show similar to the real-life Westminster Dog Show. Parker Posey played Meg Snow, who, along with Ella Hamilton’s husband, is a stereotypical yuppie from suburban Chicago. Her Weimaraner, Beatrice, enters the competition. Poor Beatrice’s behavior is severely affected by the swans’ neurotic behavior. When Beatrice’s favorite toy goes missing, they frantically search for a replacement before she starts the show. Although the ensemble cast (Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr. and more) is incredible, Poset gracefully steals every scene she’s in.

3 Waiting For Guffman

Sony Pictures Classics

Christopher Guest and the great Eugene Levy also wrote the 1996 mockumentary Waiting for Guffman in which Parker Posey plays the role of Libby Mae Brown. The film is about the making of a community theater production in the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri. The production, Red, White, and Blaine, is to commemorate the city’s 150th anniversary. Posey’s character is a deliciously bored employee of the local Dairy Queen who participates in the play along with other residents of the city. As usual, she is incredibly naturalistic and organic in her work with Guest, and her combination of improvisation and character work is very funny and emotionally insightful.

2 Dazed and confused

Pictures of Gramercy

Parker Posey had his breakout role in Richard Linklater’s 1993 film (which also introduced the world to Ben Affleck, Renee Zelwegger, Adam Goldberg, and Milla Jovovich), Dazed and Confused. He played a high-level cheerleader named Darla, who has a lot of fun novating freshman girls. As she infamously yells “Air Raid,” the girls fall to the ground, lying on their stomachs, as Poser laughs gleefully in a delightfully wicked performance. Posey improvised parts of her memorable performance in the 1976 film about the last day of high school, which also launched the career of Matthew McConaughey. Good good good.

1 party girl

first look images

Party Girl introduced Parker Posey as Mary, a free spirit who sleeps all day and partying all night. The 1995 film is notable for being the first film to be released on the Internet. Mary is arrested for organizing an underground rave and calls her godmother to rescue her. Mary goes to work for her godmother at the library to pay off her debt. She is inspired to learn the Dewey Decimal system after being thoroughly baked at work, and the film’s weird, aimless fun builds from there. Party Girl is so entertaining that it can make viewers nostalgic for the sheer chaos of being 20, and Posey is just iconic in her.

The post Parker Posey’s Best Movies, Ranked appeared first on NEWSP1.

I remember watching the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. I was 19, in my little silverfish-infested college locker room, wearing a fleece jumpsuit, the antithesis of glamour. But parading across my small laptop screen were the most beautiful women in the world, all dry, skimpy underwear, and megawatt smiles. On their backs were gigantic wings, some made of feathers, others made of American flags or huge fake orchids. These “angels” were the epitome of sensuality, fun and charm. It was the last year I saw her.

As I got older, I started to see the problems with this parade of skinny white women in skimpy underwear year after year. Not only did no one in my life, even the most beautiful women, look like angels, they had all given up trying. The show started to feel embarrassing and awkward. In the past, I’d dismissed criticism of the show and what the brand stood for (perfection, flirtatiousness) as an elevated form of attacking women, but now I could see that they were right.

A series of controversies then followed, including the brand’s refusal to allow transgender models to walk the runway, claiming it would ruin the “fantasy” of the event, and its constant promotion of unattainable, sometimes even unhealthy, body standards. At a time when Rihanna’s Savage X Beauty lingerie line embraced consumers of all shapes, all sizes, all genders, and all races, Victoria’s Secret was not only not cool, it was out of touch. The underwear brand finally ended its shows entirely in 2019 after a decline in viewership — millions of other women, like me, had turned it off as well.

A new documentary shines a brutal light on the company’s behind-the-scenes machinations. Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons, which airs on Paramount+ starting today, is an incredibly uncomfortable watch for those of us who accept its toxic ethos. From sexual assault to the undermining of female executives to the sheer greed of its CEO, behind closed doors, Victoria’s Secret was not the fun-loving brand it pretended to be. Even hearing a model describe the annual fashion show as “expose” and reveal that she used to go home afterwards and cry in the bathroom is shocking. We were always told that angels loved to walk in the show.

Most disturbing is former CEO Les Wexner’s relationship with convicted pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. According to sources working at the company, Epstein would pose as a Victoria’s Secret model recruiter as a way to meet young women hoping to build a career. In 1997, a woman filed a sexual assault charge against Epstein, whom she originally trusted because he had told her that he worked for Victoria’s Secret. Wexner has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, although the association with the former financier has left an indelible stain on his reputation and Wexner ultimately resigned in February 2020.

Watching the three-part film, it’s not hard to see how I, and millions of other women, fell for the lie that Victoria’s Secret was selling us. Its heyday came in the early 2000s, when Sex and the City and boys’ magazines championed women’s supposed revival of sex. Victoria’s Secret fit the bill, combining a sassy attitude with a proto-feminist message of empowerment: These women wanted to walk the runway in stilettos and wear “very little clothing,” as one TV ad advertised. It was also true. In the document, supermodel Tyra Banks is seen talking about how she berated her agent to get her a spot on the show. “Could not be better!” affirmed Alessandra Ambrosi.

But the magic was all fake. The facade of being a “women-led” company was dispelled by former employees who fought to get their designs past the men at the top. “They didn’t want anything to do with shapewear or maternity,” one designer lamented. They just wanted thongs.

A Victoria’s Secret photo shoot (Photo: Paramount+)

Angels and Demons is very comprehensive and provides a lot of background on how the business came to be a monolith. It respects Wexler’s ambitions, while also questioning his morals and unbridled need to stand tall in New York society, though he focuses too much on the Jeffrey Epstein connection, perhaps in an attempt to make the series more newsworthy and not just an attack on Victoria’s Secret. It’s not unlike the Netflix movie about Abercrombie and Fitch, which was also accused of creating a culture of toxicity. The fact that the two brands had so many similar issues when it came to body image and the idea of ​​what was beautiful was perhaps due to the fact that until 1999, Wexler owned both.

What I obsessed over during my “Victoria’s Secret phase” was the constant reporting of angel diets and exercise regimens. In 2012, model Joan Smalls revealed that she worked out so much before the show that she burned 800 calories in one day, while Doutzen Kroes tweeted out the ingredients in the smoothies she lived on, made up of flaxseed, coconut, calcium powder and acai berries. “I didn’t eat much for 10 years,” a former model says in the documentary. “I lost a part of me.” When Kim Kardashian revealed that she lost 21 pounds so she could wear her Met Gala dress earlier this year, there was outrage; back then she didn’t just look normal, it was an achievement to celebrate.

There is no doubt that Victoria’s Secret had a negative effect on my body image. At a size 10, I was convinced as a teenager that I was “fat”. In the eyes of the biggest underwear brand on the planet, it was. “There were people who were tortured for that,” acknowledged a former employee. Wexner wanted “sexy girls next door,” the same women found in the pages of Playboy. Even freckles and moles were considered imperfect.

More than Culture

Recently, Victoria’s Secret has been rebooted as an inclusive and less glamorous brand. They are wearing plus size models and older models. The marketing strategy claims that the company has “changed” and that it “sees” its customer more clearly than before. There is a new CEO, Martin Waters, and a new initiative from VS Collective, a group of women including soccer player Megan Rapinoe, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, model and inclusive Paloma Elsesser, who will advise the brand on what women want. “real women”.

And it appears to be working: In the fourth quarter since the reboot, Victoria’s Secret reported growth after years of dismal sales. I am surprised: in my eyes, too much damage had been done.

But it wasn’t just Victoria’s Secret that had to change: consumers had to do the same. Have we really done it? We like to think that a brand like this would never have the same control over culture. But her legacy lives on through Instagram, where the Kardashians, whose beauty standards are as unattainable, yet as coveted, as those of Victoria’s Secret models (Kendall Jenner is, after all, a former angel).

Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons presents some uncomfortable truths, but it doesn’t capture the extent to which young women were manipulated by a company run by men who only cared about making money and creating a global platform for men to ogle women. women. I’ve stopped feeling guilty about not having Victoria’s Secret approved abs. It’s harder to let go of the shame of buying into dangerous brand culture in the first place.

Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons airs now on Paramount+

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Bruce Willis is best known for some of his earlier work, from the Die Hard movie franchise to Pulp Fiction. Recently, he retired from acting completely after his family announced that he suffers from aphasia. That didn’t stop him from finishing his career strong, though, as he’s produced a lot of direct-to-video movies over the years, apparently trying to squeeze in as many films as possible before retiring.

Direct-to-video movies never have a chance to gain traction. Sometimes they may even be released without your knowledge, because without a theatrical release and trailers, these movies tend to slip right under the noses of many people. Sometimes this isn’t a good thing, since the movie may be very well made or deep, or sometimes it’s for the better, since the movie wasn’t very good (most are direct-to-video for a reason). However, there is at least one thing you can count on in almost all of Willis’ work, and that is that the film is sure to be action-packed.

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survive the night

Lionsgate

Survive the Night is an action thriller that takes place over the course of one night. Two criminals try to rob a garage, but when the owner fights back, one of them is injured. They manage to escape and break into the house, holding the family hostage and forcing the doctor to come in to treat the criminal’s gunshot wound. When the doctor’s father, Frank, finds out that his wife is dead thanks to criminals, he interrupts the surgery and goes on the rampage. Now, it’s Frank against the criminals as he tries to save the rest of the family by luring them outside, hoping he can get his family through the night.

Related: These Are The Best Bruce Willis Movies, Ranked

Willis plays Frank in this film. While he definitely puts in his role, showing compassion for his family and resentment for criminals, it’s not enough to save the movie. Spending a full 90 minutes as a bottle movie at one location for one night surely helped cut costs, but it makes the story seem like it’s dragging on too long, as there aren’t really any new and interesting developments moving it forward and out of it. home. The film received a nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award, an awards program that highlights the worst in the film industry. Willis was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor, and his performance and the film in general are confused with the nearly two dozen films he made in the two years before he retired.

Breach

savannah movies

You may recognize similar themes to other movies in Breach. This sci-fi horror film features a ship full of passengers when an alien breaks in and starts infecting them. An extinction level event on Earth leads to 300,000 selected passengers to be sent through space and transfer the population to New Earth, one of their space colonies. Noah hides on the boat to stay with his pregnant girlfriend and pretends to be a janitor. Another janitor, Clay, takes him under his wing. When the first of the bodies shows up, the crewmates not in stasis begin to realize something is up, and no matter how many times they kill the infected, they keep getting back up. It begins to get increasingly grim for the passengers as the number of infected continues to grow.

You’ll find Willis as Clay here, a grizzled janitor who tries to help the protagonist in any way he can. Of course, with the use of many different movies and tropes at once, the movie becomes confusing and almost cliche. Breach draws from a lot of influences with alien invaders and space travel movies that have been made before, most notably Alien, so as hard as the actors here try, they can’t quite live up to their predecessors. Willis received another Worst Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Raspberrys.

cosmic sin

savannah movies

Another science fiction movie, Cosmic Sin, is about an alien invasion. In the 2500s, humans are in control of three planets, one of them being Earth. His colonists discover and report an alien encounter, after which the unseen species begin to move. They force humans into their hive mind after ingesting a specific black liquid, and from there they can control humans. This allows them to slip under the radar as they don’t look any different. James Ford, previously dishonorably discharged from the military for his actions when one of the planets tried to break up, is called in to help. He and a small chosen team do battle as they attempt to land on the planet currently fighting aliens, joining the remaining survivors in trying to find a way to save humanity.

Willis plays Ford in this movie, once again starring in an action movie. Although it does its best, the amount of exposition used to explain the story really bogs it down at first. Some details aren’t even necessary to the plot, like how humanity originally colonized Mars but has since lost that colony. The story has potential, but it needed a bit more focus to make it really good. Willis was doing so many direct-to-video movies at the time, one after another, that the Golden Raspberrys decided to make an entire category. just for him. “Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Film” would have guaranteed a win for one of his direct-to-video films had the category not been terminated after the announcement of his aphasia diagnosis.

survive the game

Lionsgate

Survive the Game is an action thriller that surrounds the world of crime. A drug bust gone wrong injures David, a policeman. His partner, Cal, decides to go after the culprits in an attempt to arrest them. He tracks them down to a remote farm owned by a troubled veteran, Eric, who teams up with Cal to get rid of the criminals. As they try to come up with a plan, an injured David joins them, but more gang members arrive at the farm, outnumbering the men and forcing them to use creative tactics to defeat the gang.

Willis plays veteran Eric here, a role fitting for him in this action flick. Between the three of them teaming up to take down the gang, he definitely helps balance them out. Although the plot is general, the film avoids many classic tropes and clichés that he could have used, making it a more enjoyable experience than it could have been; James Cullen Bressack’s energetic and stylish direction helps. However, it was also one of the films in the Golden Raspberrys category since rescinded, so Willis marks it down a bit and the film isn’t as good as it could be.

Appendix

RLJE movies

Since sci-fi worlds are a popular setting for action movies, it’s no surprise that Apex is also set in the future. Although no specific year is stated, it is clear from technology that the world has changed. Thomas Malone is serving a life sentence in prison for a crime he didn’t commit when he is offered the chance to be free. He has to win a game on a private island to see his family again. Essentially, he is preyed upon by a group of wealthy hunters and has to survive their hunt for him. As the hunters slowly begin to turn on each other, Malone may have a chance to win freedom from him.

Related: Bruce Willis is Radiant in First Post-Retirement Photos

Willis plays Thomas Malone and shows us all the stops a person will go to when they’re being hunted for sport. The premise is as interesting as it is outlandish, as the rich pay to hunt other humans, but for this universe, it remains an unquestionable truth. There’s a seriousness to the film’s tone and its anger at unbridled capitalism that keeps it from going too crazy, but there are plenty of clichés and gory violence (which makes it feel like a weak sci-fi version of The Hunt) that it is difficult to recover as the plot is stretched to fit a full-length movie. This was another movie in the Golden Raspberry category for Bruce Willis’ Worst Performance in a 2021 Movie.

Fortress

Lionsgate

Interestingly, Fortress is the first film in a trilogy of direct-to-video movies that, according to his co-star, have him “like a legend.” The film centers on Robert, a retired American intelligence officer, and his son Paul. Robert lives in a top-secret compound designed specifically for retired intelligence officers. When Paul decides to drive over to visit him, the location is compromised as Robert’s old enemy follows him. When the criminals break in, Robert and Paul retreat to a hidden bunker, but fear it won’t be enough, they have to team up and work together if they hope to save the day.

Willis plays Robert, playing the retired intelligence officer. The movie moves at the right pace to keep you interested all the time, and it has some exciting action scenes, but it definitely has weak points, especially character-centric. Still, it’s entertaining to watch, even if it also made it into that rescinded category in the Golden Raspberrys.

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The biggest car rental companies are charging “rip-off” prices for inferior insurance policies, making the cost of renting a car abroad even higher, research shows.

The coverage offered to vacationers at the rental counter is less comprehensive and up to seven times more expensive than policies offered by third-party providers. Which? show the data.

Experts from the consumer group rated the excess reimbursement policies of 20 independent insurance companies against the comprehensive excess exemptions sold by the main car rental companies in Spain.

Although car rentals in Europe include basic insurance, they usually charge an excess of up to £2,500 in the event of a claim. To reduce this, often to £0, companies offer an excess waiver, meaning you pay nothing in the event of a claim, although these waivers are often expensive.

Which? found that policies from Budget and Avis, both costing £168, were the least comprehensive of all, with a policy score of 46 per cent.

Europcar’s ‘Premium Protection’ policy was better, scoring 68 per cent, but it costs £205 a week.

Cover offered by Goldcar, Alamo and Enterprise scored just 51 per cent, with Goldcar cover costing £177.

The lowest priced insurance from a car rental company than Which? found, for a week’s hire from Malaga airport, it was £110 per week with Enterprise.

The highest ranking policy was provided by chew safean online firm whose cover for a week costs just £23 and scored 76 per cent.

Other cheap third-party providers included Questor Insurance, which costs £24 and scores 73 per cent.

Which? he said he even found that online insurance companies were offering some of their most comprehensive policies for a year for an average of £47.

Policy scores were calculated by ranking the 16 most important elements of the policy, including tires, windshield and underbody cover, dead battery cover, administrative charges, auto theft, towing coverage and personal accident coverage.

Tourists should plan ahead and look beyond the major car rental companies, which ones? she said. The consumer group said tourists should look for policies that include an excess waiver as standard, as well as a “reduction,” which covers costs incurred if their trip is cut short.

More than Motoring

It comes as the price of renting a car has more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels, costing nearly £500 today versus £220 in 2019, according to research.

Guy Hobbs, travel editor at Which?, said: “Our analysis found that the major rental companies are charging exorbitant fees for poor quality cover. With rental car prices skyrocketing this summer, it’s worth trying to avoid the scam policies of these rental counters.

“Car rental companies make money off extras like insurance, and which one? You’ve previously encountered some unscrupulous vendors who resort to high-pressure sales tactics.

“If you’re renting a car this summer, avoid pressure from pushy agents and buy your own third-party policy beforehand.”

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No code, an approach to building software applications that requires little programming skills, allows workers in a company to build an application without formal programming knowledge or training in any particular programming language.

In a nutshell, no-code platforms allow users to create software applications such as online forms or even a fully functional website or add functionality to an existing site or application.

It’s important to note that there are many different no-code platform applications, according to Christian Brink Frederiksen, CEO of jump worka global provider of automation software.

Codeless platforms are fairly new. Therefore, companies planning to adopt a no-code approach should thoroughly review and test no-code tools on the market to ensure that the selected products live up to their claims.

“Many platforms today claim to be, but are not truly codeless, or lack the power to do what they say they will without additional coding,” he told NewsP1.

Leapwork developed a test automation product that is affordable and easy to maintain. Its secret sauce provides fast results at a lower cost, requiring fewer specialized resources than traditional test automation approaches.

“At Leapwork, we have democratized automation with our fully visual, no-code test automation platform that makes it easy for testers and everyday business users to create, maintain, and scale automated software tests on any type of technology,” said Frederiksen. That allows companies to adopt and scale automation faster.

Security remains the main concern

An obvious question about no-code platforms should consider how no-code technology addresses security issues that affect both proprietary and open source programming.

If designed well, no-code platforms can be safe and secure, Frederiksen said. When you manually code from scratch, it’s easy to introduce bugs and vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.

“Because no-code platforms are designed to automate the creation of an application or perform a function automatically, they are inherently much more consistent,” he explained.

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Of course, the codeless platform itself must be secure. Before choosing a solution, organizations should conduct a thorough security audit and opt for a solution that is ISO-27001 and SOC-2 compliant, he recommended.

Coding for professionals and non-professionals alike

No-code platforms aren’t primarily just for IT programmers or coders to use internally rather than outsourced software developers. Both use cases come into play successfully.

No-code platforms are certainly useful for IT coders and programmers, but the main value of a no-code testing platform is to extend the ability to build and test applications to people who aren’t trained as software developers, Frederiksen offered.

For example, Leapwork makes it easy to set up and maintain test automation at scale for testers and everyday business users. This allows QA teams to experience shorter test cycles and an immediate return on investment.

Advantages for DevOps

Speeding up testing is a huge benefit, Frederiksen noted, because hand coding creates a huge bottleneck, even for an experienced DevOps team. While testers are extremely adept at designing tests and understanding the underlying complexity of software, they are not traditionally skilled at coding.

He offered a good example.

Claus Topholt, Leapwork’s co-founder and chief product officer, worked at an investment bank before joining Frederiksen to found Leapwork in 2015. Testing was vital because the bank relied on fast, high-volume transactions. If the quality of the software was poor, it could literally bankrupt the institution.

“Claus decided to build a simplified programming language for building tests so testers could configure them, speeding up the process. But he soon discovered that testing and programming are totally different domains, and frankly, it’s not fair to force testers, who are already very skilled, to learn the extremely complicated skill of programming,” Frederiksen explained.

During a discussion with the test team, Claus and his colleagues began using a whiteboard to draw a flowchart. Everyone immediately understood what it meant.

Lesson learned

The flowchart was such a simple and clear way to express something complicated. So it was obvious that this model was the way to go to allow testers to create their own sophisticated tests without coding.

“The lesson was that if you give testers something as intuitive as a flowchart to create automated tests, you save a lot of time and eliminate bottlenecks because you don’t rely on developers’ time and expertise,” said Frederiksen. .

Claus left the investment bank to found Leapwork, creating what became a no-code platform. They built a visual language that allows business users to automate tests using a flowchart model.

Leapwork CPO and co-founder Claus Topholt (L) | Leapwork CEO and co-founder Christian Brink Frederiksen (Image credit: Leapwork)

“It democratizes automation because it is so easy for non-coders to use and maintain, which in turn allows companies to scale their automation efforts and speed up the development process,” said Frederiksen.

Questions and answers without code

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, last year Leapwork raised $62 million in the largest Series B funding round in Danish history. The round was co-led by KKR and Salesforce Ventures.

Leapwork is used by Global 2000 companies, including NASA, Mercedes-Benz, and PayPal, for robotic process automation, test automation, and application monitoring.

We asked Frederiksen to reveal more details about the inner workings of the no-code solution.

NewsP1: How can companies add automation to their testing processes?

Christian Brink Frederiksen: One way is to incorporate automated testing as an integral part of moving from one stage of the release process to another.

For example, when a developer pushes code to the development server, a series of automated tests must be triggered as part of the same process that generates the build.

These regression tests can identify big bugs early so that the developer can fix them quickly, while the code is still fresh in the developer’s mind.

Then, as the code moves into testing and ultimately into production, again, a series of automated tests must be triggered: extensive regression testing, checking its visual appearance, performance, and so on.

It is critical that business users, such as a business analyst or a tester in a QA department, have the ability to implement this automation. That’s where codeless code is so vital.

How are no-code solutions different from low-code solutions?

Frederiksen: No code doesn’t really imply code at all. If you want non-developers to use the platform, then you need to be code-free. Low code can speed up development, but you’ll still need someone with developer skills to use it.

What is more beneficial for the business and DevOps, no code or low code?

Frederiksen: No-code empowers enterprises and DevOps teams to implement automation at scale and ultimately increase software delivery performance. Low-code solutions still require you to know how to code to maintain the software.

Without code, anyone can automate workflows. Without code, developers and technically-skilled workers can focus on high-value tasks, and QA professionals such as testers can automate and maintain tests quickly and easily.

Surveys have shown that testing slows down the development process the most. If you want to make a serious impact on DevOps, you should really consider using a no-code platform.

Does the absence of code pose a threat to software and website developers?

Frederiksen: I would say the opposite. No-code has the potential to open up new opportunities for developers. More software than ever is being created and customized, and yet we are in the midst of a severe developer shortage with 64% of companies experiencing a shortage of software engineers.

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Instead of relying on code-based approaches and forcing companies to source talent externally, the absence of code allows companies to leverage their existing resources to build and test software. Technical resources are then freed up to focus on more satisfying, higher-value work, such as accelerating innovation and digital transformation.

Where do you think codeless technology is going?

Frederiksen: AI is a powerful technology, but its short-term impacts are slightly exaggerated. We believe that the challenge limiting AI capabilities today is human-to-AI communication.

It should be possible to tell a computer what you want it to do without having to explain any technical details of how to do it. Essentially, we need to be able to give an AI the requirements for a task, and then the AI ​​can handle the rest.

We’ve made a lot of progress on this issue at Leapwork. There is much more work to be done.

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Ideology, in its simplest definition, is the science of belief. In today’s world, this often comes in the form of political or religious movements, with established groups of people subscribing to the ideology that best suits their beliefs. The concept itself is ingrained in human existence, as that need to subscribe to higher ideals is what has driven progress since humanity has been the world’s foremost species. Problems arise among the masses, the need for order comes to the fore, and we have a new ideology. A tried and true pattern of civilization that has seen many iterations, only to finally achieve the same goal: order.

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What exactly was the order like at the end of the 20th century? An era characterized by conspiracy, individualism, and freethinking, the late 1980s turned out to be one in which mainstream ideology had more or less fallen by the wayside. A post-“free love” world that valued authenticity almost to the extreme, this burgeoning moment in Western culture placed importance on the individual several degrees more than the well-being of the body in general. So where would institutions play a role in making sure that some kind of control was still held over people who feel they so desperately need order? Well, in the eyes of John Carpenter (behind sunglasses veiled by skepticism), this obligation falls into the hands of the representatives of “comfort” in the modern world: capitalism.

John Carpenter sees the world differently in They Live

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John Carpenter’s They Live was released in theaters in 1988 to audiences perhaps too early to realize its relevance. The film follows George Nada (a surname that literally means “nothing”, played by wrestler Roddy Piper), a homeless drifter who has arrived in Los Angeles, where he befriends a group of drifters and acquires a pair of glasses. that help clear vision much more than simply blocking excess UV rays. When Nada puts on the glasses, he soon realizes that the free world he was promised is just a mirage of freedom that reveals itself as oppression the closer he gets.

Related: Could a They Live Sequel Really Work?

The glasses not only replace color with a muted landscape, but also add not-so-subliminal messages to signs, billboards, and other advertisements that encourage consumerism. Even your fellow man becomes morbid and unrecognizable under these lenses, replaced by aliens with gruesome humanoid features. It is revealed that these creatures have put humanity into a trance-like state, unable to break free of the shackles unknowingly placed on them by these extraterrestrial visitors. That is, until the rules of an ’80s action movie are established.

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For Carpenter and his protagonist, these glasses reveal ideology as a façade against the true nature of the social structure. We spend the first 20 minutes of They Live in near-ignorant ecstasy that’s enveloped by inexplicable tension before Nada puts on her glasses, laying the groundwork for a film ultimately rooted in dissatisfaction and that “off” feeling that push along. Once he finally puts on the fated glasses, the tension is explained to Nada, but it’s hard to get inside other people’s heads.

As the movie progresses and those in control begin to realize that one of his subordinates is now aware of the grand plan, Nada naturally becomes more desperate to share his burden of accomplishment, but is met with a dislike. growing. This presents the main problem with the ideology that They Live is attacking: blind loyalty.

They Live’s Guide to Ideology

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In many cases, ideology is something that participants take so seriously that speaking out against the supposed natural order can lead to immense persecution. In the American case, this may still ring true despite the supposed encouragement of free speech. In Nada’s case, his belief system is compromised by new knowledge that those around him refuse to acknowledge or listen to. In a sense, this allegory bled into real life, not only through the comments, but also because of the reception this film had when it was released.

Many critics spoke of the film in a negative light, saying that its cultural criticism was confused with poor acting and lackluster writing. Like Piper’s Nothing, director John Carpenter was also written off as not making sense in his own sense. Reminiscent of the blind allegiance to ideology and the lack of recognition its criticism and analysis receives until time has passed, Carpenter’s allegorical horror film only saw its true deserts in the zeitgeist many years later, as be it as a cult classic from the 1980s or as a philosophical book and political masterpiece (something explored by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek in his film The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology).

Of course, that late reception is appropriate for They Live; being ostracized due to disagreement welcomes the second blow Carpenter deals to ideology, at least in the modern Western sense: individualism under capitalism.

They Live shatters the illusions of capitalism and Reaganomics

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As stated above, the release of this film coincided with the heyday of the individualistic mentality in 20th century America. The hippie movement was a counterculture that praised genuine self-expression to the detriment of community, and the post-hippie 80s exacerbated this with dangerously unbridled capitalism and Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is good” kind of tagline in the movie Wall Street. , letting any positive ideals about community and selfless utilitarianism erode into irrelevance.

On top of that, They Live was released in 1988, nearing the end of a Reagan administration that had the great United States in suffocation. This would transfer to his vice president, who would continue a campaign in the White House that placed a high premium on monetary value and granted freedoms to corporations that had not been seen before. In Carpenter’s eyes, these corporations use ideology to invade the brains of their consumers under the guise of individual expression, reflecting our initial exposure to this fractured reality.

Related: John Carpenter’s Best Movies, Ranked When Nada first puts on her glasses in busy Los Angeles, her surroundings change to a dull, oppressive version of what it was before. The people seem almost demonic, as they now see the hosts occupying humanity; the ads shift from playful encouragement to demands for submission. A beautiful illusion, painted to distract the masses from the misdeeds of the most powerful, while they milk the Earth of all its resources in the name of profit and personal gain.

The violent cycle of ideology in They Live

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Carpenter’s cheesy sci-fi thriller manages to say a lot in its short 94 minutes. Although it is not the most eloquent demonstration, it perfectly encapsulates the disdain for change that will not be accepted by ideological beliefs. Even in the underbelly of the resistance, progress is rarely seen due to lack of patience, resorting to further ostracism by the majority.

Therefore, the cycle of domination of ideology over the individual continues, while ultimately the disappearance of the community. As uncomfortable as it may be to deconstruct ideology, Carpenter sees it as a necessity in order to achieve true saintliness among the masses. As long as the ideology exists, there will always be those who take advantage of its believers.

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Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump, has died at the age of 73 in New York City, the former US president announced on social media.

“I am deeply saddened to inform all who loved her, of whom there are many, that Ivana Trump passed away at her home in New York City,” Trump said.

“She was a wonderful, beautiful, amazing woman who led a great and inspiring life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric. She was as proud of them as we all were of her. Rest in peace Ivana!”

The Trump family also released a statement.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Ivana Trump. Our mother was an incredible woman: a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and a loving mother and friend. Ivana Trump was a survivor.

“She fled communism and embraced this country,” the statement continued.

“She taught her children about determination and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be greatly missed by her mother, her three children and her 10 grandchildren.”

The Trumps were a power couple in New York in the 1980s before they divorced.

In recent years, Ivana Trump had gotten along with her ex-husband. She wrote in a 2017 book they talked about once a week.

He told the New York Post in 2016 that he supported and advised the former president.

“I suggest a few things,” he told the newspaper. “We talk before and after the appearances and he asks me what I thought.”

She said she advised him to “be calmer.”

“But Donald cannot rest easy,” he added. “He is very frank. He just tells it like it is.”

Ivana Zelnickova was born in 1949 in the Czechoslovak city of Gottwaldov, the former city of Zlin that had just been renamed by the communists, who took over the country in 1948.

She married Trump, her second husband, in 1977.

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