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The much-anticipated Minecraft 1.22 update is rumored to bring a revolutionary twist to the iconic sandbox game, fusing virtual creativity with augmented reality (AR) capabilities. This blend of reality and gaming promises to redefine player interaction with sandbox environments and looks set to be a game-changer in the world of digital engagement. Minecraft 1.22 will reportedly integrate AR into the gameplay, allowing players to project their virtual creations into the real world. Imagine building a fortress in your backyard or designing intricate pixel art right in your living room. With this new technology, users will have the ability to not only visualize but also physically navigate through their Minecraft worlds, creating a more immersive gaming experience. Furthermore, this update is predicted to introduce sophisticated environmental interaction . The game could respond to real-world weather conditions, time of day, and other environmental factors, making the virtual environments mimic reality even more closely. This feature hints at Minecraft’s step toward creating a dynamic and responsive game world. This leap-forward in Minecraft highlights a trend seen across the gaming industry, where developers aim to merge the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds. Such technological advancements could set a new precedent for the way gamers interact with their virtual environments, pushing the limits of imagination and creativity. As Minecraft 1.22 potentially propels the game into a new era of interactive realism, players and industry watchers alike are excited to see how this update might shape the future of gaming. Keep your eyes peeled for further developments in this exciting virtual adventure! Minecraft 1.22: How Augmented Reality Will Transform Your Gaming Experience The upcoming Minecraft 1.22 update is set to revolutionize the gaming landscape by integrating cutting-edge Augmented Reality (AR) technologies. As anticipation builds, here’s what this fusion of virtual creativity and real-world interaction could mean for millions of avid Minecraft players. Augmented Reality Enhancements Minecraft 1.22 is expected to allow players to project their virtual constructs into the real world, offering a seamless blend of gaming and reality. This new capability will enable players to engage with their digital creations in their physical environment, transforming ordinary spaces into dynamic, interactive playgrounds. Imagine projecting your latest Minecraft build right onto your bedroom floor or backyard—an innovation that blurs the line between fiction and reality. Environmental Interaction Features Beyond its AR capabilities, the update is also anticipated to introduce advanced environmental interaction features. The game could adapt to real-world conditions like changes in weather, time, and other environmental elements, offering an immersive experience that reacts dynamically to the player’s surroundings. This evolution in gameplay could allow for a unique, responsive interaction that adapts Minecraft worlds more coherently with real life. Pros and Cons of AR Integration # Pros: – Immersive Gameplay: Integration with the real world promises unparalleled immersion, making virtual interactions feel tangibly real. – Enhanced Creativity: Players can explore and interact with their builds in a three-dimensional space, expanding creative possibilities. – Dynamic Interactions: Real-world conditions affecting gameplay could introduce unique challenges and experiences. # Cons: – Technical Limitations: High-performance device requirements could limit accessibility for some players. – Implementation Complexity: Real-world AR projection may face operational challenges, such as aligning virtual creations with physical geography. Anticipated Market Impact and Trends This update could set a transformative trend in the gaming industry, pushing other developers to explore similar integrations of augmented reality in their games. As technology progresses, this could redefine not only how games are played, but also how they are designed—merging digital experiences into everyday life. Future Projections With the continuous evolution of AR technology, future updates might see more sophisticated interactions and controls, making games like Minecraft not just a pastime, but a part of everyday life and even education. Expect future iterations to enhance collaborative features, making real-world multiplayer interactions more engaging and educational. As we await the launch of Minecraft 1.22, its potential to reshape digital engagement is clear. For those interested in the cross-section of gaming and extended reality, this could be a transformative moment. For more updates and insights into innovations in gaming, visit the official Minecraft website .
The latest from Call the Midwife HQ is that season 14 has officially wrapped filming, fans will be pleased to know. Announcing the news on its official social media accounts with the above picture of Stephen McGann (Dr Turner) and Natalie Quarry (Nurse Clifford) holding the clapperboard, the caption of the post reads: "LATEST! It's a wrap on Call the Midwife Series 14 filming!! "We have just received this traditional 'end slate' clapperboard shot from the set of Call the midwife, where the very final scene of Series 14 has just been filmed!!! This year it was the turn of Stephen McGann (Dr Turner) and Natalie Quarry (Nurse Clifford) to bring the filming to a close with a VERY emotional story ... "We CAN'T WAIT to show you what we've been working on. Now the countdown begins to...THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!! Over the next few weeks we'll be bringing you all the festive insights, chat and behind scenes exclusives as we approach the return of our drama. So stay tuned... the midwives are on their way!!" Keep up to date with all the dramas - from period to crime to comedy By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy . You can unsubscribe at any time. Quarry was one of the recent cast additions that joined the beloved drama earlier this year in season 13 as new character Rosalind. Quarry told Radio Times magazine at the time that her character is "honest, loyal, open and kind, emotionally invested in other people – perhaps too much". As for whether or not Rosalind will be caught up in the teased "very emotional story", we'll just have to wait and see. We do know, though, that the official Call the Midwife account previously teased more about some of the tear-jerking scenes that are set to unfold in the season finale. Last week, a behind-the-scenes picture (below) showed Zephryn Taitte (who plays Cyril) in the midst of an "important scene" , which could very well make viewers emotional. As for the details about this upcoming plotline, we'll just have to wait and see. Of course, Cyril has recently had to get used to living life in London without wife Lucille (Leonie Elliott), who moved back to Jamaica after experiencing some mental health issues. With filming on season 14 having now wrapped, we can anticipate new episodes in the near future, as well as the anticipated two-parter Christmas 2024 special . Speaking about the upcoming Christmas special, executive producer Dame Pippa Harris added: "For the first time, viewers can luxuriate in a two-part festive treat this Christmas. Heidi has created a spellbinding special which I know will delight our loyal fans." Call the Midwife returns to BBC One and iPlayer this Christmas. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast .MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Cam Ward keeps rewriting the Miami record book. Ward, a Heisman Trophy contender who already holds the Hurricanes' single-season record for touchdown passes and is on pace to break the school marks for completion percentage, set two more school records on Saturday — both at Bernie Kosar's expense. Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions this season. Kosar threw for 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984, and for the next 40 years nobody matched those numbers — until now. “Congrats #CamWard,” Kosar posted on social media. “U R Awesome.” Everyone seems to think so — except Ward, that is. He has made clear all season that personal accomplishments and stats are of little, if any, importance to him. “It really doesn't mean anything ... The receiving group that I have, the O-line that I have, any quarterback in this position could set records," Ward said. Ward's 13-yard completion to Damien Martinez with 1:27 left in the second quarter gave him 3,643 yards for the season and broke that record. And in the third quarter, Ward threw a 15-yard pass to Xavier Restrepo for his 263rd completion of the year — topping another of Kosar's marks. Ward is up to 34 touchdown passes this season; the previous Miami record was 29 by Steve Walsh in 1988. And with a completion rate of 67.2%, Ward is on pace to break Miami's single-season completion percentage mark of 65.8% set last year by Tyler Van Dyke as well as the Miami career mark of 64.3% set by D'Eriq King in 2020 and 2021. “He only cares about winning,” wide receiver Jacolby George said. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
South Korea Industrial Output (YoY) below expectations (0.4%) in November: Actual (0.1%)Hal Lindsey, a former New Orleans tugboat captain who embraced end-of-days Christian prophecies and helped sharpen evangelical focus on the Middle East with a book that predicted apocalyptic warfare and sold tens of millions of copies, died Nov. 25 at his home in Tulsa. He was 95. The death was announced on his website, but no cause was noted. The cataclysmal scenarios in Lindsey’s “The Late Great Planet Earth,” first published in 1970, tapped into a long tradition of doomsday visions by American preachers and zealots. One movement in the 1840s led by Baptist clergyman William Miller had tens of thousands of followers awaiting the end of the world. Lindsey did not note any precise dates in his bestseller but used political and culture references that gave a contemporary context. His book (written with Carole C. Carlson) overlaid selected passages from scripture with Cold War-era fears — including forecasting a world war starting in the Middle East — that seemed starkly relevant to many Christian readers and others. Mr. Lindsey said part of his aim was to draw greater attention to belief in the second coming of Jesus and “the most thrilling, optimistic view of what the future could hold.” Yet all that would be preceded by global death and destruction on a mind-boggling scale, according to his writings. “I’ve always wanted to talk to the people who wouldn’t darken the door of a church,” he told the Religion News Service in 1997. “I hope my books would lead them to a curiosity that would drive them to search out these things more carefully, and as a result, come to faith.” Bantam Books acquired the mass-market paperback rights from the original publisher, Zondervan, a small religious imprint. “The Late Great Planet Earth” became a fixture on bestseller lists for much of the 1970s and in 1978 was made into a documentary hosted by Orson Welles. The book also helped launch a subgenre of Christian books with eschatological themes that included evangelist Billy Graham’s “Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (1983). None of the books matched the reach of “The Late Great Planet Earth,” which has sold an estimated 35 million copies in about 50 languages, according to Christianity Today magazine and other outlets. For Lindsey, the book provided the foundations for his rise as a powerful voice in Christian media. (His collaborator Carlson died in 1999.) He wrote more than 20 other books and established the Hal Lindsey Ministries, which led trips to the Holy Land and produced shows such as the “Week in Review,” a call-in program hosted by Mr. Lindsey that aired on more than 70 Christian radio stations. In “The Late Great Planet Earth,” he depicted domino-effect crises such as famines, social strife and a Russian invasion of Israel that leads to global nuclear war. “Imagine,” he wrote, “cities like London, Paris, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago — obliterated!” Then, as the “battle of Armageddon” threatens all life on earth, “Jesus Christ will return and save man from self-extinction,” he wrote. While he presented no specific time frames, Mr. Lindsey suggested harbingers of the end times were already in place, including the declaration of Israeli statehood in 1948 and its wartime victories in 1967 that left Israel in de facto control of Jerusalem and other areas. His views helped shape the priorities of many Christian evangelical groups that strongly support Israel. “For all its prophetic razzle-dazzle, ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ was essentially an evangelistic exercise,” wrote Timothy Weber, a scholar of American Christian history and former dean of the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (now the Northern Seminary) in Illinois. After “The Late Great Planet Earth,” Lindsey began to suggest that biblical prophecies could be completed by “1988 or so” — around four decades after the founding of the Israeli state. As the years passed after 1988, Lindsey tried to regroup by interpreting events such as the Gulf War in 1991 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks as part of the end-time puzzle being revealed. “There’s just a split second’s difference between a hero and a bum,” Mr. Lindsey told Christianity Today. “I didn’t ask to be a hero, but I guess I have become one in the Christian community. So I accept it. But if I’m wrong about this, I guess I’ll become a bum.” At the same time, his increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Islam brought criticism from mainstream religious leaders and led the influential Trinity Broadcasting Network to temporarily cancel carrying Lindsey’s show. Among his comments were portrayals of Palestinians as “usurpers” of land that he said God promised to the “descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Trinity returned his show to its airwaves in 2007 after a more than one-year hiatus. Lindsey also faced questions about how much he used donor funds to bankroll a lifestyle that included luxury properties and salaries totaling more than $1.1 million for him and his wife, Jo Lynn. In February, the religious-affairs monitoring group MinistryWatch put the Hal Lindsey Website Ministries in a category that advised donors to “give with caution.” A MinistryWatch analysis said Mr. Lindsey’s organization spent about $3 million on outreach programs from net assets of about $25 million. Harold Lee Lindsey was born in Houston on Nov. 23, 1929. He enrolled at the University of Houston but left to join the Coast Guard during the Korean War, serving in New Orleans and later becoming a tugboat skipper in the Mississippi Delta. “I was pretty much content with living in the French Quarter and having every other week off with a full paycheck,” he told the AP in 1998. “But then I came to a point where I’d say, ‘What do you do for an encore?’ And that’s when I started searching.” He began reading the Bible, he recounted, and said he had a “born again” experience after meeting a Houston pastor, Robert Thieme Jr. Lindsey left his job to study at the Dallas Theological Seminary, a center of dispensationalist theology that includes a doctrine of events and time periods that lead to the return of Jesus. He graduated in 1962 and joined the Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) and made his base the University of California at Los Angeles, seeking to evangelize students. His other books include “The 1980’s: Countdown to Armageddon” (1981); “Prophetical Walk through the Holy Land” (1983) and “The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad” (2002). Mr. Lindsay was divorced three times. Survivors include his fourth wife, Jo Lynn Lindsey; and three daughters from his second marriage, to Jan Houghton. He often portrayed the target audience of “The Late Great Planet Earth” as the student skeptics he encountered as a campus evangelist. “As I wrote, I’d imagine that I was sitting across the table from a young person — a cynical, irreligious person — and I’d try to convince him that the Bible prophecies were true,” he wrote.” “If you can make a young person understand, then the others will understand, too.”UPCX and World Aquatics Launch 2024 Breakout Swimmer Award - Global Voting Now Open on DFE App 12-13-2024 10:58 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Getnews / PR Agency: SHENZHEN HMEDIUM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD As a leading open-source payment system, UPCX, in collaboration with World Aquatics, proudly launches the "2024 UPCX Breakout Swimmer Award." This award aims to recognize swimmers who have excelled or made breakthroughs at the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup and the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Budapest. Public voting officially began on December 10 through the Digital Fan Engagement (DFE) application and is now open to fans worldwide. Image: https://www.globalnewslines.com/uploads/2024/12/31021d958ce53b3d3c86277e31d3a0e3.jpg UPCX is an open-source payment system based on high-speed blockchain technology, optimized for payment and financial services. UPCX is designed not only for Web3 but also applicable to Web2 and real-world use cases, thereby playing an active role as a platform for the new era. In addition to achieving high-speed on-chain payment settlements comparable to existing financial institutions, UPCX is building an efficient and diversified financial transaction ecosystem. For example, UPCX is developing the Super App, which will enable users to not only make payments but also handle daily tasks such as bookings, orders, messaging, asset management, and investments. By integrating all these functions into one application, UPCX aims to provide an unparalleled user experience. The UPCX Breakout Swimmer is the athlete (male and female) who has a surprise or breakthrough performance at the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup and/or at the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Budapest. This performance can come from an athlete who is entirely new on the international scene or from an athlete who has performed solidly over previous meets/years and has now taken a significant step forward towards elite performance. Any athlete who excels or breaks out unexpectedly at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships - Budapest 2024 will be added to the nominee list for voting. Award winners will be determined by a combined score, with 70% coming from public voting via the UPCX platform and the remaining 30% from a World Aquatics committee convened specifically for this. Each fan will be allotted four (4) votes - two (2) per gender for the breakout athletes from the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup - 2024 and the athletes from World Aquatics Swimming Championships - Budapest 2024. Fans can vote for their favorite athletes through the Digital Fan Engagement (DFE) application supported by UPCX. Official Event Website: https://www.dfe-vote.io/en About World Aquatics: Driven by the vision of a world united by water for health, life and sport, World Aquatics is the international governing body for aquatic sports. Founded in 1908, World Aquatics is an independent organisation formed of 210 National Federations and five Continental Organisations. More about UPCX: UPCX is a blockchain-based open-source payment platform that aims to provide secure, transparent, and compliant financial services to global users. It supports fast payments, smart contracts, cross-asset transactions, user-issued assets (UIA), non-fungible tokens (NFA), and stablecoins. Moreover, it offers a decentralized exchange (DEX), APIs, and SDKs, allows customized payment solutions, and integrates POS applications and hardware wallets for enhanced security, building a one-stop financial ecosystem. Official website: https://upcx.io/ X: https://x.com/Upcxofficial X(upcxcmo): https://x.com/kokisato_upcx Telegram: https://t.me/UPCXofficial Discord: https://discord.gg/YmtgK7NURF Disclaimer: This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe expectations, plans, outcomes, or strategies for the future (including product offerings, regulatory plans, and business plans) and are subject to change without prior notice. Please be advised that such statements are influenced by various uncertainties, which may result in future circumstances, events, or outcomes differing from those predicted in the forward-looking statements. Media Contact Company Name: UPCX team Contact Person: Jiso Email: Send Email [ http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=upcx-and-world-aquatics-launch-2024-breakout-swimmer-award-global-voting-now-open-on-dfe-app ] Country: Singapore Website: http://www.upcx.io This release was published on openPR.
'Preachy or Disconnected'Israel cracks down on Palestinian citizens who speak out against the war in Gaza UMM AL-FAHM, Israel (AP) — In the year since the war in Gaza broke out, Israel's government has been cracking down on dissent among its Palestinian citizens. Authorities have charged Palestinians with “supporting terrorism” because of posts online or for demonstrating against the war. Activists and rights watchdogs say Palestinians have also lost jobs, been suspended from schools and faced police interrogations. Palestinians make up about 20% of Israel's population. Many feel forced to self-censor out of fear of being jailed and further marginalized in society. Others still find ways to dissent, but carefully. Israel's National Security Ministry counters that, “Freedom of speech is not the freedom to incite.” Israel says rabbi who went missing in the UAE was killed TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel says the body of of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found, citing Emirati authorities. The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday said Zvi Kogan was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident.” It said: “The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death." Kogan went missing on Thursday, and there were suspicions he had been kidnapped. His disappearance comes as Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October. Israeli strike on Lebanese army center kills soldier, wounds 18 others BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center has killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said. Sunday's was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has acknowledged mistakenly hitting Lebanese troops while saying they are not a target of its campaign against the militants. After Trump's Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key roles WASHINGTON (AP) — During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had hailed what would become Project 2025 as a conservative roadmap for “exactly what our movement will do." Trump pulled an about-face when Project 2025 became a political liability. He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans, even though some were written by his former aides and many allies. Now, after winning the 2024 election, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the effort he temporarily shunned. Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy. Trump's Republican Party is increasingly winning union voters. It's a shift seen in his labor pick WASHINGTON (AP) — Working-class voters helped Republicans make steady election gains this year and expanded a coalition that increasingly includes rank-and-file union members. It's a political shift spotlighting one of President-elect Donald Trump’s latest Cabinet picks: a GOP congresswoman, who has drawn labor support, to be his labor secretary. Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her bid for a second term this month, despite strong backing from union members. They're a key part of the Democratic base but are gravitating in the Trump era toward a Republican Party traditionally allied with business interests. Forecasts warn of possible winter storms across US during Thanksgiving week WINDSOR, Calif. (AP) — Forecasters in the U.S. have warned of another round of winter weather that could complicate travel leading up to Thanksgiving. California is bracing for more snow and rain this weekend while still grappling with some flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for California's Sierra Nevada through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at high elevations. Thousands remained without power in the Seattle area on Saturday after a “bomb cyclone” storm system hit the West Coast earlier in the week, killing two people. Parts of the Northeast and Appalachia also began the weekend with heavy precipitation. Pakistan partially stops mobile and internet services ahead of pro-Imran Khan protest ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has suspended mobile and internet services “in areas with security concerns” as supporters of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan gear up for a protest in the capital. The government and Interior Ministry made the announcement on X, which is banned in Pakistan. Sunday's protest is to demand Khan's release. He has been in prison for more than a year but remains popular. His supporters rely heavily on social media and messaging apps to coordinate with each other. Pakistan has already sealed off Islamabad and shut down major roads and highways connecting the city with Khan's power bases. Here's what to know about the new funding deal that countries agreed to at UN climate talks BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — In the wee hours Sunday at the United Nations climate talks, countries from around the world reached an agreement on how rich countries can cough up the funds to support poor countries in the face of climate change. But it’s a far-from-perfect arrangement, with many parties still unsatisfied but hopeful that the deal will be a step in the right direction. Japan holds Sado mines memorial despite South Korean boycott amid lingering historical tensions SADO, Japan (AP) — Japan has held a memorial ceremony near the Sado Island Gold Mines despite a last-minute boycott of the event by South Korea that highlighted tensions between the neighbors over the issue of Korean forced laborers at the site before and during World War II. South Korea’s absence at Sunday’s memorial, to which Seoul government officials and Korean victims’ families were invited, is a major setback in the rapidly improving ties between the two countries, which since last year have set aside their historical disputes to prioritize U.S.-led security cooperation. Chuck Woolery, smooth-talking game show host of 'Love Connection' and 'Scrabble,' dies at 83 NEW YORK (AP) — Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, has died. He was 83. Mark Young, Woolery’s podcast co-host and friend, said in an email early Sunday that Woolery died at his home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, present. Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978. He teamed up with Young for the podcast “Blunt Force Truth” and became a full supporter Donald Trump.( MENAFN - IANS) Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) The Indian stock market opened lower on Monday as selling was seen in the auto, IT, PSU bank, financial service, FMCG, media, energy and metal sectors on Nifty in early trade. At around 9:30 am, Sensex was trading at 78,523.25 after declining 175.82 points or 0.22 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 23,758.20 after declining 55.20 points or 0.23 per cent. The market trend remained negative. On the National stock exchange (NSE), 815 Stocks were trading in green, while 1,454 stocks were in red. According to experts, "as investors leave 2024 behind and look forward to the New Year, there will be more concerns than confidence, at least in the early days of 2025." "The biggest concern for stock markets, globally, is uncertainty surrounding Trump 2.0. The concern is that since market valuations are high any negative news might cause corrections," they added. Nifty Bank was down 74.80 points or 0.15 per cent at 51,236.50. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,796.90 after dropping 182.90 points or 0.32 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,673.75 after dropping 82.10 points or 0.44 per cent. On the sectoral front, buying was seen in the Pharma and Healthcare sector. In the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, M&M, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance were the top losers. Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Zomato, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, NTPC and UltraTech Cement were the top gainers. The Dow Jones declined 0.77 per cent to close at 42,992.21. The S&P 500 declined 1.11 per cent to 5,970.84 and the Nasdaq declined 1.49 per cent to close at 19,722.03 in the previous trading session on Friday. In the Asian markets, Bangkok and Seoul were trading in green while China, Japan, Jakarta and Hong Kong were trading in red. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,323.29 crore on December 27, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,544.64 crore on the same day. MENAFN29122024000231011071ID1109040185 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
“Gladiator II” asks the question: Are you not moderately entertained for roughly 60% of this sequel? Truly, this is a movie dependent on managed expectations and a forgiving attitude toward its tendency to overserve. More of a thrash-and-burn schlock epic than the comparatively restrained 2000 “Gladiator,” also directed by Ridley Scott, the new one recycles a fair bit of the old one’s narrative cries for freedom while tossing in some digital sharks for the flooded Colosseum and a bout of deadly sea-battle theatrics. They really did flood the Colosseum in those days, though no historical evidence suggests shark deployment, real or digital. On the other hand (checks notes), “Gladiator II” is fiction. Screenwriter David Scarpa picks things up 16 years after “Gladiator,” which gave us the noble death of the noble warrior Maximus, shortly after slaying the ignoble emperor and returning Rome to the control of the Senate. Our new hero, Lucius (Paul Mescal), has fled Rome for Numidia, on the North African coast. The time is 200 A.D., and for the corrupt, party-time twins running the empire (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger), that means invasion time. Pedro Pascal takes the role of Acacius, the deeply conflicted general, sick of war and tired of taking orders from a pair of depraved ferrets. The new film winds around the old one this way: Acacius is married to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, in a welcome return), daughter of the now-deceased emperor Aurelius and the love of the late Maximus’s life. Enslaved and dragged to Rome to gladiate, the widower Lucius vows revenge on the general whose armies killed his wife. But there are things this angry young phenom must learn, about his ancestry and his destiny. It’s the movie’s worst-kept secret, but there’s a reason he keeps seeing footage of Russell Crowe from the first movie in his fever dreams. Battle follows battle, on the field, in the arena, in the nearest river, wherever, and usually with endless splurches of computer-generated blood. “Gladiator II” essentially bumper-cars its way through the mayhem, pausing for long periods of expository scheming about overthrowing the current regime. The prince of all fixers, a wily operative with interests in both managing gladiators and stocking munitions, goes by the name Macrinus. He’s played by Denzel Washington, who at one point makes a full meal out of pronouncing the word “politics” like it’s a poisoned fig. Also, if you want a masterclass in letting your robes do a lot of your acting for you, watch what Washington does here. He’s more fun than the movie but you can’t have everything. The movie tries everything, all right, and twice. Ridley Scott marshals the chaotic action sequences well enough, though he’s undercut by frenetic cutting rhythms, with that now-familiar, slightly sped-up visual acceleration in frequent use. (Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo are the editors.) Mescal acquits himself well in his first big-budget commercial walloper of an assignment, confined though he is to a narrower range of seething resentments than Crowe’s in the first film. I left thinking about two things: the word “politics” as savored/spit out by Washington, and the innate paradox of how Scott, whose best work over the decades has been wonderful, delivers spectacle. The director and his lavishly talented design team built all the rough-hewn sets with actual tangible materials the massive budget allowed. They took care to find the right locations in Morocco and Malta. Yet when combined in post-production with scads of medium-grade digital effects work in crowd scenes and the like, never mind the sharks, the movie’s a somewhat frustrating amalgam. With an uneven script on top of it, the visual texture of “Gladiator II” grows increasingly less enveloping and atmospherically persuasive, not more. But I hung there, for some of the acting, for some of the callbacks, and for the many individual moments, or single shots, that could only have come from Ridley Scott. And in the end, yes, you too may be moderately entertained. “Gladiator II” — 2.5 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: R (for strong bloody violence) Running time: 2:28 How to watch: Premieres in theaters Nov. 21. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
