1.
Kurgan
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A kurgan is a tumulus, a type of burial mound or barrow, heaped over a burial chamber, often of wood. The Russian noun, which is attested in Old East Slavic, is borrowed from an unidentified Turkic language, compare Modern Turkish kurgan. They are mounds of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, associated with its use in Soviet archaeology, the word is now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology. The earliest kurgans date to the 4th millennium BC in the Caucasus, kurgans were built in the Eneolithic, Bronze, Iron, Antiquity and Middle Ages, with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia. Kurgan cultures are divided archeologically into different sub-cultures, such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish, many placenames contain the word kurgan. The earliest known kurgans are dated to the 4th millennium BC in the Caucasus, Kurgan barrows were characteristic of Bronze Age peoples, and have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian steppes, their use spreading with migration into eastern, central, the monuments of these cultures coincide with Scythian-Saka-Siberian monuments. Scythian-Saka-Siberian monuments have common features, and sometimes common genetic roots, the archaeological site on the Ukok Plateau associated with the Pazyryk culture is included in the Golden Mountains of Altai UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scythian-Saka-Siberian classification includes monuments from the 8th to the 3rd century BC and this period is called the Early or Ancient Nomads epoch. Hunnic monuments date from the 3rd century BC to the 6th century AD, the tradition of kurgan burials was adopted by some neighboring peoples who did not have such a tradition. The Kurgan hypothesis postulates that the Proto-Indo-Europeans were the bearers of the Kurgan culture of the Black Sea, the hypothesis was introduced by Marija Gimbutas in 1956, combining kurgan archaeology with linguistics to locate the origins of the Proto-Indo-European -speaking peoples. She tentatively named the culture Kurgan after their burial mounds. This hypothesis has had a significant impact on Indo-European studies and those scholars who follow Gimbutas identify a Kurgan culture as reflecting an early Indo-European ethnicity, which existed in the steppes and southeastern Europe from the 5th to 3rd millennia BC. In Kurgan cultures, most of the burials were in kurgans, most prominent leaders were buried in individual kurgans, now called Royal kurgans. More elaborate than clan kurgans and containing grave goods, the examples have attracted the greatest attention. Burial mounds are complex structures with internal chambers, within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots. The structures of the earlier Neolithic period from the 4th to the 3rd millenniums BC and they were inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas. In all periods, the development of the kurgan structure tradition in the various zones is revealed by common components or typical features in the construction of the monuments
2.
Monster Brawl
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Monster Brawl is a 2011 independent horror-comedy film. The film depicts a fight to the death set inside an abandoned and cursed graveyard. The fighters are eight classic movie monsters – Cyclops, Swamp Gut, Frankensteins Monster, Lady Vampire, Werewolf, Mummy, Witch Bitch, acting as play-by‐play announcer is Buzz Chambers with color commentating by former champ Sasquatch Sid. The Brawl itself is divided into two classes, The Creature class and the Undead class, for the Creatures, Cyclops, Werewolf, Witch Bitch and Swamp Gut. For the Undead, Lady Vampire, Zombie Man, The Mummy, each round is preceded by the origin of the combatants. As their combat starts off, Cyclops clearly has the advantage, as the combat ensues, she attempts to slam and pin the Cyclops down, her efforts leading to an illegal move called by the referee. Cyclops counters her attacks by bringing out a mallet to brutally bludgeon her. Her retaliation is by whipping out a knife and attacking. She tries to blind Cyclops, but he turns his legendary optic beam on her, melting her face clean off, outraged by the loss, Grub attempts to attack the Cyclops, only to be decapitated in a single punch. Cyclops stands as winner for round one, Mummy has the advantage of no blood or feeling to the vampires throws and attacks. He out-muscles most of her attacks and keeps on coming, he blinds her, but when he goes to get a wooden stake and bring it back, she revives and continues to wail on him. He has an advantage with his magical amulet that harnesses the power of the sun. But she throws him from the ring, separating him from his amulet, after hitting him with a tombstone, she punches him through his chest, ripping out his black heart and she is declared the winner of the Undead lightweight round. However the werewolf attacks and bites him, cursing him even though he manages to finish the wolf off and he is smarmy and sarcastic and viciously self confident with the advantage of the full moon showing that night. Swamp Guts story is portrayed as a documentary where, like a crocodile he hunts unassuming victims in his swamps, paralyzing them with his toxic spit and devouring them. As the match starts, Werewolf proves little effectiveness in his body due to Swamp Guts girth. Sid makes reference to King Hippo of Punch Out in comparison to the battle, werewolfs blows weaken his opponent who collapses to the ring. He does a dive from the corner onto Swamp Gut, causing his stomach to explode, Werewolf is the king of the creature heavyweight championship and moves on to the final match
3.
Georgetown, Ontario
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Georgetown is a community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada and is part of the Regional Municipality of Halton. It is situated on the Credit River, located approximately 60 km west of Toronto, Georgetown takes its name from George Kennedy, who settled in the area in 1821. By 1650, the once plentiful Hurons had been wiped out by European diseases, the region was now open to the Algonquian Ojibwa, who moved in. By 1850 the remaining Mississauga natives were removed to the Six Nations reserve, commencing in 1781, the British government purchased blocks of land from the Mississauga Nation. In 1818, they purchased land that became the townships of Esquesing. The task of laying out the townships fell to Timothy Street, Charles Kennedy was hired by Nelles to survey the northern part of the townships, and Charles Kennedy received a significant parcel of land as payment for his work. The brothers of Charles Kennedy, all acquired land close to another in the Silver Creek Valley. A sawmill was built by Charles Kennedy where today Main Street meets Wildwood Road, George Kennedy also built a sawmill which became the centre of a small settlement, which was located near 10th line. Esquesing Village was the capital of the township, in addition, it was on the main north-south route to the steamships at Oakville. The Stewart Brothers had a mill in Esquesing Village. In 1828, John Galt, through the Canada Company, opened the road connected the settlement around George Kennedys Mill with the other two settlements in the area. As Kennedys Mill prospered, he built a gristmill, foundry, unfortunately, business was poor, which led to the nickname Hungry Hollow. Around 1834 the Barber brothers arrived and within three years had purchased the mills from Kennedy, around 1837, the area adopted the name Georgetown. It was also the year two of the Barber Brothers purchased the mill and land from George Kennedy. In May 1852 a rail route through Georgetown, Brampton and Weston to Toronto was announced, Georgetown was incorporated as a village in 1864, and erected into a town in 1921. On May 13,1895, brothers Sam & John McGibbon leased, in partnership, the Hotel McGibbon was originally built by Robert Jones and was sold to Clark in about 1867. A double veranda graced the Main & Mill Street side of the building until the hotel was ravaged by fire in the 1880s, after the fire, a third floor was added to part of the building. The McGibbon family lived at the hotel and took pride in the business they had established
4.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
5.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
6.
Professional wrestling
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Professional wrestling is a dramatized athletic performance that portrays a combat sport. Various forms of weaponry are sometimes used, the content – including match outcomes – is scripted and choreographed, and the combative actions and reactions are performed to appear violent without injuring the wrestlers. Before the 1980s, these facts were considered trade secrets, in the mid-90s, the presentation of scripted events as legitimate is known as kayfabe. Although the combative content is staged and communicated between the wrestlers, there are physical hazards involved - including permanent injury and death. While it has declined in Europe, in North America it has experienced several different periods of prominent cultural popularity during its century. The advent of television gave professional wrestling a new outlet, unlike in Europe, show wrestling has become especially prominent in Japan and in North America. In Brazil, there was a popular wrestling television program from the 1960s to the early 1980s called Telecatch. High-profile figures in the sport have become celebrities or cultural icons in their native or adopted home countries, although professional wrestling started out as petty acts in sideshows, traveling circuses and carnivals, today it is a billion-dollar industry. Revenue is drawn from live event ticket sales, network television broadcasts, pay-per-view broadcasts, personal appearances by performers, branded merchandise, pro wrestling was also instrumental in making pay-per-view a viable method of content delivery. Annual shows such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and formerly Bash at the Beach, Halloween Havoc, home video sales dominate the Billboard charts Recreational Sports DVD sales, with wrestling holding anywhere from 3 to 9 of the top 10 spots every week. Due to its persistent cultural presence and to its novelty within the performing arts, there have also been many fictional depictions of wrestling, the 2008 film The Wrestler received several Oscar nominations and began a career revival for star Mickey Rourke. Because actual events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines for the performers, special care must be taken when talking about people who perform under their own name. The actions of the character should be considered fictional events, wholly separate from the life of the performer and this is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers will incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and those who participated felt that it was necessary that spectators should be kept in a constant and complete illusion of a real competition to keep audience interest. For decades, up until the mid-1980s, wrestlers lived their lives as though they were their characters. Wrestlers, bookers and promoters all rigorously enforced the illusion and very few were allowed into the society of professional wrestling to maintain suspension of disbelief. The practice of keeping the illusion, and the methods used to do so, came to be known as kayfabe within wrestling circles. An entire lexicon of slang jargon and euphemism developed to allow performers to communicate without outsiders knowledge of what was being said, occasionally a performer will deviate from the intended sequence of events
7.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
8.
Bret Hart
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Bret Sergeant Hart, better known by the ring name Bret The Hitman Hart, is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, retired amateur wrestler, writer and actor. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background, wrestling at Ernest Manning High School. Hart is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Sky Sports noted that his legacy is that of one of, if not the greatest, Hart joined his father Stu Harts promotion Stampede Wrestling in 1976, and made his in-ring debut in 1978. He gained championship success throughout the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation and he left for World Championship Wrestling following the controversial Montreal Screwjob in November 1997, where he remained until October 2000. Having been inactive from in-ring competition since January 2000, owing to a December 1999 concussion, he retired in October 2000. He returned to sporadic in-ring competition from 2010–2011 with WWE, where he won his championship, headlined the 2010 SummerSlam event. Throughout his career, Hart headlined WrestleManias IX, X, and XII, Hart has held championships in five decades from the 1970s to the 2010s, with a total of 32 held throughout his career, and 17 held between the WWF/WWE and WCW. He is a world champion, having held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship five times. Hart is also the 1994 Royal Rumble match winner, and the only two-time King of the Ring, winning the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Stone Cold Steve Austin, with whom Hart headlined multiple pay-per-view events as part of a rivalry from 1996 to 1997. The eighth child of wrestling patriarch Stu Hart, Bret Hart was born in Calgary and he is of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather. His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry, Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States since his mother Helen was born in New York. Hart has stated that he himself to be North American. Hart spent the vast majority of his childhood in the Hart family mansion which was owned by his father. Hart grew up in a household with eleven siblings and he was close with his older brother Dean who was the nearest to him in age of all his older brothers, being three years his senior. Together they would fight with Brets two older sisters Ellie, who was two years older, and Georgia, who was one year older. His introduction to professional wrestling came at an early age, as a child, he witnessed his father training future wrestlers like Billy Graham in the Dungeon, his household basement which served as a training room. Before school, Harts father, also a promoter, had him hand out fliers to local wrestling shows
9.
Actor
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An actor is a person who portrays a character in a performance. Simplistically speaking, the person denominated actor or actress is someone beautiful who plays important characters, the actor performs in the flesh in the traditional medium of the theatre, or in modern mediums such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής, literally one who answers, the actors interpretation of their role pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is playing themselves, as in forms of experimental performance art, or, more commonly, to act, is to create. Formerly, in societies, only men could become actors. When used for the stage, women played the roles of prepubescent boys. The etymology is a derivation from actor with ess added. However, when referring to more than one performer, of both sexes, actor is preferred as a term for male performers. Actor is also used before the name of a performer as a gender-specific term. Within the profession, the re-adoption of the term dates to the 1950–1960s. As Whoopi Goldberg put it in an interview with the paper, Im an actor – I can play anything. The U. K. performers union Equity has no policy on the use of actor or actress, an Equity spokesperson said that the union does not believe that there is a consensus on the matter and stated that the. subject divides the profession. In 2009, the Los Angeles Times stated that Actress remains the term used in major acting awards given to female recipients. However, player remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a group or company, such as the American Players. Also, actors in improvisational theatre may be referred to as players, prior to Thespis act, Grecian stories were only expressed in song, dance, and in third person narrative. In honor of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians, the exclusively male actors in the theatre of ancient Greece performed in three types of drama, tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Western theatre developed and expanded considerably under the Romans, as the Western Roman Empire fell into decay through the 4th and 5th centuries, the seat of Roman power shifted to Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Records show that mime, pantomime, scenes or recitations from tragedies and comedies, dances, from the 5th century, Western Europe was plunged into a period of general disorder
10.
WWE
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Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American professional wrestling promotion and the sanctioning body for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Federation. Founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1953, Capitol Wrestling Corporation is the precursor to todays WWE, run by Jess grandson, Jess McMahon was a successful boxing promoter who began working with Tex Rickard in 1926. With the help of Rickard, he began promoting boxing at the third Madison Square Garden, a few years prior, professional wrestler Toots Mondt had created a new challenge of professional wrestling that he called “Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling”. He convinced wrestler Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow to implement this new solution, after much success, a disagreement over power caused the trio to dissolve and, with it, their promotion. Mondt later formed partnerships with other promoters, including Jack Curley in New York City. Mondt eventually took over the New York wrestling scene, due to the fact Curley was dying, with the aid of several bookers, together, McMahon and Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. which later joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1953. In November 1954, Jess McMahon died and Ray Fabiani, one of Mondts associates, both men left the company in protest following the incident and formed the WWWF in the process, awarding Rogers the new WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in April of that year. He lost the championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17,1963, after gaining a television program deal and turning preliminary wrestler Lou Albano as a manager for Sammartinos heel opponents, the WWWF was doing sell out business by 1970. Mondt left the company in the late 1960s and although the WWWF had withdrawn from the NWA, Vince McMahon, at the annual meeting of the NWA in 1983, the McMahons and WWF employee Jim Barnett all withdrew from the organization. By March 1979, for marketing purposes, the World Wide Wrestling Federation was renamed the World Wrestling Federation and that same year, Vincent J. McMahons son, Vincent K. McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. incorporated on February 21,1980, originally in Massachusetts. In 1982, Titan Sports Inc. acquired Capitols operations, effectively relocating its headquarters to Greenwich, in an attempt to make the WWF the premier wrestling promotion in the world, McMahon began an expansion that fundamentally changed the industry. In the end, the elder McMahon would never live to see his company grow from a promotion to what is now a worldwide organization. He died from cancer at 69 years old on May 24,1984. By 1985, Titan moved to Stamford, Connecticut then establishing a new entity in 1987 in Delaware which later merged with the old company in 1988. Titan later changed its name to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. before finally becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, list of independent wrestling promotions in the United States
11.
300 (film)
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300 is a 2006 American epic fantasy war film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Both are fictionalized retellings of the Battle of Thermopylae within the Persian Wars, the film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant. It was filmed mostly with a chroma key technique, to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. The plot revolves around King Leonidas, who leads 300 Spartans into battle against the Persian god-King Xerxes, as the battle rages, Queen Gorgo attempts to rally support in Sparta for her husband. The story is framed by a narrative by the Spartan soldier Dilios. Through this narrative technique, various fantastical creatures are introduced, placing 300 within the genre of historical fantasy, the events are revealed to be a story told by Delios, the only one of the 300 Spartans to survive the battle. 300 was released in conventional and IMAX theaters in the United States on March 9,2007, and on DVD, Blu-ray Disc. A sequel, entitled Rise of an Empire, which is based on Millers unpublished graphic novel prequel Xerxes, was released on March 7,2014. In 479 BC, one year after the famed Battle of Thermopylae, Dilios, the Ephors consult the Oracle, who decrees that Sparta will not go to war during the Carneia. As Leonidas angrily departs, a messenger from Xerxes appears, rewarding the Ephors for their covert support, at Thermopylae, they construct the wall made up of stones and slain Persian scouts as mortar, angering the Persian Emissary. Stelios, an elite Spartan soldier, orders him to go back to the Persian lines, meanwhile, Leonidas encounters Ephialtes, a deformed Spartan whose parents fled Sparta to spare him certain infanticide. Ephialtes asks to redeem his fathers name by joining Leonidas army, warning him of a path the Persians could use to outflank. Though sympathetic, Leonidas rejects him since his deformity physically prevents him from holding his shield high enough, potentially compromising the phalanx formation, the battle begins soon after the Spartans refusal to lay down their weapons. Using the Hot Gates to their advantage, as well as their superior fighting skills, in response, Xerxes sends in his elite guard, the Immortals, later that night. Despite some Spartans being killed, they defeat the Immortals. On the second day, Xerxes sends in new waves of armies from Asia and other Persian city-states, including war elephants, to crush the Spartans once and for all, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Ephialtes defects to Xerxes to whom he reveals the secret path in exchange for wealth, luxury, the Arcadians retreat upon learning of Ephialtes betrayal, but the Spartans stay. Leonidas orders an injured but reluctant Dilios to return to Sparta and tell them of what has happened, in Sparta, Queen Gorgo tries to persuade the Spartan Council to send reinforcements to aid the 300
12.
Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)
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Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 British-American neo-noir mystery period action film based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Susan Downey, the screenplay, by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg, was developed from a story by Wigram and Johnson. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law portray Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson respectively. In the film, set in 1890, eccentric detective Holmes, rachel McAdams stars as their former adversary Irene Adler and Mark Strong portrays villain Lord Henry Blackwood. The film went on release in the United States on December 25,2009, and on December 26,2009 in the UK, Ireland, the Pacific. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction, which it lost to Up and Avatar. A sequel, Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows, was released on December 16,2011. In 1890, private detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. John Watson prevent the murder of a woman by Lord Henry Blackwood. Inspector Lestrade and the police arrest Blackwood, meanwhile, Blackwood has been sentenced to death and requests to see Holmes, whom he warns of three more unstoppable deaths that will cause great changes to the world. Holmes is visited by Irene Adler, an adversary who asks him to find a missing man named Luke Reordan. After her departure, Holmes follows her as she meets with her employer, and only learns that the man is a professor. Meanwhile, sightings of a living Blackwood and the discovery of his destroyed tomb lead to belief that Blackwood has risen from the grave, following a series of clues from the body, Holmes and Watson find Reordans home and discover experiments attempting to merge science with magic. After they survive a battle with Blackwoods men that attempt to destroy the lab, Holmes is taken to the Temple of the Four Orders, a secret magical fraternity with considerable political influence. The leaders – Lord Chief Justice Sir Thomas Rotheram, U. S. Ambassador Standish, and Home Secretary Lord Coward – ask Holmes to stop Blackwood, a former member of the society and Sir Thomass son. That night Sir Thomas drowns in his bath as Blackwood watches, and he nominates Blackwood to take command in place of Sir Thomas and Blackwood reveals himself to the group. Standish attempts to shoot Blackwood but is set on fire when he pulls the trigger of his gun, Lord Coward issues an arrest warrant for Holmes, causing him to go into hiding. Blackwood comes before Parliament and announces their impending deaths, then attempts to activate the device by remote control. Blackwood flees Parliament and sees Adler and Holmes in the sewers, Blackwood fights Holmes, as the latter deduces how all of Blackwoods supposed supernatural feats were the work of science and trickery
13.
Immortals (2011 film)
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Immortals is a 2011 American epic-fantasy-action-adventure film directed by Tarsem Singh and starring Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto, and Mickey Rourke. The film also stars Luke Evans, Steve Byers, Kellan Lutz, Joseph Morgan, Stephen Dorff, Daniel Sharman, Alan van Sprang, Isabel Lucas, Corey Sevier, and John Hurt. The film was previously named Dawn of War and War of the Gods before being officially named Immortals, and is based on the Greek myths of Theseus, the Minotaur. Before the dawn of man and beast, Immortals waged war against each other in Heaven, the victors declared themselves gods while the vanquished were renamed the Titans and imprisoned beneath Mount Tartarus. The Epirus Bow, a weapon of immense power, was lost on Earth during the war. In 1228 B. C. the mortal king Hyperion of Heraklion searches for the bow, Hyperion captures the virgin oracle Phaedra, believing that she can use her visions to find the Epirus Bows resting place. In a small village nearby, the inhabitants prepare to flee to Mount Tartarus to avoid Hyperions army, one inhabitant named Theseus is a skilled warrior trained by his mentor, a mysterious old man. Theseus and his mother Aethra, are considered undesirables because Theseus was born from Aethra being raped, Theseus is able to beat multiple opponents until the Athenian officer Helios intervenes and discharges Lysander from the army for his actions. Lysander travels to Hyperion, offering his service and the villages location, Hyperion accepts, but hammers Lysanders testicles for being a traitor so he can never father children. Hyperions forces attack Theseuss village, murdering the villagers and Aethra, the old man is revealed to be Zeus when he meets with his fellow gods Athena, Poseidon, Ares, Apollo, and Heracles. Zeus warns them not to interfere in mortal affairs as gods unless the Titans are released, Theseus is enslaved alongside the thief Stavros. Phaedra, who is held nearby, sees a vision of Theseus. Phaedra organizes a riot, using the chaos to escape with Theseus, Stavros, Theseus decides to pursue Hyperion and attempts to capture a boat, but he and his allies are overwhelmed by Hyperions forces. Poseidon disobeys Zeus orders and falls from Olympus into the ocean, Phaedra sees another vision of Theseus standing near a shrouded body. She determines that Theseus must return home to bury Aethra, while laying Aethra to rest in the villages Labyrinth, Theseus discovers the Epirus Bow embedded in nearby rock. He frees the Epirus Bow, but is attacked by Hyperions henchman the Minotaur, Theseus kills the Minotaur and uses the Bow to save his allies from being executed before collapsing from poisoned scratches inflicted by the Minotaur. Phaedra tends to Theseus and later falls in love with him and they make love to each other, stripping her of the visions she deemed a curse. The group returns to Phaedras temple while Hyperion and his forces are away at Mount Tartarus, at the temple, Stavros and Theseus are lured into an ambush and Theseus loses the Epirus Bow
14.
Pacific Rim (film)
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The screenplay is by Travis Beacham and del Toro, with a story by Beacham. The film is set in the future, when Earth is at war with the Kaiju, to combat the monsters, humanity unites to create the Jaegers, gigantic humanoid mechas each controlled by at least two pilots, whose minds are joined by a neural bridge. Principal photography began on November 14,2011, in Toronto, the film was produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. It was released on July 12,2013, including in 3D and IMAX 3D, receiving positive reviews, the visual effects, action sequences. While it underperformed at the box office in the United States and it earned a worldwide total of more than $411 million—$114 million in China alone, its largest market—becoming Del Toros most commercially successful film to date. A sequel titled Pacific Rim, Uprising, directed by Steven S. DeKnight and produced by Del Toro, and with Kikuchi, Day, in 2013, alien monsters called Kaiju emerge from an interdimensional portal called “The Breach” at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Over the course of 2 years, the kaiju wreak havoc upon coastal cities along the ring of fire, such as San Francisco, San José del Cabo, Sydney, Manila, humanity responds by constructing giant mecha called Jaegers, to combat the alien threat. Each Jaeger is co-piloted by two or more people, who share a link via a process called “Drifting” to share the mental stress of piloting the machine. In 2020, Gipsy Danger, piloted by brothers Raleigh and Yancy Becket, the Kaiju ambushes them, wrecks the Jaeger and drags Yancy out of the cockpit. Raleigh manages to pilot Gipsy Danger alone, killing Knifehead, traumatised by Yancy’s death, Raleigh quits the Jaeger Program. The remaining Jaegers are relocated to Hong Kong under the command of Marshal Stacker Pentecost, Pentecost tracks down Raleigh at a wall construction site to re-recruit him. Traveling to the Hong Kong base, the Shatterdome, Raleigh is introduced to Mako Mori, director of the Jaeger restoration program, to find a new co-pilot, Raleigh participates in tryouts, deciding Mako is Drift-compatible, despite Pentecosts protests. During their first test, Raleigh is distracted by the memory of Yancy’s death, Mako, in turn, is lost in the memory of the Kaiju attack on Tokyo that orphaned her, and nearly fires Gipsy’s plasma cannon. Mako is promptly relieved of piloting duties, and Raleigh confronts Pentecost, Pentecost consults Kaiju experts Newton Geiszler and Herman Gottlieb. Hermann claims the Breach will stabilize and the Kaiju will increase in number, Newton goes ahead with his plan and discovers Kaiju are bioweapons grown by alien colonists. With Pentecosts permission, Newton looks for black market dealer Hannibal Chau to obtain a fresher Kaiju brain to drift with, however, he soon figures out that since Drifting is a two-way link, the Kaiju hive mind can gain access to his knowledge. Soon after, two new Kaiju, Leatherback and Otachi, emerge simultaneously to find Newton, all Jaegers save Gipsy Danger are dispatched to intervene. The Kaiju destroy Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha with their pilots, out of options, Pentecost allows Mako and Raleigh to pilot Gipsy Danger
15.
Brick Mansions
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Brick Mansions is a 2014 English-language French-Canadian crime-thriller film starring Paul Walker, David Belle and RZA. The film was directed by Camille Delamarre and written by Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen and it is a remake of the 2004 French film District 13, in which Belle had also starred. Brick Mansions was released on April 25,2014, five months after Paul Walkers death on November 30,2013 and has a dedication to him at the start of the credits and this is Walkers last completed film before his death, but not his last film appearance. At the time of his death, he was almost done filming Furious 7 which was released on April 3,2015, in 2018, in a dystopian Detroit, abandoned brick mansions left from better times now house only the most dangerous criminals. Unable to control the crime, the police have constructed a colossal containment wall around this area to protect the rest of the city, for undercover cop Damien Collier, every day is a battle against corruption. For French-Caribbean ex-convict Lino, every day is a fight to live an honest life, eventually, with the help of Lino and Tremaine, Damien realizes that his father was killed by his fellow officers and that the mayor was behind the plot. Damien, Lino and Tremaine confront the mayor and manage to prove his true intentions and have him arrested, Brick Mansions is welcomed back into the city, with Damien and Lino continuing their friendship. Following Walkers death, the North American release was scheduled for February, on February 62014, Relativity and EuropaCorp announced a move to April 25,2014 as a release date for the film, along with paying the cost of the film’s world premiere and distribution. The first official trailer was released on February 13,2014, featuring the DJ Snake, the second full trailer was released on March 20,2014. Reviews for Brick Mansions have been generally negative, Rotten Tomatoes gives a 26% rating based on 88 reviews. The sites consensus states, Choppily edited and largely bereft of plot, Metacritic gives the film a 40/100 rating, based on 28 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. However, some critics have been more positive, isaac Feldberg of We Got This Covered called the film a highly entertaining action thriller. Varietys Justin Chang added that the film was propulsively entertaining, District 13, Ultimatum – sequel to the original. The film, directed by Patrick Alessandrin and written and produced by Luc Besson, sees parkour artists David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli reprising their roles of Leïto. Brick Mansions at the Internet Movie Database Brick Mansions at Box Office Mojo Brick Mansions at Rotten Tomatoes Brick Mansions at Metacritic
16.
Hercules (2014 film)
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It is based on the graphic novel Hercules, The Thracian Wars. Distributed jointly by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was released on July 25,2014 and it is one of two Hollywood-studio Hercules films released in 2014, the other one being Lionsgates The Legend of Hercules. The film earned $244 million on a $100 million budget and received mixed reviews from critics, Hercules was released on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD on November 4,2014 by Paramount Home Media Distribution. Throughout the film, it is not clearly established that Hercules is truly the son of Zeus, despite this, Hercules displays unusual strength and nigh-unmatched skill in combat. Hercules is frequently haunted by the memory of the deaths of his wife and daughters by his hand, as well as visions of Cerberus. Hercules accepts after he and his men are offered his weight in gold, however, Rhesus has reached the Bessi tribe in Central Thrace and Cotys insists that Hercules lead the army into battle to defend the Bessi, despite their lack of training. However, they are too late as Rhesus sorcery has turned the Bessi against the Thracians, after the Bessi are defeated, Hercules properly trains the army, then Hercules and Sitacles confront Rhesus and his soldiers on the battlefield before Mount Asticus. The Thracians force Rhesus army to retreat, but Rhesus himself rides out to confront Hercules and is defeated by him, Rhesus is taken back to Thrace as a prisoner, where he is tortured and humiliated. Later in the hall of the palace, Rhesus has been chained up, although Ergenia doesnt agree with Lord Cotyss methods, she goes along with them for the sake of her son Arius, Lord Cotyss successor to the throne, who is being threatened by Cotys. After receiving their reward, the mercenaries are ready to leave, but Hercules decides to stay behind to stop Cotys, however, they are overpowered and captured by Sitacles and his men. While chained, Hercules is confronted by King Eurystheus, who is in league with Lord Cotys, Eurystheus reveals that he drugged Hercules the night his family died, viewing him as a threat to his power. Herculess family was in fact killed by three vicious wolves sent by Eurystheus, resulting in Herculess constant hallucinations of Cerberus, when Lord Cotys orders Ergenia to be executed for her betrayal, Hercules is encouraged by Amphiaraus to believe in himself just as everyone believes in him. In a show of strength, Hercules breaks free of his chains, saving Ergenia. Hercules releases the prisoners, including Rhesus, and then confronts King Eurystheus and he is attacked by Sitacles, who is then stabbed by Iolaus. Outside, Hercules and his forces battle Lord Cotys and his army, Arius is taken hostage, but then rescued by Autolycus, who has decided to return to help his friends. In the ensuing battle, Tydeus is mortally wounded while protecting Arius, Hercules again uses inhuman strength and pushes a massive statue of Hera from its foundations and uses it to crush Lord Cotys and many of his soldiers. The remaining soldiers see Hercules as lightning flashes in the background, the surviving soldiers bow to Hercules, and Arius takes the throne, with Ergenia at his side, while Hercules and his men depart in search of other adventures. As the credits roll, a retelling of the Twelve Labors shows how Hercules accomplished these feats with the help of his companions
17.
New Brunswick
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New Brunswick is one of Canadas three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province. In the Canada 2016 Census, Statistics Canada estimated the population to have been 747,101, down very slightly from 751,171 in 2011. The majority of the population is English-speaking of Anglo and Celtic heritage and it was created as a result of the partitioning of the British colony of Nova Scotia in 1784 and was originally named New Ireland with the capital to be in Saint John. The name was replaced with New Brunswick by King George II. The provincial flag features a ship superimposed on a background with a yellow lion passant guardant on red pennon above it. The province is named for the city of Braunschweig, known in English and Low German as Brunswick, located in modern-day Lower Saxony in northern Germany. The then-colony was named in 1784 to honour the reigning British monarch, George III, the original First Nations inhabitants of New Brunswick were members of three distinct tribes. The largest tribe was the Mikmaq, and they occupied the eastern and they were responsible for the Augustine Mound, a burial ground built about 800 BCE near Metepnákiaq. The western portion of the province was the home of the Wolastoqiyik people. The smaller Passamaquoddy tribe occupied lands in the southwest of the province. The next French contact was in 1604, when a party led by Pierre du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain set up camp for the winter on St. Croix Island, the colony relocated the following year across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The whole maritime region was at that time claimed by France and was designated as the colony of Acadia, one of the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 was the surrender of Acadia to Queen Anne. The bulk of the Acadian population thus found themselves residing in the new British colony of Nova Scotia, the remainder of Acadia was only lightly populated and poorly defended. The Maliseet from their headquarters at Meductic on the Saint John River, participated in guerilla raids and battles against New England during Father Rales War. About 1750, to protect his interests in New France, Louis XV caused three forts to be built along the Isthmus of Chignecto and this caused what is known to historians as Father Le Loutres War. During the French and Indian War, the British completed their displacement of the Acadians over all of present-day New Brunswick, Fort Beauséjour, Fort Menagoueche and Fort Gaspareaux were captured by a British force commanded by Lt. Col. Robert Monckton in 1755. Inside Fort Beauséjour, the British forces found not only French regular troops, Governor Charles Lawrence of Nova Scotia used the discovery of Acadian civilians helping in the defence of the fort to order the expulsion of the Acadian population from Nova Scotia. The Acadians of the recently captured Beaubassin and Petitcodiac regions were included in the expulsion order, other actions in the war included British expeditions up the Saint John River in the St. John River Campaign
