“Closed Circuit” a Terrific Two-Pronged Thriller

Sep 7th

Posted by Dan Culberson in Hotshots Movie Reviews

“Terrific Two-Pronged Thriller”

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

Closed Circuit is a terrific thriller about what is called the biggest high-profile murder case in British history.

Eric Bana stars as Martin Rose, who becomes the attorney for the defendant after the previous attorney committed suicide.

Or did he?

And to complicate matters, a woman, Claudia, whom Martin once had an affair with, is the defendant’s special advocate, and because of the sensitivity of the case to the government’s national interests, she is allowed to see information that not even the defendant, nor Martin, nor the general public will be allowed to know about.

Also, Claudia cannot share that information with Martin in defending the case against the accused murderer.

At any rate, Martin tells his superior, “You may rely on me.”

Unfortunately, this might not be a case of what you don’t know can’t hurt you.

Both Martin and Claudia discover that they are being kept under surveillance by an unknown person or persons.

In fact, evidence suggests that MI5, the British secret intelligence agency concerned with national affairs, might be involved in the case.

Or are they?

Martin and Claudia even get attacked separately, and Martin is laid up in the hospital.

So, Martin has to wade through a room full of documents left by the previous attorney, and Claudia has to go through the evidence that is revealed to her in secrecy as they both make their cases for the defendant.

And someone else who has been in contact with Martin about the case turns up dead.

So, we get two stories going on at once involving Martin and Claudia, with crosscutting between the two, and the tension becomes as thick as a London fog.

In addition, not everyone they know whether or not connected to the case is as they seem.

Eventually, Martin and Claudia determine that there is no good way out of this, and they are not strong enough to fight whoever is making it difficult for them.

On the other hand, Martin doesn’t want to give up and tell whoever is watching them that he and Claudia will do as they are told.

Although Martin and Claudia agree that they were the worst thing that ever happened to each other, their working on this case might not even let them correct the situation.

Closed Circuit is a terrific two-pronged thriller.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”

Closed Circuit – Movie Trailer

Sep 2nd

Posted by Channel 1 Networks in Movie Trailers

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In the international suspense thriller “Closed Circuit,” a high-profile terrorism case unexpectedly binds together two ex-lovers on the defense team – testing the limits of their loyalties and placing their lives in jeopardy. One morning, a busy London market is decimated by an explosion. In the manhunt that follows, only one member of the suspected terrorist cell survives: Farroukh Erdogan (Denis Moschitto), who is arrested and jailed. Preparations begin for what promises to be the trial of the century. But there’s a hitch: the government will use classified evidence to prosecute Erdogan, evidence so secret that neither he nor his lawyers can be allowed to see it. Hence the need for the Attorney General (Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent) to appoint a Special Advocate, an additional government-approved defense lawyer (Claudia Simmons-Howe, played by Golden Globe Award nominee Rebecca Hall), one who has clearance to see classified evidence and who can argue for its full disclosure when the trial moves to “closed” session. The rules for the Special Advocate are clear: once the secret evidence is shared with her, Claudia will not be allowed to communicate even with the defendant or with other members of the defense team. But just as the case is on the eve of going to trial, Erdogan’s lawyer dies suddenly, and a new defense attorney, Martin Rose (Eric Bana), quickly steps in. Martin is tenacious, driven, and brilliant – and an ex-lover of Claudia’s. The two lawyers make an uncomfortable pact to keep their former affair hidden. But as Martin begins to piece the case together, the outlines of a sinister conspiracy emerge, one that will draw him and Claudia dangerously close again.

Endangered Species Act Protection Proposed for Wolverine

Sep 1st

Posted by Ron Baird, news editor in Animals

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Loss of Spring Snowpack From Climate Change Primary Threat to Feisty PredatorPORTLAND, Ore.— In accordance with a historic agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed Endangered Species Act protections for American wolverines in the contiguous United States. The fierce, solitary hunters once roamed a large swath of the mountainous West, from Colorado to the Sierra Nevada in California and north through Washington and Montana. Today they are limited to Montana, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Oregon and a single animal in California. Their dependence on persistent spring snowpack for denning makes them severely threatened by climate change.

The wolverine has a reputation for killing prey many times its size, but it’s no match for global climate change, which is shrinking spring snowpack across the West,” said Noah Greenwald, the Center’s endangered species director. “I’m glad wolverines are finally getting the protection they need to survive, but if we’re going to save the wolverine and countless other wildlife species, as well as the world we all depend on, we need to take immediate steps to substantially and quickly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Center has been working for protection of wolverines since 1995, including participating in litigation with allies to overturn a negative finding made by the Bush administration, resulting in it being placed on the candidate list. In 2011 the Center reached a settlement agreement requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to make protection decisions for 757 species, including the wolverine, which was required to get a decision this fiscal year. A total of 54 species have received final protection under the agreement. The wolverine is the 64th species proposed for protection with final protection expected within 12-months.

“Our settlement agreement is moving protection forward for dozens of plants and animals that have been waiting for decades,” said Greenwald. “From the iconic wolverine to the unusual Ozark hellbender, some of America’s rarest and most unique creatures are benefitting from this agreement.”

Endangered Species Act protection for wolverines will likely put an end to plans by the state of Montana to allow wolverine trapping. It also will mean a likely reintroduction of the animals to Colorado, with today’s rule allowing for wolverines to be moved to the state under relaxed regulations that defines released animals as experimental and nonessential. Similar rules have been used to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone National Park and the Southwest and black-footed ferrets to several areas.

“By protecting the wolverine from trapping and other threats and reintroducing it to historic habitat, we’re giving it the best possible chance to survive a warming world,” said Greenwald. “Today’s decision will allow many Americans the chance to one day see one of these magnificent animals in the wild.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 450,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.