One thing that might have made Captain America: Brave New World a better film, or at least a better moviegoing experience, would have been a final act surprise. Imagine if Disney hadn’t marketed the hell out of the Red Hulk and we hadn’t known going into the movie that Harrison Ford’s president Ross was going to turn into the Red Hulk. If that hadn’t been spoiled in the marketing, it might have been a really fun twist. Instead, we just waited around to see when it would happen and then watched a big fight scene and then that was that. Light spoilers ahead.

One thing that might have made Captain America: Brave New World a better film, or at least a better moviegoing experience, would have been a final act surprise. Imagine if Disney hadn’t marketed the hell out of the Red Hulk and we hadn’t known going into the movie that Harrison Ford’s president Ross was going to turn into the Red Hulk. If that hadn’t been spoiled in the marketing, it might have been a really fun twist. Instead, we just waited around to see when it would happen and then watched a big fight scene and then that was that. Light spoilers ahead.

Netflix has released India’s latest hit film Pushpa 2: The Rule, another example of how the US-based streaming service is leveraging the global appeal of Indian blockbusters.

The Telugu-language film starring Allu Arjun as crime kingpin Pushpa Raj has become one of the highest-grossing Indian movies, generating about US$200mil (RM894.07mil) in theatres globally, including US$170mil (RM760.09mil) in India, according to research firm Sacnilk.com.

The sequel to the 2021 action film had a record 3 million advanced purchase tickets in India before its Dec 5 release.

The re-released version of Pushpa 2 features more than 20 minutes of additional scenes, according to a statement from Netflix.

The world’s largest video platform is tapping into content produced in southern India, which has become key to its content slate in the country.

Domestic viewership of South Indian content increased by 50% in 2023 and hit movies such as Lucky Baskhar and Maharaj were top 10 films in India for seven weeks and 11 weeks, respectively, in 2024.

Another Indian film, RRR, became a global sensation in 2022 and won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Kim's trip to the Kang Kon Military Academy comes after North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. This week Kim also visited the Kim Il Sung University of Politics, another elite cadre training institution, calling for military loyalty and sacrifice.

South Korea's intelligence agency has said Kim's previous inspections of military units and training might be part of preparations for an additional dispatch of soldiers to Russia.

During the latest visit to the military academy, Kim criticised the school's poor management and operation of educational facilities, saying it failed to meet the ruling party's pursuit of "modernity and advanced character" in building a powerful army, KCNA said.

He laid out tasks to refurbish the facilities and intensify education focusing on practice so that the students would learn about the "actual experiences of modern warfare", and to master advanced weapons and technical equipment, it said.

"The present international situation, in which the aggressive and bellicose nature of the imperialists is most openly expressed in history and war and bloodshed become commonplaces, requires the armed forces... to perfectly cope with a war," Kim said, according to KCNA.

South Korean officials have warned that North Korea could benefit from supplying weapons and troops to fight in Russia by gaining experience and insight from operating on a modern battlefield.

 Рассказываем также о категориях товаров, показавших наибольший рост в 2024 году в Армении

Republicans on the House Rules Committee voted late Monday to advance a budget resolution that, if translated into law, would enact painful cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance, potentially stripping critical benefits from tens of millions of low-income Americans to help fund trillions of dollars in tax giveaways that would flow primarily to the rich.

The rules panel voted 9-4 along party lines in favor of the budget blueprint, setting the stage for a House floor debate and vote as soon as Tuesday evening.

While some House Republicans have publicly and privately voiced concerns about the scale of the Medicaid cuts proposed in the budget resolution, GOP members of the rules panel on Monday rejected Democratic amendments aimed at preventing cuts to the healthcare program as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other spending.

“Republicans can’t have it both ways — they can’t claim to stand up for their constituents on SNAP and Medicaid and then reject amendments that would do just that,” said Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), who sponsored the proposed changes. “My common-sense amendments would have supported these two key programs that feed hungry children and care for sick Americans. Democrats provided Republicans with several chances to stand with the many instead of the rich. They declined multiple times. I’ll continue to pull out every stop as I seek to prevent these cuts from becoming reality.”

Monday’s committee vote came after a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) analysis found that the SNAP cuts proposed by the House GOP resolution “would result in widespread harm,” potentially taking benefits from “more than 9 million low-income people in an average month.”