Box Office Bombs

Hollywood keeps pumping out anti-war, anti-American movies that are bombing at the box office.

For example, the "political thriller" Rendition didn't even crack $10 million domestically.

Some say these are made for the overseas market.

Perhaps they are.

But Rendition only made $5 million more overseas!

How about the Redford/Cruise/Streep big-star movie, Lions for Lambs?

Less than a paltry $14 million domestically, plus $20 million overseas!

Not a good debut for Cruise's newly purchased production company, Orion Pictures...

And Redacted, the Brian de Palma fiasco portraying American soldiers as rapists and murderers, in limited release this week brought in a measly $25,000 -- only $1,708 per theater!

Of course, it did do better in Spain.

With a "whopping" $75,000...

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

By comparison, 300, about Spartans defeating the Persians for the sake of Western civilization, grossed $210 million domestically and $245 million overseas, with a scorching opening weekend average of $22,844 per theater!

In other words, it was 13.4 times as popular as Redacted in its opening weekend per theater.

Or another way, one single theater showing 300 brought in as many viewers as Redacted's entire domestic opening weekend.

Maybe 300 was part of the movement leading to this:

Military training program for teens expands in US

One in 10 public high school students in Chicago wears a military uniform to school and takes classes -- including how to shoot a gun properly -- from retired veterans.

That number is expected to rise as junior military reserve programs expand across the country now that a congressional cap of 3,500 units has been lifted from the nearly century-old scheme.

Proponents of the junior reserve programs say they provide stability and a sense of purpose for troubled youth and help to instill values such as leadership and responsibility.
...
While military officials say the junior reserve programs are not used as recruiting tools, about 30 to 50 percent of cadets eventually enlist, according to congressional testimony by the chiefs of staff of the various armed services in February 2000.
...
At Chicago's Marine Military Math and Science Academy, the first public Marine academy in the nation and the fifth military academy run by the city's school district, it's easy to see how signing up for service would be a logical post-graduation step.

The hallways are lined with prints depicting historic recruiting posters and great moments in military history, like the Battle of the Bulge. Teachers in uniform lead classes in military history, civics, health, and physical fitness.

"The purpose of our school is to send all of our students to post-secondary education," principal Paul Stroh told AFP.

"What's different about this school is we take the military model of discipline, structure and leadership and put it into a high school.

"All of our students wear a uniform and all of our students are expected to be accountable for their actions."

And every morning in formation, Sgt. Major Smith draws a line between the discipline and stability of the Marines and the chaos of the high-crime, low income neighborhood where most of the students live.

"My elementary school was out of control. Everybody just did whatever they wanted," said Mariah Coleman, 14.

"Here there's discipline, but there's freedom as well. Everybody just respects each other and we get respect from the teachers."