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2013's Lone Survivor is based on an incredible true story, but how accurate is the film when compared to the real events that transpired? Directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg, Lone Survivor is a biographical war film and a retelling of a specific operation during the war in Afghanistan. The strong cast and talented director attached to the film allowed Lone Survivor to become one of the highest-grossing war movies of all time.

Amid the heroic acts in Lone Survivor's somewhat sensationalized narrative is a true story that is based on a 2007 nonfiction book. The book is titled Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Red Wings and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10 and is an incredible true story that was retold by Berg and his team. The film is well-crafted, excellently performed, suitably tense, and exciting. It becomes even more unbelievable when concerning the true...

In terms of a feel-good cinematic moment that lives long in the audience's memory, there are few scenes that can top a movie moment where reinforcements arrive at the last minute; a technique that has been used by some of the best movies of all time. Providing a welcome reprieve out of left field just when all appears to be lost, these uplifting sequences conjure up a happy ending in circumstances where such a conclusion didn't even seem like a possibility just mere seconds earlier.

From powerful heroes unexpectedly arriving on the scene of a blockbuster showdown to army reinforcements showing up to save the day just as the battle appears lost, this technique has been implemented to great effect by an array of genres, from the best superhero movies all the way to the finest war movies of all time. While such unashamedly feel-good scenes inevitably attract allegations of cheesy filmmaking,...

War movies like 1917 and Fury emphasize the deep brotherhood between soldiers in the midst of intense conflict. Lone Survivor and Master and Commander depict the unbreakable bonds formed between soldiers facing unimaginable obstacles. Saving Private Ryan and Paths of Glory showcase the powerful theme of camaraderie among soldiers in the face of adversity.

From Das Boot to Saving Private Ryan, some of the best war movies ever made focus on the camaraderie between soldiers and the tight emotional bonds formed on the battlefield. War is typically one of the bleakest genres of cinema, bringing the horrors of warfare to life in visceral, intense, eye-opening fashion. But war films aren’t completely without hope. The best ones, like Paths of Glory and All Quiet on the Western Front, find a glimmer of hope in the friendships formed between soldiers during wartime.

Some war movies take an optimistic look at that camaraderie,...

Mark Wahlberg has been in the industry for almost 3 decades and has been in some of the most acclaimed films in Hollywood. Wahlberg has dabbled in various genres and has shown his versatility as an actor. Films like Boogie Nights, Fear, Invincible, The Departed, Fighter, Lone Survivor, etc. have shown that he does not like to typecast himself into a specific type of performance.

Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell in 2013’s Lone Survivor

In the 2010s, Wahlberg started venturing into blockbusters and family-friendly projects like The Transformers franchise, more recently with Uncharted, and The Family Plan. However, the actor reassures that if the script is right, he is ready to commit to anything that he finds interesting and worth dipping his skin into.

Mark Wahlberg Won’t Rule Out Doing Films Like Boogie Nights Just Yet

Mark Wahlberg played a rising p**n star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie...

Mark Wahlberg's war movie is intense and based on real-life events, but one scene was enhanced for dramatic effect. The opening scene of Wahlberg's 2013 film is praised by a military expert for its realism, but one element would require exceptional luck in real life. Despite some enhancements, the movie accurately portrays the stress and intensity of the situation, earning it a high rating from the expert.

A military expert calls the opening of Mark Wahlberg’s 2013 war movie “absolutely realistic” but unlikely. After having a huge success with his 2013 Afghanistan-set movie, Wahlberg embarked upon a short run of harrowing real-life stories casting himself as the hero. Oil-rig disaster film Deepwater Horizon came in 2016, and the same year saw the release of Patriots Day, which tackled the Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent man-hunt to find the perpetrators.

But the movie that kicked off Wahlberg’s spate of based-on-fact action...

The decision to release the goat herders instead of killing them leads to a devastating loss of life for the Navy SEALs, as the villagers turned out to be Taliban sympathizers. The warning issued by the goat herders in Pashto is chillingly accurate, as three out of the four SEALs are killed in the subsequent firefight with the Taliban. The dark prediction of the goat herders also foreshadows the tragic fate of eight other SEALs and eight Army Special Operations Aviators, emphasizing the widespread impact of their decision.

The unfortunate encounter that kicks off the action in 2013's Lone Survivor features a dark and foreboding warning from two goat herders to the Navy SEALs of Operation Red Wings. Peter Berg's biographical war film chronicles the journey of a four-man team as they attempt to capture a dangerous Taliban leader, which unfortunately leads to a disastrous loss of life for...

Lone Survivor remains a popular war movie even ten years after its release, thanks to its depiction of bravery, honor, and duty that resonates with American audiences. Mark Wahlberg's portrayal of Marcus Luttrell showcases his acting range and chemistry with co-stars, reinforcing the movie's theme of camaraderie in the face of defeat. The film's success can be attributed to director Peter Berg's attention to detail, the unique release strategy, and its accurate depiction of Luttrell's story, making it one of Wahlberg's most commercially successful and acclaimed works.

Lone Survivor was a big hit in 2013 and continues to be a success among audiences ten years later. One of the highest-grossing war movies ever made, Lone Survivor follows the stories of Navy SEALs Marcus Luttrell, Michael P. "Murph" Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matthew "Axe" Axelson, as they search for Taliban leader Ahmad Shah in Afghanistan. Directed by Peter Berg, the...

Mark Wahlberg's war movie Lone Survivor enjoys new success on Netflix, ranking sixth in the Global Top 10 for the week of November 13 to November 19. Based on a nonfiction book, the 2013 film follows Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell and a team of Navy SEALs on a mission to find Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. With 8 million hours viewed and 4 million total views, Lone Survivor has proven its lasting appeal and continues to captivate audiences.

Mark Wahlberg's 10-year-old war movie, Lone Survivor, finds new success streaming on Netflix. Based on the nonfiction book, the 2013 war film follows Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell alongside a team of fellow Navy SEALs tasked with tracking down the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah during the war in Afghanistan. Other than Wahlberg, the cast also includes Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana. Lone Survivor was a box office hit, grossing $154 million on a $40 million budget, and went...

Lone Survivor is an incredible war movie known for its action sequences and realism, but the real-life hero's minor role adds emotional value and a faithful portrayal. Marcus Luttrell, the real ex-Navy Seal, appears as Frankie in several scenes, with his biggest scene being when he knocks over coffee for another character to clean. In a tragic and symbolic twist, Luttrell's character dies in the movie's helicopter scene, even though he survived in real life, highlighting the emotional toll and aftermath of the tragedy.

Throughout Lone Survivor, the real-life Marcus Luttrell, who is the titular survivor of the movie's tragedy, appears in several scenes. The 2013 movie Lone Survivor follows the true story of a very dangerous mission by a group of Navy SEALs in Afghanistan, set during the war in 2005. With the intention of capturing Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, a small group of four Navy SEALs is left in the...

Lone Survivor utilized convincing locations to make the events of war appear as authentic as possible. Director Peter Berg and cinematographer Tobias Schliessler carefully crafted each scene to maximize the effectiveness of their locations. The attention to detail used for the locations helped better convey the film's themes of honor, valor, and one's duty to their country.

Based on the 2007 book of the same name, Lone Survivor features different locations filled with lush photography of desert landscapes, emerald green forests, and stunning nighttime shots to effectively engage viewers with its dramatic subjects. One of the highest-grossing war movies made, Lone Survivor follows a group of Navy SEALs as they hopelessly fight against Taliban forces after deciding against neutralizing a goat-herder. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster, Lone Survivor utilized a series of convincing locations to make the events seen on screen appear as authentic as possible.

The movie Lone Survivor, based on Marcus Luttrell's book, diverges from both the book and history regarding the number of Taliban attacking the Seal team, with Luttrell himself claiming there were only 20-35 Taliban. The scene in the movie where the Seal team captured goatherds has been criticized for its portrayal of a vote on whether or not to kill them, but in reality, there was a heated debate and an executive decision made by the ranking officer. The movie's action is likely more intense and dramatized than what happened in real life, with additional enemies and unclear evidence of enemy combatant deaths. Luttrell fired his gun far less than depicted, and the rescue scene was less climactic in reality.

The ending of Lone Survivor depicts Marcus Luttrell's rescue after being ambushed by the Taliban behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, but how accurate is the movie and what happened...

When Taylor Kitsch signs on to the Zoom call to discuss his new charitable endeavor in rural Montana, he looks very much the part. The 42-year-old, clad in a T-shirt, is perched in the driver’s seat of his adventure van, fresh from a supply run for the geodesic dome he’s building. It looks like the kind of setting where it might be a miracle to even have a cell signal.

Two years ago, after selling his onetime dream lake house in Austin, Texas, the actor drove this same van 20 hours north to Bozeman, Montana, where he rode out part of the pandemic. He was attracted to the area because of his interest in wildlife photography and a yearning for more serenity, but once his real estate agent showed him a particularly stunning piece of land (which he first visited in waist-deep snow), he had a vision of a...

“Welcome to the psychedelic twenties.”

This is how Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (Maps), greeted a packed crowd on the opening morning of Psychedelic Science 2023 in Denver last week, dressed in a loose white suit befitting a guru. Billed as the largest-ever gathering of its kind — more than 12,000 attendees, according to Doblin — the conference brought together scientists, therapists, activists, entrepreneurs, and creatives bound together by what more than one speaker referred to as a mycelial network, or the threads that connect a collective fungal organism.

The best movies about the Navy are also some of the best war films ever made. Naval war films often depict the heroic instances and tragedies of armed combat at sea and feature stark themes of nationalism and allegiance. Some naval war films depict real-life events and battles from history books while others are comprised of completely original content that stays true to the common military themes of honor, cooperation, and serving one's country.

Several of the best military movies feature elements of the Navy but also focus their stories on other branches of the armed forces such as the Army, Air Force, or Marines. The Navy specializes in training and deploying specialized military groups that take place at sea, meaning that water is often a visible theme in many of the movies about Naval forces. Whether they take place in an underwater submarine or on a massive aircraft carrier in a vast ocean,...

With an acting career stretching back to 1994, Mark Wahlberg has starred in everything from independent character studies to blockbuster action fare. Often bringing a focused intensity to his performances, Wahlberg parlays his talents into taking on everything from Transformers to super-intelligent apes to effectively playing against type as an earnest comedic foil. Possessing a subtly wide range, Wahlberg has gone on to work with some of the biggest filmmakers in Hollywood, sometimes on multiple projects and often with critical acclaim and box office success.

Wahlberg is at an inevitable stage in his career that defies typecasting and gives him the freedom to choose from a robust variety of projects. And despite his movie star good looks, Wahlberg often maintains an everyman quality that makes him a relatable actor, even as his characters face extraordinary circumstances. Here are the 14 best Mark Wahlberg movies ranked, elevated by his sheer commitment and the...

Mark Wahlberg leads the Father Stu cast along with a few more decorated film veterans and relatively newer stars associated with acclaimed TV shows. A biographical drama based on the life of boxer-turned-Catholic priest Father Stuart “Stu” Long, Father Stu is a tale of faith and redemption. Wahlberg’s protagonist starts off as an aimless slacker who finds a new purpose in life after he falls for a Sunday school teacher and becomes a man of faith himself. For a Christian-themed film, the R-rated biopic proved to be quite heavy on explicit language. Hence, a re-cut version titled Father Stu: Reborn was released a few months after the original’s release.

Despite raking in $21.8 million against a $4 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), Father Stu wasn’t exactly a critical masterpiece (despite a good share of audiences heavily praising Wahlberg’s earnest performance as the titular character). Its audience consensus...

As one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, the back catalog of Mark Wahlberg's movies shows the amazing success the actor has had on the big screen. It's easy to forget that this impressive movie career started back when Wahlberg was known as hip-hop star Marky Mark, but he made a transition to the big screen more successfully than just about any other musician-turned-actor. Mark Wahlberg's movies show how far he has come, and rooting out the best Mark Wahlberg movie is no easy task.

Mark Wahlberg's movie career is filled with notable roles, from Oscar-nominated performances working for legendary directors to huge action blockbusters to smaller critical darlings. The variety within his career allows him to remain one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood even if some of his movies aren't as well-received. Though Wahlberg suggests he might retire soon, his best movies show that he will...

The Mark Wahlberg film Lone Survivor was one of many that turned Wahlberg into a household name. But it also served as a lesson in growth for the actor, who admittedly lost his temper after an accident on set.

Mark Wahlberg once shared he had a selfish response to being offered ‘Lone Survivor’ Mark Wahlberg | Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Lone Survivor was a 2013 film adaptation of the memoir written by former Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell. The memoir focused on the harrowing experiences Luttrell and his team faced while in Afghanistan. Filmmaker Peter Berg would translate those experiences onto the big screen. Wahlberg would end up playing Luttrell in the film that featured an ensemble cast which included Eric Bana and Taylor Kitsch.

The Spenser Confidential star admitted that he initially only thought of what the film would do for his career. But it wasn’t until he delved deeper into...

The Los Angeles Public Library has revealed Kobe Bryant’s reading inspirations.

“As one would expect from a passionate storyteller, Bryant also appreciated reading a good book,” librarian Keith Kesler wrote in a blog post on the library’s website. “I searched through old interviews and social media posts to find the books that inspired the Black Mamba.”

The Kobe reading list includes “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho; “The Illustrated Art of War,” Sun Tzu; “Blink” and “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell; “Children of Blood and Bone,” Tomi Adeymi; “The Hero’s Journey,” Joseph Campbell; “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” Richard Bach; “Lone Survivor,” Marcus Luttrell; “Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable,” by trainer Tim Grover; “Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike,” Phil Knight; “The Silver Linings Playbook,” by Matthew Quick; “Sunny,” Jason Reynolds, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” by Dolores Kearns Goodwin; “Thirty Rooms to Hide In,...

America’s patriot and Grammy award-winning country music artist Lee Greenwood presented and performed at the 2019 Helping A Hero Gala on Dec. 12, where he sang his signature hit, “God Bless The USA” to approximately 1,500 supporters.

Lee Greenwood, Kathie Lee Gifford, Buddy Grantham

Credit/Copyright: AlexandersFinePortraits.com

The gala raised more than $1 million to build adaptive homes for severely wounded U.S. military veterans while also honoring former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, ‘Lone Survivor’ Marcus Luttrell, and entertainer Kathie Lee Gifford.

Greenwood, an enthusiastic supporter of Helping a Hero and a 2017 recipient of the prestigious Point of Light Award from the late President George H.W. Bush, presented The Lee Greenwood Award to Kathie Lee Gifford. This marks his 8th consecutive year attending and supporting the annual gala.

Helping A Hero.org is a 501c3 non-profit, non-partisan organization that has awarded more than 100 homes for wounded...

While theatrical exhibitors continue to reap profits showcasing the stories of military men and women on the big screen, streaming services have not only become a destination for smaller and sometimes lesser-known projects, but have also provided a new and expanding opportunity to serve the veteran community with more consistent and eclectic depictions of heroism and sacrifice. Content providers like Netflix, FandangoNow and Amazon — in both acquiring titles from smaller distributors and developing them specifically for in-house production companies — are leading the charge in supplying the military community with expanded entertainment and representation on screen.

The challenge for many of these services is to assemble enough titles for veterans and their families to feel like they have a variety of options, not to mention service the dozens of other communities seeking movies and shows that reflect their experiences and culture. Cameron Douglas, the head of FandangoNow, tells Variety that they...

Lorne Michaels is best known for creating and producing the comedy sketch series Saturday Night Live. He has also produced several films and TV shows, most of which deal with comedy. But his next project is something very different. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to be very funny at all. But, it does sound like it’s going to be good!

Michaels will be producing a film with Universal Pictures that will tell the story of Navy Seal Rob O’Neill, the man who killed Osama bin Laden. The movie will be based on the biography he wrote called The Operator, which is a memoir of O’Neill’s life and service, but it specifically recounts the experience of killing the terrorist leader.

Here’s the official synopsis for the book:

This instant New York Times bestseller—“a jaw-dropping, fast-paced account” (New York Post) recounts Seal Team...

Universal Pictures and Lorne Michaels’ production company, Broadway Video, have purchased the feature film rights to “The Operator,” a book by former Navy Seal Robert O’Neill about how he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

The full title of the New York Times bestselling book is “The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a Seal Team Warrior.” Michael Russell Gunn, who is currently a supervising producer on “Billions,” is adapting the screenplay.

“SNL” boss Michaels is producing the film, with Erin David and Sammy Perlmutter overseeing for Broadway Video, and Kristin Lowe and Mika Pryce overseeing for Universal. O’Neill is also executive producing.

Based on his accounts in “The Operator,” O’Neill had been...

Jake Wilson Feb 28, 2017

From The Big Hit to Patriots Day, we explore Mark Wahlberg's dozen films where he holds a gun on the promo poster....

Mark Wahlberg is a man of many talents. His rhymes are fresh, his frown is legendary, and it turns out he’s pretty decent in a bout of fisticuffs.

See related David Fincher's unfinished projects Looking back at David Fincher's Alien 3 House Of Cards season 5: everything we know so far

And then there's his acting. He has been in a wealth of films, usually fighting for, or alongside, the American flag. He's a gun-toting ass-kicker, and the world seems to dig it.

This is his game, his brand. Wahlberg moves between moral, no-nonsense cop and powerful, maverick law breaker and whilst he doesn’t always play armed characters, it is through these films that we can see the strands that...

What do U.S. military veterans know about making movies? If the early success of the zombie comedy “Range 15” is any indication — kind of a lot, actually.

Billed as the first film to be produced by and star primarily U.S. military veterans, the movie claimed the Best Film Award at the GI Film Festival last month and has already generated more than $500,000 in its first week at the box office, showing on more than 550 screens through the crowdsourcing company Tugg, which lets individuals choose a film they want to pay to see in theaters. The film first hit theaters on Wednesday, June 15.

Watch: Veterans Face the Emotional Aftermath of Combat in Exclusive ‘Searching For Home’ Trailer

“Range” combines more than two dozen U.S. military vets with Hollywood actors William Shatner, Sean Astin, Keith David and Danny Trejo in a story about a zombie apocalypse that threatens to destroy the U.

2013 saw the release of Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor, the true story of Seal Team 10 and the failed United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission “Operation Red Wings.” Based on Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson’s book, the film received two Oscar nominations for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing, received positive reviews and went onto a $149 million box office gross worldwide.

In 2014, Clint Eastwood brought to the screen American Sniper, based on the memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (2012) by Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film became a box office success (worldwide $547 million), was embraced by moviegoers, received great reviews and went onto garner six Academy Awards nominations.

Now comes Paramount Pictures’ 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Bengazi. The devastatingly haunting first trailer for director Michael Bay’s upcoming film stars Pablo Schreiber, John Krasinski,...

Over the weekend, I saw a headline go by about the truly remarkable box-office earned by "American Sniper," and I made a quick joke about it on Twitter. It was a passing thought, and then I was done. "I'm not surprised 'American Sniper' opened so well. Fantasy films are huge at the box-office these days. #yeahIsaidit" Yes, the hashtag at the end is snide. But it's still a joke. I put it up and I moved on. Or at least, that was the plan. A few hours later, I had to shut off the notifications on my phone because they just kept coming. For the most part, lots of retweets and a few jokes back at me, but there was a percentage of those replies that were overtly hostile and angry, and several threats of/calls for violence as a result. “Said the liberal insane Pos. Sad our...

Three years after the event, the Navy Seal that killed al-Qaeda founder and architect of the 9/11 terror attacks Osama Bin Laden, has finally been identified as Robert O’Neill, though others have disputed his claim. The identity of the soldier has long remained classified and subject to rumor. A single interview had been done by Esquire and identified him only under the nom de fame “The Shooter.”

According to the Daily Mail, O’Neill was going to be revealed as the shooter in a special for Fox News airing later this month The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden, but was beaten to the punch by a website run by ex-special forces personnel and published his name preemptively, as an apparent protest of his decision to reveal himself to the public, which goes against an unspoken oath shared by all military agencies: keep it secret.

O’Neill’s career in...

It should be no surprise to anyone that there’s a Bp oil spill movie in development. It’s primo subject material in that it hits all the necessary check marks for any “based on a true story” event movie. It’s timely – it was a mere four years ago the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew, seeping a small ocean of oil into the Gulf. It’s exciting – the spill first stemmed from an explosion, which certainly perked up Hollywood’s ears — if Hollywood is a sucker for one thing, it’s non-fiction violence. Exhibit A through E: Twelve Years a Slave, The Hurt Locker, Titanic, Braveheart and Schindler’s List. It’s just as relevant today as it was in 2010 – did you know that the plugged-up well may still be leaking oil into the Atlantic? Deepwater Horizon already has its director in J.C. Chandor (All is Lost) and screenwriter in Matthew Michael Carnahan (World War Z) and...

Could Mark Wahlberg be seguing from killer robots to doomed oil rigs?  A new report suggests that the "Transformers: Age of Extinction" actor is in talks to appear in the upcoming film, "Deepwater Horizon." According to Deadline, Wahlberg may appear in the J.C. Chandor-directed film based on the 2010 Bp oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.  The movie will detail not just the disaster itself, but the 48 hours leading up to it as well. Wahlberg, who may wind up playing the number two manager in "Deepwater Horizon," is no stranger to doing dramatic movies based on true stories.  This past December he starred in "Lone Survivor," the story of Marcus Luttrell and a Navy Seal operation in Afghanistan that went very wrong. The actor is already quite busy with "The Gambler" and "Ted 2" due out in the first half of 2015 and is set to appear opposite Will Ferrell...

Exclusive: Mark Wahlberg is in talks to star in the J.C. Chandor-directed Deepwater Horizon for Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment and Participant Media. Based on the true-life story of the 2010 Bp oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico which caused the worst oil spill since the Exxon Valdez, the movie is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian. The story, adapted from The New York Times’ article “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hour,” highlights the courage of those who worked on the oil rig when it blew, killing 11 and injuring 16 others.

Wahlberg will star as the No. 2 manager on the doomed oil rig in the story about what happened behind-the-scenes in the 48 hours leading up to and the day of the disaster. It revisits the acts of heroism that followed in trying to rescue men in the water, stories not known to the general public. The project is...

Emmy award-winner Lauren Sanchez, who is a frontrunner to join The View as a co-host, has formed Pursuit Productions with Dan Friedkin. Pursuit will focus on telling compelling real life stories from around the globe. The company already has its first documentary feature in the works, Found, and closed a deal with Mark Monroe (Sound City, The Tillman Story, The Cove) to write. Found follows the search for those pilots whose planes were lost in The Battle of Peleliu during World War II. Also joining the search for the missing pilots in the doc is former United States Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, whose memoir Lone Survivor […]...

Lone Survivor star Mark Wahlberg was the recipient of Spike TV’s 2014 “Guys Choice” Troops Choice Award.

Former Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell and actors Charlie Hunnam, Emile Hirsch and Wahlberg attended Spike TV’s ‘Guys Choice 2014′ at Sony Pictures Studios on June 7, 2014 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Spike TV).

Spike TV’s “Guys Choice” program premieres Wednesday, June 11 at 9p Et/Pt on Spike TV.

In keeping with Spike’s year-round efforts to support our nation’s servicemen and women, “Guys Choice” will once again feature inspiring moments saluting our troops and returning veterans.

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative face an impossible, moral decision in Lone Survivor, the intense, action-packed story of heroism, courage and survival, on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, including Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD with UltraViolet™ and On Demand Now, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Based on the book by soldier Marcus Luttrell (played here by Mark Wahlberg), Lone Survivor tells the story of the doomed 2005 mission Operation Redwings, in which four members of an elite Navy Seal team were sent to capture or kill the notorious Afghan Taliban leader Ahmad Shahd. When an unfortunate encounter with a shepherd changes their plans, they find themselves isolated in hostile territory, survival becomes more of a challenge than ever. Gripping war action from director Peter Berg (The Kingdom).

Chicago – The story goes that when deciding on the project, director Peter Berg read a copy of Marcus Luttrell’s book “Lone Survivor” in one sitting. Whether this tale includes a bathroom break, or even a few days in-between but with usage of the same chair, for a director like Berg this story will always ring possible.

After all, he’s the guy who tried to legitimize Hasbro’s movie militarization, by pitting real American veterans against goofy strategy aliens in “Battleship.” Even in that disaster, his efforts were inspired, and valiant.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

I’ve rattled on about Berg because his voice is so crucial to how well Luttrell’s true story has transitioned into the experience of watching a film, and feeling something from one. This isn’t just a drama about soldiers stuck behind enemy lines, but the limits these men pushed for themselves and each other. Berg...

Peter Berg, all is forgiven. Though the director once brought us the absolutely awful Battleship, now he has completely redeemed himself with Lone Survivor, a gripping and rousing tribute to the United States servicemen who risk their lives each and every day in the name of their country. It feels strange to be reviewing Berg’s film – as if I could ever criticize it for attempting to honor those men and women by viscerally depicting just a handful of them making the ultimate sacrifice in combat. No, Lone Survivor is a film of immense power, and it is almost beyond criticism because of that.

With that disclaimer, I must confess, I did not love it unconditionally. This is a Hollywood film, and it feels cheaper for that in certain moments. It’s no spoiler to say that Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) is the lone survivor of the title, and that...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Lone Survivor"

What's It About? Mark Wahlberg stars as real-life Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell in this action/drama based on a true story about a covert mission in Afghanistan. Peter Berg directs, and Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana co-star.

Why We're In: Despite some disputes over the veracity of Luttrell's story, "Lone Survivor" got strong reviews from critics and fans alike.

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

"The Nutty Professor" (50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition)

What's It About? Jerry Lewis stars in this classic comedic take on "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Why We're In: This fancy 4-disc special edition includes DVDs of two other films with Jerry Lewis, "Cinderfella" and "The Errand Boy," plus loads of extras.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

"Falling Skies: Complete Third Season"

What's It About? Aliens have invaded the Earth! Several types of 'em,...

In late June 2005, Marcus Luttrell and his Seal team set out on a mission to find notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The team was ambushed and left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare. Luttrell wrote the memoir Lone Survivor, on which the film is based. Mark Wahlberg plays Luttrell in the film. Although Wahlberg has played characters based on real people before, in such films as The Fighter and Invincible, he admits: “I always feel some weight when portraying somebody in real life, whether they’re alive or not. I want … Continue reading →

The post VOD Spotlight: Lone Survivor appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

On Demand DVD New Releases June 2-8 I’ll Follow You Down After the disappearance of a scientist on a trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a discovery years later that may bring him home. Haley Joel Osment, Gillian Anderson (TV-14, 1:33) 6/3 Available same day as theatrical release. Lone Survivor Based on a true story, Marcus Luttrell and his fellow Navy SEALs set out on what seems like a simple mission in Afghanistan. But as with anything there, nothing is as straightforward as it seems. With the enemies closing in, will decisions of principle help or hurt them? … Continue reading →

The post On Demand DVD New Releases June 2-8 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

Check out a video montage of the event and interviews with Peter Berg, Marcus Luttrell and Seal Don Shipley at the end of this piece. Oorah! When I saw Lone Survivor (based on Seal survivor Marcus Luttrell's Best Seller of the same name) last year, I loved the picture and was taken aback that it wasn't nominated for Best Picture or that director Peter Berg didn't get a shot at the Best Director prize. I...

When it was released in theaters last Christmas, director Peter Berg's Lone Survivor proved to be a harrowing retelling of the ordeal suffered by Marcus Luttrell (played by Mark Wahlberg) during 2005's failed Operation Red Wings where 19 American soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan. As evidenced by the film, as well as the book on which it is based, Luttrell made it through this grueling op using the skills he learned as a first class Navy Seal, and in conjunction with the film's Blu-ray and DVD release on June 3, we had the chance to experience a bit of that training for ourselves.

Digital Release Date: May 20, 2014, Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 3, 2014

Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $34.98

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Lone Survivor adds to the list of movies about the war against al-Qaeda.

Mark Wahlberg (Ted) stars as Marcus Luttrell, the real-life Navy Seal who was part of a four-person team on a covert mission to stop a high-level al-Qaeda operative. When things started to go wrong, Marcus learns that sometimes people who you think are the enemy can become unlikely allies.

Eric Bana (Deadfall), Ben Foster (Contraband), Taylor Kitsch (Savages) and Emile Hirsch (Bonnie & Clyde) co-star with Wahlberg in the R-rated film.

Lone Survivor was directed by Peter Berg (Battleship), who also wrote the screenplay based on the memoir by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson.

The action movie grossed a tidy $125 million in theaters, on good reviews from both critics and moviegoers.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo carry...

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative face an impossible, moral decision in Lone Survivor, the intense, action-packed story of heroism, courage and survival, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, including Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD with UltraViolet™ and On Demand on June 3, 2014, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Lone Survivor will also be available on Digital HD two weeks earlier on May 20, 2014.

Based on Marcus Luttrell’s The New York Times bestselling memoir, Director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) explores the unbreakable bond of brotherhood in a film that Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers praised as “a powerhouse film.” Lone Survivor tells the incredible tale of Operation Red Wings, a mission about four Navy SEALs ambushed by the enemy deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. As the soldiers are confronted by unthinkable odds they must find reserves of strength and resilience in order to fight to the finish.

Lone Survivor, director Peter Berg’s powerful action thriller about a pack of Navy Seals whose stealth operation in Afghanistan goes horribly wrong, arrives on Blu-ray and On Demand on June 3. The hit movie, which grossed more than $125 million, will also be available on Digital HD two weeks earlier on May 20.

Based on Marcus Luttrell’s harrowing experience in Operation Red Wings, which was chronicled in his 2007 book, the film follows Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and three fellow Seals as they are dropped into a mountainous region of Afghanistan to locate and capture a high-level al-Qaeda figure. Instead, the four soldiers...

Paramount Pictures is planning a military drama that ties back to events portrayed in Universal's "Lone Survivor".

Paramount has acquired Jennifer Percy's non-fiction novel "Demon Camp: A Soldier's Exorcism" with plans for a film adaptation to be produced by Montecito Pictures. Sarah Cornwell will write the script.

'Demon' follows machine gunner Caleb Daniels who lost his best friend and seven members of his unit to a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. The group were on a rescue mission to save Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell and the other Seals during their famed ill-fated mission portrayed in "Lone Survivor".

Daniels returns to the U.S., struggling with Ptsd and hallucinations of his dead friends. He eventually joins a Christian exorcism camp in Georgia that promises deliverance from the demons of war.

Source: THR...

Paramount Pictures has acquired Demon Camp: A Soldier's Exorcism for a film adaptation to be produced by Montecito Pictures. Sarah Cornwell has been tapped to write the script.  The non-fiction book by Jennifer Percy centers on events that are tied to the story told by Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell in his book Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10, and the Universal film adapted from that story. Photos: From '42' to 'We're the Millers': The Box-Office Surprises of 2013 Percy's memoir tells the tale of machine gunner Caleb

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We talk with the Oscar nominated sound team behind Director Peter Berg’s film Lone Survivor which is based on the 2007 nonfiction book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. Featured interviews include Supervising Sound Editor Wylie Stateman, Re-recording Mixer Andy Koyama, Re-recording Mixer Beau Borders, Sound Designer Harry Cohen, Sound Editor Dror Mohar, Supervising Dialogue and Adr Editor Renee Tondelli, and Sound Editor Brandon Spencer. Synopsis Marcus Luttrell, a Navy Seal, and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd, in late June 2005. After running into mountain herders and capturing them, they were left with no choice but to follow their rules of engagement or be imprisoned. Now Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare. To read more go to The Sound of...

'Your loyalty to your fellow soldiers is absolute,' says ex-sas officer John Richards, on the remarkably realistic Mark Wahlberg drama about sharp-shooting Navy Seals battling al-Qaeda

I served all over the world in the 1990s. There are several key similarities between the work of the Sas and the Navy Seals, the elite American soldiers depicted in this film. Both involve highly trained soldiers operating in very small groups in remote enemy territory. The mountains of Afghanistan we see in the film are very like the area of Kenya where British soldiers train today.

The Seals face a moral dilemma: kill a group of Afghans in order not to compromise their mission, or let them go unharmed. It's a familiar situation. Not only is Lone Survivor based on Marcus Luttrell's account of a real 2005 Seals mission, there have been a number of similar incidents over the years. Bravo Two Zero,...

Lone Survivor

Composed by Explosions in the Sky and Steve Jablonsky

Metropolis Movie Music

One of the more surprising developments this winter has been the financial success of Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor, a half true-to-life action thriller about 2005′s failed Operation Red Wings. Against the Oscar fare that typically hits multiplexes this time of year, it’s grossed an estimated $108 million as of February 7. It’s also fueled debate over the authenticity of the film’s events as adapted from Patrick Robinson’s gussied-up memoir. In addition to multiplying the number of Taliban forces Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell and his team fought, Lone Survivor makes little effort to complicate U.S. involvement in the Middle East beyond black-and-white terms. While some of the blame falls squarely on Berg’s (and Robinson’s) shoulders, Lone Survivor’s score deserves some heat, too.

Enlisting the services of Texas post-rockers Explosions in the Sky...

Film: "Lone Survivor"; Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch, and Emile Hirsch, Ali Suliman, Alexander Ludwik; Director: Peter Berg; Rating: ***1/2

"Lone Survivor" is a well-constructed 'gory war porn' that camouflages an error of judgment on moralistic grounds and glorifies American patriotism.

Based on a true story by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson, it is an eyewitness account of Operation Red Wings revealing the tale of the Us Navy Seals and Army Special Operations soldiers who lost their lives in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan in 2005.

The film narration starts off in a non-linear fashion with the medical team attending the rescued lone survivor.

What follows, is the chronicle of.