The Courier (2020 Film)

I just saw this movie on Amazon Prime. Directed by Dominic Cooke. Main actors are Benedict Cumberbatch and Merab Ninedze. 

This is a true story made into a movie. Story involved around the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

A British intelligence M16 officer and an American Intelligence CIA officer had contact with a Colonel in the GRU (Russian Foreign Military Intelligence Agency). He agrees to share the top-secret documents in exchange for helping him to defect to USA with his family. 

The M16 and CIA wanted someone to be a courier who will secretly bring the documents passed on by this GRU Colonel from Moscow to London. Since the Soviets suspect anyone and everyone, these M16 and CIA officers decided to recruit an innocent salesman to be the courier. The salesman initially refuses and then agrees. 

He successfully brings back to London many secret documents given by this GRU Colonel during the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, the Soviet Union has a spy inside the CIA. They come to know that top secret information is being passed on to M16 and CIA. 

The GRU Colonel was supposed to go to London on a trade mission. He was ordered not to go in the last minute. M16 and CIA suspected that the cover of this innocent salesman had been blown. They asked the salesman to drop out of this mission and go home and resume his regular salesman work. 

M16 officer wanted to abandon the GRU Colonel saying it all happens in this business. But the salesman had sympathy for the GRU Colonel and he did not want to abandon him. He was supported by the CIA officer. 

Finally, they (CIA officer and the salesman) decided to go to Moscow and kidnap the GRU Colonel and his family to West Berlin. 

Did they succeed in this mission? Very interesting real life true story. Worth watching. (Please don't read Wikipedia about this movie.  It gives the ending of this story.)

Jeopardy

Jeopardy is an Emmy award winning quiz game show in USA. This show started in 1984 and, after 37 years, it is still one of the most popular shows in US Television history. 

I may be wrong. But in my personal opinion, if you want to be a contestant and win here, one has to have Ph.D. in every subject in the world. 

The host of the show, Alex Trebek, was even more popular than the show itself. He hosted this show from 1984 until his death last year. He is a Canadian. In 1998 Alex became a naturalized US citizen, 

As Katie Couric, American television journalist, said ’His omnipresence is very reassuring”. Alex Trebek is someone that people have really liked having in their living room every day for almost 35 years. 

Alex was such a popular personality, that after his death the producers of Jeopardy are finding it difficult to find a suitable replacement. So far, they have tried 16 people and still unable to select a replacement. 

Included among the 16 are: 

Anderson Cooper, CNN news 

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN 

George Stephanopoulos, Senior advisor to President Clinton and now with ABC news 

Aaron Rodgers, American football player and a graduate from University of California, Berkeley 

Here is an episode of the Jeopardy hosted by Alex Trebek. Please watch.

 

Outstanding Athlete

Thank God the Olympics are over. We can rest for another 3 years. There was only one athlete that stood out for me. She is a female. She is not well built like female athletes from many countries. She is a tiny person (48 kg).

Her name is Sifan Hassan. She is an Ethiopian born Dutch middle and long distance runner.

Sifan won a bronze medal for 1500 meters, a gold medal for 5000 meters and another gold medal for 10000 meters. 

During one of the qualifying rounds (3 races) for 1500 meters, Sifan collided with another runner and fell down but still managed to win the bronze in the finals. She has to run twice (semi final and final) for her 5000 meter gold medal. 

After this, will any one think of running in the 10000 meter race. Sifan decided to participate. She won the gold in 10000 meters not just because of her stamina and endurance but also with her sheer determination.

 

After finishing the race, she fell down. Was crying for water for full 30 seconds. Finally, a medic came with a water bottle.