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An unpretentious B-movie made with A-grade effort, “Valiant One” packs decent action and mostly sturdy drama into the tale of U.S. soldiers whose mission near the Dmz goes haywire and leaves them stranded in North Korea. The first film directed by longtime producer and production executive Steve Barnett (“300”) doesn’t add anything to the “trapped behind enemy lines” playbook but does offer a pacy combination of well-executed combat scenes and reluctant-hero drama that should play especially well with military movie buffs. Boasting solid central performances by Chase Stokes (“Outer Banks” series) and Lana Condor (“To All the Boys” films), “Valiant One” opens in limited U.S. cinemas on Jan. 31.

“Valiant One” is the kind of mid-size action movie we’ve seen much less of in commercial theatrical release since these straight-to-streaming days began. Though lacking the scale of a big-budget spectacular — it’s no “Black Hawk Down” — the...

Atlanta rockers Royal Thunder have announced that their fourth album, Rebuilding the Mountain, will arrive June 16th via Spinefarm Records. The upcoming LP marks the band’s first full-length studio release in six years and the follow-up to 2017’s Wick LP.

Royal Thunder have undergone some internal changes over the years, as guitarist Josh Weaver addressed in a new statement.

“It was really a special time writing and working on this record,” Weaver said. “There were a lot of hardships we had prior to the pandemic and during, as everyone experienced. The band dissolved and toxic behavior became a priority over the music, addiction being the number one factor for things falling apart. We reconnected with our drummer, Evan Diprima, during the pandemic.”

He added, “We agreed that we needed to get our priorities straight and do the band uncompromisingly right, as in right for us. There was a huge void in us,...

The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people, announced Janelle Monae (they/them or she/her pronouns) as the recipient of its 2022 Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year Award, which recognizes influential public figures for their unwavering commitment to LGBTQ mental health awareness.

The second annual award marks September’s National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and amplifies The Trevor Project’s mission to end suicide among LGBTQ young people. Monáe joins Lil Nas X – who was the inaugural recipient of the award in 2021 – in receiving this powerful honor that reminds LGBTQ young people that they are not alone.

The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, actor, and author has been a longtime champion for the LGBTQ community and conversations around mental health. A fierce advocate and activist, Monáe has consistently used their platform to elevate the voices and experiences of marginalized people.

Exclusive: Lana Condor (To All the Boys films), Desmin Borges (The Time Traveler’s Wife) and Callan Mulvey (The Gray Man) have signed on to star alongside Chase Stokes in Monarch Media’s thriller Valiant One, which goes into production in Vancouver this month.

The first feature directed by Monarch’s Steve Barnett watches as a U.S. helicopter crashes on the North Korean side of the Dmz. With tensions between the North and South already on the verge of war, the surviving U.S. Army non-combat tech soldiers must work together to protect a civilian tech specialist and find their way across the Dmz, without the possibility of U.S. military support.

Condor will play Selby, a hard-as-nails and highly capable but very inexperienced Medic Specialist who joined the U.S. military after becoming a citizen to give back to her new homeland. Borges is set for the role of Josh Weaver,...