Archive for April, 2015

2015 Baltimore Riots — Politics, Racism, and Pure Hatred

For almost a week now, news reports have been focused on the city of Baltimore, Maryland.

What began as organized protests against police brutality and the recent death of Freddie Gray turned into a day and night of violent rioting and looting.  Thugs basically had free reign over parts of the city as the police stood by and watched it happened.

So what really happened in Baltimore?

THE ARREST AND DEATH OF FREDDIE GRAY

On April 12, 2015, Baltimore police officers encountered Freddie Gray, a known criminal with a long history of being arrested.  It’s not known why the officers stopped or wanted to speak with him.  For whatever reason, Freddie took off running and the police gave chase.  Freddie was captured, placed under arrest, and put into a police wagon for transport to a nearby police precinct.

New video shows arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore

Notice in the arrest video that Freddie is not (or just barely) moving his legs.  The officers have to pick him up by the arms and literally carry him into the police wagon.  Was Freddie injured during the capture and arrest, or was he just being uncooperative and refusing to walk into the wagon? Read more…

Movie Review – Little Caesar (1931)

Today we’re taking a look at Little Caesar, a 1931 gangster film that introduced the world to Edward G. Robinson.

Credited as one of the films that launched the gangster genre in the 1930s in Hollywood, Little Caesar is a classic tale that follows Caesar Enrico Bandello and his rise from a petty criminal into a powerful gangster.  The film Little Caesar is based on William R. Burnett‘s novel of the same name.

Little Caesar (1931) – movie poster

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Little Caesar stars Edward G. Robinson as Caesar Enrico Bandello, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as Joe Massara, Rico’s close friend.  Supporting them are Glenda Farrell as Olga Stassoff, Sidney Blackmer as “Big Boy,” and Thomas Jackson as Sergeant Flaherty.

Little Caesar (1931) – (c) Warner Bros.

Little Caesar begins with criminals Caesar Enrico “Rico” Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) and Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) robbing a gas station.  The two of them then casually eat dinner in a diner while Rico reads a newspaper.  When Rico sees a story about the underworld paying its respect to a gang leader, Rico realizes that that is the lifestyle that he wants.  He desires to be powerful and respected, and not some two-bit criminal that nobody knows.

However, Joe doesn’t have that same passion for being a criminal.  He tells Rico that he would rather be dancing on stage with a woman, and living life in the spotlight.  Rico seems disgusted that Joe would rather be a dancer and around women.

The two of them head to Chicago to pursue their dreams. Read more…

$15 Minimum Wage Protests

It’s April 15th and you know what that means . . .

No, we’re not talking about how the high tax rates continue to push average Americans to the breaking point.

These days the focus is on the opposite end of the spectrum, towards those people working entry-level jobs and expecting to receive high rates of pay.  We’re talking about the MINIMUM wage.

Protests, protests, protests, and yet more protests.  These have occurred all across the country today.

I don’t know exactly when this trend started, but for the past couple of years now people are walking out of their jobs (the vast majority of these people are hourly workers at fast food restaurants) and DEMANDING the government to simply raise the minimum wage to that of $15 an hour.

That’s right.

These are low-level, hourly workers who are demanding that they receive not just a good wage, but a damn good wage for doing extremely simple work that literally any idiot can do.

All of these businesses are owned by greedy rich people, right?

Why shouldn’t they simply pay their hourly workers more money?  Aren’t all of those business owners being greedy as the hourly people break their backs doing the physical work?  Why can’t they pay the hourly workers a lot more money?

Believe it or not, but those are very real questions that people are asking when they talk about wanting to raise the minimum wage.  Unfortunately, they have no clue about what such a raise in money like that would do, especially a jump that high in wages.

MINIMUM WAGE ≠ LIVING WAGE

First of all, these hourly, entry-level jobs are *not* meant to be full-time jobs.

Unless you’re sixteen years old and have a desire to work your way up through the ranks and be a fast food general manager, that job you take at McDonalds or Burger King is not going to be your job for the rest of your life.  You’re going to work there for a little while, prove you’re a responsible and a good worker, and then you’ll move on to a better job.

That’s how it is supposed to work in a good economy. Read more…

Movie Review – Bullets or Ballots (1936)

Today we’re taking a look at Bullets or Ballots, a classic gangster film released back in 1936.

Bullets or Ballots is a crime film that involves gangsters looking for a new racket and source of income.  While they look to expand their empire, a top New York City police officer is willing to do anything it takes to stop them, even if it means risking his life and infiltrating their gang.

Bullets or Ballots (1936) – movie poster

Directed by William Keighley, Bullets or Ballots stars Edward G. Robinson as Detective Johnny Blake, a cop who wants to rid New York City of its notorious gangsters.  Supporting him in the film are Humphrey Bogart as Nick “Bugs” Fenner, and Joan Blondell as Lee Morgan.

Bullets or Ballots (1936) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures

Set in New York City, Bullets or Ballots begins with Al Kruger (Barton MacLane) and his underling, Nick “Bugs” Fenner (Humphrey Bogart), going to a theater and seeing a news report about the extent of gangster activities (primarily involving racketeering) in the U.S.  The extent of the racketeering goes as far as installing arcade machines so that kids can play games and lose their lunch money.  The news clip ends with footage of Kruger’s racketeering trial, to which he was acquitted by the jury. Read more…

Book Review – Vince Flynn’s “American Assassin”

The other day I finished reading American Assassin, Vince Flynn‘s twelfth book, and the eleventh in his series of novels featuring Mitch Rapp.

American Assassin is a prequel to the other books in the series.  We all know that Mitch Rapp is a fearless killer who enjoys outsmarting his enemies, but how did he get started in the CIA?  This book showcases Mitch Rapp’s training at a secret CIA training center, and then his first mission as a covert ops warrior.

Vince Flynn — American Assassin

American Assassin begins at a secret training center near Lake Anna, Virginia.

CIA agent Irene Kennedy drives recent college graduate Mitch Rapp to the training center.  There he is to survive the intense training and compete with six other candidates to be a member of Orion Team, a secret band of covert warriors in a program designed by CIA Director Thomas Stansfield.

Of course, he has to survive the training first, and that’s not an easy task.  Immediately upon arriving at the training camp, the lead instructor, Stan Hurley, challenges Mitch Rapp to a fight.  The fight is brutal, and just when Mitch is about to win, Stan cheats and defeats his opponent.  What Stan didn’t know is that Mitch is highly skilled in martial arts, and that he’s far more dangerous than he looks.

The other candidates discover that as well.  Mitch Rapp has superior intelligence as well as athletic abilities.  The only thing he doesn’t know how to do is shoot a gun, but that’s overcome with some simple instructions by the camp’s instructors.

Mitch’s biggest challenge during the training is when competing against a candidate named Victor.  From the beginning, Victor is a loudmouth who keeps testing his fellow candidates.  He tries to fight them, and he tries to get them kicked out of the unit.  At one point he even breaks a fellow candidate’s nose during a routine fighting session.  Mitch figures out Victor’s secret (he really an instructor) and ultimately fights him, getting the best of the arrogant jerk. Read more…

Movie Review – Furious 7 (2015)

Released this weekend is Furious 7, the seventh and what might actually be the final film in The Fast and the Furious franchise.

Furious 7 received a ton of attention two years ago when actor Paul Walker was killed in an auto accident not related to the filming of the movie.  At that point the movie itself was about halfway finished being filmed.  The rest of the filming was delayed and parts of the script were re-written to accommodate his loss.  Through the use of look-alikes and the magic of CGI effects, Paul Walker’s character is still featured throughout the final version of Furious 7.

Furious 7 follows the stories in Fast & Furious 6 and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.  Owen Shaw is badly injured from the events at the end of Fast & Furious 6, and his brother, Deckard Shaw, seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his crew of drivers.  The driving crew is assembled for one final mission to help a covert agency acquire a key piece of technology that will allow the drivers to track Deckard Shaw and stop him from his personal vendetta.

Furious 7 (2015) – movie poster

Directed by James Wan, Furious 7 stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in their respective roles of Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner.  Supporting them are the usual team of actors including Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, Ludacris as Tej Parker, Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, and Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs.

New faces this time around include Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, Kurt Russell as Frank Petty, Nathalie Emmanuel as Megan Ramsey, and Djimon Hounsou as a terrorist named Jakande.

Furious 7 begins with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) visiting his badly injured brother, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), in the hospital.  He swears to his brother that he’ll get his revenge to those who nearly killed him.  As Deckard leaves the hospital, we see that he has left a trail of wreckage and carnage, with many dead police officers and hospital workers.

Over in California, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) takes Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) to Race Wars in hopes of finding something to help Letty regain her memory.  Letty is still suffering from amnesia.  She follows Dominic’s advice and easily beats her opponent at Race Wars.  However, when the crowd is celebrating with Letty, she’s overcome with anxiety, punches Hector (Noel Gugliemi) by accident, and flees from Race Wars.

Later, Dominic finds Letty at the grave where “she” was buried years ago.  Dominic wants to use a sledgehammer to break the gravestone, but Letty stops him.  She sees the grave as a transition point where her old self died and this new version with amnesia was born.

At the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service office, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) catches Deckard Shaw illegally using his personal computer.  Luke tries to arrest him, but Deckard refuses and the two of them have a lengthy fight sequence.  The fight ends when Deckard uses a hand grenade to effectively “blast” Luke and his partner out of an elevated window.  The two officers fall several stories and crash land on top of a car.  The landing seriously injures Luke, and he’s taken to a hospital for treatment.  Although most of Luke’s office has been destroyed, we see that Deckard was able to learn the name of one of Dominic Toretto’s accomplices —- Han Seoul-Oh.

Dominic visits Luke in the hospital, and he learns that Deckard is out for revenge.

Remember Han’s fatal car accident in Tokyo, Japan? Read more…

Movie Review – Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Pop quiz!

What comes after Fast Five?

If you guessed Fast & Furious 6, then you’re correct!  Congratulations!

Fast Five ended with the gang successfully stealing the $100 million in cash from Hernan Reyes, and the gang going off in their own directions.  It was a happy ending that could have ended the franchise right there.  However, a short clip during the credits showed that Letty Ortiz is actually alive, and that she is part of a gang of street raiders in Europe.

You know what that means.

Onward to Fast & Furious 6.

The sixth film in The Fast and the Furious franchise revolves around the gang seeking Letty Ortiz, and them going up against one of their most dangerous opponents yet.  All of your favorite characters are back again for another thrilling ride full of fast cars, plenty of gunfire, and some pretty ridiculous action scenes.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) – movie poster

Directed by Justin Lin, Fast & Furious 6 stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in their respective roles of Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner.  Co-starring in the film are a cast of actors including Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, Ludacris as Tej Parker, Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh, and Luke Evans as the villain Owen Shaw.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) – (c) Universal Pictures

Fast & Furious 6 begins with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) racing each other on a tropical island.  It turns out that they’re in Spain’s Canary Islands, and they were actually racing to a local hospital.  Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) is about to give birth to her and Brian’s child.  Before Brian goes inside to be with Mia, Dominic warns him that once he steps inside, then his past life no longer exists.  It’s time to focus on the future and of being a responsible father. Read more…

Movie Review – Fast Five (2011)

Today we’re reviewing Fast Five, the (you guessed it!) fifth film in The Fast and the Furious franchise.

Fast Five involves the driving gang busting Dominic Toretto out of a prison transport bus, and then making their way south to Brazil, now as wanted fugitives.  It doesn’t take long for them to cross paths with a corrupt businessman, and then plan a heist to steal $100 million of his money.  To complicate matters, this time the driving gang is also being pursued by a very determined member of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service.

Fast Five (2011) – movie poster

Directed by Justin Li, Fast Five stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in their respective roles of Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner.  Supporting them in the film are Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, Ludacris as Tej Parker, Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh, Matt Schulze as Vince, Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar, Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves, and Joaquim de Almeida as the villain Hernan Reyes.

Dwayne Johnson plays the role of Luke Hobbs, a Diplomatic Service Agent bound to catch the fugitives and return them to the United States.

Fast Five (2011) – (c) Universal Pictures

Fast Five begins right at the tail end of Fast & Furious as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is being transported inside of a prison bus.  The prison bus is surrounded by a group of drivers:  Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), Leo (Tego Calderon) and Santos (Don Omar).  The four drivers cause the prison bus to crash, and then Dominic is freed.  Dominic, Brian and Mia become international fugitives as they cross the southern border and head to South America.  Dominic separates from Brian and Mia, but they all agree to meet down in Brazil. Read more…