WGN Radio: Milton Rosenberg Interviewing P.J. O’Rourke- The American Automobile Industry

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Ederik Schneider

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Source:WGN Radio– political humorist P.J. O’Rourke.

“Milt hosts a discussion with author P.J. O’Rourke about his latest book, Driving Like Crazy, a collection of essays looking at the auto industry.”

From WGN Radio

The timing of this interview is perfect because the General Motors and Chrysler Motors were facing bankruptcy and perhaps even at risk of going out of business. Which would’ve been a disaster for America and not just because of the lost of good jobs that it would cost the country. But also in prestige that it would’ve cost the country. The world’s only superpower that would’ve been down to one motor company being Ford. GM and Chrysler were both bailed out in late spring or early summer of 2009, which is when this interview was done. So they were definitely talking about a relevant subject here.

GM and Chrysler, the number one and I believe maybe tenth largest automobile company in the world in Chrysler’s case, ( that is an estimate from me ) were both saved and are both back in black today and have been back in black for several years now. Millions of jobs saved, fewer people being unemployed in the heart of the Great Recession as a result, the country didn’t collapse. So right now that GM and Chrysler bailouts that both came conditionally, are looking like very good investments right now.

But why did GM fail? I would argue because they stopped making good cars. The Caprice, which I believe was a great car or at least a borderline great car. Sort of a combination of a big luxury car, but that had very good power and handled well, a very popular police car. GM stopped making that and they stopped making the Monte Carlo, which was a big sporty car, with great power and handled very well, but also very comfortable. Sort of like a sporty luxury car. They tried to become more like Japan with smaller cars, because so many Americans were buying Japanese, but their cars simply weren’t as good.

Oldsmobile is now out of business, but Buick which is like the little brother of Cadillac, smaller cheaper luxury cars, are still around. Pontiac, which I at least is a better version of Chevrolet, at least with their sporty mid-size cares, is out of business as well. When these companies under better management, should still be in business today. Chrysler essentially over promised their employees with benefits and when the Great Recession hit, they got hit in the head over and over on that and eventually got knocked down.

Chrysler might be the best of the big three in America, even though they are number three. Ford Motors is the best run of the big three and didn’t have any financial difficulty in this period and the only one that didn’t need or take public assistance. Ford Motors runs two other profitable auto divisions, Mercury and Lincoln and their cars are doing very well right now. Their cars and trucks, the Taurus might be the best sporty mid-size car in America right now.

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Real Time With Bill Maher: ‘If Jesus Ran The Republican Nomination For President’

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Rik Schneider

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Source:The Atheist Blog– Jesus Christ and the Republican Party, according to Bill Maher.

“If Jesus ran for the Republican nomination. Real Time with Bill Maher 30-09-2011
Originally from AtheistBlog.org:The Atheist Blog.”

Source:Atheist Blog

If Jesus ran the Republican nomination for President, every single presidential candidate the GOP had back in 2011-12 would’ve been disqualified. Except for maybe Ron Paul, who is a good-natured doctor, who doesn’t go out of his way to put people down and actually believes in live and let live and treat others as you would want to be treated. You know, real Christian values that the other candidates up there, the Tea Party and Christian Right views as socialism or communism. Which is my point about Christianity, there’s Christianity that comes from the Bible. And there’s Christianity that so-called Christians like to make up to suit their own political needs.

I’m starting to think the term Christian-Right is offensive to actual Christians and I’m serious about that, because I use that term all the time. And there are Christians who are good people and truly live up to Christian values and the Ten Commandants.

And then there are Christians who use Christianity to appeal to Christians to gain their political support on one hand. But on the other hand go out of their way to put people down who don’t live exactly the way they do and don’t look at America and the world the exact way that they do. I’m not sure even Religious-Right is an accurate term for people who use Christianity to suit their political goals, but don’t actually believe in what they claim they preach.

I love terms like Christian-Fundamentalist, Christian-Nationalist, Tea Party Nationalist, right-wing fascist to describe people who wouldn’t know what Christianity and conservatism really is if it kicked them in balls. Or in a woman’s case, punched them in the nose. Because a lot of what is supposed to be conservatism today, looks nothing like it did in the 1960s and perhaps even 1970s, that looks more like conservative libertarianism or even libertarianism today.

I mean Jesus Christ and Barry Goldwater today sure as hell couldn’t get nominated by the Republican Party today, at least at the national level. Why, because they believe in very different things than the Far-Right of that party that now has so much influence.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the Far-Right in the GOP was looked down upon like mental patients that were on the loose and needed to be brought back to their mental hospital. Today Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum are treated like mainstream serious presidential candidates. That is how much the GOP has changed in just forty-years where freakin Barry Goldwater would look like a freakin liberal or libertarian today. Mr. Conservative Barry Goldwater looking like a liberal, how times have changed in the Republican Party.

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CBC: Stromboulopoulos Tonight: ‘Rick Mercer on Annoying Canadian Stereotypes’

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Erik Schneider

CBC_ Stromboulopoulos Tonight- 'Rick Mercer on Annoying Canadian Stereotypes'

Source:CBC-  

Rick Mercer talking about Canadian stereotypes, on Strombo Tonight.

“On July 1, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight presents a special Canada Day episode. George talks all things Canadian with comedy icon Rick Mercer. Plus, a variety of compelling guests — including Bradley Cooper, Shaun Majumder, Paul Martin, Russell Peters, Zach Galifianakis, Martin Short, David Suzuki, Rex Murphy, Amy Sedaris and more — share their thoughts on our great country. Featuring performances by Sloan and The Coppertone.

* In this clip, political satirist Rick Mercer talks about Canadian stereotypes… and rants about the ones that bug him the most.

For full-length interviews and behind-the-scenes content from George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, visit Strombo 

From CBC

I think Canada by in-large is a great beautiful country and if for some reason lets say I was deported from America, perhaps on suspicion of being a German spy or something, I would live in Canada. Canada would be my second choice, even though I’m an Ethnic-German.

But like America, there’s good and bad in Canada and perhaps not so much bad, but things that even Canadians make fun of about their own country, that other countries can make fun of as well. Similar to Britain, which by in-large is a great country as well, but it is a fairly easy country to make fun.

I love watching Canadian TV and listening to Canadians speak. Why, because they sound so funny to me. Similar to how people talk in the upper Midwest in America and great plains.

There’s very little if anything I actually like about Representative Michele Bachmann. One thing I do like about her is that she’s leaving the House of Representatives at the end of this Congress. But another thing I like about her is how she talks. She has a thick Minnesota accent and is originally born in Iowa, but I believe raised in Minnesota. I guess after Iowa deported the Bachmann Family and they settled in Minnesota.

But I love listening to Canadians and upper Midwesterners talk. They sound like Canadians the way they say certain things. Like out is oot in Canadian, about is aboot in Canadian and put them together Canadians say oot and aboot quite often. I know this from personal experience and against is agenst in Canadian.

When I’m watching Canadian TV, I’m always mimicking them and doing my own Canadian accent. Which is a little deeper than my Mid-Atlantic-American accent. I actually sound more like I’m from the Northeast, but that is a different story.

As far as Canadian stereotypes: Canadians are as crazy about hockey, as Americans are crazy about football (let’s say) but even more so. Hockey is like what Jesus would be to a Christian-Fundamentalist, where Americans love football the most when it comes to sports, but we have so many other sports we love as well. And we have so many other things to do as well and aren’t so distracted by one sport. Tim Horton’s, obviously, that is like official national restaurant in Canada and perhaps the only national restaurant in Canada.

As far as being polite: I’m probably too big of an asshole to live in Canada and would probably get deported. They are annoyingly nice and friendly, at least to Americans. I couldn’t imagine a Canadian wanting to live in New York, Philadelphia or Washington, Detroit would be another great example, simply for that reason. Yes, they are very passive and neutral, perhaps to a fault and don’t really want much if anything to do with other countries, at least as far as being involved in foreign and military operations. Which is how they qualified for NATO, because most of Europe is the same way.

I’ve always seen Canada as the biggest small country in the world. The second largest country in the world physically, but with only thirty-six-million people. Compared with America which is almost as big as Canada physically and the third largest country in the world physically and has three-hundred and fifteen-million people. I don’t know, maybe sex is not that popular in Canada. Maybe Canadians are required to take boat loads of birth control, or are only allowed to have one child per couple. Maybe because it is so damn cold up in Canada, that Canadians just aren’t the mood most of the year. And are more interested in simply avoiding freezing to death.

Canada is a great big country, but like America there’s plenty to make fun of like all great countries have. Americans are perhaps are more easy to make fun of because there are so many of us and we have it so good in most cases and hate big government and don’t like being told what to do and are so individualistic as a people, that people who are more socialist and collectivist in nature, like Canadians (to use as an example) like to make fun of us.

But Canada has similar cultural stereotypes that look funny to other countries as well, including America. And part of being friends is making fun of each other, because you the other wouldn’t deliberately hurt you.


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Chiu Na-Ying: The Newsroom: Debt Ceiling Debate

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Derik Schneider

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I swear that and I probably believed this when, but in early 2011 when House Republicans just took control of the House of Representatives, that their so-called Tea Party Caucus didn’t know a damn thing about economics. At least fiscal policy, like the national debt and deficit. There’s a good reason why America has never defaulted on our debt and never needed to the International Monetary Fund to manage our government’s financial books. We’ve always had a Democratic Party and Republican Party at least at the leadership level that was smart enough never to risk that.

We don’t know if defaulting on our debt would’ve crashed the economy. But why do we know that, because we’ve never risked that before. The 2010 ten mid-term elections completely changed that. In comes the Tea Party Republicans who the only thing they know about economics is what anarcho-libertarians have told them. Who’ve never run anything at least as it relates to government. Who get these wild ideas that lifting the debt ceiling only means you approve of the national debt and don’t see it as a problem. And are giving Congress and the administration now and into the future permission to borrow and spend more.

The fact all that raising the debt ceiling does is pay the current bills. Our current interest on the debt and allows for the U.S. Government to buy time to pay down its debt with future deficit reduction agreements and economic growth. It is like making it official with a bank what you owe on the loan. So both sides know where they stand. The individual or group knows how much the owe and the bank knows how much they are entitled to. It doesn’t give them permission to add to their debt and put more money on the credit card. The Tea Party still doesn’t get that by in large.

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Michael Svat: Karen McCullough- ‘Gen X: Stuck Between Self Absorbed Baby Boomers & Gen Y’

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Ederik Schneider

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Source:Michael Svat– looks like a lecture talking about my generation.

“Gen X, Stuck Between Self Absorbed Baby Boomers and Gen Y”

From Michael Svat

I agree with Karen McCullough a lot about these three huge generations, I would just add a few things to it that won’t make Millennial’s look very good. But it depends on how you define these generations as well.

Officially the Boomers go from 1946-64, which I think most people who look at that, don’t really buy that. It would mean someone born in 1944 is not a Boomer, even though they grew up and came of age, went to college, part of the Vietnam War, or perhaps were against it all in the 1960s.

But someone born in 1963 would be a Boomer, even though they have none of the experiences as someone born in the late 1940s or early to mid 1950s, as someone born in 1944. Who technically is not a Baby Boomer.

The unofficial definition’s of these generations, would be Boomers born lets say from 1942 or 43, all the way up to 1960-61.

Gen-Xers, my generation born from lets say 1961, maybe 1960 even, up to 1979 or 80, with Millennial’s being the last generation of the 20th Century, people born in the 1980s and 1990s.

I agree with the unofficial definition, because someone born in the early 1960s has a hell of a lot more in common and experiences with a Gen-Xer, than someone born in the 1940s and 50s who is a Baby Boomer.

To me at least Barack Obama even though he’s officially a Baby Boomer (born in 1961) is the first President of the United States from Gen-X. He has a lot more in common with us, then the Baby Boomers.

Now I’ve talked about this before, but what like about the Boomers, is the Cultural Revolution, their support for equal rights, including for gays, the music of this generation. And that they made individualism popular, at least as it relates to personal issues. That Americans should be free to live their own lives without government or their families even interfering with that.

Now as it relates to economics is where I differ with a lot of them, where a lot of them started off at least as Socialists in the 1960s and 70s and then someone of them moderated and became center-left Democrats as they matured. But a lot of them still believe we need a central government as big as the country. Meaning a welfare state big enough to take care of everyone.

Now what Gen-X has done, has built off of the color and racial blindness of the Boomers and believe in equal rights and treating people as exactly that and not as members of groups. As well as the individualism, but have applied individualism to both personal issues and economic issues.

Gen-Xers are a big government out of our bedrooms and wallets generation. Which is why a lot of us support Ron Paul and Gary Johnson. But we are not all Libertarians, a lot of us are liberal-libertarian, people who are not anti-government, but don’t want a big government to try to manage our lives for us. A lot of us are New Democrats philosophically, I included and voted for Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Barack Obama for President.

I want to get off politics, because this post is not really about politics. But if socialism and Socialists ever makes a big run in America to the point that a Socialist or a Social Democrat can make a real run at the presidency, it will be because of Generation Y.
Gen-Y not only watch MSNBC, but take it seriously and see it as news and not simply left-wing or far-left even spin on the issues of the say. So if Socialists and socialism ever grows to the point that people who call themselves Socialists and are proud of that and never run away from those labels, but lets say closeted Socialists who are still in the closet ideologically, because of that prefer to be called Progressives or even worst Liberals, you could see Socialists make a real run in America politically.

But Gen-Y is probably the most socialist generation we’ve seen, at least since the 1920s. They are very social democratic in nature politically and perhaps the only people in the country who actually watch MSNBC and that might be the only news they are interested in at all.

Gen-Y is not a generation by in-large that is interested in what is called real news. They’re into tabloid news and celebrity culture, technology, and soap operas. And the networks whether its entertainment, news or sports know this very well and know how big of a generation that they are and tailor their programming to fit this generation.
Millennial’s are also the now generation, to the point that everything that happened last year: “Is like so yesterday or old school” to them. Basically anything that was around either before they were born or too young to remember, they are not even familiar with, or do not respect. Because it is not happening now. Whether it’s news, sports or entertainment. Their favorite athletes and teams are all playing right now. Their favorites movies are what they just saw, or were made in this century. I know this from talking to a lot of them online and even in person.

If you are talking to a Millennial about football, the NFL didn’t start to 1980 or 81 or even the early 1990s. They’ll tell you the two best quarterbacks of all-time are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. The best basketball player of all-time is of course Lebron James. Because again they aren’t into history and don’t remember Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and sure as hell have never heard of Oscar Robertson. And the reasons they give for believing this, is that the players before played in a different era, meaning an older era and wouldn’t be able to keep up with the times. Which I think sounds stupid to anyone who knows better, but what are you going to do.

If the Boomers are the Me Generation and the Xers are the Live Free or Die Generation, not libertarian necessarily, but liberal-libertarian, than the Millennial’s are the now generation: “Because what is now, is what is happening and what is in the past, is so yesterday and old school that it is time to move on”. Now Millennial’s are still very young between 15-34 right now and they still have time to grow up and mature. But I think their lack of respect for history in general and that is current affairs, sports and entertainment, is my biggest beef with them. And I hope they do grow, so they can see what they’ve missed.

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Al Pacino & Robert DeNiro: Heat (1995) Diner Scene

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Rik Schneider

Heat At 25_ How That Incredible Diner Scene Came To Be

Source:Zavvi– Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in the best scene from Heat (1995)

“The camera cuts to two men, sitting across from each other at a table in an American diner, surrounded by the hubbub of the other restaurant guests and staff.

The cups of coffee are barely touched, no food is nibbled on, the pair of men are far too busy trying to understand each other a little better.

And they soon realise that despite the fact they live on opposite sides of the law, that’s actually where the differences between them end.

They are two sides of the same coin, sharing the same understanding, and have a level of respect for one another too.”

From Zavvi 

“One of the best scenes in any recent movie. Showing that even though people can be on opposite sides of the law or the spectrum they can appreciate each other having similar character traits/qualities. This is from a movie that should be how most movies are made. There is no real bad guy. In the end you have to likable protagonists which is why this movie is so great. You can relate to both main characters. Here is the scene with no score since people didnt really like that. Please like and comment :)”

Heat Restaurant scene __ Deniro, Pacino

Source:Rob Rash– Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino from the best scene in Heat (1995)

From Rob Rash

“Master criminal Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is trying to control the rogue actions of one of his men, while also planning one last big heist before retiring. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Hanna (Al Pacino) attempts to track down McCauley as he deals with the chaos in his own life, including the infidelity of his wife (Diane Venora) and the mental health of his stepdaughter (Natalie Portman). McCauley and Hanna discover a mutual respect, even as they try to thwart each other’s plans.”

Heat (1995) Coffee Shop (Historical Scene) HD

Source:Valid HD– Al Pacino in Robert DeNiro in the best scene from Heat (1995)

From Valid HD 

“Pop culture junkies are perhaps familiar with the name Chuck Adamson through his television work. In the 1980s, he created the series Crime Story and wrote some episodes of Miami Vice, both of which are examples of some of the finest crime fare to ever grace the small screen. On top of that, he briefly appeared in a few notable film and television projects as an actor, including Thief, Beverly Hills Cop, and The Stand. However, prior to his tenure in the entertainment industry, he was a detective.”

Heat 1995

Source:Warner Brothers– Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in the best scene from Heat (1995)

From Film School Rejects

This is my favorite scene from Heat and this is one of my favorite movies of all-time and a movie that is roughly three-hours long. But think about it for a moment: a three-hour movie that doesn’t seem like three-hours. The same thing with Casino, because it was one major scene after another with either great dialogue like in this scene, or with a great action scene, like the first major robbery of the movie which is in the first scenes of the movie, or the diner scene that’s towards the end of the movie.

You don’t feel like you’re watching a three-hour movie when it is a great movie with one great scene after the other. Just like when you spend three-hours watching a great football or baseball game. Because you want to be there the whole time taking in everything.

It’s the mediocre or bad movies that feel like they’re taking forever and feel like they’ll never end and perhaps you even walk out on that seem to go on forever. Heat doesn’t allow you to do that, because there’s always something very interesting going on in the movie.

And what you see in this scene are two men who are both in charge of what they do and who lead the crews they work for and at the top of their game. And what they are doing here is looking at each other as human beings and getting to the feel for each other and perhaps even liking each other, because they are both being real and who they are. And not trying to come off as anyone else.

Neil McCauley (played by Robert DeNiro) the bank robber who has one big score left in him. Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino) the police lieutenant whose job is to stop McCauley and his crew.

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Joel Sanderson: James Gunn- Interviews Rod Serling in 1970: On TV Writing

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Erik Schneider
Lost Rod Serling Interview, 1970 pt01

Source:Joel Sanderson– interviewing the great Rod Serling in 1970

“In 1970 University of Kansas professor James Gunn interviewed a series of science fiction authors for his Centron film series “Science Fiction in Literature”. This footage from an unreleased film in that series featuring an interview with Rod Serling, which wasn’t finished due to problems with obtaining rights to show footage from Serling’s work in television. This reconstruction is based on the original workprint footage that was saved on two separate analog sources since the audio track was separate. Re-syncing the footage was a long involved process as the audio track didn’t match the film and there was substantial sync drift. While not perfect, there’s a lot of interesting information on writing for television in the dialogue with Serling as well as a prophetic statement about his health at the beginning.”

See the video here Joel Sanderson

I should admit, I’m not a big science fiction fan, especially science fiction of the last 10-15 years. I can watch The Twilight Zone and even Thriller that is now on Me-TV, perhaps the best classic TV network in the business right now. But I can watch Rod Serling and I’m willing to watch just about anything, or anything that he produces and writes. Because science fiction and fantasy are not just those things with him. His shows take you to a different place that you are simply not familiar with and leaves you there for the entire half-hour. Well, I guess he gives you a break in between commercials.

Modern science fiction are in many cases horror movies and in too many cases horrible movies. (Pun intended) That the sci-fi channel shows and involve people in their late teens early twenties, about college age people. A group of friends getting together in the middle of nowhere for the weekend and running into something awful or evil. And that generally is the second half of the movie. The first half of the movie looks like a soap opera and even a tabloid soap opera. And then they get to the scary stuff, which in some cases is fairly entertaining.

Rod Serling was so much more than that and if was around today, young people especially young adults wouldn’t get him. Because they are so into tabloid and soap opera related programming, that is all they know and are familiar with. With Serling is pure fiction and science fiction for the entire show. He gives his audiences a chance to escape their reality and see a world they are not familiar with. And learn about things they are simply not familiar with. And he is the master of this genre.

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The News Room: Casey Anthony

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Derik Schneider

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The guy, lets call him Bob, because I’m too lazy or not interested enough to look up his real name, made a good point at the end of this video about the agent who works for people who get caught up in these tabloid stories. Either simply as victims of suspects of whatever the crime might have been. George Zimmerman would be the obvious example of a suspect put on trial for the killing of Travon Martin. And the way, again Bob talked about this agent that looks for “OMG stories” and people caught up in them and how to make money off of the stories.

Because seriously that is what these stories are about. What is awesome, what is hot will make people go or think oh my God about and get them to watch their program or network and read their publication about. That is just the culture and society that we’ve become, or have been for a very long time with the internet and now throw in the social network age has just made obvious to everyone. It is not what is important and what people need to know that is important to cable networks, meaning so-called news networks. But what is hot, what is awesome, what grabs people’s attention and drives them to their shows.

This might sound like an extreme example, but I could a time when, let’s CNN who at least prided themselves at one point for their hard news coverage, but I could see them with an issue involving what to cover at this exact moment with two competing breaking stories in their laps. “Should we cover America’s invasion of Syria to oust the Assad Regime that just murdered thousands of Syrian citizens in Damascus? Or should we cover Paris Hilton being arrested and arraigned for shoplifting?” Again this might sound extreme, but anyone old enough to remember the wall-to-wall CNN coverage of the O.J. Simpson case in the mid-1990s.

Cable news doesn’t mean hard news, meaning important news. Cable news is not another term for 60 Minutes or Frontline. It just means, “this is what is going on right now that we think you are interested in and why you should watch it and boost our ratings, because we’ll give you the best coverage of what you’re interested in”. Cable news is now combined with tabloid news into one entity. And they go where they believe.

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Oscars: Network (1976) ‘Win Original Screenplay: 1977 Oscars’

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Ederik Schneider
Attachment-1-683

Source:Oscars- 

Paddy Chayefsky, accepting an Oscar for Network (1976) in 1977.

“Paddy Chavefsky wins the Oscar for Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen–based on factual material or on story material not previously published or produced) for Network at the 49th Academy Awards. Norman Mailer presents the award; hosted by Jane Fonda.”

From the Oscars

I got more out of Paddy Chayefsky in this fourteen-minute video than I can put in this blog. But I’ll do my best, but he made the point in a brilliant and entertaining way, that I can only hope I can come within miles away about how I critique especially the American news media and entertainment industry. Why does TV and Hollywood make so many violent films and shows back then and still today? Because it is what sells and what is what the audience in America wants to see. What sells is what makes their stockholders and their companies money. The power of the private not free market in America. The consumer decides what sells and what doesn’t.

What he showed with his Network movie from 1976 is exactly what the American media, news and entertainment is about. Which is what makes them money which is based on what people watch. You want to know why hard news doesn’t sell as much as tabloid news especially today and why CNN sometimes looks like ugly twin sister of E or Bravo, is because hard news simply doesn’t sell as much as tabloid news. CNN would make a hell of a lot more money covering Kim Kardashian’s wedding or her arriving at some airport, than they would covering the jobs report or the budget deal reached by Congress and the President. Because the tabloid news is what sells in America, because that is what Americans buy.

And if you go to the entertainment divisions of the networks, where the real entertainment is supposed come from and not the news divisions, it is soap opera whether it comes from an actual soap opera, a sitcom, a cop show, or any other law enforcement show, or it is violence. Car chases, someone getting the hell beaten out of them, who the hot detective or new person on the show is seeing or wants to get involved with, or so-called reality TV. Why? Because that is what sells and that is what the people buy to the point you now have so-called hard news shows covering tabloid stories like George Zimmerman and the trouble that some hot celebrity is in, or what is supposed to be hot in technology.

All Paddy Chayefsky did with Network was to open up millions of Americans eyes to why network TV shows the programming that they do. And give us a preview of what network news would like twenty-five-thirty-years later. When news would be combined with entertainment and so-called reality TV. Why because that is what Americans are buying. If it was hard news they were interested in, those shows would get a lot more time than they do. 60 Minutes would be on three nights a week instead of once on Sunday, to use as an example.

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RYY: Heat (1995)

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Rik Schneider
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Source: RYY

Source:RYY

Heat is definitely one of my favorite movies, top 5-10 of all-time and perhaps the best movie of 1995 and even the 1990s as a whole. Which was a great decade for movies and 1995 was also the year Casino came out as well. Both Heat and Casino came out in October or November of 95 and were simply two movies that I couldn’t wait to see. Saw them both on a Friday night when they both came out and knowing I was going to see both movies, sure as hell made going to work those two days easier and this was before I was a blogger-writer.

What I love about Heat, similar to Jackie Brown is the realness to both them. This movie doesn’t try to fool you and show you a world that doesn’t exist for the most part and people who don’t exist for the most part. I love this movie because of the humanity of it. It is not a movie about Devils vs. Saints, but cops against criminals. And the criminals do bad things in this movie and hurt people. But they are professional criminals who in most cases in this movie are only hurting other criminals. And I hate this term, because all people are real and it sounds cliché, but they are real people. With real lives, families to take care of. Who happen to make their living stealing.

The cops are the good guys in this movie like in most action movies that involve good and bad. But the cops led by their lieutenant Vincent Hanna played by the great Al Pacino, is not a Saint. He’s a workaholic, because he spends so much time going after bad people and as a result does not spend enough time with his wife who loves him and his stepdaughter. And tends to only see both of them very early in the morning and very late at night. Why, because he spends so much time trying to track down and catch criminals like Neil McCauley, played by the great Robert De Niro. An ethnic-Italian playing an Irishman, is interesting to me, but perhaps that is a different subject.

Neil McCauley leads a crew or robbers and thieves who are very professional and very good. Why, because they are simply in it for the money and are very calculating in how they approach their work, so to speak and don’t take jobs just to hurt someone or for the thrill ride, because they hate prison and don’t want to go back. So they are very careful in what jobs they take to the point that McCauley has sort of an agent, an adviser who finds jobs and targets for him played by Jon Voight. Who gives him the pros and cons, the price tags of these jobs and the chances of doing the jobs successfully and then getting away with it.

Vincent Hanna played by Al Pacino, is an LAPD Robbery and Homicide lieutenant whose job along with his team is to track down the McCauley crew and put them away. Again Hanna is a workaholic, so putting in the time to put this crew away is nothing new to him and he has the manpower to get it done. The difference being that McCauley crew might be the most skillful and professional crew he has ever seen and it will be difficult for him and his team to put this crew away. Again they are professional criminals who are in it simply for the money. They don’t rape or murder for the hell or thrill of it. But rob banks and other business’s simply for the money.

Heat is a great movie if you cops and robbers movies that are realistic and aren’t cookie-cutter. That are different and clever and even funny, especially with Al Pacino who makes serious characters look like comedians simply because of how he delivers lines and with his ability to add flavor and character to his lines and work. Heat is not a cookie-cutter movie that looks and sounds like a lot of other serious cop movies before and after. That is solely based on style and special effects to look cool. Is has those things to, but with a lot of substance in the movie that the movie is based on.

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