Movie Review: 'Gangster Squad' ? CBS Philly

By Bill Wine
KYW Newsradio 1060
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? Gangster Squad was originally slated to open in September, but its release was delayed in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado shooting because of a scene displaying a gangland massacre in a movie theater that too closely resembled the events of that tragedy.

Reshoots ensued and the scene was replaced by a confrontation that occurs in Chinatown.

They should have reshot and replaced a lot more than that.

(1 1/2 stars out of 4)

Gangtser Squad is a high-octane true-crime drama ? a Pulp Nonfiction wannabe ? that chronicles the activities of the special unit created by the notoriously corrupt LAPD to lead its fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s.

The unabashedly violent melodrama is in the noirish ensemble mode of L.A. Confidential and The Untouchables, and wants to be thought of in the company of classic gangster flicks like The Godfather and Goodfellas. But style rubs out substance from the get-go and much too much of it is far too contrived and excessive to be included in that august group.

Sean Penn plays Brooklyn-born mob boss Mickey Cohen, an ex-boxer who intends to take over the town?s guns, drugs, and wire bets, as well as the police, prostitutes, and politicians west of Chicago.

Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin play Jerry Wooters and John O?Mara, respectively, the renegade police sergeants in charge of the fight, while Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Michael Pena also come aboard their covert train. Nick Nolte portrays their police chief, William Parker, and Emma Stone plays Cohen?s squeeze, who?s also pursued romantically by ? gulp ? Sergeant Wooters.

Gosling and Brolin come the closest to fleshing out their roles, but most of the ensemble play characters who are one- or two-dimensional at best. Even Penn, normally a brilliant actor, chews his share of scenery and, although he seems to be having quite a good time, does little more than play the same psychotic note over and over again.

Overall, there?s a severe underemployment of the major talent on display, and the cast is underserved by a half-baked script that often treats the characters like props or artifacts instead of people.

The sole purpose for what was then called the Gangster Squad was to take down Cohen by any means necessary, legal or not. And that?s the story that the plot is designed to tell. But when the speechifying begins about how ill-advised it is for law enforcers to stoop to the level of mobsters, it registers as sheer hypocrisy, given that the film bathes in the excessive violence.

In his third film, director Ruben Fleischer ? who wowed us with his very funny debut feature, Zombieland, before disappointing us with his followup comedy, 30 Minutes or Less ? strays out of the comedy realm for the first time. His first stab at drama arrives in a period package that?s densely detailed but that slobbers over its own bloodlust and ultraviolence.

It?s obvious that Fleischer is hoping to capture the movie audience?s occasional loving response to a gangster flick. But he glorifies automatic weaponry to an astonishing degree, has an obnoxiously cavalier attitude about human life, and pushes the level of self-seriousness until he gets unintentional laughs-at instead of laughs-with.

The choppy screenplay by former L.A. homicide detective Will Beall, loosely based on a book by Paul Lieberman, depends far too much on over-the-top shootouts to the point that sometimes what gets us from one action scene to the next seems like nothing but indifferent filler.

So we?ll arrest 1-1/2 stars out of 4 for a shallow shoot-em-up in which subtlety and historical accuracy give way to an energetic ballet of bullets. As our debate about excessive violence in media reconvenes, expect Gangster Squad to be prominently mentioned.

More Bill Wine Movie Reviews

CBS Philly Entertainment News

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/01/12/movie-review-gangster-squad/

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Small Talk: Small businesses basing pay more on performance ...

Christine Perkett, of Marshfield, Mass., who runs a public relations firm from her home, sits on her front porch, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. The recession and its aftermath made many small businesses reluctant to give raises. The raises at Christine Perkett's public relations firm are about 2 percent lower than they were before the recession. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Raises are no longer a sure thing at Warner Communications ? staffers at the public relations firm who were virtually assured of an annual salary bump before the recession have to work a lot harder to get an increase.

"Everyone needs to make a difference. It was always said, but never enforced until right now," says Carin Warner, owner of the company based in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.

Yearly pay raises that workers at small businesses used to count on have become a casualty of the weak economy. They?re increasingly based on performance ? not just an employee?s performance, but the entire company?s. Raises at many businesses are also smaller than they were before the recession began five years ago. And some employers are using rewards other than annual raises to compensate workers.

Warner expects all of her 15 employees ? even the newest ones ? to bring in new business in addition to doing an exemplary job taking care of current clients. Raises are also based on the company?s revenue and profit.

"You have to look at an individual and at the overall agency?s success. It?s a mathematical formula that we must do," Warner says.

Warner is part of a growing trend of small businesses abandoning the idea that they must give their workers raises every year.

"The days of the traditional merit increases and cost of living increases seem, at least for now, to be behind us," says Carrie Cherveny, vice president of employment practices for AlphaStaff, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company that provides companies with human resources services such as payroll, benefits administration and hiring assistance. "What we are seeing is compensation tied to corporate performance ? you?ll get a raise or bonus if we do well."

Whether they?ll do well is the big question for many small-business owners. Jobs and incomes are growing, but not fast enough to make them more confident that a healthy economy will give their sales a boost. The most recent monthly jobs report showed that U.S. employers hired 155,000 people in December, less than the 175,000 or more that would get economists excited.

Managers at Ontraport, a company that makes marketing software for businesses, are willing to give big raises ? 10 percent or more ? but they?re not guaranteed.

"We don?t have a process in place where we just give automatic raises to everyone every year," says Landon Ray, CEO of the company based in Santa Barbara, Calif.

story continues below

The company did well and kept growing during the recession. But Ray says it still needs to be careful. The biggest raises at Ontraport are intended to attract and keep top talent in the competitive high-tech industry, Ray says. Employees whose work is disappointing will find themselves left out when raises are given at mid-year.

Raises at Mercury Labs depend on how well the St. Louis-based video production and marketing company does. Salaries were frozen for more than a year from 2008-09, and owner Angie Lawing isn?t sure about raises for this year because revenue slid 25 percent in 2012.

But Lawing has given her employees a chance to win a bonus by finding new business leads. One staffer got a $3,000 bonus for a lead that turned into a $30,000 contract. Lawing created the bonuses during the 2008 salary freeze.

"It?s a response to some employees who were very disappointed at not having the ability to have an official raise," Lawing says. "We asked ourselves, ?how do we keep them and give them other incentives???"

Workers at Tasty Catering get a raise only if the Glenview, Ill., corporate caterer reaches its quarterly profit goals.

"This has become a team thing," CEO Tom Walter says. "It?s not a discretionary thing were people cuddle up to the boss to see if they can get a raise."

Next Page >

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/55605842-79/raises-says-company-percent.html.csp

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The Lt. Governor of Texas Wants to Arm Teachers

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - For Novak Djokovic, the formula for success at the Australian Open is simple - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The world number one will try to create history over the next two weeks by becoming the first man to win three straight Australian Open titles in the professional era. Twelve months ago, Djokovic picked up his fifth grand slam title with victory over Rafa Nadal in an epic final, lasting just short of six hours. Back in Melbourne after a few weeks rest, including a holiday in the Maldives, Djokovic looked fresh and raring to go again as he looks to create ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lt-governor-texas-wants-arm-teachers-214410730.html

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India 119th freest country, beats China, Russia: Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom

New Delhi: India has been ranked as the 119th freest country in the world out of 177 in the 2013 index of economic freedom, according to a report.

Among the BRIC economies China, Russia were ranked below India in the index, while Brazil was above India.

India's economic freedom score stood at 55.2, as its institutional shortcomings continue to undermine the foundations for long-term economic development, the report complied by Heritage Foundation said.

The rankings were made under various sub-heads ? free, mostly free, moderately free, mostly unfree, repressed and unranked which included countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, Liechtenstein, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.

India was ranked in the mostly unfree category and was ranked below countries like the Philippines, Tanzania, Fiji, Oman, Peru among others.

The top ten countries in the list include Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzarland, canada, Chili, Mauritius, Denmark and US.

The overall score of India at 55.2 was below the world average of 59.6, the regional average of 57.4 and well behind the average quoted by free economies which stood at 84.5.

The score represents a slight uptick than the last year (up 0.6 per cent) as the improvements in the management of public finance and monetary freedom was offset by a continuing decline in freedom from corruption.

"In the absence of a well-functioning legal and regulatory framework, corruption throughout the economy is becoming a more serious drag on the emergence of a more dynamic private sector," the report said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, India is ranked 23rd out of 41 countries.

The report further

... contd.

Source: http://financialexpress.com/news/india-119th-freest-country-beats-china-russia-heritage-foundations-index-of-economic-freedom/1058064/

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Google exec gets look at NKoreans using Internet

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? Students at North Korea's premier university showed Google's executive chairman Tuesday how they look for information online: they Google it.

But surfing the Internet that way is the privilege of only a very few in North Korea, whose authoritarian government imposes strict limits on access to the World Wide Web.

Google's Eric Schmidt got a first look at North Korea's limited Internet usage when an American delegation he and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson are leading visited a computer lab at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang. Other members of the delegation on the unusual four-day trip include Schmidt's daughter, Sophie, and Jared Cohen, director of the Google Ideas think tank.

Schmidt, who is the highest-profile U.S. business executive to visit North Korea since leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago, has not spoken publicly about the reasons behind the journey to North Korea.

Richardson has called the trip a "private, humanitarian" mission by U.S. citizens and has sought to allay worries in Washington.

North Korea is holding a U.S. citizen accused by Pyongyang of committing "hostile" acts against the state, charges that could carry 10 years in a prison or longer. Richardson told The Associated Press he would speak to North Korean officials about Kenneth Bae's detention and seek to visit the American.

Schmidt and Cohen chatted with students working on HP desktop computers at an "e-library" at the university named after North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. One student showed Schmidt how he accesses reading materials from Cornell University online on a computer with a red tag denoting it as a gift from Kim Jong Il.

"He's actually going to a Cornell site," Schmidt told Richardson after peering at the URL.

Cohen asked a student how he searches for information online. The student clicked on Google ? "That's where I work!" Cohen said ? and then asked to be able to type in his own search: "New York City." Cohen clicked on a Wikipedia page for the city, pointing at a photo and telling the student, "That's where I live."

Kim Su Hyang, a librarian, said students at Kim Il Sung University have had Internet access since the laboratory opened in April 2010. School officials said the library is open from 8 a.m. to midnight, even when school is not in session, like Tuesday.

While university students at Kim Chaek University of Science and Technology and the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology also have carefully monitored Internet access ? and are under strict instructions to access only educational materials ? most North Koreans have never surfed the Web.

Computers at Pyongyang's main library at the Grand People's Study house are linked to a domestic Intranet service that allows them to read state-run media online and access a trove of reading materials culled by North Korean officials. North Koreans with computers at home can also sign up for the Intranet service.

But access to the World Wide Web is extremely rare and often is limited to those with clearance to get on the Internet.

At Kim Chaek University, instructors and students wishing to use the Internet must register first for permission and submit an application with their requests for research online, Ryu Sun Ryol, head of the e-library, said.

But he said it is only a matter of time before Internet use becomes widespread.

"We will start having access to the Internet soon," he said in an interview last month. He said North Korea is in the midst of a major push to expand computer use in every classroom and workplace.

The U.S. delegation's visit takes place as the U.S. pushes to punish North Korea for launching a long-range rocket in December.

Pyongyang celebrates the launch as a peaceful bid to send a satellite into space. The U.S. and other critics, however, condemn it as a covert test of long-range missile technology, and are urging the U.N. Security Council to take action against North Korea.

After arriving in Pyongyang on Monday evening, the group met Tuesday with officials at North Korea's Foreign Ministry.

Richardson, who has traveled to North Korea several times to negotiate the release of detained Americans, was accompanied by Korea expert Kun "Tony" Namkung. He called it "a good, productive but frank meeting," but did not divulge further details about the talks. Namkung has worked as a consultant for The Associated Press.

Schmidt, who oversaw Google's expansion into a global Internet giant, speaks frequently about the importance of providing people around the world with Internet access and technology. Google now has offices in more than 40 countries, including all three of North Korea's neighbors: Russia, South Korea and China, another country criticized for systematic Internet censorship.

He and Cohen have collaborated on a book about the Internet's role in shaping society called "The New Digital Age" that comes out in April.

Using science and technology to build North Korea's beleaguered economy was the highlight of a New Year's Day speech by leader Kim Jong Un.

New red banners promoting slogans drawn from Kim's speech line Pyongyang's snowy streets, and North Koreans are still cramming to study the lengthy speech. It was the first time in 19 years for North Koreans to hear their leader give a New Year's Day speech. During the rule of late leader Kim Jong Il, state policy was distributed through North Korea's three main newspapers.

There was a festive air in Pyongyang for another reason: Kim Jong Un's birthday. Though Jan. 8 is not recognized as a national holiday, like the birthdays of his father and grandfather, and his official birthdate has not been announced, North Koreans acknowledged that it was their leader's birthday Tuesday.

Waitresses at the downtown Koryo Hotel dressed up in sparkly traditional Korean dresses and decorated the lobby with balloons.

___

Follow AP's bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul on Twitter at twitter.com/newsjean.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-exec-gets-look-nkoreans-using-internet-071422536.html

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Supreme Court signals blood tests protected by Fourth Amendment

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

Art Lien / NBC News

Nicole Saharsky of the U.S. solicitor general's office joined Missouri officials in asking the court to allow law enforcement to order blood tests from suspects without a warrant.

Justices indicated Wednesday that the dangers of drunken driving don't trump the Fourth Amendment, peppering lawyers for the state of Missouri with objections to their request that the Supreme Court allow law enforcement to order blood tests for DUI without suspects' consent.

The case, Missouri v. McNeely, is seen as a landmark that could clear up almost 50 years of uncertainty over the constitutionality of blood tests that are conducted without a warrant. Legal scholars say it could rewrite drunken-driving laws in all 50 states.

The case hinges on how you interpret a 1966 opinion by then-Chief Justice William Brennan, who wrote (.pdf) that law enforcement should get a warrant before taking a blood draw without a suspect's consent, except in a few very limited circumstances that rise to the level of an emergency.

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Missouri wants the court to declare that the dissipation of alcohol in the bloodstream is, on its face, an emergency allowing officers to get a blood test immediately and without a warrant.

But justices indicated that they firmly believed that taking someone's blood was an intrusion that in most cases constituted a government "seizure" subject to protection of the Fourth Amendment and requiring the subject's permission or prior approval from a judge.

"How can it be reasonable to forgo the Fourth Amendment in a procedure as intrusive as a needle going into someone's body?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked John Koester, a prosecutor in Jackson, Mo., who represented the state Wednesday.

Related: Full preliminary transcript of Wednesday's arguments (.pdf)

Sotomayor said that if the court ruled Missouri's way, it would be giving law enforcement free rein to "use the most intrusive way you can to prove your case," which wouldn't always be the most constitutionally sound way.

The officer who arrested Tyler McNeely acknowledged that he didn't seek a warrant when he told a hospital lab technician to draw McNeely's blood after a DUI stop in 2010 because he believed he didn't need to, not because he didn't think he couldn't get one in time.?

That troubled several justices, who wanted know how a suspect's fundamental Fourth Amendment rights could be overshadowed for the convenience of law enforcement.

"Why should the Fourth Amendment permit the search to take place without the warrant when it could have been obtained?" Justice Samuel Alito asked Nicole Saharsky of the U.S. solicitor general's office, who joined Koester in arguing Missouri's side.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, "It was and I think still is the main rule that if you can get a warrant, you must do that."

Even Antonin Scalia, the court's most law-and-order justice, questioned Missouri's argument, telling Koester, "Once we say that you don't need a warrant, you know, even if things improve, the game's up, right?"

"Why don't you force him (McNeely) to take the Breathalyzer test, instead of forcing him to have a needle shoved in his arm?" Scalia asked.

Justices' questions during arguments don't always signal how they will vote; the justices often pose hypotheticals designed to crystallize or clarify a contrary position.

But Lyle Denniston, a Supreme Court expert writing on Scotusblog, said it seemed clear that "the court is not going to let police across the nation order ? on their own authority ? the taking of blood samples from those suspected of drunk driving."

"Two impressions were dominant throughout the argument: the Justices generally do regard the use of a needle to take a blood sample as quite an intrusive gesture by the government, and the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement should not be cast aside for all cases of drunk driving when officers decide to order a blood draw," he wrote.

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16434361-supreme-court-signals-blood-tests-protected-by-fourth-amendment?lite

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Most-anticipated video games for the first half of 2013 | Game On ...

Flash, you?re fast and all, but my money?s on Superman. (Warner Bros. Entertainment)

New year, new games.

With 2012 having a somewhat disappointing list of games (Diablo III, I?m looking at you), this year?s slated schedule looks to be filled with an overwhelming bevy of must-play titles. From sequels to classic titles, such as Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto, to buzzworthy releases like The Last of Us and South Park: The Stick of Truth, 2013 is shaping up to be a fun year in gaming.

With so many interesting titles, here?s my list of the top 10 to look out for through June.

BioShock Infinite
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Release Date: March 26

Winner of E3 2011?s Best of Show, BioShock Infinite throws players into the body of Booker DeWitt as he is sent to the floating city of Columbia to find a woman named Elizabeth. Along the way, he encounters a variety of enemies, including a motorized patriot that looks like George Washington.

Dead Space 3
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Release Date: Feb. 5

Isaac Clarke returns in this third installment of this science fiction survivor horror series. Explore the planet of Tau Volantis in hopes of finding the clues to end the Necromorph plague that?s attacking humanity. The first two were scary, we?re hoping for the same with this one.

DmC: Devil May Cry
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Release Dates: Jan. 15 for PS3, 360; Jan. 25 for PC

Dante returns in the reboot of the Devil May Cry series to wreck havoc on a town filled with demons. Capcom reached out to Ninja Theory to develop the game ? the company best known for the hack-and-slash Heavenly Sword. Mindless action, what?s not to love?

Gears of War: Judgment
Xbox 360 | Release Date: March 19

Big guns and bigger bugs ? oh yes, Gears of War is back. The latest in the series is a prequel to the previous three installments, focusing on the stories of Damon Baird and Augustus Cole as they battle locusts that endanger humanity.

God of War: Ascension
PlayStation 3 | Release Date: March 12

Kratos is back. This latest installment in the God of War series is a prequel that explores the protagonist?s rise to break his bonds from Ares while rampaging your way across ancient Greece.

Grand Theft Auto V
PlayStation 3, Xbox360 | Release Date: Q2

Unlike previous Grand Theft Autos, GTA V lets players control three separate main characters as they pull off a variety of crimes. Taking place in the fictional city of Los Santos ? based on Los Angeles ? it is the biggest map in the series.

Injustice: Gods Among Us
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U | Release Date: April

Years of playing the Marvel vs. Capcom series has always left me wondering what a DC Comics fighting game would be like. There was Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but that was five years ago and a new game is due.

SimCity
PC | Release Date: March 5

It?s been a decade since the last installment in the SimCity franchise came out. Electronic Arts is rebooting the series and it looks amazing. Build specialized cities that focus on entertainment or industry and bond with neighboring metropolises. And, of course, have them destroyed by a variety of natural and extraterrestrial disasters.

South Park: The Stick of Truth
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Release Date: Q2 at the earliest

After having conquered Broadway with ?The Book of Mormon,? Trey Parker and Matt Stone team up with Obsidian Entertainment for a foray into the world of video games. The game ventures the player into the world of ?South Park,? where they team up with the boys to retrieve the Stick of Truth. From the previews, the game will feature appearances by many of the colorful characters from show?s 16 seasons.

The Last of Us
PlayStation 3 | Release Date: May 7

Zombies are all the rage right now and The Last of Us takes a different approach at the subject. The protagonist, Joel, must travel across a post-apocalyptic United States with a girl named Ellie. Aside from battling the infected humans, the two must fight past the survivors, who are looking to cause harm to them. The game stirred up a lot of buzz when the announcement trailer was released last January.

Five more to look out for:
? Crysis 3
? Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
? StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
? Tom Clancy?s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
? Tomb Raider

Source: http://blogs.denverpost.com/videogames/2013/01/04/anticipated-games-2013/5717/

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