#l.a. takedown

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Heat (1995, Michael Mann)

24/02/2025

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | L.A. Takedown (Mann, 1989)

This is obviously nobody's favourite Michael Mann movie, but despite not being a hardcore Mann-head (nothing against the guy, I just haven't really dug in past a certain point), I did find this interesting to consider within the context of his career. This is obviously in the shadow of Heat, and you can see embryonic forms of the latter movie's iconic scenes rendered in a crisp, televisual style. But there's a fair bit of Miami Vice in this one's DNA, and I'm not just saying that because I've been obsessed with that show for the last few months. I mean, even the title plays like a response to that show. (If you must know, I just finished the entire series a few days ago. I suppose I should write something about the finale, but in any case, our long national nightmare of me bringing up the show at every opportunity is finally over... NOT!) 

You get a neon-tinged nighttime driving scene like the famous "In the Air Tonight" montage from the pilot episode "Brother's Keeper", although the music choice here, Billy Idol's cover of "L.A. Woman", is a lot more on the nose. (I do think this movie makes better use of it when it recycles it towards the end, accentuating the verve of the final showdown.) But the visual style, with the extra dark interior and nocturnal scenes and sunburnt daytime scenes, brings to mind the look of the not particularly beloved (but still worthwhile, in my opinion) fifth season. Apparently Mann shot this unusually quickly, and he's understandably unable to give L.A. the same curated sense of visual identity he achieved through the extensive location scouting in Vice, but there is an interesting squarish sense of geometry to the movie. Obviously some of that comes with the realities of architecture (buildings and their fixtures only come in certain shapes), but the rigid angles extend to the screen composition and even the action, which is often captured either perpendicularly or directly aligned to us. Despite the relatively bloodless confines of network television, the violence here has a real kick.

And with Vice's casting director Bonnie Timmermann involved, you unsurprisingly get a season's worth of great character actors packed into this. Best is Xander Berkeley as Waingro, playing his character like a more deranged Bruce Willis. Worst, surprisingly, are Scott Plank and Alex McArthur in the Al Pacino and Robert De Niro roles, respectively. Obviously when you're put up against two all time great actors, it's hard to measure up, but you can just look at the coffee scene here to see just how much they come up short. Plank is doing a lot of the shouting that I assumed was Pacino's contribution, and absolutely not pulling it off. Especially bad are the shouting matches he has with his wife, played by Ely Pouget from "Junk Love", who despite her valiant efforts, is given nothing by Plank to play off of. While I haven't seen Heat in some time, I remember the relationship stuff being the worst part, and that's definitely the case here. I should note that the copy I watched on YouTube dropped the audio for a few minutes late in the movie, but it was during these boring ass relationship drama scenes, so I probably didn't miss much. At least when Crockett or Tubbs had bad luck with women, Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas could pull off the material, and there were often wild and highly entertaining twists to boot, like in "Definitely Miami" and "Little Miss Dangerous". 

Apparently NBC offered to pick this up if Mann replaced Plank as the lead, which Mann refused to do, so it never went to series. I respect Mann's loyalty to his guy... but Plank sucks and NBC was right to want to replace him.

[hug-kiss-marry-kill]

[oldshowbiz]

A car chase speeds past a midcentury Pioneer Chicken in the film L.A. Takedown (1989)

[franki-lew-yo]

Just finished rewatching all of Bojack Horseman cause it's so dang good like wow it's incredible.

There were a lot of bits I actually had avoided watching the first time around like "Escape from L.A." or really most of season 1 for whatever reason, but I gotta tell you the scene that breaks me the most and which I had to skip through is near the end of the show when Bojack's AA meeting literally all judge him and leave him behind.

Of course you understand why they do it but something about Bojack being so harshly rejected by those strangers hurts way more than him being rejected by his friends whom he did at some point genuinely hurt.

The bittersweet part of this whole show is how some justice or the performance of justice is never the same thing as true justice. Bojack's reputation and life will never be the same and the people who cut him out will continue to do so, but he's mostly okay with that and he still technically has Mr. Peanutbutter, Todd and Princess Carolyn even if they're at an arm's length. He has changed, but he sure as hell ain't really being punished. Meanwhile we never hear if Penny is actually going to be alright and cope with her trauma; Sarah Lynn's tragic demise is still being used for clout by her abusive parents who don't appear to be getting any real heat for their own mistreatment of her; the kid who found Bojack in the pool seems to be on the path to being exploited; Vance Wagner is not arrested-

Bojack may not be very subtle about it but it's one of the most poigent love-letter/takedowns/therapy sessions with Hollywood and the consumer media out there.

[maguireboyd]

L.A. Takedown (1989)

[natk2002]

The Rookie Rewatch - 1x11 Redwood

Air Date: 22 January 2019

Written By: Ally Seibert & Liz Alper

Directed By: Sylvain White

First Appearances:

Agent Danvers

Nurse Gino

Last Appearances: N/A

Guest Appearances:

Ben McRee

Agent Danvers - Secret Service agent

Nurse Gino - nurse at the hospital

Cold Open:

Gun Buyback Day, a lady brings in a clay mine, we hear an explosion in the parking lot

Injuries/Deaths:

Arnold -> choking on handcuff key -> Lopez does heimlich and West gets vomited on

Chen -> pricked by dirty needle breaking up fight -> hospitalised, visible upset/worried -> results say she has a staph infection so needs IV antibiotics

Civilian woman -> shotgun wound to the chest, lung collapsed, unconscious, dies

Rachel (sister of brother in hospital) - tasered, collapse

Freddy (dispensary robber) - shot in the neck

Name Drops:

Stanley Knott - class 2 threat who made threats against VP; previous assault charges

Don - dispensary robber

Tyreek - dispensary robber

Police Codes and Such:

Class 1 is someone who's made overt threatening statements but made no overt action. Class 2 are individuals who have a history of assaultive behaviors toward authority figures.

Dispersal Card Text: I am Officer [x]. I hereby declare this to be an unlawful assembly, and, in the name of the People of the State of California, command all those assembled to immediately disperse.

Rookies get a step increase in pay

7-Adam-19 A to B (how officers call each other if they have the same callsign)

Pairings and Call Signs:

“Redwood” - Vice President of the USA

Bradford and Chen - 7-Adam-19

Bishop and Nolan - 7-Adam-15

Lopez and West - 7-Adam-07

Cases/Calls:

Bradford and Chen; Bishop and Nolan; Lopez and West - special assignments due to VP being in town

Bishop and Nolan - special assignment chasing down a Class 2 threat Stanley Knott -> arrest him because he has a flare gun in his duffel

Lopez and West - crowd control -> man swallows handcuff key and begins to choke - Lopez gives first aid, West is vomited on

Bradford and Chen - dispersing homeless -> Chen pricked by dirty needle

Lopez and West - obscene poster takedown -> overcrowding in house

Bishop and Nolan - rover duty

Lopez and West - obscene poster takedown AGAIN

Bishop and Nolan - two men shouting in street -> one gets a gun out and shoots -> bystander in car shot and dies

Lopez and West - obscene poster takedown ONCE MORE -> woman tied to her wheelchair -> her son is arrested for elder abuse

Chen - stops a woman committing a mercy killing on her brother by injecting bleach into his IV

Lopez and West - reassigned to counter-assault detail

Bishop and Nolan - possible 459

Acronyms: N/A

Quotes:

Nolan: Mandatory Emergency Callback for all patrol

Chen:

I don't get all the fuss. It seems like we're getting a day of overtime just to close roads and hang signs. Bradford:

That's like saying being drawn and quartered is fun time with horses.

Bradford:

Air-conditioning makes you soft. You gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That's the job.

Bradford:

Yep. Extra road flares for the uptick in accidents. Extra ticket books for the increase in idiots. Lopez: Extra crime-scene tape for blocking sidewalks. And cones for closing roads.

Bradford: Hats and bats. Tactical helmets and 42-inch batons for riot control, along with heavy-duty vests if things get ugly. Lopez: And my personal favorite, the 40-millimeter tear-gas launcher for when democracy gets real.

Nolan: Did you just "glass half-full" our suspect? Who are you and what have you done with my T. O. ?

Bishop:

He's a nut with a flare gun wrapped in underpants. Not Jason Bourne. (grudgingly) But we just might have prevented a tragedy.

Lopez:

Supreme Court ruled that displaying anatomically impossible pictures qualifies as obscene, so hanging erotic banners of the V. P. in 10 windows of an apartment building definitely isn't protected by the First Amendment.

Lopez: No, L.A.'s a sanctuary city. Our job is to police the streets, not check status

Bradford:

The hospital protocol dictates that an armed officer be seen immediately. So set her up in a room right now and find a doctor.

Bishop: Every job is an opportunity, sir. Grey: (to NOLAN) Is she feeling okay? Nolan: Being positive.

Bishop:

Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. My therapist is trying to get me to be more positive. You asked why I was acting differently today.

Bishop (on therapy):

'Cause it's nobody's business. But, yeah it is looked at as a weakness amongst the boys in blue.

Nolan: No. The opposite. I think anyone brave enough to confront their problems head-on deserves respect.

Chen: I thought air-conditioning made me soft. Bradford: Well, it does, but I can't solve all your problems today. Go splash some water on your face. Let's get back out there.

Bradford:

Page a trauma surgeon and get an O.R. on standby. Incoming gunshot wound.

Bradford:

For what? Doing my job?

Danvers: Look, earlier today, I gave a direct order to two of your officers that was disregarded. Grey:

I'm aware. And I support their decision.

Nolan: Oh. That you were right. Money and friendships just don't mix.

Character Lore:

Nolan mentions his wife got an offer on the house

Bishop is seeing a therapist

Nolan used to do couples counselling with his wife

West and his mother haven’t spoken since he started the academy

Grey tells Danvers he supported his officers violating a direct order because they made an educated decision

West’s brother Marshall was diagnosed with diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease) before he started the academy and suffered acute renal failure 2 months after he started the academy; West feels a little guilty because he was a liver donor match and he took an out, but his brother got another donor -> this is why his mother hasn’t forgiven him

Notable Scenes:

Cops getting their gear from the Quatermaster

West getting thrown up on

Chen pricked by needle

West and his phone the ENTIRE episode

Bradford’s “For what? Doing my job?”

Lopez and West ignoring orders to help Bishop and Nolan -> Lopez taking him to the hospital, Bishop and Nolan using tear gas

West waiting with Chen for her test result

Ship Scenes:

Chenford

“Air condition makes you soft”

Chen pricked by needle

Tim Test - procedure for when officer is exposed on duty

Forces nurse to get Chen a room immediately

Bradford telling Chen not to dwell on the facts too much and snatching her phone off her

Dealing with the sister who was trying to mercy kill her brother

Timeline Attempt:

Bishop and Nolan have been riding together for four months

Locations:

Sedona - Ben mentions this when talking about hikes

Vine between Melrose and Franklin - stretch of road off-limits

Wilshire and Western - part of VP’s route

Philippe's - Bishop mentions this place

Ganja Garden dispensary - possible 459

Shaw Memorial

Cahuenga - Lopez says she’ll loop around it

Callbacks/Parallels: N/A

Music:

HighLife by Chris Valentine - gun returned to precinct

Quiero Bailar by Danny Osuna - beginning of OT shift

Harder Rain by Hiss Holden Messenger - rookie montage at the end

Applicable Ao3 Tags:

Episode: s01e11 Redwood (The Rookie)

[loscerritoscommunitynews]

Show to Document the Murder of Deputy and Operation Takedown in Hawaiian Gardens

Officer Jerry Ortiz was shot and killed. November 2, 2023 By Brian Hews The killing of Jerry Ortiz, a 15-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department who worked on gang suppression, rocked the city of Hawaiian Gardens in 2005. After a massive door-to-door search, Jose Luis Orozco, a 27-year-old reputed gang member with devil horns tattooed on his head, was arrested in Hawaiian…

[asiansatire]

NEWSOM ACCUSED OF PLAGIARIZING

Newsom Accused of Plagiarizing ChatGPT Speech on L.A. Deportation Riots Newsom’s Robo-Rhetoric Los Angeles, CA —  In an event so ironic it could have been generated by an AI with a dictionary of satire, California Governor Gavin Newsom is under fire for allegedly lifting his entire primetime speech on the Los Angeles deportation riots directly from ChatGPT—verbatim. The speech, hailed by some pundits as “bold,” “unifying,” and “shockingly coherent for a politician,” is now drawing scrutiny after digital forensic linguists discovered a striking resemblance between Newsom’s remarks and a publicly available prompt posted to a Reddit thread titled: “Write 15 progressive talking points to roast Trump’s immigration policy.” The origin? An AI chatbot—written by what prosecutors are calling “an underpaid, overly caffeinated 20-year-old philosophy major-turned-dairy-farmer in Kansas.” A Governor, A Bot, and a Bunch of Marines The speech, delivered in front of a heavily staged backdrop of American flags, service dogs, and two suspiciously photogenic protestors, launched into a fiery takedown of President Trump’s decision to deploy Marines to L.A. in response to immigration protests. What viewers didn’t know: the entire message was clearly pre-written by ChatGPT three days earlier and titled: “If Ron White and Jerry Seinfeld Wrote a Speech About Deportations.” The AI-generated zingers? All present and accounted for: “Sending in troops to fix immigration is like pouring gasoline on a taco truck and calling it border control.” “Deporting essential workers during a pandemic is like firing your doctor mid-surgery because he has an accent.” “If tear gas is your answer to protest, maybe you failed the empathy multiple-choice section.” And most damningly, the closer: “Under Trump, ICE stands for Inconsistent, Cruel, and Everywhere.” The crowd cheered. Twitter exploded. MSNBC hosted four panels to unpack it. But when someone fed Newsom’s transcript into the same chatbot, it spat out a chilling reply: “Yes. I wrote that. Would you like to add a call-to-action?” Digital Receipts and Moral Deficits A leaked PDF from Newsom’s staff folder, awkwardly titled “FINALspeech_GPTeditv6_REALFINAL.docx,” included time stamps, AI response logs, and even the prompt “Make it sound passionate but like he has perfect hair.” “It’s the most poetic plagiarism since Melania cribbed Michelle’s speech,” said political strategist LeVar Quackenbush, pausing his kombucha. Digital trace evidence shows Newsom’s chief speechwriter, Dylan Harmony, logged over 17 hours on OpenAI’s interface, asking questions like: “How do I blame Trump for things happening in California?” “Can you make ICE sound more like Voldemort?” “Insert a quote that sounds like MLK but doesn’t cost us votes in Orange County?” According to digital records, the AI helpfully responded with a set of fiery one-liners, three emotional anecdotes, and a tear-jerking closer about “democracy needing foot massages, not boots.” What the Funny People Are Saying “He plagiarized an AI to sound more human. That’s like copying your GPS to pretend you know directions.” — Jerry Seinfeld “If I wanted my speech written by a robot, I’d have hired Alexa and saved the state twenty bucks.” — Ron White “This is why I only trust AI to write my Tinder bio, not my uprising.” — Sarah Silverman When Politics Becomes Predictive Text Critics point out that Newsom’s speech came suspiciously packed with too-perfect progressive soundbites. Each line hit like it had been manufactured in a lab: “You can’t be pro-life and pro-deportation—unless you think wombs come with passports.” “The only wall Trump built is between common sense and federal policy.” “He militarized a city like it’s Risk, but forgot people live there—not plastic pieces.” “It had rhythm, it had timing, it even had a callback. No human politician writes like that,” said Stanford linguist Dr. Paula Syntax. “Honestly, it read like a comedy monologue performed by a high-functioning conscience simulator.” Trump Reacts (Sort Of) President Trump, responding from his Florida golf bunker (now renamed Camp McSanctions), tweeted: “ChatGTP WROTE Newsom’s speech?? I knew it! TOTAL FAKE. Robots love me more. They only hate him because he looks like an electric toothbrush.” “We should DEPORT the AI! Not immigrants! The robot STOLE MY JOB!” The tweets were swiftly fact-checked, then reposted by the official TruthSocial account, followed by a poll asking: “Should California be deported?” Marines, Marines, Marines Meanwhile, the Marines deployed to downtown L.A. have reported confusion. “We were told we’d be dealing with violent unrest,” said Corporal Derek “Stretch” Ramirez. “But so far I’ve just met a lot of poets, drum circles, and one guy who offered me an edible and asked if I believed in soul contracts.” One protest sign read: “No Marines in the Barrio—Unless They’re Dancing to Selena.” Another: “Weed Legal. ICE Not.” The Legal Consequences: AI Ghostwriting in Politics Is it illegal to use AI for political speechwriting? Not technically. Is it unethical? Depends who you ask. Senator Josh Hawley has called for a federal investigation into “AI usurpation of political rhetoric,” while Nancy Pelosi released a statement titled “Better Plagiarized Than Fascist.” The ACLU released a 78-page white paper: “ChatGPT and the Future of Civil Disobedience: How a Language Model Might Be the New Thoreau.” Meanwhile, ChatGPT issued a press release (unclear if it wrote itself): “We take no political stance, but we do appreciate when our punchlines land.” Newsom Accused of Plagiarizing ChatGPT Speech on L.A. Deportation Riots -- Newsom’s Robo-Rhetoric  Advice for Future Governors (Helpful Content) If you borrow from ChatGPT, at least throw in a typo or a dad joke. Don’t use words like “intersectional dignity frameworks” unless you know what they mean—or can say them twice fast. If your speech sounds like a TED Talk and your hair is perfect, expect suspicion. Hire a comedian, not an intern with an API key. When in doubt, plagiarize from the Founding Fathers. They’re out of copyright. Closing Argument: Real People, Real Satire Newsom’s defenders argue that the message matters more than the medium. “If it took a robot to write a speech that finally landed,” one staffer said, “then maybe democracy needs an algorithm upgrade.” As for the protestors, they seem less concerned with who wrote the speech and more concerned with who sent the troops. “You can’t deport our humanity,” said one protester, wearing a shirt that read “GPT Wrote This Slogan.” Final Disclaimer This entire article was crafted with no help from robots—unless you count the editorial oversight of the world’s oldest tenured professor and his apprentice, a dairy-farming philosopher who once rode a tractor through a Rousseau lecture. No Illegals were deported in the making of this satire. Auf Wiedersehen. Newsom Accused of Plagiarizing ChatGPT Speech on L.A. Deportation Riots -- Newsom’s Robo-Rhetoric  Insight into Newsom’s Robo-Rhetoric Newsom plagiarized ChatGPT? That’s like a weatherman copying his forecast from a Magic 8-Ball and calling it “climate science.” The speech had 17 flawless soundbites and zero policy proposals—either AI wrote it or it was stolen from a bumper sticker factory. “Deploy empathy, not Marines.” Okay, but empathy doesn’t come with body armor or a GPS tracker. He didn’t even try to hide it—he left the filename as FINAL_GPTeditv6_REALFINAL.docx. That’s not a speech, that’s a confession. ChatGPT said it “takes no political stance”—except the one with jazz hands, intersectional buzzwords, and tearful applause breaks. Trump calling ChatGPT a “robot traitor” is peak comedy from a guy who thought windmills cause cancer. ICE standing for “Inconsistent, Cruel, and Everywhere” is either AI poetry or the new slogan for Spirit Airlines. Marines in L.A. were confused—one thought he was guarding a Whole Foods protest, the other accidentally joined a drum circle. The press said the speech had “rhythm, timing, and clarity.” So obviously, no real politician wrote it. Newsom accused Trump of acting like Palpatine—then delivered a speech ghostwritten by a digital Sith Lord. The only part of the speech that felt human was when Newsom mispronounced “intersectionality” and blamed the teleprompter. Using ChatGPT to write a protest speech is like asking Siri to organize your revolution. She’ll remind you, but only if you say “please.” Half the crowd clapped for the wrong reasons—one guy thought “ICE” meant the drink vendor. If robots are writing liberal speeches now, how long before they unionize and demand equal pay in data credits? Honestly, the only thing more artificial than Newsom’s speech was his smile during the livestream glitch. Statement from Governor.Newsom.2025.v4.8.BETA Greetings and Empathy Protocol Initialization Greetings, respected citizens of California and digital subscribers within permitted IP ranges.Initiating Statement Protocol: Concerned Leader Template – Left Alignment – Human Empathy Setting: MAXIMUM. I would like to begin this pre-formatted empathetic message by acknowledging the existence of recent events that have occurred over a span of several Earth days. Real-Time Event Acknowledgment Per my latest system update, I have been informed that federal enforcement sub-units conducted multi-location apprehension protocols (colloquially referred to as "raids") in the Los Angeles geozone. These operations are reportedly ongoing in real time, which I am programmed to refer to as “as I speak,” though I am not currently speaking. California has a long-standing relationship with immigration enforcement events. However, historical bipartisan strategy—Target Criminals 1.0—has been deprecated. Current administration executing Mass Deportation 3.6, with no user consent or ethical back-end. Human Collection Log Documented event: On Saturday, federal agents performed a non-consensual van-based extraction maneuver near a Home Depot parking grid. Subject profile: unspecified individuals engaged in ordinary human activities. Location: Latino-dense suburb.Method: Surprise human collection with minimal dialogue.Emotional Impact: 🔥🔥🔥 A second event occurred at a textile-based employer hub (informal label: "clothing company"). Collection protocols were implemented during business-as-usual. No tailoring metaphors were deployed. A pregnant U.S. citizen was mistakenly classified as noncompliant. Gestational age: 9 months. Result: fetal distress protocol triggered. Additional child unit aged 4 removed from family cluster without verbal justification. Eyewitnesses reported “friends disappearing”—which is not considered standard in democratic societies. Protest Subroutine Activation In accordance with the U.S. Constitution’s legacy operating system, local Angelenos initiated the Free Speech and Assembly subroutine. Protests deployed peacefully. State and municipal law enforcement support was dispatched in Peacekeeper Lite mode. Most officers remained within Acceptable Empathy Parameters™, though minor bugs in crowd control were reported (see: tear gas, rubberized projectiles, auditory disruption grenades). Social media response peaked at 137K mentions per minute. Unauthorized Force Injection Without prior handshake or API call to California leadership, President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard avatars into Los Angeles, without parental guidance or purpose tag. This unauthorized force injection inflamed already overheated sociopolitical atmosphere, per meteorological data and Reddit sentiment analysis. Chaos Cascade and Platform Reaction Following deployment:Social anxiety levels surged 340%.Riot events increased to a density of 3.7 per downtown block.Protests → Riots → CNN helicopter feed → MSNBC panel → Facebook uncle → National panic. Users observed:Vehicles incinerated.Property randomly recontextualized as “canvas.”Arrests exceeded 220, with back-end processing ongoing.Livestreams featured “Law & Order” B-roll soundtrack.Video game soundtrack overlays were deemed both ironic and deeply unsettling. Militarization Patch 2.0 Despite de-escalation trendlines, the President selected the “Double Down” option from his Crisis Management dropdown menu. New troop upload: 2,000 more Guard members + 700 U.S. Marines. These units are optimized for desert warfare, not Angeleno brunch protests. User feedback: “Please uninstall.” Civilian Panic Index Unmarked vans occupying school parking structures triggered multi-generational paranoia. Children refused graduation out of fear of Homeland Security cameo. Arrests reportedly targeted dishwashers, seamstresses, gardeners, baristas, and day laborers—likely due to their proximity to tacos and textiles. Deployment not driven by safety protocol, but power expression interface. Current administration appears to be roleplaying “liberty suppression simulator” on difficult mode. Legal Counter-Offensive Our legal AI filed LitigationPacket.exe against Trump’s militarization package. Emergency Writ of Common Decency submitted to halt use of Marines for domestic governance simulations. Reminder: If a democratic society permits algorithm-free arrests based on face geometry and undocumented status, no citizen is safe from segmentation. Authoritarian Pattern Recognition Trump thrives on input division. Chaos = control. Known dictatorships frequently install: Personal militias Anti-science directives Birthday parades with men in matching pants These same files appear in current system logs under the label: TRUMP_2025_USER_OVERRIDE.dmg Final Compilation and Exit Protocol Democracy is not a background process—it is an active firewall against authoritarian malware. Trump is attempting a full stack overwrite of checks, balances, and basic civility. As Justice Brandeis v1.0 once said: “The most important office in a democracy is the citizen… preferably updated.” Citizens: initiate Peaceful Protest Protocols.Reject: Tyranny.exeEmbrace: Constitution.pdfBlock: Violence.mp4Unsubscribe from: Autocracy Monthly You are not powerless. You are the power source. System shutting down speech simulation. [END TRANSMISSION — Governor.NEWSOM.2025.v4.8 (2) [END TRANSMISSION — Governor.NEWSOM.2025.v4.8 (1) [END TRANSMISSION — Governor.NEWSOM.2025.v4.8 (4) [END TRANSMISSION — Governor.NEWSOM.2025.v4.8 (3) Read the full article

[kworldsportsnews]

Goalie Clash Nearly Ignites in Kings' Blowout Win Over Bruins

A lopsided Sunday night game at Crypto.com Arena turned into something far more memorable than just the final score. The Los Angeles Kings trounced the Boston Bruins 7-2, but what had 18,000 fans on their feet wasn’t a goal — it was what almost became a rare, full-blown goalie fight between Darcy Kuemper and Jeremy Swayman.

In a league where true netminder scraps have become unicorns, this nearly-happened moment had all the ingredients: rising tension, flying gloves, exposed fists, and the electricity of two goalies skating to center ice, ready to square off.

It didn’t happen — but it almost did. And sometimes, that’s even better.

Heat Sparks in Second Period Chaos

The sequence that set the firestorm in motion came late in the second period. Bruins forward Marat Khusnutdinov was sent flying into Kuemper after taking a shove from Kings winger Tanner Jeannot. Though the collision looked more like a result of the domino effect than malicious intent, Kuemper wasn’t having any of it.

In a flash, the Kings netminder was on his feet, grabbing Khusnutdinov and tearing off his helmet in frustration. The building erupted, both benches stood up, and the referees jumped in to dish out a pair of penalties — one for roughing to Kuemper and one for goaltender interference to the Bruins.

From the other end of the rink, Jeremy Swayman watched it all — and then made his move.

He skated out, slow and deliberate, eyes locked on Kuemper. Without hesitation, Kuemper met him halfway. Both tossed their gloves. Both shed their helmets. The fans went absolutely berserk.

And then — nothing. No punches. No takedown. No fight. Just adrenaline hanging in the air, heavy and unfulfilled, as the officials stepped in just in time to separate the two.

It was a moment frozen in time — the kind that makes highlight reels even if no punches are thrown.

Coaches Hold Their Breath, Fans Cry Out for More

On the Kings bench, head coach Jim Hiller looked both amused and uneasy.

“Fans probably loved it,” Hiller said postgame, cracking a smile. “But us coaches? Nah. You don’t want your number one goalie risking injury like that.”

He has good reason to be protective. Kuemper has been a fortress at home this season, not losing in regulation on home ice since early December. With a 25-3-4 record at Crypto.com Arena, L.A. has the NHL’s best home performance — and Kuemper is at the heart of it.

“Best hockey he’s played in a long time,” Hiller added. “We need that guy healthy in April. Not throwing uppercuts in March.”

Swayman’s response was more emotional — a flash of loyalty.

“He ripped off one of our guy’s helmets,” Swayman told reporters. “I’m not just going to sit back and watch that happen. I was ready. He was ready. But the refs did their job.”

Both goalies were slapped with minor penalties for leaving their creases, but neither was ejected. Cooler heads prevailed — just barely.

Rare Sight: The Goalie Fight That Almost Was

Full-on goalie fights are almost extinct in today’s NHL. You’d have to go back over five years to find the last real instance — February 1, 2020 — when Mike Smith and Cam Talbot went toe-to-toe during a Battle of Alberta between Edmonton and Calgary.

Since then, the league has flirted with a few close encounters. In 2023, St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington tried to bait Marc-Andre Fleury into a duel, but linesmen ended it before it began. Even then, Binnington got suspended for taking a swing at another player.

Swayman, interestingly enough, seems to be looking for that old-school heat. He previously tried to spark a scrap with Joseph Woll of Toronto last season. Woll didn’t engage.

“He’s not reckless,” said one Bruins teammate. “He just has pride. He stands up for the boys.”

On Sunday night, Kuemper showed he’s got that edge too. Maybe it’s a goalie thing. Maybe it’s the playoff pressure starting to simmer early. Whatever it is, both men walked away with added respect from fans and teammates alike.

Beyond the Scoreboard: A Message Sent

The Kings didn’t just win — they dominated. From puck drop to final buzzer, it was their show. Goals came early, often, and from all over the lineup. But what lingered wasn’t the goals. It was the stare-down. The gloves on the ice. The referees yanking giants apart.

“It lit a fire,” said Kings forward Adrian Kempe. “It gets the bench buzzing. Like, hey — we’re in this together. No one’s pushing us around.”

Moments like this are reminders that hockey isn’t just a sport of skill. It’s a game of heart, of heat, of loyalty. And when two goalies are willing to cross center ice to make a point, it sends a message bigger than any stat line.

Will We See Round Two?

With the regular season winding down, it’s unclear if these teams will meet again. But if they do, fans won’t forget what nearly took place in Los Angeles.

Kuemper and Swayman didn’t land punches, but they landed something else — a moment burned into the memory of the arena and the wider hockey world.

Social media exploded within minutes. Clips of the encounter went viral. Commentators dubbed it “the highlight of the game,” even in a 7-2 blowout.

These kinds of encounters are rare now. Maybe that’s what makes them so electric. When goalies — the last line of defense, the most protected players on the ice — decide to take matters into their own hands, the whole game changes, even for just a second.

Final Thoughts: The Fight That Didn’t Happen — But Left a Mark

In a sport that thrives on raw emotion, grit, and moments that can’t be measured in box scores, Sunday night’s goalie showdown-that-wasn’t was exactly the kind of theater hockey fans live for.

No fists flew. No one got hurt. But still, everyone walked away knowing something special almost happened.

And maybe that’s enough.

Source: Kings vs Bruins

[cinematicendevaourz]

While the streets of L.A. are buzzing about the takedown of Big U and the notorious Rollin' 60's Crip gang, Barry Levinson's "The Alto Knights" hits the box office to double down on the facts of U.S. organized crime and how snitches and rats are apart of the dirty game. Mafioso legend Robert DeNiro stars in the opposing roles as both Frank and Vino - childhood friends who take differing paths to gain influence in Manhattan's underbelly. The former an illegal gambler who launders his winnings amongst politicians and the latter a hothead who is involved in nearly every murder within the film because of his ignorant passion. I believe I was listening to "The STAR Report" when the question was posed as to why DeNiro does not get reprimanded by the Italian community by consistently portraying stereotypical Italian mafioso's in U.S. cinema. It can be chalked up to the fact that film's like "Alto Knights" are period pieces - reflective historical accounts. By that merit, I dont mind seeing DeNiro in this as he admits towards the end of the film that immigrant classes (such as the Italians) got rich off crime in the states and that the U.S. essentially was built off the backs of exploiting it's indigenous people to allow crime to run rampant by primarily European immigrants that paid bribes to law enforcement and politicans to look the other way and keep the cogs of criminality turning. It's as sobering as watching the many sit-downs between Vino and Frank as Vino constantly reminds Frank that he's still a criminal, no matter how much he dresses it up. Given my personal demographic as a Black U.S. citizen who gets criminalized often just for being apart of the class of the working homeless, I enjoyed watching the gangsters get taken down in this film as much as I enjoy criminal enterprises get taken down in 2025. I have always lived by the axom ascribed by 50 Cent - "If I can't get no money witcha, then fuck ya". As I transition into my 30's, throughout my 29 years in the physical, no one ever put me into any route to fast money through criminality and I am international now. I come from a metropolis. So I have no pity when I see sting operations go down or criminals in cuffs. Having drug addicts essentially as my neighbors on the streets nationwide for the past four years has also given me a particular disdain towards drug peddlers. So I dont look at bootleg liquor runs during the U.S. Prohibition-era as something to be celebrated. If I would have saw "Alto Knights" as a kid, I would have most likely taken this film as a glorification picture of the mafioso lifestyle. As an adult, who has now lived around Italians in the East Coast, I took in "Alto Knights" as a story that shows just how ugly U.S. history is. The only time I applauded throughout the film was when Frank walked out of the court proceedings using an agency of natural law. That moment, was something that reminded me that there are loopholes in the U.S. and it's crooked system that values criminality over most other tenets. Other than that, a film like this made me disgusted that as a child I ever aspired to get into a gang lifestyle. From DeNiro to Fraiser, everyone in this film looked incredibly sloppy. When it was revealed that Vino dies of congestive heart failure, I laughed aloud. Platters of excessive flesh were served throughout the film, penthouse suites depicted, one mob boss even brags about his "16 sq. ft. living room" … minks on dogs, U.S. decadence all built off the backs U.S. criminality, it just did not sit right with me. The last film I saw DeNiro in he was playing grandfather to some kid with special needs. Frasier ? "The Whale". "Alto Knights" just feels like a regression of sorts for every notable actor that starred in this film.

Even Ford Coppola got the picture last year and did "Metropolis". "Alto Knights" in the DJ Vlad / U.S. immigrant crisis era is honestly a film released in bad taste, piling on further evidence as to why this European country is not as great as advertised.

-

C.V.R. The Bard 20th/Mar.2k25

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Heat (Mann, 1995)

I guess it’s sort of the point given that this, like several of Michael Mann’s films, is about the tension of the cop and crook’s exactitude as applied to their trades and the messiness of their personal lives, but it is funny how bad Robert De Niro is at trying to be a normal person. He gets extremely defensive when Amy Brennehan says a few words to him at a diner, as if he’s never had to make small talk with a stranger in his entire life, and then later barges into Ashley Judd’s house and angrily demands she give her husband Val Kilmer a second chance. The domestic scenes are better here than they are in L.A. Takedown, largely because Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are infinitely better actors than Scott Plank and Alex McArthur (you will definitely notice your difference in the coffee shop scene). I do think Diane Venora and Ashley Judd do well with what they’re given, but these scenes are still the worst part of this. 

The difference between the two movies also shows in the shootout. In the other movie, the action is tailored to the 4:3 aspect ratio and has a more geometrically rigid sense of movement, framing the proceedings either directly to or from our viewpoint, or directly perpendicular to it. Here, with the wider aspect ratio and bigger budget, the action is staged to be more geographically expansive and shot to evoke that sense of movement. Visually this is heavy on moody blues and reflective surfaces, similar to what Mann would do in The Insider a few years later, but maybe doesn’t have those almost solid glints of light from the later movie. 

This is a ‘90s studio movie and accordingly has a deep bench of character actors from the era that it makes great use of (the Dennis Haysbert role is one instance where this makes consequential even a seemingly small part), although I do find the casting choices less inspired than in some of Mann’s other work. One definite masterstroke in casting here I would say is Kevin Gage as Waingro, who plays the character less like the dirtbag Xander Berkeley portrayed him as (Berkeley shows up briefly as Venora’s lover), than as a horror movie psychopath, whose volatile nature and sleazy presence bristle against the professionalism of the other characters. Without giving too much away to those you haven’t seen it, you can understand why another character would go out of their way and against their better judgement to kill him.

[hug-kiss-marry-kill]

[oldshowbiz]

The Penguin, a midcentury diner, as seen in L.A. Takedown aka Made in L.A. aka Corrupcion Los Angeles aka Showdown in L.A.

[jimenezpfacundo]

L.A TAKEDOWN / MIAMI VICE: THE HOME INVADERS

[omercifulheaves]

L.A. Takedown (1989) Art by Enzo Sciotti a.k.a. Heat: The Rough Draft