The Crazies is a mediocre movie which means, in terms of the Zombie genre, it's slightly above average. The film has a couple of great scenes and a decent number of scares but it just kind of rambles about and there isn't really a main focus to give the film any momentum. People just kind of go from one dark place (where they inexplicably split up) to the next (where they decide to leave their pregnant wife by herself). There was probably three film's worth of intriguing concepts in the film but the movie didn't really make anything out of them, usually just getting one "He's behind you!" moment and then moving on. There was also a lot of "sit back, hide, and watch" moments; for a large part of the second act, it was almost like I was watching someone else watch a horror movie.

The acting was solid with Joe Anderson possibly outshining Timothy Olyphant, especially in one pitch perfect moment that I don't want to ruin. Olyphant was solid, as always, but I'd like to see him break out of the Deadwood typecasting he's found himself in and try to flash some personality ala his role in "Go".

The film looked very nice but I often felt like the film focused too much on cinematography and it deadened some of the scares. It's the kind of film that might have been scarier with a lower budget feel to it.

As I walked out after the movie, a lot of people seemed to like the film but I wouldn't really recommend it. The Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic scores are probably right - fans of the genre will think it's a 71% film while non-fans will probably see it as 56% (or maybe even a bit lower). Personally, I'd say it's a film best "discovered" on the movie channels on TV. The lower expectations, the better.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

The Playlist gave a great link to a site that shows what happens when NSFW meets WTF?! It's the trailer for the new Showgirls 2, a film that supposedly cost 25 million to make. It looks like it cost 25 bucks and they couldn't even afford towels to dry up the water from previous takes (You'll get that if you watch even the first few seconds of the trailer.) Apparently the site has gotten too much traffic but this is a film that has the potential to match "The Room" as one of the great disasters of modern cinema. Or, it could just be incredibly boring, which the trailer is despite all the boobage.

The Hollywood Reporter's blog has a nice roundup of the new dramas coming this fall, although I haven't found part 1 of the article yet. Anyway, there are, as should be expected, a lot of "Mentalist" rip-offs, some more acronyms for CBS, and a lot of cop shows. Thankfully, none of the shows are like the idea I'm currently working on although there are a few that come dangerously close. I've revamped the idea so it's moved away from Michael Chiklis's family of superheroes show. One of my heroes also has supermemory, which is what one show this season is about, but I'm betting my girl is different. Also, I just don't see how a great memory is really a great concept for a full hour drama.

With all of the new cop shows, I've been considering working on "The Lost Angels" again. It's a spoof of TV detective shows and films but I haven't figured out if I want to make it a straight spoof or just a satire. Granted, the terrible reviews of "Cop Out" probably won't help me sell the satire angle, especially since the script it was based on was once considered one of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood. You should check out the bad reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; seems like a lot of critics have been waiting for a chance to rip Kevin Smith a new one. My guess is that the movie, like most of his work, is stupid but with enough sporadic laughs that the fanboys will still love him while others are left underwhelmed.

Other than that, I've just been sitting back and thinking about whether a prequel to Entourage would work. Maybe it's just for a few episodes but I think the show would be a lot better off if they spent some time in this next season, going back to when Vince first came out to Hollywood or when Drama was living the high life as the star of Viking Quest. I think it would be a better direction than their current one, with E getting married and everyone basically doing nothing. Turtle could struggle living off of Vince's much shorter coattails, Vince could have to deal with the crap that all wanna be actors deal with, Ari could be Ari. It worked for the West Wing and I think more shows might be wise to take a page from reboot craze in the film world to try it with their programs. I was thinking about maybe trying to write a spec but I'd need to do some research. I'm sure Ari's mentioned where he first noticed Vince but I don't remember and couldn't find it on the web.

That's all I got for now. Not great but hey, at least it's better than this.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Well here is what I think could be the final scriptosode of Best Apocalypse Ever. It's not that the story is finished, it's just that these are the only three ideas that I had for this and I'm not sure how much time I'm going to spend on thinking of another adventure for these three to get into. WIth a little reworking, this could be a decent first act for a script but I have no idea where I'd go.

Are there actually zombies? Do they just wander the Earth running into other people? Does everyone just wake up?

There are a lot of possibilities; none of which I'm all that interested in right now. Maybe if I come up with something, I'll do it but right now this could be the end of Helen, Ashley, and Alex.

If you missed the first two installments, you can check out all three right here.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

From The Hollywood Reporter's THR Feed site.

TV Networks president Van Toffler reiterated the network's devotion to millennials (a.k.a Generation Y), but also made it clear that Generation X shouldn't let the door hit them on the way out.
"We're pushing Generation X out," Toffler said. "We're slaves to our different audiences, for MTV that's millennials, who are vastly different than Generation X; they're definitely less cynical -- they're more civic minded."
As evidence of the fine taste of this benevolent new generational breed, Toffler cited ... "Jersey Shore."
The network president said, "Millennials are really about authentic reality and family" and that MTV "played up the camaraderie and family elements [on 'Jersey Shore']" to appeal to them.

This is actually a perfectly played hand because I'd say it's sad that this guy buys his own brand of bullshit but then that would just paint me as cynical and prove him right. Also, I have a feeling that this might be a nicer way for him to kick the once promising, now lackluster Gen X out of the basement and into the real world. He could have been more honest and said, "Gen X is a bunch of 30-somethings who don't buy the products are advertisers are selling. Don't blame me that they haven't gotten off the MTV teet and found actual grown-up programming to watch. It's not our fault that they were raised by Sega and are now pacified by Wii. Well, not entirely. Whatever; we should have been done with them about 5 years ago."

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Well, I planned on putting together a legit post for this week's Tryout but then I saw the list of new releases this week and knew I would never get through them. This week sees new music from: Alkaline Trio, All Time High, Brian Jonestown Massacre, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, K-OS, Lifehouse, Kidz In The Hall, Joanna Newsom, The Streets, Marina & The Diamonds, The Brunettes, Toro Y Moi, and Xiu Xiu. There was also albums I missed like Local Natives, Scanners, Mumford & Sons, and Yeasayer.

In the end, I decided to go with the new Pitchfork darlings Local Natives.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

When I first watched the short bit of David Cross's new BBC series "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, I wasn't a huge fan. I can't remember exactly what I didn't like but it seemed like a bunch of guys who loved the fact that they could swear on TV. Any way, I have too much faith in David Cross to just write it off after that one segment so now that the full pilot is out, I'm going to give it a second chance.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

CPAC finally came to an end with Glenn Beck basically saying that the Republicans are as guilty as anyone for what's going on right now and the crowd booing its own strawpoll Presidential winner, Ron Paul.

This is basically why the Republicans have become the party of no; because they have nobody, no ideas, and no real clue how to make things better for the middle American. Most people don't like the bailout but they also aren't in the mood to keep thinking that tax cuts for the rich are going to help their state either. It's easier for the Republicans to just fight against the President than actually come up with ideas of their own so that's what they are doing, hoping that they can ride the current anger in the nation to a victory in the next elections. Sadly, it will probably work because while the Democrats have plans, they don't seem to have the determination to get them done.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

"Shutter Island" is a well made film that I thought should have been at least a half an hour shorter. Of course, it's also the kind of film that I wouldn't recommend people listen to my opinion because I often enjoy these films less (especially after the first viewing) than most other people.

This is one of the rare occasions in which I agree with Entertainment Weekly. I thought Owen Gleiberman hit the nail on the head with a lot of his complaints. I thought the very end was great but the middle and the entire Nazi subplot were unnecessary and seemed like a heavy-handed attempt to add some sort of message or meaning to what should have been a tighter pulp movie.

I'd write more but this is really a case in which I think my personal tastes and personality affected my viewing more than usual.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

In case you missed the first episode of Short I'll Never Shoot, you can read what would be the first ep of B.A.E. right here. As for those of you who have had checked it out, I have another scriptosode for you. Actually, I wrote out two and have an idea for the third but I thought I'd hold onto the other one because 14 pages is a lot of silliness to read in one sitting and it gives me something else to post when I have nothing to say (which, sadly for my friends, isn't often).

Anyway, here is B.A.E., episode 2. (Pardon any typos, half-assed writing, or time issues.)

So there you have it. Scriptosode 3 will be posted no later than next Friday. Maybe sooner, who knows.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I have to be honest, even though February is the new January, I think I've been lazier/worse with my resolutions than last month. I was hoping to turn things around this week but I've been going to bed earlier and sleeping later which doesn't exactly make things more efficient.

Anyway, I didn't look for anything for this week's Tryout so I'll throw in a group I stumbled upon last week, The Russian Circles, who deliver some rocking instrumentals and are another group that I wouldn't be surprised to find scoring an indie film in the future.

With this month half over, I really need to get my shit together. I have two acts roughed out on a new TV script, a few ideas for the web series B.A.E., and some other random ideas floating around that I really should be working on. I've also been thinking about revamping the ol' SoulHonky site. Not loving it right now (well, I'm loving the picture of Michelle Trachtenberg but not much else.)

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

A bad weekend for the ol' resolutions. Had too much to drink and spent too much money on Saturday which led to me laying around in pain on Sunday and watching some bad movies. The new bad movie I watched was "17 Again" with Zac Efron which was pretty lame. There was some nice looking high school girls in it, including Michelle Trachtenberg who was crush-worthy in the flick, but all-in-all, the movie was just pretty lame. Granted, that's to be expected since it's a remake of a lame 80's movie but you'd like to think that people would try to elevate the films they redo rather than just make a different version of the same disposable entertainment.

On the bright side, I did remember my resolution to watch better films so I did end up watching "In the Loop", a British political comedy. It wasn't what I expected. From the rave reviews, I expected more of a high-minded comedy but a lot of the humor came from people swearing at one another and calling each other names. Still, the film was pretty funny and the end was even a bit poignant. I'd recommend the film but go in with lower expectations; the rave reviews it got made me expect too much but it's a good movie.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I'm sure I missed some songs, but, for all of the single people out there this Valentine's Day weekend, here's my mix about unrequited love. Sadly, I don't even have a crush from afar these days; the love landscape is pretty barren. Not that sitting around blogging and making mixes is going to make it better but, well, shut up. I like my mixes.

Anyway, to make the list, a song has to be unrequited love. It can't be about a lost love (like pearl jam's "Black", Aerosmith's "What it Takes", Paolo Nutini's "Rewind", etc.). It also should shy away from being stalkerish (ala Radiohead's "Creep", Snow Patrol's "Spitting Games", Violent Femmes "Add It Up", Garbage's "#1 Crush" and Aqualung's "Strange and Beautiful") and, while you can pine for a girl who is seeing someone else, I think it seems odd when you just outright define your love as someone else's girl (I'm looking at you "Jesse's Girl" and "My Best Friend's Girl".) I also must admit that I've never really listened to Elliott Smith, Morrissey or The Smiths, or Divine Comedy (who basically spent careers making songs about unrequited love) so those aren't on the list.

So without further ado or poo poo

My goal was to have 14 songs in honor of February 14th but, as you can see, there's only 13 songs there. The reason is because "I Could Have Lied" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers isn't available on Lala.com. Also, I liked this live, sparer version of Ray Charles's "You Don't Know Me".

Which ones did I miss? Which would you put on your mix?

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Well, I didn't spend too much time on this one so I didn't find the optimal deals but here are some ideas for what the Western Conference teams should do.

The first trade is one that has zero chance of actually happening but that I think would improve both teams. The Utah Jazz deal Carlos Boozer and CJ Miles for Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus, and Adonal Foyle helps both teams. The Magic add an All-Star power forward to their lineup and the Jazz add depth to their bench and a nice defensive shooting guard who could fit into Jerry Sloan's plans. Also, all of those guys are on reasonable deals and are tradeable in case the Jazz need to dump salary in the offseason.

San Antonio is a team that needs to make a deal but I'm really not sure what deals are out there for them to make. They probably won't deal Manu which leaves Richard Jefferson as their main trade asset. If Chicago wants to cut some long term salary, RJ and Dejuan Blair for Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich works. I think Deng might be a better fit in San Antonio and Jefferson is an expiring deal next season (and could be used in a sign-and-trade.) It's still a long shot so, while the Spurs should look for a trade, I'm not sure if they're going to be able to be loyal to Manu and pull off a substantial trade.

Sacramento has been in a lot of trade rumors but unless a sweet deal comes their way, they should probably wait until the offseason before they do anything. I've never been a fan of the Tyreke Evans/Kevin Martin backcourt but that doesn't mean that they should just dump Martin for nothing. Dumping both Beno Udrih and Andres Nocioni's deals is tempting but even then they should probably get a decent prospect in return (because, while overpaid, it's not like Beno and Noc aren't solid role players.)

The Trailblazers just need to chalk this up as a lost season of sorts and wait before making a move. I'm a fan of the Jerryd Bayless, Brandon Roy, Nic Batum backcourt and would move forward with the hope that that pans out. On the other hand, Greg Oden panning out might have to be seen as a luxury so the Blazers should start looking for a starting center. If they can find a deal right now for Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez, and/or Steve Blake's expiring deal, they should go for it. I wouldn't be as quick to deal away Travis Outlaw, who they should be able to re-sign and keep as a backup forward.

If Miami is really offering Beasley and a #1 for Amar'e, the Suns should go for that deal. I'd push for a deal of Quentin Richardson, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, and a #1 because I think B-Easy would blossom in Phoenix. Sure, he's a bit crazy but he'd have a fellow space cadet in Robin Lopez and it's not like Steve Nash isn't a rather eccentric character (who also doesn't play much defense.) Andre Iguodala is obviously a better player right now but he also makes a ton of money. Why not clear up some money and get some prospects? It's not like Iggy's going to turn them into a legit contender. They also could look to move Barbosa and Jason Richardson for Michael Redd and Carlos Delfino. Redd could be out all next season so his 80% of his money will be paid by insurance. I'm not sure that Milwaukee would go for it but it's a decent offer. The bottom line is that the Suns need to trade Amar'e ASAP and then should look if they can't dump or at least swap out other 2 year deals for Jason Richardson (and possibly Barbosa as well.)

The Thunder are gelling as a team so unless a great deal comes along, I'd just wait out this season, see how the chips fall, and then look to make a move this offseason.

The Hornets have gotten under the luxury tax so I'm not sure they should really force a deal but next offseason should be VERY interesting for them. If Darren Collison continues to play well, do the Hornets perhaps trade Chris Paul? Remember this, after next season (which could be locked out), CP3 has a player option on his contract. There's a very real chance that, one way or another, this could be Paul's last year in a Hornets uniform. On top of that, they'll have some nice expiring deals in Peja and Mo Pete next year. The Hornets could be big players this offseason. As for the trade deadline, if Dallas can't find a great deal, New Orleans could offer Emeka Okafor, Marcus Thornton, James Posey, and Mo Peterson for Erick Dampier and Josh Howard's expiring contracts. It's tough to give up a prospect like Thornton but if they can dump all of those contracts, it's worth it.

I'm not sure if New York would do it but David Lee, Gallinari, and Eddy Curry for a bunch of Minnesota's expiring deals and Ricky Rubio works. The Wolves would have to agree to an extension with Lee before it happens but it would be a solid deal and the Wolves front court of Lee, Love, and Gallinari could be nicknamed the Avalanche (it's big, white, and coming at you!). David Kahn needs to give up on Ricky Rubio coming to Minny and he would be able to move Al Jefferson, who will probably end his career being best known as a great trade asset rather than an actual player.

Memphis really needs to figure out what is going on with Rudy Gay. They've made a nice leap this year but I'm not sure that paying Rudy a big contract is the way to make it to actually contending. One deal that could make sense for both teams is Mike Conley, Darrell Arthur, and Hamed Haddadi for Andre Miller and Travis Outlaw. The Blazers get a solid backup PF in Arthur and a nice young pure PG prospect while the Grizz get a veteran PG to help run the team and a decent enough backup plan in case they can't re-sign Rudy.

The Lakers could deal a bunch of their expiring deals for a better point guard, like Kirk Hinrich, but I'd almost just stand pat. The chemistry there was already and issue so why mess with it while the Lakers are the clear favorites. Also, I still have faith in Jordan Farmar panning out (and it's not like Kirk has looked that good this year.) Maybe they can swing a small deal for a better backup big man but right now, I'd stand pat.

I usually mock Chad Ford but this time I'll praise him; his Andre Iguodala to the Clippers deal actually made sense. Personally though, I'd go in the opposite direction. I'd look to sell high on Chris Kaman and maybe look to see if I couldn't use Eric Gordon (Mitch Richmond 2.0) to dump Baron Davis's contract. Even with Iggy, the Clippers are a mediocre playoff team with little hope for improvement (unless Blake Griffin pans out to be a superstar and I'm not willing to bet the farm on that.) To be honest, I might even be willing to move Griffin in the right deal. People have been complimenting the job that Mike Dunleavy Sr. has done but he's basically building a team that is going to be the same as the one he blew up - 47 wins and a player short of being able to make it to the Conference Finals.

I liked Houston's idea of not spending a ton on big name players and trying to win with good but not great guys. I think that can still work so I wouldn't be gung-ho about trading for Andre Iguodala. Letting Tracy McGrady's huge expiring deal lapse is a tough pill to swallow but they might be better off with the cap space than forcing a trade. The one thing they may want to consider is thinning their PF herd since I don't think they'll be able to re-sign both Luis Scola and Carl Landry. Figure out which one they want and then look to see if they couldn't deal one for a shooting guard.

Golden State seems to really want to move Monta Ellis but now isn't the best time. I'm sure that, this offseason, someone will strike out with the best free agents and look to make a move for someone like Ellis (and probably give up more than the Warriors are being offered right now.) They should look to sell high on Corey Maggette but I'm not sure anyone would fall for that. Anthony Randolph has been a complete waste in Don Nelson's system but it's almost impossible to give up on him because his trade value is so low right now.

Denver probably has no choice but to stand pat, even though they are clearly a player away from being able to take the Lakers in a series. One move I would look to make is swap out J.R. Smith for someone who actually wants to be there. I'm still a believer in Smith but he's just never going to put it together in Denver.

Dallas doesn't need to make a move as much as most people think they do and that's because both of their expiring deals are not really expiring. Erick Dampier's contract has an escape clause in it that could wipe out the final year but if Dallas wants to hold onto his deal so it would be a trade asset this offseason, they can. Josh Howard has a team option on his final year so he too could be a trade asset this offseason as well. I think the Hornets deal that I offered is intriguing (especially if Peja Stojakovic replaces Posey and Peterson since he's a scorer AND an expiring deal next offseason) and is a decent plan Z. The biggest issue for the Mavericks is that they just don't have the prospects to pair with their expiring deals to make any trade that isn't an outright salary dump.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Between a friend's birthday party and an early morning meeting, I wasn't able to prepare a real "Tryout" so I'll just post up a group I stumbled upon last week. Not as catchy as Freelance Whales and sometimes I'm just not feeling it but People Eating People has some good songs. I'm a big fan of "All the Hospitals" and "Rain, Rain".

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Here's the pilot episode of the new HBO series "How to Make It In America".

Posted by SoulHonky at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I'm usually a proponent of trades but this trade season's rumors have been crazier than any in recent memory. Case in point is the 76ers; they are now offering Andre Iguodala in order to dump Sam Dalembert's contract but in just a few months Sam will become a viable commodity, a decent enough big man with an expiring deal.

On the other hand, a lot of the names out there are guys that people probably shouldn't be looking to acquire unless they are Mark Cuban and don't care about throwing money away. The Pistons would probably love to dump most of their team but does anyone really want four more years of Rip Hamilton? Is there a market for Ben Gordon's contract or Charlie Villanueva?

I wanted to write up an post about the 10 trades that need to happen but I can't really think of that many that actually make sense right now. Most every team in the league right now would be better off waiting until the offseason to make a move. There are a few deals that might make sense but here's my breakdown of how I think the Eastern Conference teams should handle the trade deadline.

Atlanta Hawks: You hate to mess with the chemistry of this team and even though it would seem like trying to upgrade at SF might make sense, the team can't afford to move Marvin Williams for a bigger contract because they have to see what happens with Joe Johnson. I was thinking they could try to work a three team deal with the Hawks getting Luol Deng (Marvin heading to a third team that sends an expiring deal to Chicago) but you don't want Deng's contract to keep you from being able to re-sign Joe. In the end, they might be able to find a small deal to help their bench but I can't see them making a major move.

Boston Celtics: The Celtics have a problem that most teams have: they have a piece they probably should move (Ray Allen) but they'd need to get back a guy at the same position to replace him. There aren't many teams that are looking to dump a younger, talented shooting guard for a short term rental of Ray. In the end, their best bet is probably to hold onto Ray, hope that re-signs for a discount which will enable ownership to spend the full MLE on someone next season.

Charlotte Bobcats: The Bobcats have made some strides this year and I think they could set themselves up for one more move. The Sacramento Kings want to shed salary. The Bobcats don't have the expiring deal to make it work but they do have Tyson Chandler, who has only one year left on his deal. The Cats could offer Tyson Chandler and DJ Augustin for Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih, and either Jason Thompson or Spencer Hawes. The Cats add two decent bench players in Noc and Beno while bringing in a solid young center to take over for Nazr Mohammed. The Kings cut 13 million off of their 2011 cap and get a solid young combo guard in Augustin who might be a good complement to Tyreke Evans.

Chicago Bulls: The Bulls apparently really want hometown hero Dwyane Wade. I'm not really sure how they are going to pull that off. If they dump their current salaries, all they'll have left is Derrick Rose, Jo Noah, and... Taj Gibson? Not all that appealing. If they hold onto their players, they won't have enough to bring in more than one guy and I'm not sure if Wade or even Joe Johnson is interested in joining a middling team being helmed by Vinny Del Negro. It's a tough call; especially given that the Bulls' last forays into free agency have netted them Ron Mercer and Big Ben Wallace.
Right now, I think the best approach they might have is dumping Kirk Hinrich (maybe to the Lakers for expiring contracts) and trying to move Luol Deng and Ty Thomas to Phoenix for Amar'e Stoudemire. I'm not wild about it (and Phoenix might not go for it) but it seems like it may be the best set-up for next season. Oh, and they should go after Jeff Van Gundy to coach them.

Cleveland Cavaliers: It's hard to tell what's going on. LeBron was upset about the way the Cavs treated Zydrunas Ilgauskas earlier this year but now he's pushing for an Antawn Jamison deal, which would require the Cavs to trade Big Z. Meanwhile, I still think their biggest issue is shooting guard (especially once Leon Powe comes back from injury). Right now, I'd try to find a team with a shooting guard they're looking to dump but would be willing to buy out Ilgauskas so he can rejoin the Cavs. The one guy I might take a look at is Ben Gordon. Not sure if Detroit wants to dump him (although they should) but having an assassin like Ben waiting to feed off of LeBron's kickoffs could be trouble. And yes, his defense isn't great but have you seen Antawn Jamison play defense? (If you haven't seen him play, you've seen as much defense as those who have watched him.)

Detroit Pistons: The honeymoon is about to be over for Joe Dumars. The Pistons are an absolute mess right now and his two big signings this past offseason are not really panning out. It also comes as no surprise that the Rip Hamilton extension is now looking like a mistake. And they still have to re-up Rodney Stuckey this offseason. This team requires an entry all their own but I would say that, right now, there isn't a single untouchable on the roster and they should probably look to dump any contracts they can.

Indiana Pacers: Like the Sixers and Dalembert, I'm not sure if the Pacers best move is to dump Troy Murphy for an expiring deal. At least try to get something back from him; maybe send him back to the Warriors for expiring deals and Kelenna Azubuike? Or one expiring, my main 'Buike, and Rony Turiaf?. If they can give away Mike Dunleavy Jr., (time's running out for them to do it with the Clippers), they should but I'm not sure who is going to go for that. Ray Allen for Dunleavy and Murphy?

Miami Heat: The Heat seem determined to go into the offseason with as much cap space as possible so I'm not sure that they make any trades right now. I hope they deal Michael Beasley soon but they'll probably wait until the offseason to make an offseason on him. They might want to look to swap the unhappy Mario Chalmers out but, again, they might just wait until the offseason for that.

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks could have a nice trade asset in Michael Redd's expiring deal (especially if he's out all year and insurance pays for him) but for now, I'm not sure what they do. They have a few expiring deals but I can't imagine there's anything big on their horizon.

New Jersey Nets: They should be trying to dump Keyon Dooling, who someone might be willing to take off their hands, and looking to move Bobby Simmons, Yi Jianlian, and Chris Douglas-Roberts for any of the expiring bigs (Bosh, Amare, Boozer). They shouldn't be afraid to throw in Courtney Lee or Terrence Williams either. Their only chance of wooing LeBron is if they have another piece in place and the sooner, the better. It's not like anyone on their roster besides Brook Lopez is a keeper. If they win the lottery, I'm going to assume that Devin Harris is a goner but they might want to see what they can get for him now. Maybe see what more it would take to get Beasley, Chalmers, and filler for him. I can't imagine Miami does it but there should be some kind of market out there for Harris. (But, again, it's probably best to just wait for the offseason.)

New York Knicks: I like David Lee, Danilo Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler but the Knicks should probably be offering these guys to teams in order to dump Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffiries' contracts. Especially The Rooster and Chandler because they play the same spots as their main target, Lebron. I still think Clippers or Wizards should be the main candidates to take back these contracts; take back just a year of salary and get lotto talent.

Orlando Magic: I was all for the Vince Carter trade but it's not really working. They should try to find a better PG than Jameer Nelson. And I know they love their bench depth but Brandon Bass is completely wasted right now. Rushing into a deal in the next two weeks, however, is probably a recipe for disaster. Even looking for one and getting trade rumors poisoning the locker room is probably bad enough. Unless a great deal falls into their lap, the Magic are probably best off just playing the hand they dealt themselves.

Philadelphia 76ers: Words is that they were in talks with Phoenix about Amar'e Stoudemire but that doesn't make sense to me. Yes, Amar'e's good but they already have a boatload invested in a banged up PF Elton Brand, why add the injury prone Stoudemire? This is another team that needs its own entry but for now, they should stay away from any deals that outright dump their best player. They should also consider moving Thad Young and Lou Williams who are talented players that seem like they're never going to get a good shot at success in Philly.

Toronto Raptors: People are getting excited that the Raptors have won a few games and are inching closer to a more acceptable mediocrity but they're going to lose their best player in a few months and get nothing in return and the rest of their lineup is mostly overpaid and underwhelming. They should move Hedo ASAP; that contract is about to get ugly. The only move that I can really see happening is Bryan Colangelo high-tailing it out of town before people catch on to what a mess he's made in Toronto.

Washington Wizards: As I've written before, they should be looking to use their expiring deals to add young talent for taking on other team's contracts. In fact, they should dump their current talent (Jamison and Butler) for young talent as well. The team needs a reboot in the worst way.

Posted by SoulHonky at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

More and more, it seems like the NBA is just like your average fantasy football league. You have examples of dumping one manager but just ending up with someone even worse (see the Clippers losing Mike Dunleavy but possibly hiring Isiah Thomas). You have tons of trade talks and few actual trades. And, of course, you have this.

"I made one attempt to go grab a star player, to just see if somebody would do a stupid deal from the other end," Riley said.
"They call me and ask if I'll do something stupid, so I called a guy and said, 'Hey, will you consider this?' "

This just makes me believe in more strongly in the fact that most knowledgeable fans could handle the GM job just as well (or poorly) as a lot of the guys who are currently in charge.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

It's raining, I'm lazy, and, well, that's all I got. I decided to waste some time throwing together another short I'll never shoot. This is the first webisode of an internet series that I don't think I'll ever actually do. The title is part of the punchline so for now I'll just say it's called B.A.E. This one isn't all that funny but it's a good set-up and I personally find the title to be good for a giggle. I was thinking about maybe trying to do this as a webcomic but I don't know any good artists. I have a second episode planned out and if I think of any other ideas, then I might try it but I'm not really spending any time trying to figure anything out so this is yet another idea that is probably going to die on the vine.

So without further ado, here it is.

Anyway, more of a snicker than a laugh riot but it's a decent set-up. The second episode involves her finding her friend and the man of her dreams are still alive. I might write it later tonight if I don't start working on either the pilot I should actually be investing time in or watching Werckmeister Harmonies (thus fulfilling my resolution to watch better films this year.) Actually, here's how webisode 2 would start.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Mike Dunleavy Sr. has finally stepped down as coach of the Clippers and one would think that he woudl soon be out the door as general manager as well since he hasn't done a bang up job in either position. Of course, now that there's a likely GM opening, every blogger will probably be throwing their hat into the ring as the new hypothetical GM of the Clippers and who am I to think I'm above that?

So if I was in charge of the Clippers, I'd approach things the same way that I suggested the Wizards should proceed. The first order of business is to get everyone in the franchise to realize that this team is on a three-to-five year rebuilding plan. Right now, I don't see anyone on the team who is untouchable and there are a number of guys who should probably go ASAP. I wouldn't even waste our time pretending like we were a player in the 2010 free agent market. The Clippers are such a mess that nobody would sign there unless they were vastly overpaid and, honestly, anyone who WOULD agree to come here would be suspect. Probably just another player looking for a payoff without care if they ever see the playoffs.

Since the team has little hope of using their cap space this coming offseason, they should be buyers in the current market; agree to take on unwanted salary in exhange for getting a talented youngster. So this might be my plan for the trade deadline:

1. Marcus Camby and Rasual Butler for Sam Dalembert, Jrue Holiday, and Marreese Speights
I'd love to get Thad Young but I'm not sure that possible. Also, I think I can probably get a good SF out of New York for taking back one of their contracts. In this deal, I bring in a solid backup for Chris Kaman and a young PG (who's also a local kid) to backup Baron and possibly take over the starting spot in the near future.

2. Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Ricky Davis and Al Thornton for Jared Jeffiries and Danilo Gallinari
Yes, Thornton is a promising talent but he's 26 years old and still hasn't put it together so I think it's better to use him as a trade asset now rather than re-sign him and potentially overpay him. Also, if it means getting Il Gallo from the Knicks, I'm all for it. This deal would help clear almost ten million off of the Knicks payroll.

Of course, there could be some tweaking of those deals and maybe a different team sneaks in and makes a better offer but these seem like very plausible deals that would help improve the Clippers' young talent and not really kill their long term cap situation.

I'd then start preparing for the offseason and trying to figure out ways to dump Baron Davis or maybe get something for Eric Gordon, a player I like a lot in the same way I liked Mitch Richmond - very good player, not sure how much you're going to win with him. I'd even consider moving Blake Griffin since that knee injury scares the bejeezus out of me. I might see if I couldn't swap him for Michael Beasley.

As you can probably tell from names like Beasley and Gallinari, I'd make my first focus offense. High scoring teams will bring in more fans and, most importantly, create an atmosphere that players would be interested in joining. The Clippers are located in a city that most players would LOVE to play in; the problem is that they've not only been bad, they haven't been fun. Nobody wants to play for Mike Dunleavy Sr. I'm not a huge fan of George Karl but he might be free after this year and would be the right direction for this franchise to take.

And, as I've said time and again, I'd try to get the franchise to rebrand itself in 2011. New name, new colors, new attitude.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

One of my resolutions is to, again, stop wasting time on internet message boards but they still are a good time waster and I have a lot of time to kill. Granted, I should be writing my actual screenplays and trying to make it rather than just chat about films but whatever, after a long day (or, usually, during the long day) it's a good break.

The reason I bring this up is because of the Vanity Fair controversy over their recent New Hollywood cover which puts the fair in Vanity Fair. Not a minority on the cover and people are in an uproar about it. Anyway, it came up on a message board and I believe so much in my response to that issue that I thought I'd post it here. Also, I had nothing else to write about this morning.

Really, what this controversy proves is that the token is still a powerful entity in supposedly post-racial America. For YEARS, Vanity Fair has been throwing out groups of white people with one or two minorities in the mix. For a couple years, Penelope Cruz was the last melanin standing. Here's a bunch of Leibovitz's Hollywood covers.

Mostly what this is is people getting upset over a symptom and not the disease. TV is getting whiter and whiter (and helmed by more and more men, even though women are running more studios). The film world hasn't gotten much more diverse over the years. George Lopez once stated that he hated when cops would go to a door during the movie because he knew that would be the only time he'd see someone that looked like him: either the suspect or the help. It's still the same.

Should Vanity Fair have played the game and thrown Zoe Saldana on there? Yes. But this Vanity Fair issue is a true picture of a fucked up system and what we're seeing now is people not liking a reflection and blaming it on the mirror.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Accalimed director Mike Nichols and Academy Award winner George C. Scott in a film that was nominated for two Oscars!

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Any other week, the Tryout might have been Los Campesinos' "Romance is Boring" or Soft Pack's self-titled EP.

Unfortunately for them, this is the week that I discovered Freelance Whales and got addicted to their sound. It's a little emo-y but I'm hooked. And how can you not love a group that got its start playing in NYC subways?

This album was my first music purchase of the year and I've listened to it over and over, especially the first two tracks - "Generator ^ First Floor" and "Hannah". Those two songs are pretty much already guaranteed to make my 2010 most listened to list. I probably never would have discovered these guys if it wasn't for amiestreet.com, a pretty cool online music outlet. Besides this album, I got a couple of cool free downloads from Wakey! Wakey! and ent.

Finally, fans of garage rock might want to give JEFF the Brotherhood a shot.

A pretty good week of music, especially considering the fact that I held out a couple bands who could be Tryout material in the coming weeks.

Posted by SoulHonky at 03:30 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

The daily e-mail tip service Very Short List hasn't delivered too many worthwhile sites for me lately but they clued me into a gem this morning. Check out "Unhappy Hipsters", a site that takes photos from a modern architecture site and comes up with new captions that turn the photos into scenes of existential despair. Here's one of my favorites.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

So here's this month's SoulMix. Not exactly in the Valentine's Day mood but then again neither am I. A couple of songs from my first album purchase of 2010, Freelance Whales and a couple more songs from SoulMix regular K'Naan (these two are from his first album). Besides that, there are some old classics and a song from a friend from high school. I really wish some show or movie would pick up "I Get Stupid" because it's a great song.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments ()