For starters, I'd like to thank ESPN and other NBA "insiders" for turning Twitter into a virtual lap dance. For this past week, they've teased draftniks about possible trades, franchise altering moves, and then when the big moment arrived, nothing actually happened.

As for the draft, it was a rather confusing draft day although most teams seemed to draft for talent rather than need, which was refreshing although also made you realize why teams often draft for need. For my draft grades, C is an average draft - the draft is a crapshoot and you managed risk while getting guys who could do something. It shouldn't be seen as a bad grade; it's average. Higher grades means your draft seems to have more shoot than crap and lower grades means that you left your fan base scratching their own heads or calling for the head of their GM. I'm going to try not to grade TOO much on "How could you pass up (insert name)?!" because everyone has different takes on players and nobody is a surefire pick and there's been many a time when prospects have gone from a draft day "How could you pass on him?" to a "Thank God we didn't take him." (I'm looking at you Gerald Green and Acie Earl.)

Atlanta Hawks: C-
Mike Scott was an interesting pick and is a guy who I could see teaming with Ivan Johnson and Jason Collins to give the Hawks some tough, no nonsense minutes in the frontcourt. The reason the Hawks get a C- is because I think Scott at 43 could be better than John Jenkins, who they drafted twenty picks earlier. Jenkins is a one dimensional shooter (although, to be fair, he is a great shooter) who is likely going to struggle in the other facets of the game.

Boston Celtics: D+
A couple years ago, Danny Ainge broke up the Celtics core as they were trying to win a second championship together by trading Kendrick Perkins for Jeff Green and a future pick. One of Ainge's reasons for the deal was that the Eastern Conference no longer went through Dwight Howard, it went through LeBron, and the Celtics needed more bodies to throw the King's way. Today, Jeff Green is a free agent with heart problems and the Celtics used the pick they acquired in the deal on Fab Melo, a guy, who if he works hard, could be as effective as Perkins; it's just that Fab isn't known for working hard. One pick earlier, Boston took an even more sluggish big man in Jared Sullinger. The about face on Ainge's line of thinking is even more troubling when you remember that in crunch time of Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the C's were having Brandon Bass (basically, a more athletic Sullinger) guard LeBron James. The Celtics needed depth everywhere and ended up with guys who I'm not sure will be better than Bass or Greg Stiemsma and most certainly won't help them get over the hump that is the Heat. Danny Ainge did manage to draft an athletic small forward in the second round in Kris Joseph but that brought up his second troubling problem.

Danny Ainge likes dumb players but his dumb players don't seem to ever really pan out: Marcus Banks, J.R. Giddens, Gerald Green, Orien Greene (Don't confuse dumb with crazy; his crazy players like Big Baby Davis, Tony Allen, and Delonte West pan out.) JaJuan Johnson could never really help out because he couldn't pick up NBA defenses. Kris Joseph and Fab Melo have equally low hoops IQ's and have spent most of their days playing zone. The Celtics are in win now mode and Danny keeps adding rooks who can't even get on the court now, nevermind actually winning. The C's did draft guys with potential so it could pan out but I doubt Melo or Joseph will see much of the parquet this next year and Sullinger is probably better off as a trade asset (let him shine a bit this year and then sell high; just look at DeJuan Blair, who went from surprise pick to on the block with no takers in a couple years.) All in all, it's not an awful draft day for the Celtics but it's not nearly as promising one as the one I was expecting a great day when I saw all of the talented prospects who had fallen to us at 21/22.

Brooklyn Nets: C
The Nets deserve an F for this draft because they traded the #6 pick for Gerald Wallace but pre-draft trades aren't being taken into account so they are let off with a C. They drafted a tattooed Turk who I'm sure will be all the rage back in Jersey, nabbed another solid sounded foreign prospect (who got the funny reaction on the right from the BK fan), and nabbed Tyshawn Taylor who might become a mix of Ty Lawson and Nate Robinson for the Nets; a lovable undersized point guard who is a speed demon (like Lawson) but (like Nasty Nate) makes so many bone headed decisions that it's tough to rely on him. And given the way Billy King is running the show, he might be Brooklyn's starting PG next year.

Charlotte Bobcats: A-
With Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon manning the backcourt, the Bobcats could use a SF who can excel in other ways than scoring. More importantly, as noted before, this is a league that runs through LeBron James and Kevin Durant so if you want to succeed, you need someone who can lock them down. MKG should do that and he's such a hard worker that I think he'll also improve his deficiencies enough to where they'll at least be adequate. I foresee a guy who could be the backbone of a winning team, even though he's not the lead dog. With their second round pick, the Bobcats picked another defense first small forward in Jeff Taylor. Obviously not a need but he was a good value and could develop into a nice role player off the bench or trade asset.

Chicago Bulls: A
Picking at 29, the Bulls could have rolled the dice on a shooting guard prospect but instead grabbed Teague, who has a real shot at being the best point guard in the draft and should pan out to be, at least, the perfect backup for Derrick Rose. If/When Rose gets back to 100%, Teague should become a solid trade asset (somewhat like George Hill's time in San Antonio.) The Bulls had one pick and nailed down one of the best assets available; you can't do better than that.

Cleveland Cavaliers: D+
Dion Waiters is a shooting guard with limited range and works best with the ball in his hands. That's pretty much the opposite of what most everyone would say a team led by Kyrie Irving should be looking for in a shooting guard. That's not to say that Waiters won't be a good NBA player but he doesn't make sense in Cleveland. Now perhaps Cleveland took him to move him to one of the teams that wanted him (Cavs could try to go after Gortat in Phoenix or deal Anderson Varejao and Waiters for Terrence Ross and Andrea Bargnani from Toronto) so it's hard to write off the deal yet but I'm not a huge fan of this choice. The scary thing is, Cleveland's other move was far worse.
Cleveland dealt three picks (24, 33, and 34) to move up and draft Tyler Zeller. Now, again, Zeller could (and probably should) be a solid pro but he's certainly not worth three picks, especially for a team like the Cavs who are rebuilding, are in asset collection mode, and could have used the two early second rounders where they could have picked up solid players that could have filled some gaps in their roster.
The Zeller deal reeked of a panic move. Cavs GM Chris Grant couldn't trade up to get the guy he wanted at the head of the draft, somehow wasn't able to trade down despite having two teams in Toronto and Phoenix who wanted the guy he drafted, and then went all-in with the rest of his picks to land a guy who projects to be a backup center. I give the Cavs the plus because Waiters and Zeller do seem like solid bets to stick around the league but, entering the draft with four picks, the Cavs should have walked out of the draft with more than they did.

Dallas Mavericks: B
The Mavericks boosted their draft by getting three picks from the Cavs but used those picks on prospects that I'm not entirely fond. Jared Cunningham is said to be a potential poor man's Russell Westbrook but people can't stop giving the actual Westbrook shit about his style of play so I'm not sure how that's going to pan out. Russ is Russ because his superstar production makes up for his problematic aspects. A poor man's version of that doesn't sound too enticing.
I really like the pick of Jae Crowder and think he should fit in nicely alongside either Dirk Nowitzki or Shawn Marion (who he'll probably be on the court with.) He also adds the energy that the Mavs were lacking last season. Bernard James, a 27 year old former member of the Air Force, but he's a 27 year old big man project. I was going to bump them up for the late addition of Darius Johnson-Odom but then they shipped him off to the Lakers.
So, the Mavs came away with some decent talent and did better than they expected to when the day began but I can't help but feel like they could have done better.

Denver Nuggets: B-
Evan Fournier's scouting report is the kind that makes me nervous. He's a good shooter without three point range, he's adept at penetrating to the hoop but may not be athletic enough to get past NBA defenders, and he's too weak and maybe too slow on the defensive end of the court. He sounds like Sasha Pavlovic with worse defense and, obviously, that's not somebody you'd be thrilled to land in the first round. However, Quincy Miller, who they landed in the second round, is exactly the kind of guy you want to land late in the draft. Hell, swap the picks with Miller going at 20 and Fournier at 38 and I might give them a B+. Miller was a talented freshman on a team that misused him while he was struggling to overcome an ACL injury. He's a risk but he has talent enough that he could blossom into someone who should have gone in the lotto. And with the Nuggets already having so much depth, they can afford to take a flier on a kid like Quincy.

Detroit Pistons: A
I never would have guessed that I'd be giving the team that drafted Andre Drummond an A. But once Drummond fell to #9, the risk outweighed the reward (and also outweighed the Pistons original option, John Henson) as Drummond alongside Greg Monroe gives the Pistons a potentially stud frontcourt. In the second round, they added Khris Middleton, a nice small forward product who could blossom if he can get healthy. Kim English is a bit like John Jenkins in that he can shoot but not do much of anything else but when you get a shooting specialist at 44, it's far more acceptable.

Golden State Warriors: A-
I'm sorry but I just can't get past the name Festus Ezeli. That's just not a name I expect to hear NBA announcers to call. Still, he was the 30th pick and he's just there to back up Andrew Bogut (and maybe light a fire under Andris Biedrins to get him playing up to his potential again) so I can't knock the Warriors that much for rolling the dice on a legit center. I love that they didn't overthink their first pick and just took the highly touted Harrison Barnes at #7. He's a kid who can slide right into the starting SF spot but shouldn't have too much pressure on him as he'll be a fourth or fifth scorer with Steph Curry, Andrew Bogut, David Lee, and Klay Thompson running alongside him. And while I didn't think Draymond Green's game was going to translate in the pros, he's not a bad risk at #35 and I do think that his talents fit the Warriors needs. And I think this is an underrated aspect of the NBA draft; how someone fits on a team is crucial to their success. Put Green on most other teams and I think he might be out of the league in a few years. But as a small ball power forward in Golden State, where he probably can utilize his passing more and allow the other players to focus on scoring, and with Andrew Bogut backing him up on defense, I think there's a very good chance that he becomes an effective and beloved role player in the Bay Area.

Houston Rockets: B+
My initial take on the Rockets' draft was disappointment because so much was made about the moves they were trying to make and the possibilities of landing two top ten picks and then they just stood pat and drafted three guys. And, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy they drafted third turned out to be the best player of the bunch. Terrence Jones is a forward who has a lot of potential and probably should have been a lotto pick. Jeremy Lamb was a solid pick at 12. I'm not in love with his motor and think he fades into the background too much but, unlike Kevin Martin, I think Lamb knows how to fit into an offense and is actually better served as being a lesser option instead of a lead dog. The key will be how much he brings it on defense. If Royce White had landed in Golden State, I'd be higher on his prospects. But right now, he's a tweener forward on a team of tweeners (Chandler Parsons, Marcus Morris, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Jones) all of whom I think are better than him. Well, maybe not Marcus Morris. I was going to give the Rox an A- but with all those picks and all those opportunities, I just think they could have come away with a better haul and one that would have improved more of the team's needs.

Indiana Pacers: B-
Plumlee is the epitome of a C draft pick. Is it a good pick? Kind of. The Pacers need a back up big and Plumlee is athletic and brings some toughness that the Pacers need. Is it a bad pick? Possibly. The Pacers have some real needs elsewhere and there were players available (arguably better than Plumlee) who filled those needs. It's a defensible pick but I don't think anybody is going to argue that there aren't five or six better players who went after him. The Pacers get a boost for not being cheapskates and spending some money to buy a second rounder to nab Orlando Johnson, a decent shooting guard prospect who can't do any worse than Leandro Barbosa did during the Pacers' playoff run.

LA Clippers: C
Who is Furkan Aldemir? I don't know. And I felt like downgrading the pick because you just know the Clippers knucklehead announcers will laugh about how close they are coming to saying fucking ("It's that Furkan Aldermir guy again!" "He's a Furkan problem!") but at 53, it's always good to roll the dice on a project big man who you can hide overseas for a year or two. Also, he's supposedly a bruiser and with Reggie Evans getting older, the Clips might need a new enforcer type.

LA Lakers: C+
I like that they got Johnson-Odom from the Mavericks and I think he could be a useful role player in the near future. The Lakers didn't have the picks to really make much of a difference and I'd be surprised if Robert Sacre ever sees the hardwood at the Staples Center but they did just fine for where they were drafting.

Memphis Grizzlies: B-
If Tony Wroten was ever going to amount to anything in the NBA, it would be amongst the other misfits that make up the Memphis Grizzlies. And since they already have Mike Conley Jr. at the point and Tony Allen at the 2, they don't need to rush him into playing time. The Grizzlies would get knocked down to a C, however, if I took trade rumors into account because they reportedly turned down Rudy Gay for Andre Iguodala, a deal that would have cut payroll and given them a guy who I think is a step up at the small forward position. The Grizzlies have shown that they can win without Rudy's scoring so I'm kind of stunned that they turned that offer down.

Miami Heat: C-
The Heat need big men. The Heat drafted a big man. The Heat traded the big man away. On the other hand, the Heat just traded this year's #27 pick for what'll likely be next year's #17 or #18 in a draft that could have a number of big man options so patience does have its virtues. Still, they passed on some interesting talent this year so I have to knock them down a bit. Justin Hamilton, who they picked at #45, doesn't help their cause any.

Milwaukee Bucks: D+
The Bucks were the team that proved that choosing the "best player available" isn't always the wisest move. At #12, they drafted John Henson, a rail-thin "power" forward, who is basically a similar player to Ekpe Udoh and Larry Sanders. Even worse, if Milwaukee didn't have those players, I still don't think Henson made sense at #12. A kid who has had three years to fill out and is still skinnier than 19 year old Anthony Davis doesn't seem like a great lotto pick. The Bucks did redeem themselves in the second round, at least, grabbing Doron Lamb, a great shooter and a guard who has enough PG skills and potentially enough defense that he could pan out to be the perfect complement to Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. Still, the Henson pick boggles my mind so much that I can't help but knock the Bucks down to the D range.

Minnesota Timberwolves: C
The Wolves traded the 18th pick for Chase Buddinger, which was a solid enough trade. They then grabbed another white, good shooting small forward in Robbie Hummel, who wasn't all that athletic before his two blown ACL's. Still, at #58, you're happy to grab a guy who has a high hoops IQ and a legit NBA skill so it's not bad.

New Orleans Hornets: A+
As I noted in my mock draft, I think an Anthony Davis/Austin Rivers duo could give the Hornets the best forward and guard in this draft. Rivers has some kinks to work out but he knows Monty Williams through his dad and is friends with Davis so it's a perfect landing spot for him. Personally, I think they should trade Eric Gordon, who is injury prone and about to make big money, but if he sticks around, I still think Rivers works there. The Hornets solidified their A+ ranking by grabbing Davis's teammate Darius Miller in the second round. Miller isn't the greatest talent but, unlike the recently departed Trevor Ariza, he knows his role and he knows how to do it well. If he can shore up his defense to go along with his steady shooting, he'll be a great complement to Davis and Rivers.

New York Knicks: C
They took a foreign dude in the second round. Par for the course.

Oklahoma City Thunder: A+
This time last year, I was saying Perry Jones was a fool for staying in school and that he'd probably slide and he might even be the next Terrence Morris, a guy who went from lotto to second round and out of the NBA in no time. Then a funny thing happened; he did slide in the draft but it worked to his advantage. OK City is a perfect landing spot for Jones; they don't need him to do anything so pressure will be off and they have a team of hard workers who'll keep him honest. PJIII might have been hating life as he plummeted in the draft but his future is much better for it.

Orlando Magic: B
Andrew Nicholson is a little like Ryan Anderson, a big man who can block shots and hit threes, but he's better than Anderson in the post. He's also a nice complement to Big Baby Davis as a second unit frontcourt. At 49, they grabbed Kyle O'Quinn, a project big man. Given where they were picking, they got good talent out of both picks and guys who fit their team. No home runs (or even potential home runs) but a solid job that's a shade north of average.

Philadelphia 76ers: C-/D+
Talent-wise, Maurice "Don't Call Me Moe" Harkless works as the 15th pick in the draft. He's raw but has a ton of upside and made as much sense as anyone else on the board at that time. The problem is that Harkless isn't what Philly needs at all and there were players available at 15 who filled those needs and were as good, if not better, than Maurice. Also, those players were almost all more polished and you'd think that a team that is making a bit of a push in the East wouldn't want to deal with on the job training of a teenager. On the bright side, the Sixers did fill a need by adding Arnett Moultrie in their trade with the Heat. Moultrie should be able to get some minutes in the Sixers frontcourt and could replace Spencer Hawes (minus the blocked shots) in the near future. On the other hand, they gave up next year's pick to do it and I have a feeling that that pick is going to be a nice mid-first rounder next year.
In the end, despite the fact that I like the raw potential of their draft, Harkless is such an odd fit with with Evan Turner and/or Andre Iguodala, I have to be knock them down into the D range. Basically, I like landing talents Harkless and Moultrie; I just wish they'd landed on a different team.

Phoenix Suns: D+
I like Kendall Marshall. I'm rooting for the kid. I just don't think he's a starting point guard in the NBA. He's replacing Steve Nash and he doesn't do anything as well as Nash. He might not even play defense as well as Nash, and that's saying something. The only reason he went this high was because the point guard crop in this draft was weak. The Suns really should have looked into trading down because they have the worst roster in all of the NBA right now (Marcin Gortat is the only legit NBA player there) so they could have used more warm bodies. If they had made the Mavs deal with the Cleveland, it could have been a huge boost to their roster. But instead they just have Marshall, a great passer on a team that can't shoot for shit, and a poor defender who is going to face Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, etc. in the West. Phoenix fans should probably start scouting Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammed for next year's top pick

Portland Trailblazers: A
I can't say that I'm blown away but their picks but Neil Olshey added an intriguing big man in Meyers Leonard who should fit nicely alongside LaMarcus Aldridge, as well as a new starting point guard in Damian Lillard. In the second round, they drafted Will Barton, who could potentially be the best player of the trio. With Nic Batum likely back in the fold and Wes Matthews holding down the shooting guard spot, the Blazers look as if they took a nice step forward this draft day.

Sacramento Kings: A-
The Kings reportedly did something that more teams needed to do on draft night. Word was that if Thomas Robinson wasn't available at #5, they would have traded down with Portland. Their contingency plan didn't turn out to matter but I think more teams like the Cavs could have benefited by having a better plan B. I love the pairing on Robinson with DeMarcus Cousins and I think the fact that he's going to be working with Big Man Whisperer Clifford Ray gives him a good chance of becoming an impact player in the NBA. The reason the Kings get the minus is because they had a second round pick and there was a lot of talent available but the supposedly not cash strapped Maloofs decided to sell it. Dumping the pick as opposed to adding to the roster moved them from a potential A+ to an A-.

San Antonio Spurs: C+
Shockingly, the Spurs didn't take a foreign player in the second round. Marcus Denmon is a smart, efficient player who seems like the kind of kid that one see the light of day in his rookie year but will then become a quietly and surprisingly effective role player for the Spurs in year 2 or 3. Again, he's another guy who might have had a completely different career had he gone to a different team but I think Gregg Popovich will know how to utilize him.

Toronto Raptors: B
While 8 was a little early for Terrence Ross, I think he's a great fit for Toronto and there was a definite chance that, had they moved down, they might have missed out on him. Quincy Acy adds some life to the rather reserved professionals up north but he's not THAT good offensively and won't improve their defense at all so I think they would have been better off with most of the other players that went after him. Still, it's a solid B draft and Ross should be able to step in and help the Raptors from Day 1.

Utah Jazz: C
I thought we might hear about the Jazz making a run at a lotto pick but nothing transpired and they settled on Kevin Murphy with their second round pick. He could eventually be a CJ Miles replacement, which isn't bad at the 47th pick but nothing to get too excited about.

Washington Wizards: C+
I'm not a big fan of Bradley Beal but he makes some sense for Washington. I saw only "some sense" because, while he fits their whole at SG, he was a kid who struggled a bit with shoot first teammates and he's going to be playing alongside John Wall and Trevor Ariza. If he can stay tuned in and confident, he should have a nice rookie campaign and will hopefully settle into his role behind Wall and Nene. I was considering moving the Wizards up a bit but they decided to take a Euro point guard in the second round and it seems like his best asset is that he's friends with Wizards' lotto pick Jan Vesely. Tomas Satoransky is one of those infamous Euros who makes a splash on the scene... and that's all; he peaked at his introduction. His improvement has reportedly leveled off and I'm just not sure how a team like the Wizards, who just pissed away their potential cap space on Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza, wouldn't be interested in adding a talent young player on a cheap contract, which was what was readily available at the second pick in the second round. I'm sure most experts will give them a higher grade but with the #3 pick, the Wizards got what you'd expect and nothing more.

There it is. And remember, if you want to comment or call me names, comments here are down so you have to head to Twitter or the SoulHonky Facebook page.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Alright, the NBA Draft is upon us so I've done one last draft. I didn't put as much thought into it as I did my first one but I'm pretty sure I 'm happy to go with the moves here. Once again, the mock is what I think teams SHOULD do, not necessarily what they will do.

And for posterity's sake, this would be my draft board of the top 25 picks (after that, guys like Doron Lamb, Will Barton, Darius Miller, Hollis Thompson, John Jenkins, etc. all start blending together.)

1. Anthony Davis
2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
3. Thomas Robinson
4. Harrison Barnes
5. Andre Drummond
6. Terrence Ross
7. Austin Rivers
8. Damian Lillard
9. Perry Jones
10. Terrence Jones
11. Bradley Beal
12. Dion Waiters
13. Jared Sullinger
14. Jeremy Lamb
15. Moe Harkless
16. Marquis Teague
17. Tyler Zeller
18. Meyers Leonard
19. Kendall Marshall
20: Arnett Moultrie
21. Fab Melo
22. Quincy Miller
23. John Henson
24. Royce White
25. Tony Wroten Jr

To get to the mock, keep reading.

1. New Orleans Hornets: Anthony Davis
Same feeling as last time. I don't think he's a can't miss stud. I don't think he'll be Rookie of the Year. But I also don't think you can pass him up as the #1 pick.

2. Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Again, the kid is a winner and is the kind of talent that should be able to actually fit with shoot-first point guard Kemba Walker. Also, the 2013 Draft seems chock full of PF prospects so the Bobcats can nab another big then (and it's a lock that they'll be a top 3 pick once again.)

3. Golden State Warriors (from Washington): Harrison Barnes
I'm not completely sure where I would end up after the haggling but the basic deal would be Washington's #3 pick and Andray Blatche for either Richard Jefferson or Andris Biedrins and the #7. The Wizards might have to throw in another pick or player because Blatche is THAT much of a distraction but I think both sides could easily agree on the final pieces (especially since, in this draft, I'm negotiating with myself). As for the pick, the Warriors get the small forward they coveted and now have a very intriguing inside/outside game with Barnes, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson hovering around the perimeter while David Lee and Andrew Bogut work inside.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Cleveland): Thomas Robinson
The Thunder are going to struggle to afford all four of their young players so they try to keep costs down in the future by swapping out James Harden for #4, #33, and Boobie Gibson. The Cavs are put in the unenviable position of figuring out how much to pay Harden but an Irving/Harden backcourt should be fun to watch. The Thunder surprise people by adding Robinson, who I think could give them the inside scoring presence that they've been lacking. They'll look to replace Harden's scoring in the offseason (Ray Allen?) and later in the draft at their pick or at the newly acquired #33.

5. Sacramento Kings: Andre Drummond
I had the Kings dealing this pick before the the fact of the matter is that that roster is so screwed up right now that they basically need to find a way to dump some of the more palatable contracts (like Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans) and just wait out the other bad deals. While they are waiting, big man whisperer can work with Andre Drummond who simply has to become a good defensive player in order to be a solid complement to DeMarcus Cousins. Drummond is a project and has huge bust potential but if there's a team that has time to wait on him, it's the Kings.

6. Houston Rockets (from Portland): Damian Lillard
The Rockets deal Kyle Lowry and the #16 pick for the #6 and #11. The Blazers, unlike the Kings, need to win now. LaMarcus Aldridge isn't getting any younger and the team needs to make a real push for the playoffs because right now they are settling into a middling team that will see just making the playoffs as a success. If I thought the Rockets were keeping whoever they drafted here, I'd go with Austin Rivers. But because Damian Lillard's stock is higher, the Rockets will draft him as they continue to pursue a major trade, which sounds like it won't happen until after the draft.

7. Washington Wizards (from Golden State): Terrence Ross
The Wizards move down and pick up the sweet shooting, smooth Terrence Ross. He should fit in perfectly alongside John Wall and Nene.

8. Memphis Grizzlies (from Toronto): Bradley Beal
The same deal as last time with the Grizzlies sending Rudy Gay and #25 north for Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, and the #8. The Raptors get a star player while the Grizz opt for Beal, who should fit in perfectly while Bargnani allows them more looks in the frontcourt and Calderon serves as a very nice backup and is an expiring deal which should help Memphis re-sign Mareese Speights and Darrell Arthur.

9. Detroit Pistons: Perry Jones III
There are definitely question marks about Jones but he still seems like a great complement to Greg Monroe and, let's be honest here, for all of Jones's issues, it's not like the other potential bigs here (Terrence Jones, Meyers Leonard, Tyler Zeller) don't have equally big question marks. What those guys lack, however, is Jones's ceiling and that's why the Pistons roll the dice on him.

10. New Orleans Hornets: Austin Rivers
I actually have Rivers ranked ahead of Terrence Jones, Damian Lillard, and Bradley Beal but he didn't seem like a great fit for those teams. The Hornets, however, are basically a blank slate and Rivers should work well here alongside Anthony Davis. In fact, I woudln't be stunned if Rivers was able to put up huge numbers here and steal the ROY from Davis. More likely, both guys will struggle to adjust but I think that, in the long term, the Hornets could very well see them walking out with the best forward and best guard in this draft.

11. Houston Rockets (from Portland): Dion Waiters
Honestly, I'm surprised that Waiters is this high in the draft as I think he's one of those guys who'll be miscast for years, bounces around, but then ends up shining as a sixth or seventh man on a contender. But, again, Houston amping up for a big trade and Waiters was a guy who was getting a lot of buzz. Also, the Rockets do need a shooting guard so, worst case scenario, they might be the team that actually casts Waiters right from the beginning and keeps him as a second string guard.

12. Houston Rockets: Meyers Leonard
The Rockets continue to stock assets but Leonard is a guy they might actually keep. He has his flaws but working with Kevin McHale and Hakeem Olajuwon should give him the best shot of living up to his potential.

13. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Phoenix): Jeremy Lamb
The Phoenix Suns are a great example of why you don't hold onto your franchise player when it's obvious that your time has passed. The Suns are about to lose Steve Nash and get nothing in return; meanwhile, their roster has one player (Marcin Gortat) who isn't overpaid and, oddly enough, he's also the only legit starter they have on their roster.
I finally settled on a three team deal that would be something like Thad Young and #13 going to Minnesota, Derrick Williams and a future Wolves pick going to Phoenix, and Marcin Gortat going to Philly. The Wolves use the pick to land Jeremy Lamb who'll hopefully fill the hole at shooting guard and Thad Young gives them versatility off the bench. The Sixers add a big man who I think Philly will grow to love and the Suns start their rebuild around former U. of Arizona star Williams. I'm not sure every team will go for that deal and there might need to be some tweaks with the picks but I just couldn't bring myself to send any of these rookies to Phoenix where I think their careers will wilt in the desert sun.

14. Milwaukee Bucks: Terrence Jones
The Bucks filled their C spot (for a year, at least) when they added Sam Dalembert and now they add a stretch four to help replace Ersan Ilyasova, who they might not be able to re-sign.

15. Philadelphia 76ers: Moe Harkless
The Sixers add a young energy player who should be able to replace much of what Thad Young brought to the table. Harkless is a project but with a cheap center in the fold, Philly can spend their cap space elsewhere (instead of on Spencer Hawes) and focus on seeing if they can't move Elton Brand's expiring deal and Jrue Holiday for a better PG.

16. Portland Trailblazers (from Houston): Jared Sullinger
I've always liked Sullinger on the Blazers and getting him at #16 is a helluva lot better than rolling the dice on him at #6. Yes, the team that draft Brandon Roy and Greg Oden probably should think twice about landing a guy who was flagged by the NBA doctors but I think Sullinger is worth the risk here.

17. Dallas Mavericks: Tyler Zeller
The Mavericks are in win now mode and Zeller is probably the player on this list who is best equipped to help out in the rotation from day 1. It's not a glamorous pick but it's what they need most right now.

18. Houston Rockets: Royce White
What do you get the team that's draft pretty much everything? Why not roll the dice on a troubled, flawed kid with top 10 potential. Even better, with Lillard and Waiters being scoring guards, White could (if they all end up in Houston) play the point forward role in which he excelled at Iowa St.

19. Orlando Magic: Marquis Teague
The Jameer Nelson Era is just about over in Orlando and they could use a point guard of the future. Teague isn't ready but he doesn't have to be since Nelson's still there for now.

20. Denver Nuggets: Kendall Marshall
The Nuggets may be losing Andre Miller so they add Marshall, who may be the next Miller (but will probably be closer to the next Marcus Williams.) That being said, Williams could have been a decent backup point guard if he had his head on straight. Marshall also has just enough size to play alongside Ty Lawson at times. The Nuggets have youth at most every position so they can afford to use a first rounder on a guy who projects to be a career backup.

21. Golden State Warriors (from Boston): John Henson
The Warriors see Henson falling and decide to trade the 30 and 35 for 21 and 51. Henson gives the Warriors another defensive minded big (albeit an insanely skinny one) and someone for Harrison Barnes to talk to, which should keep him away from Andray Blatche.

22. Boston Celtics: Arnett Moultrie
Moultrie rebound and can hit the open mid-range jumper which is basically what the Celtics need most out of their big men. He's also a kid that could learn a lot from playing a year with Kevin Garnett.

23. Atlanta Hawks: Andrew Nicholson
Nicholson is the kind of player who can actually hit the jumpers that Josh Smith loves to hoist up. he won't make up for Smith on the defensive end but he should give the Hawks another look in the frontcourt, which is something they need. I was almost going to put Fab Melo here but if Fab couldn't stay focused in Syracuse, NY, I'd hate to see what he's like in the ATL.

24. Cleveland Cavaliers: Quincy Miller
I don't think there's a better place for Miller than Cleveland. He'll be set-up by a top point guard, not have to shoulder the scoring load since newly arrived shooting guard James Harden will help with that, and Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson can do the heavy lifting in the paint. Again, Fab Melo might make some sense here but the Cavs can afford to swing for the fences on Miller here.

25. Toronto Raptors (from Memphis): Fab Melo
The Raptors drafted a big man in the lottery just a year ago but Melo seems like a good fit here. He and Ed Davis can focus on defending the wing while the backcourt of Gay, Jerryd Bayless, and DeMar Derozan does the scoring.

26. Indiana Pacers: Tony Wroten Jr.
Wroten has his issues and will be a project at the point but he has a high ceiling and he also might add some more intensity and toughness to a Pacers team that could use some. The Pacers might look for a shooting guard to add some bench scoring (that was lacking when Leandro Barbosa came up shooting blanks in the playoffs) but I think Wroten's potential (and the lack of a starting PG of the future in Indy) is worth a look here.

27. Miami Heat: Evan Fournier
Don't know much about this kid and I don't care much about the Heat so it's a perfect fit.

28. Oklahoma City Thunder: Doron Lamb
The Thunder can ask him what it was like to win a title this year. Lamb is a nice fit for the Thunder as he's a great shooter who can also handle the point in a pinch or, at least, handle some of the playmaking while Russell Westbrook focuses on scoring.

29. Chicago Bulls: Will Barton
The Bulls need to add a shooting guard and Barton seems like the best fit. He might not be ready this year but with Derrick Rose out for most, if not all, of the season, he'll have time to learn next year.

30. Boston Celtics: Jae Crowder
I'm sure there's someone better but I think the C's are going to try to get Crowder at their newly acquired #35 pick so I thought I'd just throw him here for now. Honestly, I wouldn't mind just grabbing him here and taking whichever shooting guard is left over at 35 since they seem pretty even. (I also like Stiemsma more than any of the big man options here.) I think Ainge grabs Crowder and immediately prepares him for a career of doing battle with LeBron James. Jeff Taylor is another option but I like Crowder's intensity. I mean, he can't be worse than Brandon Bass on LeBron, can he? (Note: In a few years, I'm sure I shake my head at this pick but I'm burnt out by the draft so I'm just going to end with with.)

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I'm still not sure why Kate Beckinsale isn't a bigger star. She's gorgeous, she's got enough chops to carry an action movie, and she showed that she could help carry a rather pedestrian franchise like Underworld. The latest trailer for "Total Recall" ups the Beckinsale quotient but also gives us a better sense of the world in which it exists; needless to say, it makes for a better trailer for the film.

And I do have to say that if not for it being a remake (and possibly starring Colin Farrell, who people just don't seem to like), I could see this being one of the more anticipated films of the year. People would call it a futuristic "Bourne Identity" (the scene in recall screams of the Bourne scene on the park bench when he realizes he can kick ass) but I think it would have a much better response than it is getting now. Which is something that studios should start to take into account; they used to remake films to get the built-in audience but now the mere fact that a film is a remake is an instant negative and a hurdle that the film has to overcome. At this point, the positives seem to be even with the negatives.

Anyway, as for "Total Recall", here's the latest (and improved) trailer. It's not a HUGE difference from the original but it's enough to make me more interested in the film.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Judging from some of the feedback I've gotten about my take on "The Newsroom", it appears that I forgot to include a key point. My issue with the show isn't that is featured a TV newsroom breaking a news story, I'm sure that happens now and then today; my problem is that is presented a "We Can Do Better" argument against modern news media and then, in showing the fictional newsroom "doing better", they put forth an impossibly perfect storm in which: a story broke right before airtime so they were the first to have it, one of the underlings was inexplicably an expert on the subject of the story, and two sources called the newsroom to deliver damning pieces of information. As I noted earlier, if running a newsroom was that easy, everyone would do it. As another blog noted, the two key pieces of evidence that "The Newsroom" got via sources with ridiculously coincidental connections to the producer were, in the real world, buried and it took a court order via the Freedom of Information Act to finally get the necessary documents.

To me, The Newsroom critique on the news media was like someone penning a scathing review of how the job that the Red Sox front office has and then, when asked how to do better, the person said, "Well, they should have traded Youk for Bryce Harper and Steve Strasberg and then move Carl Everett for Ryan Braun." (Note for the non-baseball inclined - that would the the Sox trading bad players for good. Trades that would never actually happen in the real world.)

Making matters worse, all of this was mashed up with characters and relationships that one expects from a Lifetime movie, not Aaron Sorkin.

The bottom line is that while Sorkin can look to the nightly news divisions and say, "We can do better", his audience is shaking their heads at him saying, "We know you can do better than this." But with reviews that say things go downhill from the pilot, I'm not sure Aaron Sorkin will be able to turn this thing around.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

You'd think that an American network, especially NBC, might want to work with Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson, the duo behind Homicide: Life on the Streets and Oz but apparently the duo had to go to the BBC to bring their latest show come to life. With the modern police drama being pretty much done to death, Fontana and Levinson decided to go old school. REALLY old school. Their new show "Copper" takes the cop show back to the 1800's.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

For all of the people who complain about there's nothing new in the theaters, here's a reminder that this week is when "Beasts of a Southern Wild" opens. I have yet to see the film but it's one of my most anticipated films of the year. It's been called a modern day fairy tale and is getting rave reviews, over 90 on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. It should open wider in the coming weeks. While I'm always nervous about films that get lauded at film festivals (they often disappoint), this one looks intriguing and definitely is a break from the dumb jokes and bombast of Hollywood's summer offerings.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I'm still struggling to find new music that I really like so I decided to just post up the latest from a former Tryout, Plan B. The British rapper has recently come out with a movie in the UK based on his latest album and it's getting some good reviews (although one review said it was the worst English gangster movie ever and that the rapper should look to Plan C). Still, this song has grown on me (although I'm still not a fan of the second single.)

Here's the title track from the new album.

And here's the song that really broke in UK from his last album but never really seemed to make it over here in the US. (His previous LP was a rap opera about a crooner named Strickland Banks who gets sent to jail after getting falsely accused of rape; a good listen and fun youtube adventure since there are videos for every song.)

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

After their new show from Aaron Sorkin got a 2.1 rating (or 2.7 when the encore performance was figured in) and a bunch of negative buzz, HBO has decided to put the show out there for everyone to watch. Those numbers aren't terrible; it's on par with what "Game of Thrones" premiered to, three times what the much buzzed about "Girls" opened with, but fell short of "Boardwalk Empire" which bowed to an 4+.
It's an interesting move that I'm sure they hope will help generate some positive buzz but the show just has too many issues (the 30 minutes or so between the "Network" like speech in the cold open and the first report of an oil spill isn't the kind of television that I think many people will flock to.) Which is a bit ironic - the show about a legit news program that people WOULD watch turns out to be a fictions program that most people wouldn't.

But don't take my word for it, judge for yourself.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I have to say that I wasnt expecting much from this trailer but I really liked how it took a different look at love and relationships. I like that it deals with a relationship that works but isn't enough or doesn't seem to be, at the time. It's nice to see a rom-com that doesn't take such a simple look at relationships.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

The problem with "The Newsroom", Aaron Sorkin's new show is that it doesn't acknowledge that "the newsroom", the home of breaking news, is no longer a standard nightly news studio. Today's newsroom is often found on the web and, if it is found in a TV studio, the news doesn't wait for 6pm to get reported . Nightly news, which runs at around 6 or 7pm, can't contend nowadays because, unlike what happened in the pilot of "The Newsroom", by the time their air time rolls around, the major stories have usually already been broken and discussed thoroughly. (On a side note, the 10pm slot at a cable news network not only isn't a great step up, it doesn't exist on most cable news networks; From the very start, it's hard to tell if The Newsroom is based at a network or a cable news channel)
A perfect example of how nightly news reports struggle to maintain relevancy is the big event of "The Newsroom" pilot, the explosion/oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. In the show, the accident happens minutes before the nightly news airs. In reality, the explosion occurred at 10:45pm EST. By the time the lead character Will McAvoy and his news team would have gotten a shot at it, it would have already been covered by the other channels, other shows on its own channel, and websites for over 18 hours. And THAT is the major hurdle that network news teams face in modern times.

The trouble with nightly news shows nowadays isn't that they don't know what stories to cover or how to break a story, it's that they still don't know what to do when a story has already broken. You can't really blame nightly news broadcasts for not being like they used to be because times have changed and there are literally thousands of news outlets and people don't have to wait around for the nightly news to see the first videos or reports on a story. This isn't to take all of the blame off of the modern news reporters. Things have undoubtedly gotten worse with channels like MSNBC throwing up the white flag and saying that they aren't about breaking news but rather are just about people talking about the news (and those people are usually "personalities" and not experts) but if what Sorkin wants to attack is the failure of the next wave of investigative reporters, his Newsroom would probably have been better suited based around people running sites like ProPublica or Politico or ThinkProgress and the lives of freelance reporters, trying to balance investigative reporting with staying afloat financially. Or at least be on a news magazine show like 60 Minutes or Edward R. Murrow's "See It Now", which were always more focused on in depth reporting than the nightly news ever were.
It'll be interesting to see how Sorkin tackles these issue in the future but, in the pilot, it lobbed a softball down the middle for the heroes to take a crack at. The great story fell into their lap, much like the Vietnamese dancer from Sam Waterston's character's story. Sources literally called them to report what they knew. Dev Patel's character was inexplicably an expert on oil rigs. If investigative reporting was THAT easy, everyone would do it. But what will happen when the sources don't call the Newsroom team up to break the story or when the story has been discussed over and over before they get a shot at it? Maybe Sorkin will tackle this but his dislike of the internet makes me think that we won't get that. Somewhat ironically, I could see the show being more of a love letter to days past than a hard hitting look at the problems of modern journalism. I hope I'm wrong.

As for the show itself, the first thing that jumped out a me was the direction. The first half felt like a preachy play; as if Sorkin was so focused on breaking from the walk-and-talk format that he and his usual director Tommy Schlamme (who did not direct this pilot) had become famous for that he made every scene play stagnant. But after the first half that seemed like it was directed by Kevin Smith, the second half had some Michael Bay elements to it. I get trying to switch things up to show the change in tone and momentum but it was a little much. On his twitter, Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield, Terriers, Chicago Code) also noted that the editing, "Slavishly cutting to characters right before their line is not good match w/Sorkin Speak" I think some of that might also have to do with the staging but it definitely was jarring at times.

Beyond that, things started getting better once the adrenaline of a breaking story came in but Sorkin was astonishingly ham-fisted when it came to the show's love triangle. Besides the fact that the show's action came to a standstill whenever the relationship came up (again, making it feel more like a play than a TV show), the current producer/current boyfriend of Allison Pill's character came off as a clear jerk while the new producer/potential love interest we're supposed to root for only liked Meghan because his boss told him to. No, really. That whole storyline just fell flat. Also, the slapstick moments weren't done nearly as well in this. Both pratfalls were poorly covered and didn't land with nearly as much comedic force as Allison Janney's fall in the opening of The West Wing (granted, Allison Janney is also a gifted comedic actor but still...)

Speaking of The West Wing, that show did an amazing job introducing the main characters before the opening credits ever rolled, The Newsroom hasn't really established them after the first episode. Still, as a fan of Sorkin, I'll keep watching but I have to say that if you gave someone who didn't know his work his four pilots, I think they'd guess that this one was his first attempt at TV.

I'm hoping for more from The Newsroom but with early reports being that this first episode is the best of the first four, I am lowering my expectations and thinking that this will probably be another Studio 60 rather than the next West Wing.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

The trailer for the new Judge Dredd remake is out and I have to say that it looks ridiculous. First off, it's basically a futuristic, sci-fi version of The Raid: Redemption, although I highly doubt that the fight sequences are NEARLY as good as the ones in The Raid. The biggest problem for me is that every grimace Karl Urban makes and every line he says is ridiculous. Unless someone keeps farting in the movie, I'm not sure why he's making that face and his voice is basically Christian Bale's Batman minus a level of gravel.
Sadly, it also seems like Rihanna and Brooklyn Decker were signs of the future rather than exceptions as the latest inexplicably cast female in an action film is Olivia Thirlby. At least give her a tougher hair-do. She in body armor, covered in grit, and has a wavy Pantene commercial quality coif. Making matters worse is the fact that the Judge Dredd helmet just looks stupid in real life. There's no way to not look like a shitty Star Trek villain in that thing.

All in all, while I may have been disappointed by the Taken 2 trailer, I'm slightly amused by this trailer but completely disinterested in seeing the film.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I was a big fan of Taken but I think one of the main reasons was because I wasn't expecting much. Taken 2 (thanks to Reader #3 for sending me the link to the trailer) won't have the luxury of low expectations although this trailer kind of did a good job diminishing mine since it looks like the epitome of More of the Same. If you're an action junkie, I can see being psyched for this but since I'm not, this looks like it could be disappointing. Granted, I'm not sure why I should have expected anything else from Taken 2 but I just can't see it really elevating itself from the original. It reminds me a bit of "The Bourne Ultimatum" in that way; I appreciated it for what it was but what it was was basically a two hour chase scene with not much new and it kind of dragged for me.

Anyway, here's the international trailer for Taken 2.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Ernie Grunfeld inexplicably kept his job as general manager of the Washington Wizards this offseason and pretty much everyone knew that that wouldn't end well. And the End of the End has kicked in with Grunfeld making the mind boggling trade of Rashard Lewis and the #46 pick in the draft for Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza.

John Hollinger over at ESPN basically said most of what I felt - Rashard's partially guaranteed contract was a pretty nice trade chip and instead of improving the team, Grunfeld acquired a problematic small forward in Ariza, who doesn't exactly help change the culture of losing, and a backup center in Okafor. (If Grunfeld somehow spins Nene for a legit player, this deal might start making some sense.) He gets rid of the salary cap flexibility that the team had and really had no reason to rush this deal since no other teams were taking Ariza and Okafor's contracts and it's not like a mid-second round pick would make-or-break the deal.

But one of the hidden problems with the deal, one that I'm sure most NBA writers won't agree with me on, is that it looks like this means that the Wiz will now draft Bradley Beal if he's available at #3. Besides the fact that I'm not particularly fond of Beal, I don't think it makes a ton of sense as Beal struggled playing alongside high usage, shoot first point guards in Florida and that's what he'll be dealing with in Washington alongside John Wall. A Wall, Beal, Ariza, Seraphin/Vesely, Nene/Okafor lineup just doesn't impress me that much but it is probably good enough to win 30 games and move to the mid-lotto rather than get another chance at a top pick. (And I don't think the "the fans want a winner" excuses for the trade make sense; Washingtonians aren't going to care for a 30 win team any more than a 20 win team and I think they may rally around the youngsters more than the vets Grunfeld has acquired.)

And possibly the worst part about this is that it's another case of the Western Conference heading in the right direction while the Eastern Conference gets mired in mediocrity. The Hornets got back nothing and won the deal and gave themselves a lot of flexibility for moves this offseason and next.

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Not quite sure about this one but I like the vintage 80's look and feel to it. I can't imagine that I would drag myself to it because I'm kind of willing to bet that it's a bit of a slog (and more homage than bringing anything new to the table) but it's an interesting enough trailer.

Posted by SoulHonky at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Here's the latest clip from Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master". I have to say, I still hate the oversaturation that is going on with films, constant new trailers and clips, but damned if I can't stop watching them. This might be my last one with "The Master" though since I know I want to see it and want to see as little of the film as I can before I head into the theaters.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Well, another week of no new music so here are some songs that I don't think I've ever put out as Tryouts. Sometimes it was because the song was the only thing from the artist that I liked; sometimes the band just slipped through the cracks. So here are some 2010 songs that I'm just getting around to featuring.

First up is "Hot Spawl" by Man/Miracle. This is a solid band who I first encountered in 2010 but I didn't think their other songs matched this single, although they weren't that bad.

Next is "Jaws" by Macnaught. Another catchy ditty that just doesn't seem to have enough to set itself apart from the myriad singer/songwriter ditties out there. Still, it's pretty good.

The Salvadors kind of seem like another band that got lost in the wake of Vampire Weekend. This single seems like an outtake from the Clash, one of their closer to ska-type songs.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

This is one of the funnier things I've seen from late night TV in a while.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

The trailer for the new arts and crafts battle movie, this time focusing on acapella groups instead of dane troupes, "Pitch Perfect" is out now and it proves two things. Hollywood will run a genre into the ground before they realize that it's not the genre alone that makes people see the films and it's hard for actresses out there when someone like Anna Kendrick has to star in what looks like a ABC Family TV movie to get a lead role.

But perhaps my favorite part of the trailer was when Kendrick's character, after complaining that all of the songs her group sings are from last century, shows how down she is by breaking into... No Diggity by Blackstreet, a song that's almost 20 years old and was, you know, from last century.

I will admit that there are some funny bits in here but I'm hoping that the Glee/Stomp the Yard/Step Up mashups are over.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

One of the few redeeming qualities of "Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist" was Ari Graynor and I thought she might have a chance to breakout but, while she's worked somewhat steadily, she hasn't had to role that really pushes her into the spotlight. I doubt this movie will be big enough to get her there but the RED BAND trailer isn't too bad and is the right kind of vulgar, in my opinion, because the vulgarity is purposeful and not just some random improv to fill out an underwritten scene (Yes, I'm looking at you "The Watch".)

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Late last night I made the mistake of checking in on the Okayplayer message board thread on Prometheus. And perhaps the most frustrating part of the discussion of the film (there and most other places online) is how people just admit and dismiss the fact that the film was flawed storywise and the characters often acted in ways that made little sense. To me, it felt like Ridley Scott had a strict outline for Damon Lindlof to follow and Lindleof tried to work the stories and characters around it and, whenever an issue arose, he did what was needed for the bigger theme rather than stay true to the the story or characters.

But I'd argue that the biggest issue with the movie is that the wrong person was the hero.

I think the key to rewriting Prometheus would start with Charlize Theron's Meredith Vickers. Her character has the most interesting backstory and seems like she's best suited to have a legit arc/journey but she ends up being used as nothing but a rather weak foil for the movie's hero, Elizabeth Shaw.
What we know of Vickers is that she has issues with her father, wanting him to just die so she won't be just an empty suit at the head of the boardroom table. But those feelings probably stem from the fact that she was never good enough for him; he wanted a son so badly that he actually went out and built himself one (which could have been turned into a great sci-fi sibling rivalry but was basically little more than those two not liking one another and Vickers deciding to prove her humanity by sleeping with a man... which is kind of problematic on the feminist front.) She's also a non-believer and could be given the arc that she eventually sees the light and understands that there's so much more going on in the world than what she understands/has focused on.
There's so much to mine there but nothing really comes from it and, instead, we're supposed to focus on Shaw, who has a backstory that doesn't seem to actually matter. As Alyssa Rosenberg over at Think Progress pointed out, the issues of her wanting to be a mother really play no role since as soon as she finds out she's pregnant, she immediately (and understandably) wants the fetus out of her. If you cut out every mention of Shaw's backstory, nothing in the movie changes. That's a problem. (An even bigger problem is that, after discovering the hieroglyph at the start of the film, Shaw doesn't actually do anything. At no point in the film is her expertise needed. She's an almost completely passive "hero". She barely even registers as a threat to the antagonists. After she's impregnated with the alien, she runs off and apparently nobody chases her to stop her from cutting it out and when she reappears in Weyland's room, people barely bat an eyelash and nobody, not even David, wonders, "Hey, what about that alien being that you used to have in your belly? Should we check on it?" And Shaw doesn't seem to make a big deal of it either. I'm sorry but it's bizarre when the biggest moment of the movie to that point is treated like an afterthought.)
And in terms of her arc, Shaw has more of a 360 as she thinks we were invited to the faraway moon, then thinks we never should have come, but finally thinks they have to go FURTHER to find out the truth. I'm not sure why she makes that last leap because, if the Engineers are as quick to destroy people as the one they discovered in the pod, she's not going to talk to them for very long before they crush her and she will probably just serve as a reminder to the Engineers that they sent some of their cronies to a moon a few thousand years ago to make weapons and they haven't heard back from them. She'll probably just remind them to finish the job they've inexplicably left undone.

So, in fixing up the script's story and characters, the first thing I'd do is decide the fate of Vickers. Either she should become the hero or her character should be dissolved and all of the interesting backstory elements, including her being Weyland's daughter, should be given to Shaw. It's far more interesting to have Shaw be drawn to the history of man because of her father's love for an android son than it is a random flashback of her and her father in the jungle (and then an equally jarring moment of David bringing up that the dad died of ebola.) I mean, if those elements are at all important (and they seem to just be there to build the cross into the movie), just give them to the mother, who is completely absent in the film.
The bottom line is that by eliminating Vickers and giving Shaw her connection to Weyland, we could improve the hero's journey, give some depth to our hero (who, as the film is currently structured, we basically only root for because she's the only main character who isn't a jackass), and improve the driving force for all of our characters.
And that's the second key issue with Prometheus

Make the Others Matter
Once we fix the hero problem, the rest of the characters need to be addressed. Right now, they mostly exist just to fill their role. Janek is there to crash the ship. Charlie is there to get poisoned. None of the side characters have a journey or an arc of their own.
But if we do decide to give Vickers's backstory and connection to Weyland to Shaw, then her character can be deleted and all of her other key moments (of which there are really only two) can be given to Idris Elba's Captain Janek. This would start the necessary re-write of that character as someone who was about: protecting himself and his ship first, following his employer's orders second, and caring about everyone else never. Janek, as more of a hard nosed, save myself type of leader, would have shown his allegiance via his flamethrowing Charlie and not wanting to open the hatch. I would also add a story of him going into private mercenary work instead of military because he abandoned some troops or something (Fashion a moment much like the scene in Jaws when we learn that captain's backstory and motivation.) This would have made his arc better and boosted the moment when he decides to sacrifice himself and take the alien ship down.
As it is now, Janek's just kind of a loosey-goosey asshole who likes fucking with people... but then states he's not SO into fucking with people that he wants to bring the alien shit back to Earth and wipe out the population so it's not a huge decision for him when kamikazees into the alien ship. (Also, we might have to add a note that Janek lives on a terraformed planet and not Earth so he'd have somewhere to run and the threat to Earth wasn't necessarily a threat to him and his family's home.)

While I think the Captain's issues can be fixed by adding him as the antagonist in a couple of scenes and maybe adding one or two more scenes focusing on him, the issues with Milburn and Fifield are laughably huge. Literally nothing about these guys seems to make sense. The tattooed geologist Milburn is in charge of the mapping and he gets lost. Milburn's dialogue consists almost completely of his saying that he doesn't want to be friends and wants to be left alone but he inexplicably stands around and waits while his non-friend plays with an alien snake. Which, of course, is the biggest problem with that scene - after seeing a hologram of the huge Engineers running for their lives and then finding actual Engineers piled up, dead, a frightened Fifield and Milburn decide to run... only to later bump into a living being, the only living being that they know of and what you'd assume probably killed all the Engineers, and cowardly Fifield suddenly thinks he can snakecharm it into being friendly. And, again, Milburn decides to stay around to watch when we've already see him flee for the mere hint of a threat, nevermind an actual alien being. Nothing these guys did made sense and either their characters need to be reengineered to fit their demise or their run-in with the snake should be rewritten. Personally, I'd make it that they were victims of David's experimenting so we can bring in the element that the crew is actually just guinea pigs for David as he tries to find Weyland's, which leads to the next problem...

Make Revelations Matter
"Prometheus" included two of the weakest revelations I've seen in a very long time. The first, that Weyland was actually on board, was hinted at strongly and then came about and... well... there he was. It kind of exposed an ulterior motive like Reiser's character in Aliens although the pregnancy scene in which nobody follows Shaw or tries to stop her from aborting the monster fetus ups the gross factor to make up for the lack of tension it had when compared to Reiser locking Ripley and Newt in the room with the facesucker in Aliens. I know it's very Lindleof to make these moments somewhat vague, which is fine, but if you're going to do that, you might as well eliminate the revelation and let it be known that Weyland is on board from the beginning because there are few things less cinematic than a vague revelation.
The second weak revelation was that Vickers was Weyland's daughter. It was pretty pointless and adds nothing to the film. However, if we dump Vickers and play Shaw as daughter, the revelation and Weyland's being on the ship are given some heft. Charlie can feel duped that his lover was lying to him. The other scientists can start to question why they were brought out here - for a great discovery or just to save the father. Shaw's motives can be questioned. David's poisoning of Charlie can be more devious and serve another purpose for him as he's also going to potentially kill his "sister". Having Shaw be Weyland's daughter would heighten every element of the film and make the father-daughter connection an actual plot point as opposed to a fairly random character moment.

And finally....

What's the Question? In his discussion on i09.com, Lindleof mentioned:

"The movie asks the question, were we created by these beings? And it answers that question very definitively. But in the wake of that answer there's a new question, which is, they created us but now they want to destroy us, why did they change their minds? That's the question that Shaw is asking at the end of this movie, the one that she wants answered."

Given these changes, I think Prometheus could have been a great movie. As it stands, it's just a bunch of questions about the meaning of life and where we came from based around the world from an old science-fiction franchise. In other words, it's basically a new form of Scientology and I'm just not going to find much interest in discussing or thinking about how some made up Engineers might have affected the meaning of my existence. If I was interested in that, I'd skip the movies and go to Church.

And the usual note: Comments aren't working so either e-mail me at admin@soulhonky.com or go to the SoulHonky.com Facebook page or Twitter if you've got something to say.

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

The main problem with "Prometheus" is that it's a supposedly thought provoking movie that doesn't hold up to any scrutiny. While the film tries to put forward some questions about where we came from, the script is so weak and the characters and their actions so haphazard that the more you think about the questions, the worse the film gets.

And it's a shame because the film looks amazing and the actors all do a solid job (save for maybe Idris Elba's awkward attempt at some sort of southern accent.) However, despite their efforts, none of the character's besides Michael Fassbender's David are all that memorable. Even worse, their actions and decision making seem haphazard at best. Beyond that, this film had one of the most misused scores I've heard in some time. During tense scenes, the music that would start building seemed more like a John Williams triumphant cue and one time I swore I heard the Star Trek theme.

But even that wouldn't have minded if the script by Damon Lindleof was halfway decent but the film played like someone shot a rough outline rather than a fully fleshed out script. The high minded "Where did we come from?" discussion ends up serving little more than a reason to get the crew in harm's way. The action scenes are mostly laughable, either because characters act completely out of character to get themselves in trouble or because the film uses some of the worst action movie cliches to enable someone's safety. There's just nothing to hold onto. Nothing to care about. The film asks "Where did we come from?" and Idris Elba's character answers it in the film with, "I don't care." as if he was speaking for the audience.

Even though the film looks pretty amazing (although I didn't think 3D added much), I wouldn't recommend it. If you found "Knowing" to be insightful or were a fan of Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" than you may disagree with my take and find the movie worthwhile (although still very flawed) but I think most people will not enjoy the film and will be completely disappointed if they compare it to the first two Alien films.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Two new intriguing trailers dropped this week. The first is for "360", the new movie from the director of City of God and The Constant Gardner. This film is an anthology type movies with the lives of many people intersecting at different points of their life journeys. As with most films like this, it makes for a solid trailer but it's pretty much impossible to get a read on how good the film is.

The second trailer is for the animated flick "Wreck-it Ralph" and it's about a Donkey Kong/Rampage type video game villain who has had enough of being the bad guy and breaks out of his game to take on a role that people root for. It's a cool idea and seems like it could be much better as a short (the moment with John C. Reilly's Ralph and Sarah Silverman's little girl didn't win me over at all) but it looks promising nonetheless. (Although, since I still haven't seen an animated movie in the theaters since i was a little kid, this will probably be a rental.)

Posted by SoulHonky at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

OK, so I've somewhat finished my draft for my zombie apocalypse sit-com "Worst. Apocalypse. Ever" so now is your chance to hate on the Honky as much as I've hated on some other shows. The script is pretty juvenile with poop and boner jokes but I think it's a decent enough start. Right now, I'm thinking the tagline for the show might be, "The World Ends. Hijinks Ensue." It's not something that I'd really like to lead with in terms of sending my stuff out there so I still want/need to finish up my superhero pilot idea but I was thinking that I'd use "W.A.E." to try out Amazon Studios, Amazon's new production arm that is now trying to make some series that it will sell exclusively on Amazon. I'd expect that Amazon would probably want to dial down on some of the racial/sexuality jokes but I kind of want to have an unabashedly unPC character (and have some of the more supposedly liberal characters not always seem as open minded as they like to make themselves out to be.) Plus, I think the jokes are pretty silly and inoffensive; not as much pushing the envelope as much as just making fun of old stereotypes.

Usually, posting a script like this online would be a terrible idea but since only about 15 people look at this site, I think I'll be safe. I've been working on ideas for later episodes of W.A.E. so once I finish the superhero pilot, I might try to quickly churn out some more eps of this.

To download the PDF of the script, CLICK HERE.

On, and once again, comments aren't working on the site so if you have any feedback or shit to talk, you can post it on the SoulHonky facebook page, Twitter page, or just reach out at admin@soulhonky.com

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

As noted in this post over the weekend, this mock draft happens after a whirlwind of trades. Dwight Howard and #19 head to Washington for John Wall, #3, Jan Vesely, and Nene. #7 heads to Sacramento for Tyreke Evans in a three way deal that also sends Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu to Golden State for Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins. The Kings then turn around and ship #5 and #7 to Houston for Kyle Lowry, #14, and #16. Elsewhere, Toronto ships out the #8, Andrea Bargnani, and Jose Calderon for Rudy Gay and the #25 pick.

And the fun is only beginning. Here's the breakdown of the draft and continue reading to get the full breakdown of who went where and why. (Note: In the past, my mocks have been an odd mix of what I think could happen and what I think should happen. This year, I'm ignoring the rumors and what not and not even trying to predict what GMs might do; I'm just saying what I think they should do or what I would do in their shoes.)

1. New Orleans: Anthony Davis
As I noted in my earlier mock draft, I think Davis will be very good but he won't be as great as people are making him out to be and he will probably struggle keeping up with NBA power forwards in his rookie season. Still, he's the no brainer #1 pick and should hold down the PF spot for at least the next decade in New Orleans.

2. Charlotte: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
This is a tough call for Charlotte but I'm going to stick with my earlier thought that the Bobcats are going to be bad next year and the top of that draft seems to be filled with bigs so they'll fill the small forward spot this year with Kidd-Gilchrist.

3. Orlando (from Wizards): Thomas Robinson
Power forward isn't a position of need for the Magic as they have Big Baby Davis and will look to re-sign Ryan Anderson but Anderson proved in the playoffs that a lot of what he did was premised on Dwight Howard's ability and Big Baby is, well, a big baby. After the draft, the Magic should look to swap out Baby to New Jersey, Toronto, or Portland but for now, they'll take the best player available.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Harrison Barnes
Barnes has his flaws but he also has his upside and I think running with Kyrie Irving will help him come close to reaching his potential. I still see him as a Marvin Williams type who will flash moments but never be more than a fourth or fifth starter but he'll be a welcome addition to the already promising core of Irving and Tristan Thompson.

5. Houston Rockets (from Sacramento): Andre Drummond
This is the kind of pick that gets GMs fired. Andre Drummond is a man-child but he also doesn't seem to be actually all that great or care that much about basketball. Still, if Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has learned one thing so far, it's that the NBA is a superstar league. He's done a decent job collecting assets and rotating talent but his team is still on the outside looking in. Drummond is a kid who could potentially be a difference maker. And with Kevin McHale as his coach and Hakeem Olajuwon available as a mentor, this is one of the few places that could turn Drummond into a player (or at least make him seem promising enough to boost his trade value.) The Rockets still have assets to go after guys like Pau Gasol or Al Jefferson so they might as well roll the dice on the biggest and riskiest prize in this year's draft.

6. Portland: Jared Sullinger
As I've noted before, there's just something about Sullinger in a Blazers uniform and teaming with LaMarcus Aldridge that seems right. The Blazers may look to move their picks but, this time around, I'm going to have them restock their roster with youth.

7. Rockets (from Golden State via Sacramento): Terrence Ross
This pick will surprise a lot of people since they have Ross ranked behind a few other shooting guards but I like how Ross fits with the Rox current personnel and mostly, I think he's just a solid player and is the least likely out of the shooting guards to be a complete bust. Most people would have Bradley Beal here but I can't shake the Randy Foye-esque feeling that I get from him.

8. Memphis (From Toronto): Perry Jones
Perry Jones certainly has his issues but the kid can play and if ever there was an island of misfit toys that came together well, it's Memphis. Jones will get his wish to play the SF spot but should also serve to give the Grizzlies a number of different frontcourt looks with Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, the newly acquired Bargnani, and perhaps the restricted free agents Darrell Arthur and Mareese Speights. In fact, I wouldn't be completely stunned if the Grizz went for a full revamp and made Z-Bo available in trades after the draft.

9. Detroit: Terrence Jones
After Terrence Ross and Perry Jones, it just makes sense for Terrence Jones to go next, right? The third Kentucky player to go in the top ten, Jones should fit very nicely alongside Greg Monroe in the Pistons frontcourt. He is a skilled, mercurial kid who should pan out to be like later career Lamar Odom (he's not as good as vintage Lamar Odom).

10. New Orleans: Austin Rivers
The Hornets might try to play Rivers at the point some his rookie season but I think he's going to be a Monta Ellis type guard. I know that many people would take that as a reason NOT to draft Rivers but I like Ellis and, of equal importance, Warriors fans mostly LOVED him because he was fun to watch. I think Rivers could bring that same sort of excitement. After the draft, the Hornets have to figure out what to Eric Gordon. I think they have to figure out a sign-and-trade for him because a) I think he's going to get overpaid and b) he pretty clearly has little-to-no interest in staying in New Orleans. I don't think you want an unhappy guy around your new core so I'd look to move him. I'd prefer to go young but if Indiana does offer the rumored Granger for Gordon swap, I'd do it.

11. Portland: Bradley Beal
After here is where the prospects take a slight dip. There is still a lot of talent left and I'd bet that a handful of the guys taken after 11 are better than some of the top eleven prospects but at this point, the only real question for Portland is whether to take Beal or Lamb. I think Lamb could pan out to be a Mike Miller-type but his motor seems questionable so the Blazers go with the higher energy guy and the guard who could, in a pinch, play some minutes at the point.

12. Milwaukee: Tyler Zeller
A while back I did a study and found that late lotto big men are usually a swing and a miss and/or worse than bigs taken in the 20's (The exception at the time were high schoolers like Al Jefferson and Andrew Bynum.) I still stand by that but Zeller just makes too much sense for the Bucks, who opened a big hole in the middle of their lineup when they dealt Andrew Bogut. Zeller's obviously no Bogut but he, Ekpe Udoh and Larry Sanders should be able to fill the center spot (although I think, in the long run, he's more of a backup than a starter.)

13. Phoenix: Jeremy Lamb
Damian Lillard is an option here but if the Suns want to keep Steve Nash, they have to add some talent to this roster and Jeremy Lamb strikes me as a Mike Miller-type who could look great alongside Nash.

14. Sacramento (From Houston): John Henson
Honestly, I think Meyers Leonard and Arnett Moultrie might be better talents but the Kings desperately need some high character guys and that is where Leonard and Moultrie reportedly struggle. Henson is a hell of a talent but he's also a string bean who is probably going to get the crap beat out of him until he can add some muscle. Thankfully, the Kings already have a bunch of bigs who can hold down the fort while Henson bulks up. If he can, Henson's defense could prove to be a very nice complement to DeMarcus Cousins.

15. Philadelphia 76ers: Meyers Leonard
Spencer Hawes is a free agent and didn't look all that great in the playoffs so the Sixers will invest this pick in the raw but athletic and talented Leonard.

16. Sacramento Kings (From Houston): Quincy Miller
Quincy Miller was a freshman playing alongside a guy who duplicated his skills in Perry Jones AND was coming off of an ACL injury and he still managed to show some real flashes. People wonder if he can "get it together" as if coming off injury, being a freshman, and being on a mismatched roster was his fault. Miller could be this year's Paul George and I think he'll be a perfect fit at the SF spot in Sacramento's lineup.

17. Dallas: Kendall Marshall
The Mavs need a new point guard and the decision here is between the passing Kendall Marshall or the scoring Damian Lillard. Again, having not seen Lillard knocked him down but, moreso, the Mavs have a lineup that needs a distributor at the point more than a scorer.

18. Portland (from Minnesota): Damian Lillard
Rather than roll the dice on another draft pick, the Wolves swap Brad Miller and the #18 pick to Portland for Wes Matthews, who should be able to step in and take over the Wolves' shooting guard spot. The Blazers, meanwhile, finish building their stating lineup of the future with Lillard. They still will likely go after a veteran point guard in free agency but Lillard should offer some scoring off the bench and, hopefully, be able to work his way into the starting spot in the near future.

19: Wizards: Arnett Moultrie
Moultire is another guy that I haven't seen a lot of but he sounds like a Jason Thompson type, which is a perfect fit alongside Dwight Howard in the revamped Wizards' roster.

20. Nuggets: Dion Waiters
Waiters is the next in a long line of enigmas that will be taken in the second half of the draft. Some people have him going in the top 8 right now but I just don't see it. Scouts that love him compare him to Tyreke Evans but Evans failed a point guard, doesn't fit at the two but is luckily big enough to handle the SF spot; Waiters pretty much has to play shooting guard. In the end, I think he could carve out a niche in the pros that was like his role in college (scorer off the bench) and I could see him as a kind of JJ Barea type player, which would make him a nice fit in the Nuggets backcourt.

21. Boston Celtics: Moe Harkless
Harkless may be the wildest of wild cards. He was a surprisingly good freshman despite playing on a so-so team and being stuck out of position. But he's a great athlete and has a good motor so I think that, if he just works on his three point range, he could pan out to be, at least, a replacement for Mickeal Pietrus. Doc Rivers doesn't play rookie much anyway so it makes sense to grab a guy who can really benefit from a year's worth of coaching and practice time against Paul Pierce.

22. Boston Celtics: Royce White The toughest things with Royce White seem to be his position and his fear of flying. Position-wise, he's an undersized power forward but I could see some teams trying to make him a small forward and I'm not sure that's going to work. The fear of flying is part of an anxiety order and, well, if he can't get over that then there's a real issue there. But I think he's a nice fit for the Celtics because they might lose Brandon Bass this offseason and he could be a decent replacement. Even better, White is known as a strong rebounder and that is something the Celtics desperately need.

23. Atlanta Hawks: Fab Melo
With Josh Smith wanting out and Al Horford wanting to play power forward, it only makes sense that the Hawks look to add a defensive presence in the middle. I was kind of hoping that he could fall a spot and be teamed with fellow Brazilian Anderson Varejao but I just can't see the Hawks passing on him here.

24. Cleveland Cavaliers: Festus Ezeli
If I had to guess, just by going off names, who would be a bust, it would probably be the guy named Festus Ezeli. But since there's more to players than their names and because Ezeli is a legit center who could team with Tristan Thompson to form one hell of a defensive minded frontcourt, I pencil him in here for now.

25. Toronto Raptors: Marquis Teague
With Jerryd Bayless being a restricted free agent and Jose Calderon shipped off to Memphis for Rudy Gay, the Raptors have a hole at the PG spot. Obviously, they'd love to bring Canadien Steve Nash back north but it just makes sense to add Teague, a guy with a ton of upside although I think he'll probably level off to be like his brother Jeff, an average starting point guard.

27. Miami Heat: Kyle O'Quinn
: He can't be worse than Eddy Curry. The Heat desperately need to improve their center spot and O'Quinn seems to be the best option at this point. Jeff Taylor is an option but I think that any small forward they pick has to also be able to handle playing the small ball PF spot (since LeBron finds it too taxing) and I don't think Taylor fits the bill there. Draymond Green is an option but I think the Heat would rather roll the dice on the big man.

30. Warriors: Andrew NIcholson
The Warriors decide to add a backup power forward with this last pick. Nicholson could pan out to be a decent perimeter based PF but part of me feels like he's too short and lack the athleticism to make it. The only reason he's not a 'tweener is because he's obviously incapable of handling the small forward spot. Still, he's worth a look here.

(Note: If comments aren't working, which I don't think they are, you can always comment on Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail me @ admin@soulhonky.com

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Here's the first trailer for Quentin Tarantino's latest Django Unchained. The kung fu zoom in and some of the lines make this seem oddly campy, but I guess I should expect b-movie flair from Tarantino at this point. I'm still interested in this one but not overly excited about it. (Although, keep in mind, that I hated "Death Proof" and was underwhelmed by "Inglorious Basterds".)

And here's the trailer for Robert Zemeckis's new movie Flight. I love seeing Denzel and Don Cheadle back together again. If you haven't seen it, you definitely have to check out their first pairing in "Devil in a Blue Dress." This trailer looks pretty great although I have to say that pretty much any trailer with "Gimme Shelter" as the soundtrack is probably going to look pretty great. Definitely interested in checking this one out.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

There's something about the simplicity of this song that I kind of love. I think it would be great for a kind of "C'mon man" high octane blooper reel.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

This is pretty great.

Posted by SoulHonky at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Here's the interesting new song from Fiona Apple's long awaited third album. I call it interesting (a word I admittedly use too much) because I'm not sure what I think of it. I definitely admire the sound but it's not exactly catchy.

Here are the two other songs that have leaked from the album. Every Single Night is pretty good with a chorus that I expect will appear on countless hip hop mixtapes as a sample. The other song, Werewolf, wasn't embeddable but it's over here. It's another sort of floater that isn't bad but isn't necessarily something I think I'd seek out.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Here's the premiere episode of Ken Marino's web show "Burning Love", a spoof of the Bachelor and other dating shows. I like the premise but this first episode is pretty slow and I think they probably could have skipped it and started with a faster paced "Previously On" to intro the girls. Also, I was disappointed that we didn't hear any of the reality staple interview bites like, "I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to win!" Oh well.

Posted by SoulHonky at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Early reports are that Clippers general manager Neil Olshey is going to fly the coup and head up to Portland. And while some people are complaining that this is another example of the Clippers being the Clippers, I can't disagree with them that Olshey isn't worth a big pay raise. He inherited a team with Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and the Wolves draft pick. The biggest move he made, trading for CP3, was a deal that he almost let slip through his fingers. Swapping this year's draft pick for Eric Bledsoe was a nice enough move but his drafting hasn't been great, his signings (Caron Butler, DeAndre Jordan) have been a bit suspect, and it's still somewhat amazing how little crap he gets for not getting some lotto protection on the Baron Davis/Mo Williams deal that eventually cost the Clippers Kyrie Irving. Oh, and he hired Vinny Del Negro which, in my opinion, is one of the main things holding the Clippers back right now.

I partly understand why Portland is going after him since they have a team in a similar situation (talented young PF, highly touted young swingman, two top picks) but it is a lot different making a deal for a guy who you think you can convince to re-sign in Los Angeles than it is to recruit people to live in the Portland. I'm not going to bash the guy because, bottom line, he got the first part of the job done in Los Angeles but his hiring shouldn't make Blazers fans any less leery about this upcoming offseason.

Posted by SoulHonky at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

I couldn't find one Tryout that I liked this week so I decided to throw three different bands out there for you.

While talking to my friend Clay, he made a great observation about how he listened to mostly older music now because the new bands are aping bands from when we grew up so why not just listen to the original material rather than these knock-offs. One of the bands that is a good example of this is the up-and-coming Disappears.

I discovered those guys while looking for music from Lotus Plaza, who Clay had recommended. Apparently Disappears was on tour with this band, started by the lead guitarist of Deerhunter (On a related note, I noted to Clay that one of the hardest parts of listening to indie music nowadays is the explosion of side projects.)

And then there's what will probably be the high school house party song of the summer, Raft Nasty by Diarrhea Planet. This song just seems destined to appear in a high school TV show or flick some time soon.

Posted by SoulHonky at 02:37 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

When making up my NBA mock drafts, I always like to conjure up some crazy trades. More often than not though, the NBA draft is fairly empty in terms of wheelin' and dealin'. I've always thought the lack of movement was odd since the draft was the best time for teams to try to reset their rosters or add missing pieces but it seems that, more often than not, teams are either holding out for that one big deal or hoping they could maybe land someone on the cheap in free agency.

This season is no different, mainly because of the spectre of Dwight Howard looming over the proceedings. Everyone's going to want to save their best assets for a run at Dwight. So, to end that issue and to help shake up the NBA. I've conjured up a deal that I think benefits everyone (well, besides the Nets.)

The Washington Wizards deal John Wall, #3 pick, Jan Vesely, and Nene for Dwight Howard and #19 pick.

The Wizards go all-in for Howard because this is a superstar league and while Wall and either Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Thomas Robinson are nice, they aren't superstars. (And if they are considering drafting Bradley Beal, a "shooter" who couldn't shoot all that great in college, then they're much better off trading the #3.) The deal also would make the Wizards far more attractive to free agent, who they'll be able to afford after they: buyout Rashard Lewis's contract for the 10.3 million that is guaranteed (which opens up 10 million in cap space) and then amnesty Aundray Blatche (which opens up another 7 million in cap space). That will put the Wizards about 20 million under the cap so someone like Deron Williams is now a target and, if he signs to a LeBron/Wade/Bosh type deal, the Wiz will still have 5 million or so to go after another free agent to go with Chris Singleton, Jordan Crawford, and whoever they can get at #19, which could be a nice prospect. Obviously, Dwight would have to agree to an extension before this deal goes down but the Wizards would go from a team that MIGHT be able to compete for the playoffs to a legit contender in one fell swoop.

The Magic make this deal because, talent-wise, nobody else is seeing this offer. The Lakers aren't going to give up Bynum or Gasol (and I'm not sure if Orlando wants to go through another ordeal with Bynum needing an extension this year) and the Knicks probably won't offer 'Melo and Chandler. The Wizards offer also gives the Magic the best of both worlds as it is (mostly) young talent who should be able to compete this season. (Word is that aging owner Rich DeVos doesn't want to blow up the team completely. Not that that's even an option for Orlando since they have so many bloated contracts on their books.)

The Kings make the deal because Evans needs new surroundings and this deal allows them to get a true starting point guard as they trade picks #5 and #7 for Kyle Lowry, #14, and #16.

The one other trade I've been cooking up while trying to figure out my mock draft is Toronto shipping the #8, Andrea Bargnani, and Jose Calderon for Rudy Gay and either the #25 or the Grizzlies' 2013 first rounder (Memphis gets to choose which when they see who is available at #25 this year.)
The Raptors do it because they were thinking about giving away the underrated albeit overpaid Calderon for nothing and they desperately need a star and a legit scorer. The Grizz add some payroll this year but cut it long term as Calderon is an expiring deal. Jose gives them a nice backup PG, Bargnani gives them scoring off the bench and an interesting complement to both Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and the #8 should be a solid swingman. The bottom line is that while Rudy Gay will make a difference in Toronto, it's pretty much been shown that the Grizzlies can survive without him and with his long term deal gone, they'll be able to re-sign guys like Darrell Arthur, Marreese Speights, or make a play for a bigger free agent after next season.

Posted by SoulHonky at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Here's a pretty cool behind the scenes video of what one of those long steadicam shots looks like from behind the camera. One small thing goes wrong in this and you have to start over from scratch. I worked on a movie that tried to pull one of these off and it was a nightmare. They look amazing but most of the time I feel like they don't really add enough to the movie to be worth the trouble. In fact, I often think they are more about the gimmick of having a long steadicam shot than an actual cinematic reason. (Not saying that's the case here, I've never seen Hugo and I'll give Scorsese the benefit of the doubt.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

Snow White & the Huntsman makes for a great trailer but a lackluster movie. If you liked Russell Crowe's version of Robin Hood, you MIGHT enjoy this movie but, honestly, even that movie seems downright chipper and steadily paced compared to this mostly joyless affair. At times the film felt like a superficial video director/wannabe Terrence Malick was trying to turn Snow White into The New World and failed miserably.

To be fair, the film has some very cool visuals and probably should have been shot in 3D to boost the value of the only good thing in the movie but beyond that the story is thinner than even the most basic version of Snow White that you've heard in the past, the characters are never fleshed out and are nothing more than archetypes, the chase scenes are little more than aimless running (often with nobody really chasing them that closely), and all of this undercooked trifle is buried under a bombastic score that serves more as a tool to keep the audience awake than to complement what was happening on screen.

I will say that there were moments when I actually bought that Kristen Stewart might be fairer than Charlize Theron but, sadly, beyond that triumph of lighting and makeup (nothing against Stewart but I think Theron is indeed one of the most beautiful women in the world) the actors had little to do. Chris Hemsworth showed moments of moxie in Avengers and The Cabin in the Woods but this was a role that he basically had to carry on his own and it seemed to expose a lack of innate charm. Stewart was given basically nothing to do but be fairest of them all while Theron has some moments but it was mostly a chance to chew some scenery for her. The only moment of life in the film, beyond the cool visuals, was when the dwarves appeared. But after that 10 or so minutes, it's back to the snoozapalooza.

Don't ruin the trailer for Snow White & the Huntsman by seeing the movie. If you want to see a fairy tale come to life, check out a classic like Neverending Story or maybe give a chance to the overlooked Stardust.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments ()