current point guards:

Steph Curry:

Chris Paul:

James Harden:

Russell Westbrook:

John Wall:

Steve Nash:

Derrick Rose:

Tony Parker:

Chauncey Billups:

Kyle Lowry:

Rajon Rondo:

Damian Lillard:

Baron Davis:

Kyrie Irving:

Mike Conley:

Andre Miller:

Mike Bibby:

What was missing from Grand Budapest Hotel...

While I would rate Grand Budapest Hotel a perfect 5 stars I have had a bone to pick with it since the first time I watched it. An utter lack of slapstick style comedy... In the style of a Buster Keaton, or even a Charlie Chaplin flick. You may disagree and I think that's fine but I really feel like that would've made Grand Budapest an absolutely flawless film. That being said it's still one of my absolute favorite films ever.

Also there is one scene that is extremely hilarious, but still doesn't reach it's potential. And that scene is the one during which Ed Norton comes to tell Ray Fiennes he is under arrest. He turns and takes off and as soon as he does I began laughing, but that laughing didn't last long. They cut the scene way too quick. I was ready for Fiennes to be chased back down the stairs, at which point he would've dodged two cops, who would proceed to run into each other, and continue to make his escape... before he was reluctantly tackled by none other than Ed Norton of course. Alas that scene does not exist nor will it. I still love this movie though.

My Sports Highlight Videos

Yeah... I make sports videos when I need to procrastinate and shirk my responsibilities. Anyways I made some full career retrospectives recently. In fact I made three of them, for Gary Payton, Brandon Roy and Derrick Rose respectively, and here they are if you want to check them out.

I used to watch highlight video's quite a bit, but not too many of them were really well crafted or even showed how the players played, they just showed some cool stuff they did... so I made these. While I try to include a fair bit of fun highlights I really tried to show how these players got the W on a night to night basis... and honestly I think I did a solid job.

Hope you enjoy them... oh and they're quite long.

Movie Review: GoodFellas

     So I decided to elaborate on some of the stuff I said about the movies that influenced me, but instead I'm gonna do some more in depth reviews of the movies that I love... and seeing that yesterday was my film-making hero, Martin Scorsese's 72nd birthday I figured there was no better place to start than with my favorite movie ever.

(P.S. I apologize for the gushing fandom you are about to read.)

(PP.S. If you have yet to see GoodFellas what are you even doing... go watch it now.)

"As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster" - Ray Liotta as Henry Hill.

     From the first time the audience see's Jimmy, Tommy and Henry "pull over and see" what's going on in the trunk they're hooked, and it doesn't stop there. Soon after comes Ray Liotta's now famous opening lines "As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster" and the first (of many) freeze frames, not only that but a movie soundtrack that very well may be the greatest ever kicks in and never seems to stop or falter. This story is not only the best rise and fall story I have seen, it's also a cultural experience that gulps you down without chewing and refuses to spit you back up until the credits finally roll. And boy, by the time those credits roll you don't feel like you watched a movie, you feel like you lived a life that took you to the top and then right back to the bottom of organized crime. 

The second Henry Hill reappears it's clear that he has loads of charisma.

     From the second "Stardust" kicks in and you see Henry Hill leaning against the car you can tell that he is one of the coolest cats in the cinematic universe. And the movie just gets funner and funner the whole way through... That is until a certain someone shows up and decides to break some balls...

...but we won't get to that quite yet.

     This movie, while very polarizing got universal acclaim and a large part of that is the way Marty and co. manaaged to make these vicious mobsters accesible. How did he do it you ask, he took advantage of their humour. Marty grew up with mobsters and he managed to show how a normal kid could get sucked into this life and he made sure they were entertaining the whole way through. It's that factor that makes rewatching GoodFellas feel like you're visiting old friends rather than watching a movie you've already seen.

Very few things are funnier than Henry running his restaurant into the ground.

     There are few better examples of how funny these wiseguys can be then the restaurant sequence, It is packed with humour and features many of the movies key moments, all while also teaching you about the mobster world... and all that is in just one of many entertaining sequences that keep you glued to the screen the whole way through this exuberant example of the cinematic greatness that is Marty Scorsese.

This ridiculously deep cast makes every second of this movie exciting to watch.

    I've gotten through like 80% of the screenshots I have for GoodFellas and I haven't even mentioned the cast yet. This cast ran so deep and was so brilliant that The Sopranos used it to pick one of the best television casts we've ever seen. Everyone remembers the star trio but this cast goes so much deeper. People seem to forget how truly great Paul Sorvino was as probably the best blue collar mob boss in movie history, and they seem to overlook the fact that Lorraine Bracco may have submitted the best performance by an actress that year. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, even the bit roles feature great actors like Tony Sirico and Frank Vincent. The star trio, is however remembered for a reason. "Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut" uttered the top billed Robert De Niro, who plays one of most infamous mobsters in New York history with a calculated coolness that could only come from the great Bobby D. In fact Bobby D. is so cool that he even seems cool when stomping someone's head or just simply smoking a cigarette... and while De Niro manages to submit a truly excellent turn as Jimmy Conway, his performance has become overlooked over the years thanks in no small part by the career best turns from both Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci. In my opinion the stand out of the cast is Ray Liotta, who was robbed of an Oscar that year (he didn't even land a nomination). Ray manages to do it all as Henry Hill, from being cool and charismatic, to being vulnerable and/or even crazy at times... It's all this that made Liotta's portrayal of Henry Hill one of the best mafioso's in movie history. But while my favorite characters in the flick are portrayed by Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta it's Joe Pesci that everyone remembers to this day. His amazing turn as the small but scary Tommy DeVito was so good that it managed to get him typecast for the rest of his life, not only that but Pesci even took home the best supporting actor Oscar that year.

     All these words and I still haven't gotten to talk about the fact that GoodFellas features some of the best and possibly the most unique cinematography ever. It changes with the mood and even sets it at other times, and provides you with one of the funnest visual experiences you can find. With exquisite steadi-cam shots and a bevy of beautiful shots throughout it's nearly impossible to look away for even a second of this two and a half hour movie. And then there's one sequence that is even more unique than anything else I've seen, The hectic day is something that his never been replicated (except in Casino of course) and that may be for good reason as it seems like it would be extremely hard to replicate.

And it was all down hill from there...

     All of this and I still feel like I missed quite a bit... but I hope it's now easy to see why GoodFellas is, in  my opinion, the most enthralling experience in cinematic existence... and that why it's one of the very few movies I would rate a...

10                                                             

/10                                                        

Movies that Influenced Me PT.1

...Like I said movies, sports and music. The first idea I had was to write down the movies that influenced me. This isn't every movie that ever influenced me, but it is majority of the movies that influenced my writing tonally. Anyways here are majority of the movies that helped me forge my style of writing.

1. Jackie Brown

Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Cast: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro and Bridget Fonda.

     Although Jackie Brown falls to second on my list of favorite movies ever (getting edged out by the number 2 movie on this list), Jackie Brown is the movie that has influenced me the most. It has a terrific set of characters and an even more memorable cast. It sounds good huh? And that is before I've mentioned it feature two of the greatest writers America has to offer, Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino mesh together so well that they put together the best movie ever adapted from a book by "Dutch" Leonard.

2. GoodFellas
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Cast: Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino.

     There isn't much I can say about GoodFellas that hasn't already been said, but seeing as it's the movie that inspired me to try a career in film I'm still gonna try. I've seen this movie over 450 times and it never gets old. It's essentially a story we've seen before, one of three friends who pull the job of a lifetime and then greed pulls them apart... but Martin Scorsese makes it so much more. The movie just swallows you whole and takes you through the most exhilerating ride in film history. Not only that but Scorsese's magnum opus really captures the danger of a life of crime, the exuberance and riches that follow a successful criminal career and then has is all come tumbling down in terrific fashion. It's a cultural experience that will stay with me forever and many others for years to come. Also Ray Liotta should've not only received a oscar nomination but probably won that years best actor award.

3. Casino
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone and Frank Vincent.

     While many see Casino as GoodFellas part 2 I don't feel like that gives it enough credit, while Casino isn't the cultural statement that GoodFellas is it's a bigger and bolder tale of greed and deception. Casino not only matched the fun snappy style of Goodfellas, but it turned it up to 11. Instead of having Ray Liotta be our eyes and ears this time Marty went back to ol' faithful, Robert De Niro. Casino not only does that but seems to capitalize in the comedic potential of Joe Pesci and he still manages to be as ruthless as ever. Casino grips you from the balls the second it starts (and through that way too long opening sequence) and doesn't let go until the end credits roll. A wild, entertaining flick that also has one of the greatest soundtracks in film history.

4. True Romance
Directed by Tony Scott.
Cast: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Michael Rapaport and Gary Oldman.

     While I wish QT had taken the reigns on this masterpiece of a script, Tony Scott really did a terrific job on this fun frenetic love story. It kept true to the Tarantino energy and style that would later make QT a film god. The cast is both equisitely picked out and runs ridiculously deep and Hans Zimmer's fun score plays very well against the pulpiness of the story. Not a romance movie to be overlooked.

5. Boogie Nights

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly and Heather Graham.

     Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 masterpiece is perhaps the most masterful rise and fall story to ever grace the silver screen. PTA's character arc's, dialogue and genius directing, while approaching subject matter as lurid as the porn industry, resulted in possibly the most exuberant flick I've ever seen.

6. A Bronx Tale

Directed by Robert De Niro.

Cast: Lillo Brancato, Chazz Palmintieri, Robert De Niro, Joe D'Onofrio and Taral Hicks.

Few if any movies ever struck a chord with me like Robert De Niro's underrated 1993 coming of age flick, A Bronx Tale, This classic morality tale is something I will show my kids and their kids and their kids and their kids.

7. The Wolf of Wall Street

Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Cast: Leo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Jon Bernthal and Max Reiner.

While quite similar in structure to Marty Scorsese's amazing Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street manages to reach levels of comedy that even Casino could not reach. Also like many of the other movies on this list the lead actor played his most electrifying role yet, not the easiest thing to do when that actor is Leonardo DiCaprio.

8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Directed by Terry Gilliam.

Cast: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Ellen Barkin and Gary Busey.

While not really similar in subject matter or themes, I couldn't help but think of Fear and Loathing when watching last years Wolf of Wall Street. This overlooked Terry Gilliam picture captured the essence of the great Hunter S. Thompson's writing, no easy feat. Also Johnny Depp's performance as the great Hunter Thompson was never matched, not even by Depp himself in 2011's The Rum Diary.

9. A Serious Man

Directed by the Coen Brothers.

Cast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Aaron Wolff, Sari Lennick, Richard Kind, and Fred Melamed.

The Coen's 2009 masterpiece, A Serious Man, was understated but nonetheless another Coen classic. This modern fable, which started with a not so modern but 100% original Coen brothers fable, manages to hit home in so many ways due to the many relatable characters. It should be mentioned when talking about the strongest movie endings ever. Michael Stuhlbarg deserved an oscar nod for his terrific turn as the deeply conflicted Larry Gopnik.

10. Layer Cake

Directed by Matthew Vaughn.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Jamie Forman and Tom Hardy.

Matthew Vaughn is one of the best young directors to come up in years, but somehow in my mind he has never been able to top his 2004 silver screen debut Layer Cake. It's extremely witty and so cleverly plotted that it never manages to seem conveluted even though it has a ridiculously layered plot. And that monstrous plot is clereverly unraveled over the course of 110 minutes, no easy feat.

11. Taxi Driver

Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd and Harvey Keitel.

In my humble opinion Taxi Driver, while the most twisted flick out of the hallowed De Niro/Scorsese partnership, is the movie that best embodies why they are so great. While I think GoodFellas is the best movie that features De Niro and Scorsese, I still think Taxi Driver is the best flick in their partnership.  They way Scorsese and co. tackled such strong subject matter resullted in the one of the strongest messages in film history.

12. Grand Budapest Hotel

Directed by Wes Anderson.

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Willem Dafoe and Adrien Brody.

I can't ever recall enjoying looking at a movie quite like this before. Wes Anderson's 2014 magnum opus ties brilliant art direction, amazing cenimatography and one of the funnest plots in recent history. It's so terrific that it topped his 2012 masterpiece Moonrise Kingdom. The deep ensemble cast is charming as charming can be while throwing caution to the wind and not even trying to sound like they're of the time or place. In my opinion both Ralph Fiennes and Adrien Brody deserve Golden Globes and possibly even an oscar no in Fiennes case. Did he just throw my cat out of the window?

13. The King of Comedy

Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Cast: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard and Diahnne Abbott.

Scorsese's most underrated and overlooked film is much better than critics and audiences seemed to think. They seemed to think it was going to be a comedy but in reality The King of Comedy was the great director's most twisted work since his 1976 masterpiece Taxi Driver. It managed to capture what was wrong with the 80's only two years into the decade, and also house Robert De Niro's best turn since his twisted portrayal of the deeply troubled Travis Bickle.

14. Out of Sight

Directed by Steven Soderberg.

Cast: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn.

Yet another Elmore Leonard adaptation makes its way onto this list, fitting as Dutch's books influenced my writing style more than any filmmaker. Out of Sight is a rare type of movie, an Elmore Leonard adaptation that lived up to its potential. Steven Soderberg's style and tone proved to be the right skillset to put at the helm of this classic Elmore Leonard adaptation.

15. Pulp Fiction

Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis and Tim Roth.

Just like GoodFellas there shouldn't be anything I need to say about Pulp Fiction so all I will say is this: Movies were never the same again.

Well that's it for now folks, but don't worry I'll be back with more terrific movies soon enough.

...at the Grand Budapest

Well iono I guess I'm back at this blogging stuff... No set style or type of thing I'm going to do here, just gonna talk about movies, sports, music and whatever the hell else I feel like talking about.