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Talking about small ball and the Grizzlies frontcourt:

http://thegoodpoint.com/2013/01/nba-small-ball/

Movie Review - Chronicle

  Chronicle (2012)

Director: Josh Trank

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russel, Michael B. Jordan

Chronicle was a surprise hit in early 2012, grossing nearly $130 million against a tiny $15 million budget, but I can't help but wonder how much more appreciated/acclaimed this movie would have been had it not been saddled with an unfortunate "found footage" gimmick.  First-time director Josh Trank certainly took on a sizable task when he signed on to Chronicle.  In 2013, the found footage movie (i.e. Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity) is on life support, and superhero movies, while still financially viable, are both ubiquitous and often mediocre.  With Chronicle, Trank attempts to simultaneously breathe new life into both genres at the same time, and the results are a little mixed, although mostly positive in my opinion.  

As a superhero movie, Chronicle succeeds wildly, and is the latest impressive "alternative superhero" movie in the mold of Unbreakable.  Instead of remaking Hulk for the umpteenth time, I do wish studios would invest more time into creating these kind of original stories featuring people with superpowers.   Hopefully, the relative success of Chronicle will inspire just that.  A fortunate side effect of that success already has been the rising star of Trank, who has been signed on to helm the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot/remake/sequel/whatever.  He is obviously a young director with a great vision and a lot of promise, and I'm excited to see what he can accomplished when he isn't hamstrung by the forced found footage gimmick as in Chronicle.

I refer to found footage as a gimmick because the concept has never risen above that distinction in my book.  The first major found footage movie, Blair Witch Project, was a surprising, creepy and pretty innovative horror gem.  Since, there hasn't been one found footage movie that has been universally considered great, or even very good.  So why do movie studios continue to roll it out?  

Unfortunately, the answer to that question will remain one of those eternal Hollywood mysteries for nobodies like me, but I can continue to criticize movies that use this concept when they appear.  Usually, all the found footage concept succeeds in doing is being distracting.  It just doesn't feel organic.  In Chronicle, the movie goes to particular lengths to keep up the found footage charade, including culling footage from security cameras and creating an entire character with a second camera just so we can actually get our main stars onscreen occasionally.  

The concept of Chronicle is so intriguing that I understand how the creators may have been seduced by it: teenagers develop superhuman powers, and document every step of the way using handheld cameras.  Certainly, it led to some cool stuff (the flying scenes come to mind), but in the end it felt too forced and the movie would have been wise to occasionally step aside from the found footage stuff.  I just spent too much time being pulled out of the movie by questions such as "Who films a funeral?" and "Why did the son and/or Dad take the time to set up a camera before their heartfelt conversation in the basement?".

Chronicle certainly would have been interesting enough without any gimmicks.  The movie is basically a Spider-Man/Akira/Carrie mash-up and if that description doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will.  It's also surprisingly dark, and probably the most "realistic" people-with-powers movie ever, in a sense.  The idea that every teenager who develops special abilities would immediately put on a spandex suit and go about the business of saving people is pretty asinine, actually.  

Most teenagers are pretty self-centered.  They probably would use their powers to prank people and look cool in front of their friends.  Teenagers tend to pretty angsty, too, and Chronicle is a pretty thought-provoking portrayal of what might happen if a truly disturbed young person developed the power to do basically whatever they want.  On a closing note, the young stars are also very good.  I'm still wondering why Michael B. Jordan isn't a bigger movie star yet, and Dane DeHaan, who I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more if in the future, is very impressive in a great role as Andrew.

Verdict: 7/10

Aging Gracefully, or the Tao of Vince

Recently, 35-year old Dallas Mavericks forward Vince Carter had a bit of a throwback night against the Washington Wizards.  The former Slam Dunk Champion threw down a couple of nice dunks in that game which were reminiscent of his more dominant years as a young man with the Toronto Raptors.  Of course, the older Vince we know today is a much different (and less awe-inspiring) player, so his performance in that game understandably drew some attention.  So much so that a blog post entitled “Vince Carter shocks everyone with multi-dunk game in 2013” surfaced on The Score.  Of course, the most remarkable thing about all the hubbub surrounding those dunks is just how pedestrian they are compared to the ones Carter routinely converted in his days with Toronto and New Jersey (remember this? Or this?). 

That sudden realization of the decline of Vince Carter saddened me just a bit.  Carter has (deservedly) received a fair bit of criticism throughout his career for being soft, unmotivated, or faking injuries.  But despite all that there’s no doubt that, for individuals of a certain generation, Carter was the biggest star we grew up idolizing, and the one we all tried to emulate on the playground or at school.  Now, less than a decade later, Carter is little more than a role player for the struggling Mavericks; a player for whom two fairly standard-looking dunks in a single basketball game is cause for celebration.  How far the mighty have fallen. 

All this of this is particularly notable given the circumstances of this 2012-2013 NBA season.  While Vince plays a bit role for a fringe playoff team in Dallas, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, two fellow veterans who were actually drafted in the years BEFORE him, are enjoying their finest seasons in ages.  Tim Duncan’s Player Efficiency Rating of 24.3 is his highest since 2009, and Kobe has hasn’t had a PER this high (24.7) since 2006.  And those two players have racked up many more minutes of playing time, including postseason play, over their careers than Vince.

So why has Vince declined so rapidly since his “superstar” days in Toronto?  The Vince critic would no doubt argue that his decline is a result of the lack of remarkable work ethic that typifies surefire Hall of Famers like Bryant and Duncan.  And that critic wouldn’t be totally incorrect.  Vince hasn’t been the most willing hard worker throughout his career.  But in fact, few players do have the work ethic of a Duncan or a Bryant, or of modern-day superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.  The question is why we held Vince up to those impossible standards in the first place, given that he never did himself.

Vince was an athlete and a marvel, not unlike a JR Smith of today.  He has always been a solid shooter, but never possessed a truly elite skill outside of his unreal leaping ability.  Whether in the realm of passing or defense, Carter has vacillated between terrible and average throughout his career.  And for those reasons, the reality is that Vince never truly fit the mold of a “superstar”, even in his earlier days in Toronto.  And yet years of trying to play up to that role foisted upon him by media and fans exhausted him, and led to his disastrous final days as a Raptor.  Of course, I’m not making excuses for what Vince did in Toronto (demanding trades, not playing his hardest, feigning injuries).   

Raptors fans in particular have every right to be angry at him.  But he was young.  And in hindsight, his behavior at the time seems like small potatoes next to the recent antics of players like Carmelo Anthony or Dwight Howard.  After all, Vince never got a coach fired, or held a press conference to announce his loyalty while simultaneously plotting his exit to another team.

Unsurprisingly, when Vince arrived in New Jersey, he immediately settled into the role of second fiddle to Jason Kidd.  And thus began his seamless transition into the role player we know today.  On the surface, it seems like a sad end to a career that was destined for so much more.  But in this case, those who are able to focus less on the perceived “potential” of Vince and more on the actual facts of his career may be surprised what they see. 

Last month, Zach Lowe wrote a fantastic article for Grantland in which he (seriously) made a case for Vince Carter as a Hall of Fame player.  And the fact is, looking strictly at the stats, Vince is a strong candidate.  Lowe makes the case for Vince like this:

“(Vince Carter will) at least approach 22,000 career points this season, and with a guaranteed deal for next season, he has a shot to reach 23,000 if he stays healthy. Only 13 players in NBA/ABA history have eclipsed 22,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists; Carter, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce will make it 16 shortly, and a few others — Clyde Drexler, Gary Payton, Larry Bird — barely missed.”

So in that context, Vince Carter, the career disappointment, has a borderline Hall of Fame caliber career. He also can make an argument that for a period of three to four years in the early 2000s, he was the most popular basketball player on the face of the planet.  Not too bad.  But as I reflected more and more on the career of Vince Carter, the thing that impressed me the most about him is how at ease he seems to be with his legacy and career.  Carter has often been decried as soft or accused of simply not caring.  But his actions mostly strike me as those of a man who simply lacks the maniacal devotion to the sport of basketball that many (for some reason) expect him to have.

In 2001, Carter attended his graduation on the morning of a decisive Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers that his team eventually lost.  Mind you, Carter didn’t miss the game itself, and his decision may have had no actual effect on the result of the game.  Yet he was crucified for his actions by Raptors fans.   Later in his Raptors career, Carter, who is famously close with his mother, was criticized again when his mother had the audacity to defend her son in speaking out against the Raptors organization and then-Coach Sam Mitchell. 

Long story short, Vince was villainized by Toronto fans in part for his dedication to such trifling issues as education and family instead of basketball.  To basketball fans, Vince may be one of the greatest examples of squandered talent in NBA history.  But visit his website and you’ll find a list a mile long of his charitable exploits, as well as directions to his successful restaurant in Dayton, Florida.  All in all, it seems like Vince is doing just fine without the approval of all the fans that get off on calling him overrated or badmouthing him in the comments section of YouTube videos.

In researching the career of Vince Carter, there is one quote of his in particular that intrigued me: "Being overlooked, it doesn't hurt my feelings, it doesn't bother me…It just makes my job easier, really. Just go out there and be who I am."  Obviously, Kobe Bryant would never be caught dead uttering those words and even if he did, we would all recognize them as lies.  The legends of the game, Kobe, Michael and their ilk, are fueled endlessly by every perceived slight.  

Vince, by contrast, is a player who has found comfort in the shadows.  He once stood at the precipice of superstardom and, obviously, found himself wanting.  Now he knows better than anyone that he is no Kobe Bryant, despite how much fans tried to force him to think otherwise.  And unlike players like Tracy McGrady or Allen Iverson, he wasn’t interested in driving himself out of the league by grasping at any delusions of being such a player.

In these, his waning years, Carter has not grumbled about his minutes or fled to China in the interest of feeding his ego or self-perception as a megawatt star.  Instead, he has gracefully made the transformation into a role player and mentor for younger teammates.  Into a player who has drawn nothing but praise from both his teammates and coaches.  By all appearances, Vince Carter is very pleased with the way his career turned out.  I suppose then that the next, most pressing question is: should we be? 

Movie Review - Looper

  Looper (2012)

Director: Rian Johnson

Starring: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt

I love it when a movie surprises me.  I went into Looper with very little knowledge of the movie's plot other than the most basic details, and my reward was a movie that, much to my delight, surprised me greatly.  Certainly, I expected something much more action-y, or at least much more science fiction-y.  But what I got was a very smart but surprisingly simple character-based movie about the importance of family and relationships.  Of course, I should have known better than to expect any variation of a by the numbers sci-fi action flick with director Rian Johnson at the helm.  39-year old Johnson is one of the most celebrated young directors out there, and considering he wrote the film as well, Looper is a pretty solid indication that the quality of Johnson's films won't suffer as he inevitably (and deservedly) moves on to bigger budget fare.

I have no idea if Rian Johnson is a Tarantino fan but, Looper is undoubtedly the work of a director who came of age in a post-Tarantino landscape.  The movie has the same kind of genre mish-mash sensibility associated with many Tarantino films.  It's a science fiction movie, but also an action movie, a dark comedy, a gangster film, and a moving family drama.  It draws influence from movies as diverse as The Terminator and The Untouchables.  Despite all that though, Looper never comes off as schizophrenic.  It's a film very confident in what it is (even if that film is very different from the one presented in some of the trailers).  After all, how many people, based strictly on the advertising campaign for Looper, knew going in that it prominently featured a super-powered, murderous toddler?  To be sure, there is a lot going on here, but clearly, for Johnson, the dramatic elements of this movie are far more important than the action or science fiction ones. 

In fact, the action scenes are arguably the weakest part of Looper.  Scenes at the end where Bruce Willis turns into John McClane with a machine gun actually seemed somewhat forced.  The science fiction parts of the story are much better handled, although Johnson rightfully takes the Back to the Future approach of not delving too deeply into the details of time travel (a fact alluded to by actual dialogue spoken by Bruce Willis' character in the movie: "...if we start talking about (time travel)...then we're going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws!" he exclaims).  That said, the dystopian world of Looper, depicted mostly only in flashes in the background, is as intriguing as any science fiction film in recent memory.  I, and no doubt many others, would not be opposed to a sequel that further explores the world Johnson created for this movie.

Nonetheless, for Looper, it was a wise decision by Johnson to focus less on those elements.  It makes the film very unique and allows him ample time to really explore the concept of time travel from an under-utilized perspective.  Johnson is interested in how the advent of something like time travel would affect people on a very personal level.  And he is very successful in raising lots of interesting questions.  In fact, there are so many interesting things going on in Looper it would be difficult to cover them all in this space.  Themes of circuity, of destiny vs. fate, of personal choice, of violence, and of the importance of good parenting are just some of the ones that bubble to the surface in Looper. 

Yes, the movie manages to be very dense, but not at all in the way that time travel movies typically are.  It also never drags, or feels boring, despite a fairly lengthy running time and a notably low-key second half.  Credit for that surely goes not only to the considerable talents of Mr.  Johnson, but also Gordon-Levitt, who carries the film well.  To be sure, there is something slightly disturbing about the makeup the young actor dons for this role, but he does a truly masterful job of mimicking the voice pattern and mannerisms of Bruce Willis.  He also manages to be typically relatable and expressive under all that makeup.

Also kudos to Mr. Willis, foremost for appearing in a lower budget film with a promising director like this one.  And for his impressive performance.  From acting perspective, quiet Bruce Willis is usually good Bruce Willis, and the veteran tough guy turns in a very solid, subtle performance in Looper.  In closing, those desiring a movie that will make them think would be wise to check out Looper.  But be prepared leave the theater puzzling less over time travel technology and parallel future scenarios (although there is some of that), and more about the nature of what makes "you" you, and just how far you would be willing to go to protect that concept.

Verdict: 8/10

John Wall/Eric Bledsoe article for The Good Point

 

Read it at http://thegoodpoint.com/2013/01/john-wall-eric-bledsoe/.

Give Lin A Chance

Today, the NBA released the most recent results of the fan voting for the 2013 All-Star Game to be held in Houston, Texas.  As with past years, there wasn’t a whole lot to be surprised about.  The fact that 34-year-old Kobe Bryant led the voting caused a bit of a stir.  But the rest of the top four was hardly gasp-inducing:  along with Kobe, fellow superstars LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony lead the way.  Perennial All-Star Dwyane Wade is another top vote-getter.  But there is actually somewhat of a brewing controversy hidden in the results, and it centers around the category of the Western Conference backcourt.  The top two names are familiar ones: Bryant and Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul.  But who is that lurking a scant less than fifty-thousand votes behind Paul?  None other than Mr. Linsanity himself, Jeremy Lin of the hometown Houston Rockets.

Those who last paid attention to the NBA in the winter of 2012 when Linsanity ruled the Earth may not be surprised to see Lin’s name placed among the Western Conference elite guards.  After all, the Lin of that era was dropping thirty-eight points against Bryant and the Lakers in Madison Square Garden, and nailing incredible buzzer beaters while making the game look easy.  Unfortunately, the Lin of 2013 is an entirely different animal.   Granted, the young point guard and his new Rockets teammates have managed to pull things together as of late: they’ve won nine of their last twelve, and outscored opponents by an impressive seventeen points a game during a recent five-game winning streak.  But on an individual basis, Lin’s numbers aren’t great:  his Player Efficiency Rating is a career-low 14.5 and his Win Shares per 48 Minutes is only .083, down from career high of .140 last year. 

By contrast, the man currently barely ahead of Lin in the All-Star voting, future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul, boasts a sterling Win Shares per 48 Minutes of .287 and the fourth-best PER rating in the league at 25.8.  He also recently led the Clippers to a league wide season-high seventeen-game winning streak, and is being mentioned as a potential MVP candidate.  Looking at both numbers and reputation, Chris Paul would seem to be a clear cut choice as an All-Star over Lin.  So why has it been such a close race? And does it even matter?

The answer to the first question is the same reason that Lin became such a phenomenon last year: a combination of a great underdog story and global appeal.  Last year, the world fell in love with Lin because of his unlikely story: an Asian-American player in a league utterly devoid of them, undrafted and eventually signed and discarded by his hometown team, only to eventually find success on the greatest stage in all of basketball. A Hollywood executive couldn’t have dreamed up a better plot.  It didn’t hurt that the Ivy League-educated Lin came off as so humble and unassuming.  It was hard not to fall in love with him.  But while audiences stateside were falling in love with Lin, an overwhelming number of fans internationally were, too.  And therein lays the true strength of the surprising All-Star movement for Mr. Lin.

At the height of Linsanity last year, much was made of the worldwide appeal of Lin (whose parents are of Taiwanese origin).  But it may surprise some people just how widespread (though admittedly short-lived) that appeal was.  Around this time last year, Lin had the top-selling jersey in the entire NBA.   During Linsanity, the CCTV network in China saw viewership increase 39 percent, and NBA.com/China had 43 percent more page views compared to the previous season.   Last year, Lin did not make the All-Star Game, but was hastily added by the NBA to the Rising Stars Challenge game by the NBA.  The results were evident:  Around 2.8 million people watched the event on TNT, the highest number since the 2004 game featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.  In fact, the 2012 game featuring Lin saw a viewership increase of about 27% over that star-studded 2004 matchup.

Obviously, Lin has an incredible amount of supporters both in the U.S. and abroad, particularly China.  In 2013, Lin is not only benefiting from the hometown vote, but new voting policies instituted by the NBA that have made it easier than ever before for international fans to vote.  They can cast their ballot on Twitter and Facebook, and on Chinese social media websites like Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ.   This is obviously a well-thought-out decision by the NBA: globalization of the game has long been a pet project of Commissioner David Stern.  Last year’s All-Star Game was broadcast in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and was covered by 1,800 media, including 336 international reporters.

So even if Lin does make the All-Star Game over Paul or another arguably more deserving player, you won’t hear Stern or the NBA complaining: they can probably already hear the sounds of cash registers working overtime at the league offices.  Fans, though, tend to be less concerned about the bottom line, and for many of them the idea of Lin making the roster over a superior player is a travesty.  One blogger goes so far as to suggest that, if Lin attains a starting spot in the All-Star Game, fan voting should no longer determine the starters. 

Unfortunately, fans like that blogger and others who sour at the thought of Jeremy Lin starting for the Western Conference All-Stars have lost sight of the objective of the All-Star Game.  It isn’t to reward the best players.  It never has been.  Did Allen Iverson deserve to start every year he was voted into the game past his prime? Or Yao Ming, who, similar to Lin, received a “bump” in voting each year from his fans in China? The purpose of the All-Star Game is to reward the players who the fans most want to see.  And, in that regard, the votes of fans in China and other countries should count just as much as those of us in the United States.  Our game has truly gone global, and the popularity of Jeremy Lin is one testament to that.  We should welcome his success. 

In any event, even if Lin gets more votes than Paul, the coaches will select Paul as a substitute.  Sure, in that scenario, some potentially worthy West guard like James Harden or Russell Westbrook will be out in the cold as a result, but that’s kind of the point.  It’s an All-Star Game.  That means not everybody gets to play in it.  And at the end of the year, some combination of Paul, Harden, or Westbrook will be voted to an All-NBA Team by the media and Lin will be nowhere to be found.  There’s nothing wrong with that system.   

“Real” NBA fans like to complain about the All-Star Game; how meaningless it is because the players don’t take it seriously or because there’s no defense.  Yet many of those some fans will debate endlessly about which players deserve to make the cut, and who was snubbed after the fact.  Then the day after the game, like clockwork, the entire affair is forgotten.  Think about it.  How many specific All-Star Games or moments do you actually remember? I’m willing to bet less than a handful.  When we discuss the careers of great players like Michael Jordan, we always mention the MVP awards, or the championships.  But who remembers how many All-Star Games a player made? Kevin McHale made seven All-Star teams in his career.  Vince Carter made eight.  Would anyone argue that Vince Carter had a better career than 3-time NBA Champion McHale? Of course not.

The NBA All-Star game is little more than a spectacle; a midseason distraction and opportunity to give players a much-needed rest.  Jeremy Lin is a young, exciting athlete whose style of play is well-suited to the All-Star Game.   Veterans like Tim Duncan are practically begging to be left out of the festivities while, for a young player like Lin, making the team would likely be the culmination of a lifetime dream.  Fans who would deny him that opportunity, and his supporters the chance to see him play, are just being asinine.