-Over the past half-decade or so, Entourage has gone from interesting comedy to watchable show to guilty pleasure to something you watch because it’s summer to Everything that is wrong with America and definitive proof that we are all horrible, horrible people. It is now the only show I watch out of sheer hatred. The only thing I remember from the last episode is that Turtle is now flirting with that girl who killed Heroes, and their banter was what Noel Coward would be forced to watch if he ended up in Hell. Also, the writers are still trying to get us to believe that Eric is from the mean streets. Or is something approaching a productive member of society.
I bring this up because, after the LeBacle, I now actually feel offended by Entourage. A prominent agent gave a lecture to my class last semester, and he was talking about how much he hates Entourage in the first five minutes of class. Vince’s childhood friends haven’t done a good job of running his career on the actual television show. How is it that people think the Entourage model can work in actual life?
I don’t have many “sources” around the league, but I do know some people that know some people, and I read. NOBODY thinks that LeBron letting LRMR handle his life was anything short of a horrible, horrible decision, and now Chris Paul has signed with them. Plus Dwight Howard is letting his friends handle his business, and the early reviews on that decision are not good. Three of the five best young players in basketball are being represented by non-agents, the most overpaid player in basketball (Eddy Curry) had to file for bankruptcy, and there’s about to be a lockout because the players aren’t getting paid enough. Does anyone else think that there may be relatively simple solutions to the problems that are about to cause a lockout?
Remember all of this when you’re watching “CP3, Dwight, and Bron-Bron’s smile-time variety hour of awesomeness” between games one and two of the 2014 NBA Finals. Anyways, I feel like none of this would have happened without Entourage. Screw you, Entourage.
-From LeBron’s twitter: LeBron really liked Inception, doesn’t believe in “reliable sources,” and really loves CP3 a lot. Social Media! By the way, Inception could’ve been a lot better.
[SPOILER KINDA SPOILER KINDA SPOILER KINDA]
That movie was set up to be interesting as all hell, then it became a straight action flick for the last 45 minutes. With that much going on, there really needed to be some rug-pulling of some sort. And no, it’s not enough to make the last shot ambiguous, drop a hint or two, and let the internet run with the theory that the whole thing was Leo’s dream, and they were Incepting that he really needed to let go of his wife. Cool theory, but it needed to actually be present in the movie. Dead-author theory, bro.
[SPOILERS OVER]
That’s actually all I have for tonight. I realize that this post was especially pointless, but I have to report for possible jury duty at 8:30 in the AM, even though I served on a jury last summer. I am less than pleased by this turn of events. Until tomorrow, campers.
Its funny you talk about Entourage here because as my dad and I watched the last episode, I turned to him and said, “This show isn’t even good anymore… why do we still watch it?” He agreed, but couldn’t answer me. Time for Entourage to wrap things up for good.
Totally agree about Inception. There was so much ground there to explore issues of self-identity and our conception of reality, and they used the premise to remake the Italian Job in someone’s head. I was entertained the whole time, but it could have been more than it was (hm, echoes of the 2010 Cavaliers?)
Krolik, never have I agreed and disagreed with a person all at once. The ambivalence you have inspired it impressive.
Entourage was only ever good during season 2 and the second half of season 3. You are right on the money about what it has become. And in terms of LeBron letting his buddies run his life, you know that old saying: Lay down with dogs and you get fleas. It’s how young men live.
Inception was brilliant. Sometimes story is just a vehicle for a greater theme and message. You should embrace this as a creative writer. Nolan surely did. Go back and watch it again.
Jury duty is a pain in the ass, but it’s important. Thanks for being a good citizen as well as a good blogger.
I only watch Entourage in hopes of a Sloane sighting. Would a woman like that be interested in a putz like Eric for more than one date? Was it Bill Simmons who said that all that is left on Entourage is the death of Vinnie Chase. He should have died in the stunt. I can only watch Hung and Mad Men right now without being ill. And it won’t get any better when the NBA resumes. We were all Enablers. Guilty as charged. Please let Steve Buscemi wake us up.
Entourage is the most pretentious show in history. The fact that it became popular is a damning critique of the superficiality of our society. TV is turning us into braindead morons who are only interested in wealth and clubbing and have no perspective on what real problems are.
Have to agree with Kevin on this one and completely disagree with Krolik. Inception was as close as we’ve seen to a perfect movie in a few years. I believe you are forgetting that this was billed as a summer blockbuster which inevitably means action movie. To expect more out of this movie when it clearly elevated itself above the other trash that Hollywood constantly releases, is ludicrous.
Not only did the action sequences make sense, but it was also the only movie I’ve ever seen that had a logical reason for swarms of nameless henchmen–they were subconscious projections! It was like a Dali painting in motion.
Not that this isn’t a basketball blog, but Inception was not brilliant. It was a fairly convoluted story with little emotional import – the central conflict w/ trying to get some dude to break up his dad’s empire was not compelling in the slightest. I literally fell asleep during this movie, and that never happens.
If you think this was “as close as we’ve seen to a perfect movie in a few years,” you have no taste. It wasn’t even better than the last movie I saw in a theater, “The Secret in Their Eyes.”
Um, the central conflict was Dicaprio’s character dealing with guilt.
Go watch Shutter Island. That’s something close to a perfect movie that really works on many of the themes (with the same leading actor) that Inception could have played with: guilt, self-identity, and the characters’ conceptions of reality.
Both films had great special effects, but the cinematography in Shutter Island just blows Inception away. I would be happy just watching Shutter Island on mute — there’s no way that would work with Inception. The characters in Shutter Island have more depth, and the all-around acting is much better. In Inception, there was so much exposition needed on the dream technology that there was no screen time to develop multi-dimensional characters, leading to the lack of a compelling central conflict. Whereas the strength of Shutter Island was in its lack of lengthy exposition and instead focus on building up the story through our understanding of and connection with the characters.
Inception was great as escapist entertainment, but a perfect film? I think it’s a little much even calling it a film. Inception was an entertaining movie.
At the 2-hour mark of Inception, I was thinking it was perfect. I ended up being a bit disappointed by how straightforward it ultimately was, at least on the screen. I was hoping for big-budget Memento, but of course Nolan was handcuffed by the fact he was making a blockbuster. “Secret in Their Eyes” is the best movie I’ve seen this year.
To call Inception escapist entertainment is a complete disservice to the time and creative thought given to the script, acting and execution. Saying it doesn’t stack up to other movies is fine, that’s your opinion, but this film most certainly rose above the superficial escapist moniker you are hastily applying.
I hate Lebron James. Just sayin.
i guess it beats writing about the Cavs… enjoy the next decade ;-)
Well, getting back to the Cavs, I wonder what will happen to Windhorst…he showed the national media what a good sportswriter he is…after the season starts and people forget the Cavs exist again, will be he chained to the Cavs and ignored, or will his intimate experiences with LBJ mean that he’ll always be called upon to comment as long as LeBron is playing?
I remember Brian himself said in an interview that you could do the best Sacramento Kings coverage in the world, but you’re not going to have anything featured on the front page of ESPN.com. I’m hoping that he manages to keep some of the higher profile he’s attained.
“and there’s about to be a lockout because the players aren’t getting paid enough.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but ALL lockouts, including the one less than a year from now in the NBA, are initiated by the owners. The pending lockout is due to the players getting paid too much now, and the owners want to change that. If the players were unhappy (ie. not getting paid enough), it would be a strike.
Inception was pretty bad I agree. It was bloated, humorless, and pretentious, very similar to the Dark Knight two years ago, and the highly positive response to it seems to be the same just on a smaller scale, and just as funny. I understand why its making money as a summer blockbuster, but no way people are going to be talking about it in 10 years as a great “film”. The characters inner lives were nonexistent, instead it’s all about revealing a complicated plot and attempting to deal with big themes that just ended up sounding like Nolan read a few college psychology textbooks before writing the script. The dialogue was really awful in a lot of spots, as conventional as any other Hollywood blockbuster that isn’t trying as hard. I enjoyed some of the action sequences, various sets and wardrobes, but I can’t believe all the critical love this is getting, that last shot that is supposed to make people ooh and aah just reads to me like Nolan laughing at taking your money again.
You’re dead right about Inception. They basically gave up on making it interesting about halfway through and opted for explosions and silly complexity instead.
Have not seen Inception – going to see it this weekend.
Shutter Island – above average but nowhere near a perfect movie. Maybe 7 out of 10.
The story has been told before in other movies(“Moon” just recently) and the acting was ok for the most part.
Anyone see “The Road” with Vigo Mortensen? That was a great movie!
Oh yeah, Go Cavs!
I don’t know man, I think the Jackie Earle Haley appearance bumps it above 7 out of 10 at the very least. Possibly my bad news bears nostalgia makes me like a movie more when Kelly Leak makes a cameo.
I actually rewatched that recently for the first time in a long time, and his character does not really hold up as as much of a bad ass to someone older than 12. It was unfortunate, but I was able to appreciate Walter Matthau’s character much more than when I was a kid.
I dont know what is so terrible about your live Mr. John Krolik, but do us all a favor and spreading mindless hate. If you dont like Entourage, dont watch it. Inception was absolutely brilliant, then again I’m sure you believe you could have made it better. Do us all a favor and jump off the nearest building.
Shutter Island was well made and visually appealing but it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Towards the middle of the film you start to get the idea that they are going to take the “Identity, et al” approach as the great “twist” while you are silently telling yourself, there is no way they would ruin such a great setup. When the train finally wrecks I was pissed off. Like I said, I thought it was well made but disappointed they took the ending they did. As for the guy who said I have no taste in movies because I highly enjoyed Inception, go back to your indie theater and watch your artistic movies all day, because I go to the movie theater to be entertained. Inception was thought-provoking and entertaining, as well as visually appealing. I’m sorry it wasn’t a movie with subtitles about a plastic bag swirling in the wind set to some obscure European song. I will say that when I called it a perfect movie, I was referring to it as a summer blockbuster. Normally we have the Michael Bay approach with no thought and all explosions. It was refreshing to see something a little different, while still being an action movie.
This might be the saddest list of comments I’ve seen on this board…and I was there during game 5, when I was the who posted like 30 times after driving home from the train wreck. We either have an insane amount of psychology students who happen to be cavs fans AND visit this blog….or I dunno.
Haven’t seen inception nor am I going to see inception. I only go to the movies when I plan on being entertained, and yea, that includes over the top action scenes and/or cheap thrills of some other kind. Apparently a lot of you go to..find a greater meaning in life? I guess. Whatever, go to the movies for w/e reason you feel like going to the movies. It’s ok to simply like a movie w/o having any real reason for it other than you thought it was good. Seems like a lot of people are trying to justify why they did or did not like it. Who cares? It’s there to entertain, and either you were entertained or you weren’t.
The guy wanting Krolik to jump off of a building because Krolik didn’t like Entourage…wow. I watched my very first episode of Entourage the other night and thought it was terrible. I guess I should probably burn myself alive or something?
+1 to the guy who watches Hung. Solid plot. Solid acting. Thomas Jane was awesome in The Punisher. Yes, I do watch it partly because Thomas Jane was awesome in The Punisher.
Oh, and Michael Bay can be useful at times. Sometimes, though, he even makes his mindless movies to mindless to watch, even when you go in expecting them to be mindless (Transformers 2 fits this description well).
Sorry Rich but I watch movies for more than just simple entertainment. If I wanted mindless entertainment I would watch MTV. I go to the movies(I actually netflix more so) for great acting, dialogue and thought provoking substance…
Sorry, this is a little off-topic, but does anyone here like basketball?
That’s fantastic Joey. As I said, “go to the movies for whatever reason you feel like going to the movies.” So….not sure why you’re apologizing.
Basketball sucks.
On a basketball note, there is this. http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/07/28/fan-wearing-lebron-james-heat-jersey-draws-ire-of-indians-fans/
I find it funny tbh. Guy in a Miami Heat LBJ jersey goes to an Indians game and decides to heckle the fans. Yea, he should get thrown out. Don’t bring that weak stuff in here.
Um, anyone hear about Lorenzen Wright? That situation is seriously F’ed up. I can’t imagine what his family is going through right now.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5418788
Just wow. Look at this ESPN spin job. Absolutely making it out as if the CLE fans were the ones causing the trouble. Of course, that doesn’t really pass the common sense test considering the MIA fan was the one forced to leave by security. ESPN doesn’t even act as though the MIA fan was the one who started the heckling. What a joke.
That story about Wright is insane. Nine days of rotting in the woods, riddled with bullet holes.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Teams-should-try-to-trade-for-Rudy-Fernandez?urn=nba-259071
This guy is cheap! And we could afford to give him a look in our new up-tempo system.
Josh Howard is signing for a 1 year deal worth 4 million. What exactly was the risk that we couldn’t have taken there? maybe he regains his form from two years ago and scores 25 a game. If not, who cares, it’s a one year deal.
Scott, re Windhorst: Maybe he has another book in him. When he tweeted a link to his story about the maneuvering/tampering/collusion that landed James in Miami, he said it was just the tip of the iceberg.
And a comment that really belongs in the previous thread (but hey, I’ve been busy this week): With the Sessions trade, I just want to acknowledge Delonte’s personal 14-0 run against the Bucks last season (in the middle of a 29-0 run by the Cavs). One of my favorite moments of the season. I hope things work out for him somewhere.
Possibly the only thing Henry Abbott has said in the last three months that I actually agree with:
“I know this is crazy talk, asking a stadium to forego the revenue they get from auctioning the exclusive right to profit from selling you hot dogs, but my thought would be that it would be a tremendous service to fans to charge food vendors rent, but without any stadium-wide exclusivity. If there were real competition in the arena, there would be real market pressure for every vendor to have better food, better prices and less excrata. Would it cost the stadium owners? Maybe. But on the other hand, wouldn’t you pay a little more for a ticket to go to a stadium with an ever-evolving set of good, clean, reasonably priced options?”
In fact, it may not cost stadium owners anything except certainty. If they open up vending locations to competition, competing food merchants could bid up the price of rent. However, they couldn’t sell off exclusive leases that run for 5-10 years or however long food vendor contracts probably run at sports stadiums.
If vending competition did happen though, would sports stadiums just start to look like the food court at the shopping mall or airport, filled with nationwide fast food franchises? Would that in fact be worse than the current utter lack of choice in dining options at most sports stadiums?