Conference Finals Predictions, Anti-Blockbusters of the Summer, and Hip Hop Top 20

RIP

My week long grind is over and I've caught hold of my breathe just long enough to pump this blog out for the masses. A week full of a teaching, a weekend of serving and I'm feeling just about ready for a little break, no rest for the weary just yet though, four more teaching days, then I'm off to the Island for a much deserved 4-day-weekend-steam-blow-off-bonanza. Should be a grand time - Islanders see you soon. I should note I've been saving up my tips, so get ready. Today it's back to the basics, -we're gonna break down the conference playoff finales in the East and West, discuss some 'under the radar' films worth watching this summer, and we'll break out another weekly hip hop top 20 countdown, per usual. As for the summer countdown, I'll do up another entry devoted solely to that so we can play a little catch up. Rest assured, summer is still on it's way. Otherwise, why is it raining so GD much?! On y va! Allons-y! 

Playoff Crystal Ball

The NBA playoffs have been a treat so far, with numerous close games and excited/surprising developments. One thing that always stand out is players who raise their level of play and solidify their names among the NBA's elite, this seasons playoffs that player was Zach Randolph. But the Thunder outlasted the Grizz and the Thunder looked the best they had all series in Sunday's clincher. If Westbrook picks his spots and plays under control the Thunder look tough to beat, why do I feel that's a big if. But you gotta wonder is JKidd gonna try and stay in front of him?  Another exciting development has been how much this season represents a real changing of the guard as old play off stand bys, Lakers, Spurs and Celtics (8 championships in the last decade.) have all experienced an early departure from the big dance. While up and comers, the Bulls and Thunder, have already made a name for themselves. Dallas, a team that has been chilling for so long we can't remember how dominant they were in dismantling the 3 time champion Lakers. Fair or foul, the Maverick's are going to have to deal with the questions about their mental pysche  from here on out. I hope Dirk was only getting started when he torched the Lakers and we're treated to an all time performance from one of the league's finest pure scorers - big, small, whatever - ever. And then there's the Heat, who despite Sunday's letdown, look at times like the playoffs most dynamic team - whether it be in the half court at either end, or in end to end transition with their two unstoppable finishers in DWade and LBJ.  So, who wins?

Eastern Conference
Miami Heat over Chicago Bulls in 7 (4-3)
The Skinny - This one hurts because I want the Bulls to win, I bought a $20 proline and bet on the Bulls in the series. But that's because I bet with my heart, I know it's not good policy but I'm gonna be watching the games and I want to root for the Bulls for 7 seven games so it's worth it, and who knows maybe the Bulls will fuck around and win. I felt the Heat choked the Celtics out without much difficulty and I expect their half court defence will do that same thing to the Bulls at times in this series. The Heat need to attack on the catch, not rely so much on the isolation - the Bulls defence is stellar and designed to funnel defenders into the superior Bull's bigs. However, the fact remains, the Bulls are still very much a one man show. If, and its a very big if, the Heat can scheme up something to contain Rose, the Bulls can be beat in a long series. I hope the Bulls win and I hope DRose is the best player in the series, but I've got a bad feeling the Heat are for real.
X Factor - Carlos Boozer - DRose needs him to do some heavy lifting, he needs to outplay Bosh, significantly.

Western Conference
Dallas Mavericks over Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 (4-2)
The Skinny - It's honestly been quite a while since I last saw Dallas play, so long in fact, that I think we can discount the idea that they're riding any kind of wave of momentum at this time. Hard to imagine that sweeping the Lakers would be a bad thing, and I'd be overdoing it to suggest that it was. But it's hard not to think that the 9 day layoff won't result in some kind of rust heading into game 1. Whereas, the Thunder come in fresh off their best game of the playoffs and solid rhythm to their game, something they've struggled to find to this point with Russell the playmaker vs. Russell the scorer. Durant needs to get touches, if I'm Coach Brooks, I'm stressing that hard. This will be a series of match-ups and I think they may favour the Thunder, JKidd likely will try and keep up with Westbrook at times, but I think Stevenson will see him as well. Durant will likely draw Marion's attention, I don't expect Nowitzki to cover him to much but we'll see. Dirk provides his own formidable challenge on the other end  of the floor. The Thunder don't seem to have a fix for Dirk either so I expect some numbers from the big Germ. I think Game 1 is pivotal tonight, the Mavs can't afford to drop home court avantage because they're rusty coming into this one. I don't think they will. 
X Factor - If Westbrook shares, everyone on the Thunder gets more.

Okay, so two weeks back I gave my summer blockbuster preview with the release of Fast Five and Thor. I'm still yet to see Fast Five, but I have heard good things and an imdb rating of 7.7 suggests it has a high quality level of entertainment value at least. But if you're anything like me, you look at your movie collection, specifically at those that you consider to be your favourites, and very few fit the typical blockbuster mould - maybe they lacked the Xplosive budget, were actually concerned with getting the story right or were too gritty to get a PG14 rating the producers covet to up the numbers. Whatever the case, the point is that great movies need not be blockbusters, in fact, often times they're not. Here's a look at a couple of this summers top anti-blockbuster films that I'm most looking forward to. I mentioned Hesher and Everything Must Go last week so don't think I'm counting those out. Here's 3 more to watch for.

Our Idiot Brother: A Sundance invitee, Our Idiot Brother may well follow a fairly predictable indie film formula. But if you're shooting for indie cult success Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer, and Zooey Deschanel are the kind of names you like to have in your credit roll. This movie might not be all that challenging but hopefully it's some indie fun in the vein of Little Miss Sunshine, Adventureland or something of that sort. 






The Guard: Looks to be a very entertaining movie. Don Cheadle is a go to actor of mine. Directed by John Michael McDonagh, the brother of Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), J.M. takes a similar approach reaching out to Brendan Gleeson as well to play in his film here. Let's hope that The Guard shares the sense of humour that we got from In Bruges last time around, if so, expect some sharp hitting dialogue and a thrilling crime comedy. Brendan Gleeson’s deadpan dry wit played very well with Colin Farrell in the younger brother's film it will be interesting to see if he and Don Cheadle can create the same kind of magic this time around..



The Tree of Life: Terrence Malick is know for his cinematic poetry, whatever that is. I know he did Thin Red Line and The New World, neither of which move my johnson. They say you either love his work or are bored stiff, the cast alone is enough to get me excited about this one (Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain)and the last time a movie was known for it's cinematography and was heralded as a challenged to the viewer I was watching There Will Be Blood, an it was a challenge I was happy to experience. A mysterious film, the details of what The Tree of Life is all about remain relatively cloak and dagger, but it's stirring up enough intrigue and seems to have the pedigree to make some noise this summer. Feel free to comment below if you can decipher what is going on in this trailer.

It's getting late I'll do an edit tomorrow and add in my top 20 countdown. Until then shout out MC. This one goes out to you.  P. for now.

****Back at it here Wednesday night, watching the Bulls v. Heat game gonna drop the top 20 of the week. Deng just buried an "at the buzzer!" half court heave, after Lebron only showed token pressure. Just sayin. Anyhow Bulls don't look good but they still look hungrier than the Heat and continue to dominate the glass (9 offensive rebounds in the first 6 minutes!) starting to look more like a personnel issues and less like an energy issue. Just sayin. All good things if you're a Bulls fan, and usually I'm not, but I'm certainly rooting for them against the old boys club down in South Beach. Go Bulls. Enjoy the game.

11. 20. Makin' Dough - Obie Trice
n/a 19. That's Life 2 - Killer Mike
n/a 18. See It To Believe It - J Cole
20. 17. Ballin'- Young Jeezy Ft. Lil Wayne
n/a 16. I'm On One - Drake, Rick Ross, Lil' Wayne
n/a 15. M I Crooked Letter - Rossini Ft. Big K.R.I.T. *Top Debut*

 
15. 14. Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
17. 13. Disgusting - J. Cole
14. 12. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa
18. 11. Fast Lane - Eminem and Royce 5'9" *Top Gainer*
05. 10. 6'7" - Lil Wayne Ft. Cory Gunz
12. 09. On My Level - Wiz Khalifa Ft. Too Short
10. 08. Eraser - Kid Cudi

04. 07. All Of The Lights - Kanye West
07. 06. Capcom - Kid Cudi
08. 05. All Black Everything - Lupe Fiasco
06. 04. American Rapstar - Big K.R.I.T.
03. 03. Red Nation - The Game Ft. Lil Wayne 
02. 02. Roll Up - Wiz Khalifa
01. 01. Dreamin' - Big K.R.I.T

Hump day. It's all downhill from here + long weekend. Peace all.