Asian Handicap

If you haven’t already, click on the YouTube link up above ... there you have an Asian girl, Cathy Nguyen, who sings the same style as pop’s current princess, Miley Cyrus ... Cathy’s voice is 1000x more appealing, as are her looks ... but Cyrus is the multi-million-pushing-billionaire while Cathy is without a deal ... how twisted is that? ... that’s probably the biggest beef I have with the music and entertainment industry ... talent and now apparently even looks aren’t enough to get you to the top (unlike sports where talent is always recognized) ... it’s what’s “marketable”, which takes us to my point about the Asian Handicap ... you’ll never see an Asian rise to the top in the American (or Canadian) market, unless they’re mixed ... don’t believe me ... well, name one ... Apl.de.ap? looks more black ... Nicole from Pussycat Dolls? looks more white ... Cathy Nguyen is mixed, but looks more Asian ... I’m not gonna pull out the racism card, because I think that’s been overused ... I’ll just say that the psyche of overall society is tough to change ... small moves ... but if you ask me how long it will take for an Asian to crack the North American market, I’ll say at the minimum, the same amount of time it took for the United States to elect a black President ...

~J-Smooth~

Reviews - District 9, Tyson

District 9 – starring nobody recognizable ... I’ll start off by saying that I was left with the same feeling from watching this movie, as I was with The Dark Knight last year ... left with a few unanswered questions ... BUT, that being said, I have to give this movie some major props for being different, original, unpredictable (Thank God) and realistic ... to elaborate on the last point (which I’m sure some of you will question considering this is an alien movie), the characters in the film reacted to situations how I would expect them to if this really happened ... I will say that this movie is definitely not for everyone ... One thing I liked about the movie was that it was not some “Grand Hollywood” production, ie. typical apocalyptic/disaster flick shot in one of the big cities (NYC, LA, London), as it was set in South Africa ... lastly, another element of the film that I liked was that a good percentage of it was shot documentary style, props to the director on that ... District 9 wasn’t bad at all, I just wasn’t wow’d ... score: 3.25/5

Tyson – documentary/biography by James Toback ... picked up this DVD on the first day of release like I said I would ... there was a lot of hype about this film and after viewing it, I can vouch that it is as good as advertised, if not better ... I’m kind of biased, because Mike Tyson was one of my childhood heroes as I’ve mentioned before ... but what I enjoyed the most about this film was that Mike’s accounts and dialogue were as real and as raw as it gets, really taking you into his frame of mind ... and his logic, I’m sure to most people, will come off as really twisted and borderline psycho ... his life is really just a tragic story, but I feel that he’s redeemed because (and whether you choose to believe him or not) he owns up to everything he’s done in the past, saying various times “I can only blame myself” ... over the years Mike’s come across like an insane animal (and admittedly much of it was his doing) but you really get to see the human side of him which is just a sad individual, some scenes saw him fighting back tears ... the film gives you Mike’s account of the significant moments in his life: his early years, career, marriage to Robin Givens, Buster Douglas, prison sentence, return to glory and fall from grace ... finally, in my opinion, if Tyson had gotten the opportunity to face Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in his prime, he would’ve gone down as the greatest to ever lace up gloves, because they both would’ve fallen ... he may not have gone down as THE greatest of all time, but his documentary/biography definitely is ... score: 4.75/5

~J-Smooth~

Ringside Rundown

-to buy or not to buy, that is the question ... Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto tix on sale this Monday ... and I'll be in the Southwest U.S. at that time, so it would make sense ... BUT, at the same time, $150 for microscopic view nosebleeds compared to $49.99 for a birdseye view from the comfort of my own home, what's the better investment? hmmmm ...

-what a GREAT 2009 end of year sched ...

-Sept 19th: Floyd Mayweather Jr./Juan Manuel Marquez

-Oct 3rd: Kelly Pavlik/Paul Williams; Showtime's Super Middleweight Elimination tourney

-Nov 14th: Pacquiao/Cotto

-and there's talk about WBA 147 Champ Shane Mosley in a unification bout with WBC 147 Champ Andre Berto for December

-if you haven't already clicked on the video above, Mike Tyson's documentary is set to be released on DVD this Tuesday ... only thing for me to figure out now is: Best Buy, Future Shop or HMV ...

~J-Smooth~

Movie Review - A Perfect Getaway

A Perfect Getaway - starring nobody notable (although Kiele Sanchez is alright looking) ... went from a somewhat interesting film to flatlining about 85% of the way through, which was the point of the plot twist ... in my opinion, this is a Made-for-(Sunday Afternoon)-TV movie, which somehow managed to sneak its way onto the big screen ... basically the plotline evolved from realistic/believable to "WTF?!" ... I've said before that the art of the plot twist has been lost ... this film was proof positive of that ... or maybe it's just me, because nothing surprises me anymore in "who done it?" kind of films ... I won't degrade this movie (like Lost In Translation or House of Flying Daggers), because it did keep my interest for a good percentage of it ... BUT, the plot twist REALLY killed it ... score 1/5

in some unrelated ... I've seen some good dramas and action movies over the past few years, but I haven't seen a good comedy in a long time, Along Came Polly was probably the last ... I guess There's Something About Mary and American Pie set the bar so high for comedies, that everything else just pales in comparison ...

~J-Smooth~

The People's Church

This weekend we had some visitors over from The States ... among them was my godmother whom I hadn't seen since '93 ... this was her first trip to Canada, so of course I was designated as T-Dot tour guide, something which I didn't mind at all ... driving to Downtown Toronto for reasons other than "business" was a refreshing change ... really all I had to do was drive them around on a sightseeing tour, because her mother has difficulty getting around ... we drove past the usual sights: CN Tower, SkyDome, ACC, Queen's Park, The ROM, City Hall, Eaton Centre, Dundas Square and Bloor Street ...

afterwards, I took drove them to their church, for Sunday service ... The People's Church in North York ... they asked me to join them, something which I wasn't opposed to at all ... part of it was that I was somewhat intrigued, because they apparently broadcast these services on television, which my godmother can watch all the way from Los Angeles, where she's from (you'd think it'd be the other way around) ... now this was an inter-denominational church of all Christians, so it was very diverse in terms of the different cultures in attendance ... as for the inside of the church, just imagine a theater ... the format of the service itself was very different from what I'm used to (myself being Catholic) ... it's basically a show, nothing solemn ... in the beginning, the congregation sings upbeat religious songs (and everyone is into it) ... then comes the preacher, who gives his sermon frequently referencing the bible, which everyone in attendance does as well ... after about a half hour's sermon, the service concludes with a final blessing ... now what did I think of all of this? ... in a nutshell, it's basically an extension of what we do at my church ... what's funny is that The People's Church has things I wish my church did (ie. a great choir and a charismatic preacher) ... another thing I loved was that, from my perspective, there is no conflict between this church and my own ... they can go hand-in-hand, as I said, merely an extension ... just goes to show, there is more than one way of showing love and appreciation to The Almighty, who's given us everything ...

~J-Smooth~

How 'bout them Blue Days

my second post today, but yesterday's dose of nostalgia is worth talking about ...

I posted it on Facebook and Twitter ... watching last night's reunion of the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays World Series Championship teams, brings back a lot of great memories, but it is another painful reminder of how the mighty have fallen ... I'd have to say my love for the Jays back then was greater than my love today for basketball and boxing combined ... I would reflect on the highlights of those years, but they're pretty much self-explanatory, so I thought I'd talk about some of my fave players ...

Joe Carter: probably my favorite baseball player of all-time

Roberto Alomar: the Derek Jeter of those days and as much as I love Jeter, he comes up short compared to Robbie in terms of ability ...

Juan Guzman: at the time, one of the most feared pitchers in the game ... the guy had an absolute gun for an arm, and when you throw 95-8 mph, you don't have to worry about anything, all you have to do is throw strikes ...

Paul Molitor: the biggest reason for why they repeated in 1993 ...

Devon White: the best defensive center fielder I've ever seen ...

Ricky Henderson: what a difference a uniform makes ... absolutely hated him when he played for Oakland and loved him when he landed in Toronto ...

Dave Winfield: one of the classiest guys, not just in baseball but, in sports history ...

The Pitching Staff: Jack Morris, David Cone, Dave Stewart ... we're talking three of the best pitchers in the history of the game ... Tom Henke and Duane Ward, the best closers in the game at the time ...

Others: Tony Fernandez, Jimmy Key, Dave Stieb and even though he wasn't a part of those teams Fred McGriff ... in my opinion the greatest trade in baseball history was McGriff and Fernandez for Carter and Alomar ... other greats came along in the years following (ie. Carlos Delgado, Roy Halladay) but never a collection of greats like those teams ...

Probably my favorite memory from those World Series Championships was watching Game 6 of the 1992 World Series at the SkyDome ("Rogers Centre" pffft) on the JumboTron with my Uncle Shark ... talk about emotions, the Jays were one strike away from the title, the Dome is loud and going crazy ... but Henke blew the save and it was like the air was let out of the place ... then going crazy again with Winfield's clutch 2-out 2-run double in the 11th inning ... when that final out was recorded, talk about chaos, it was pandemonium ... everyone in the stadium going nuts ... I was near tears, hugging people I didn't know, singing Queen's "We Are The Champions" ... then nearly got crushed walking down a celebratory Front Street ...

Damn I miss those days ...

~J-Smooth~

Movie Review - Knowing

Knowing - starring Nicholas Cage ... the main themes of the movie are prophecy and destiny ... the premise is a man (Cage) who discovers that the world's major disasters over a 50-year period, have been predicted with grave accuracy (ie. 9/11) ... in light of his discovery, he finds that there are disasters which have yet to occur ... the film is dedicated to how he deals with this information ... now if someone were to ask me how good the movie was, I'd say it would depend on what kind of person they are ... would they consider themselves a person of science or a person of faith? are they a realist or a believer? ... I'm more of the latter on both points, but with a hint of the former ... the movie to me wasn't the greatest, but it was entertaining ... score: 3/5 ...

~J-Smooth~

NBA Sched; Raptors

-got a peek at the 2009-10 NBA schedule released yesterday ... there are only a few real dates that interest me ...

-first, is the Christmas Day schedule ... it's become a great holiday tradition for me to watch ball on that day ... this year definitely won't disappoint ... I was hoping for Lakers/Celtics, but that's what the Finals are for ... Celtics/Magic and Cavs/Lakers are more than good enough ... ABC had to make up for their desired Kobe/LeBron Final last year and I'm sure they'll be hoping for a ratings explosion on Christmas Day ...

-the other dates that interest me are on the Raptors' schedule ... particularly when the Lakers, Celtics, Magic, and to a lesser extent, Blazers, Hornets and Heat come to town, because I want to catch at least a couple of games at the ACC ...

-I was tweeting back and forth with my squad from HV, about predictions for the upcoming season ... it's still waaaay too early, but I have The Lakers over The Celtics in the Finals ... Also, I have the Raptors winning 51 games and reaching the Conference Finals ... this may come as a shock to many, even moreso coming from me ... I'll elaborate at a later time ...

~J-Smooth~

Wii Sports Resort Review

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it right now that Nintendo Wii is the greatest console of all time ... I awarded the console that status after the release of Punch-Out!! in May ... but they've re-affirmed their greatness with Wii Sports Resort ... this game is the much anticipated sequel to Wii Sports ... bundled with the game is the new Wii Motion Plus attachment, which provides much more accurate sensory movement ... Sports Resort features 12 mini-games ... the best ones in my opinion are the Table Tennis and Swordplay ... the only downer with those is that the experience is much better when playing with others ... and as everyone knows, J-Smooth doesn't shy away from competition ... the best solo mini-games are Archery and Power Cruising which highlight the brilliance of the Wii Motion Plus ... the other mini-games are so-so, but still fun ... Thank You Nintendo!! ... and I'm positive your greatness will only reach more epic heights with the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii this coming holiday season ...

~J-Smooth~

Movie Review - Crossing Over

Crossing Over - starring: Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta ... in a nutshell, this movie was cut from the same cloth as Crash ... the only criticisms I have of the film were that: there were a few spots that were a bit slow-paced and some storylines in hindsight really served no purpose ... the moral of the story is the value/significance of becoming an American citizen ... so if that concept makes you roll your eyes, this movie may not be your cup of tea ... nothing wrong with the acting or character development ... but a solid movie nonetheless, I enjoyed it ... score: 3.5/5 ...

~J-Smooth~