New Job Opportunity

My people,my people!Big things are on the horizon.I've been offered a position with a new sportswear company called CRONS that is starting to gain popularity. All their clothes are made from eco-friendly materials and everything offered comes at a very fair price if I may say so. If I take the position I will be in charge of outside sales to the region I live in.Should I take it?

Suspensions?Really??

I watched the Lakers game last night.I saw the "flagrant foul".The truth is,even if I wasn't a Lakers fan there is no way I would be screaming for the suspensions of Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom.I was very surprised when I woke up this morning on the heels of an embarrasing blowout Lakers loss to the Blazers to see that both these players might be suspended without pay for multiple games.A,the foul wasn't that hard.It was hard,but both players were flying through the air at high speeds and I know from experience what happens in those situations.B,Ariza was going for the ball.If you have any desire to dispute that you are probably a lawyer or a complete idiot.

If indeed there are going to be suspensions,shouldn't we be talking about some on both sides?After all, multiple Blazers players including Brandon Roy and Lemarcus Aldridge went after Ariza to rough him up.I don't think anything would actually have happened past some pushing and shoving given basketball player's history of violence,or lack there of.In the history of the NBA there's been what,4 big fist fights?Give me a break,this was more of a non incident than an incident at all.Did anyone scream for Al Horford to be suspended when he threw Tj Ford head first into the floor last year?No,didn't think so.Everyone needs to take a deep breath,including David Stern and weigh out both sides of this.On a side note,the Lake Show needs to kick it into overdrive if they plan on coming out of the west in first place.Or maybe this is all part of their plan?I've seen stranger things from Phil.If the Playoffs started today the Lakers would get a first round date with the Mavericks....but honestly I don't see Dallas making the playoffs.If they do,it's only because the Suns have so many injuries and all of the other Western teams have been eliminated from playoff contention.Thats right,mid march and there are only 9 teams left within reach of a playoff spot in the West. Consider that on the East Coast,all 15 teams are still eligible...it's a big deal.

Lakers-Grizzlies Recap

I'll start by saying that this was the most boring game I've seen out of the Lakers all year.Hands down.Kobe had a big game,but if you watched the game you could tell that he wasn't really exerting
himself like he usually does.I think that my boys are finally hitting their mid season wall.Most of the other teams have already gotten past that point and are now gearing up for a late season push(the Hornets in particular)so it will be interesting to see over the next two months if the Lakers can handle the pressure of having a few teams breathing down their necks.

All that being said,I've got to congratulate Memphis on trying hard the whole game.Say what you will about the Grizzles(I know I spelled that wrong) but them boys have heart. In a few years they are going to be very dangerous,2001-2002 Clippers style.There are literally college teams that have older starting lineups than the Grizzlies.Be warned,we're looking at a future 60 win team here if they all stay together.

Lamar Odom continues to amaze me.He razzles and dazzles and dizzles,yet scores two points.He still managed a near triple double with blocks rebounds and assists though,sitting out the entired fourth quarter with Kobe and Pau while DJ MMMMMMMbenga decided he would terrorize poor Marc Gasol.For a man with no neck,he's showing he's got game lately.Claps to you DJ.Also,does anyone know when Hakim Warrick's contract is up?This man needs to be let loose,I get sad every time i see him glued to the bench on a team that has no hope of reaching the playoffs this year.Let the man PLAY!!

At the end of the the night the Lake show gets a 99-89 win and regains the leagues best record at 49-12 while coming one point short of sending the home crowd home with the coveted taco treasure and the Grizzlies keep one of the worst records at 15-44.Keep your head's up Memphis,at least the boys are trying.

Lakers-Grizzlies Recap

Reviewing Australia

There really isn't much to say about this film than most people already know.It took a lot of time and money to make,it's about the effects of WWII on Australia,and there is a love story intertwined.

For 290 million dollars and 3 years of filming(yes you read that right) I was expecting one heck of a movie.I remember thinking"there had better be some massive explosions and really good camera work or I will call this a bust".Turns out there were both.Also we get to see Hugh Jackman get into a pretty lengthy bar fight right at the beginning.I couldn't help but wish that all of the sudden he would sprout the wolverine claws and shred everyone to bits,that unfortunately didn't manifest.It was nice to see Hugh Jackman in a role that really fits him though,when he is covered in dirt and hair...he just seems at home.

As for the other two lead actors,Nicole Kidman and Brandon Walters(Nullah), they both did brilliant jobs.Walters has a hugely succesful career ahead of him if he can somehow avoid becoming an over publicized child star that crashes in to an adolescence filled with drugs.I'll give him 4 to 1 odds on that.His character totally steals the show in my opinion.If it weren't for him,"Australia" would have been simply another sappy love story set in WWII but on a different continent than the ones we have all seen before.

I also enjoyed how they writers managed to intertwine a bit of an aboriginal history lesson in this movie too. Not too much is heard on this side of the world about the racism that took place in Australia during the beginning and middle of the 20th century and this was really eye opening if it was accurate. It actually made it look like colored people in their country had it much worse than the colored people of North America.

If you have an extra three hours to watch a movie,i recommend Australia.The only drawback to it would be if you have trouble understanding foreign accents as my parents do...be warned.
4/5

Ten (relatively) old movies that we should all enjoy

Almost every day I scour the land of Netflix,searching for hidden gems that I haven't watched yet.On occasion i unearth a good one and while the movie titles that follow may be well known to our parents and grandparents,chances are the majority of twenty-somethings and teens haven't seen them.They may not offer the special effects of "Transformers" or the gore of "Gladiator" but they are excellent nonetheless.

1.Spartacus(1960)-Kirk Douglas.Picture Gladiator made 49 years ago and this is what you get.Before Kirk Douglas looked like a wrinkled dress shirt he was a bad mama jamma.If you don't know who Spartacus was,this movie can serve as a history lesson too.We're all about education up in here!

2.Escape From Alcatraz(1979)-Clint Eastwood. Once upon a time Clint Eastwood was not old.That time was long before I was born but he is still one of my favorite actors.He reminds me of a friend's grandfather,old and surly...yet endearing.Anyways,"Escape From Alcatraz" is based on the true story of a convict who planned an escape from...you guessed it...Alcatraz. This is old school Clint at his best.

3.Cool Hand Luke(1967)-Paul Newman.My dad made me watch this for the first time with him when I was six.That being said, if there is one Paul Newman movie you must see,let it be "Cool Hand Luke".The man oozed awesome(R.I.P.). Who else can make going to jail for cutting the tops off of parking meters seem anything more than foolish?Paul Newman can!Who can eat 50 hard boiled eggs in one setting?Paul Newman can!!! George Kennedy co-stars in the film that follows the trials and tribulations of an ex soldier who becomes a drunken trouble making loner.

4.All Quiet On The Western Front(1979)-Ernest Borgine.Chances are,if you took history class in high school with a teacher that knew what they were doing you got to watch this movie.It is based on the lives of a group of young German soldiers during WW1.There's really nothing more to say.It's old,there are guns involved.Watch it.

5.The Nutty Professor(1963)-Jerry Lewis.The REAL Nutty Professor! I first saw the Eddy Murphy version,and I now harbor a deep resentment for the man.The Jerry Lewis version is on a whole different level.Late one night in his lab,a professor conctocts a secret potion that turns him from an unwanted nerd into a blooming casanova.Hilarity ensues.Certain scenes of the movie used to give me nightmares when I was little,but it's safe to watch now.

6.The Buttercream Gang(1992)-Michael D Weatherred.I know, "The BC Gang" technically wasn't before my name,but how many of YOU have even heard of it?My point exactly. This movie brings back great childhood memories.It's a story about unconditional friendship,quite heartwarming if you ask me.A do-gooder gang loses their leader when he moves to Chicago and when things don't work out he returns a changed boy.His friends take it upon themselves to restore their friend back to his old self.

7.The Outsiders(1983)-Tom Cruise,Matt Dillon,Patrick Swayze,Rob Lowe,Tom Waits,Emilio Estevez,Diane Lane.Do you need any more reasons to watch than the ones I just gave you?If you do,there are "greasers".Greasers and gang fights and leather jackets.Oh and it's directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

8.The Apple Dumpling Gang(1975)-Bill Bixby,Don Knotts,Tim Conway.After a man inherits 3 orphans and an earthquake shakes the town,the children stumble upon a gold nugget while exploring a mine shaft.After they are hunted down by dirty rotten criminals intent on stealing the gold,the story takes off.It takes place in the old west of the late 1800's."The Apple Dumpling Gang" is a kids movie that I still enjoy to this very day.If you don't laugh at least a handfull of times during this movie,chances are that you have no heart.Check Yourself!

9.New Jersey Drive(1995)-Sharron Corley.This movie is like the East Coast version of "Boys In Da Hood",without all the famous actors.It's still a great movie to enjoy,if you can ignore the number of times that "know what I'm sayin?" is said.The story revolves around a group of inner city friends that steal cars and sell them to chop shops.Naturally there are police with vendettas involved.

10.The Bridge on the River Kwai(1957)-William Holden. Another movie that I got to see during history class. Before this movie,I was not a big fan of black and white cinema."The Bridge on the River Kwai" changed things. It takes place during WWII when the Japanese force a group of British POW's to build a bridge. At the same time,Bristish agents are making plans to destroy the bridge because of the strategic importance it has to the Japanese.


So there you have it.20 odd hours worth of quality entertainment that you probably didn't know existed before now.You can thank me in the form of cash.

Review for W.

I'm going to keep this review short,but still get all the important parts in.

Oliver Stone turned this movie out in impressive fashion,it's rumored that this movie took only 9 months to make. Based upon the life of George"Dubya"Bush,W. follows George from his partying days as a Yale frat boy to his final years in the White House as the president of the United States.

The movie follows two era's in George's life at once all the way until the end,where all we see is the the modern era Bush,plowing through Iraq hunting for terrorists.From his days working on an oil rig in Texas to running for Governer years later,Oliver Stone seemed to make sure he covered his bases.Early in the movie there was alot of alcohol involved but later in the movie we get to see curious George conquer his addiction when he becomes a reformed Christian.

I was skeptical of this movie at first,given Oliver Stone's political history but he did a splendid job of weaving in enough good and bad to make a clear picture.W. made Mr.Bush seem like the uncle we all wish we had as a kid,the laid back,down to earth guy who just wants to wear his cowboy boots in peace.We also get to see other side's of Bush that I didn't know existed.The feuds with his father George Sr., his passion for physical fitness and his fear of cameras(that explains alot).

The end of the movie left me feeling bad for the man quite frankly. He seemed like a puppet on a string,wanting to please everybody and not sure who to turn to for advice. I think it's fair to say that the movie portrayed Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney as the ringleaders behind the Iraq war.Maybe that is true and maybe it isn't but I think that this film portrays things from a different perspective than what we've been fed by the mainstream media for the last 8 years.Josh Brolin was very commanding on screen as Bush and at times I forgot I was watching actors and not real life.

I give this movie a 3 for two simple reasons.First of all,it wasn't a stand out film.It was good,but it was just average good.I doubt that any of the actors in this movie will have their careers defined by their roles in the film.Secondly,I hated the flashbacks.At one point it would be 2001,then flash to 1966,then to 1988,then to 2002,so it was a little annoying at some points. The only other qualm I have with W. is the fact that it can't decide if it wants to be a drama or a comedy.This may have been done on purpose,I don't know.

So there you have it.W. in all his glorious and well....not so glorious times.I hope you all have found this to be a little bit helpful at least,maybe it will convince some people like me who couldn't decide if the movie would be worth two hours of your life.It was worth my two hours,barely.