True to the form of its predecessors, THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS has a spectacular opening at number one this weekend at the Box Office!  Taking-in $100 million from 4,310 theatres, this eight installment in the series gets a passable 64% on the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore from Audiences.  To place it into context, this Film ranks second in its Franchise, right behind 2015’s FURIOUS 7 which opened with $147 million.

In second after two weeks on-top is THE BOSS BABY with $17 million, bringing its three week tally to $117 million in North America for 20th Century Fox.

Just crossing the $1 billion-mark worldwide this week, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST places third in its fifth week out for Disney with $16.2 million.  Thus far domestically it has grossed $457 million.

SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE places fourth with $11 million in its second week out for Sony Pictures, a two week take of $29 million.

GIFTED is in sixth with $3 million from 1,146 theatres for Fox Searchlight. It earns $4.3 million over two weeks.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND rounds-out the Top Ten with $2.6 million for Warner Bros. in its sixth week, a total of $161 million in its domestic run.

I wouldn’t expect many of you to know Sandy Lam, but this woman has been such a huge part of my life and identity through her music. Having Chinese blood but being born and raised in Canada, finding myself always was something I struggled with when I was younger. I felt I was ‘too Chinese’ to fit in with my classmates. To avoid drawing attention to myself, I would hide parts of my identity even if it meant concealing a grocery bag from the Chinese grocery store from them, just so I could avoid answering questions about it. I just wanted to blend-in and be that proud kid who showed-off the Irish Soda Bread loaf they made with their mom on Multicultural Day at school. I was always afraid to show my true colours.

University was an eye-opening experience where I went from being one of three Chinese kids in my grade to a sea of others who had similar features as me and looked like me. Many of these young men and women came to Canada to study from Hong Kong when simply opportunities and spots for admission in their native homeland were quite sparse. Suddenly I didn’t feel so odd, but still among them I didn’t feel I was ‘Chinese enough’ either to fit in. Thanks to my Cantonese-speaking parents, even though it didn’t seem like a gift as a young kid, I could at least speak the language conversationally. Still I lacked the sophisticated vocabulary and nuances of the language to connect deeply to the people and its culture.

I discovered Sandy watching her on TV with my mom late in my high school days. She was appearing at a charity benefit in Toronto, televised on the local Chinese channel. She possessed a magnetic elegance to her, speaking in eloquent English about building a bridge between Asia and Canada. She sang and in an instant I was sold. I asked my mom what her name was and she said, “林憶蓮  (romanized officially as Lam Yik Lin, but pronounced ‘Lum Yik Leen’)”.  I kept messing-up the pronunciation, mumbling back to myself, ‘Lum Lik Yeen’… ‘Lum Lik Leen’… as admittedly it was a bit of a tongue-twister –  those tricky ‘y’s and the ‘l’s! She wasn’t like other Cantonese pop singers, many who sang a melody simply note for note, more diction than emotion.  With the exception of a few, I found many had a certain woodenness to them, but Sandy had a relaxed gracefulness that felt very familiar and welcoming.

I couldn’t afford CDs back in the day.  At the Chinese mall, these albums were imported and sold at $30 a pop, so remembering that amazing singer I saw on TV, I resorted to buying three cassettes for a total $10 at a Chinese bookshop selling bootlegged versions of the albums, scanning through a wall of colour-photocopied fold-out leaflets to find that familiar face of hers. It was a darker time in my life (!) amidst what was considered a renaissance of Chinese Pop. My first tape was her Begin Again  不如重新開始 album from 1993, a mixture of dance-pop and sensual ballads. I loved it and knew I had found my musical soulmate.

Sandy, even through lyrics which I understood only in portions, touched my soul deeply through the breathy quiver of her voice. She was proficient equally at soulful balladry as she was Babyface-inspired 90s club bangers.  She had a rare talent and embodied the spirit of the modern woman and while being pop, her music had a deeper layer of maturity and artistry.  She possessed vulnerability yet great strength and authenticity as a woman unafraid to love and like every one of us, grapples with insecurity and heartbreak too when love ends.

Unable to get enough, I  began saving-up to buy her CDs, educating myself on her catalog whether it be 1991’s jazzy concept album Wildflower, ground-breaking in the Cantopop market at the time. Come 1995, she had conquered the Mandarin-speaking market in Asia with a sophisticated best-selling collection of songs leaning to the adult contemporary, Love, Sandy. That same year, she also released an English-Japanese album, Open Up which saw her pushing further ahead her artistic boundaries. There was always something new that surfaced with each listen to her music, but her voice was always front and center and undeniably mesmerizing.

It is through Sandy Lam’s music that I had become empowered to want to learn better my mother tongue, not only to speak, but to be able to read and understand the beautiful language of my ancestors, enrolling in courses at school. It is through her music that I developed a deeper connection to my roots, my parents’ culture and ultimately myself as a person. I’ve learned that you don’t have to be one or the other – Canadian or Chinese – but that you can be unique and a colourful culmination of your own experiences and influences.  Life is too short not to live it authentically. Having aspirations of being a musician then, I performed my very best with her inspiration guiding me always and even had the honour of studying under one of her previous teachers for a couple years.

News came earlier this year that Sandy accepted an invitation to compete on Hunan Television’s Singer 2017, a wildly-popular reality series in China which would see her share the stage with artists in a similar vein as The Voice/American Idol as we know it on this side of the Atlantic.  As a protective fan of hers, I was terrified to see her put herself out there to be evaluated by the public as such. Although she admits never to having asked for the protection of her fans, it is a natural instinct to protect something dear to your heart. To put it into context, Singer 2017 would be like having Mariah Carey compete in a singing competition with Céline Dion. As unfathomable as it was, here Sandy Lam was on stage competing for votes with other masters of their craft, including her once-mentor Teresa Carpio.

And did she ever silence the doubt.  Over the course of 13 weeks, Sandy would perform a range of material from her own peers and idols, a couple weeks singing her own songs as she switched seamlessly from English to Cantonese to Mandarin, winning the hearts and souls of voters in-studio and home. Tuning-in quietly every week thanks to YouTube, my ears and heart were filled with pure bliss enjoying her interpretations of familiar hits. Armed with a team of industry who’s-whos in her band including long-time friend Anthony Lun and partner Jun Kung, plus renowned vocal coach Sean Oliver, together they collectively elevated the spirit and caliber of Chinese Pop for all of us.

After four decades in the industry, Sandy Lam never has sounded or looked better than right this moment. She is an artist operating at the highest level possible and in a lasting, successful career to this day, she continues to make music which challenges herself stylistically and technically both, along with opening the minds of her fans. Thank you Sandy for the music. I couldn’t imagine a world without you, your passion and talent.

Her time on Singer 2017 was a gift to fans like myself and it is something I will treasure forever.  Sneakily, I have ripped all her performances into audio files to be enjoyed any time I wish on my phone, not unlike my days of listening to Sandy on pirated cassettes. I guess some things never really change!

Ultimately, the winner was announced this weekend and the right winner was selected in my humblest opinion.  Congratulations, Sandy and Team!

Enjoy some of my favourite moments I think you will love from Sandy’s time on the impeccably-produced Singer 2017:

RUN – a cover of Snow Patrol/Leona Lewis:

LESLIE FOREVER – a high-energy medley of Cantonese hits by legendary actor/singer Leslie Cheung with Kylie Minogue’s Slow interpolated:

多得他 (Superwoman by Karyn White, also sung in Cantonese by Faye Wong)

A couple under-appreciated Classics

Wildflower from “Wildflower”

Pieces of Mind from “Open Up”

A couple snaps of Sandy from her 2009 concert at Casino Rama, which was a dream. Yes, I was that fan that ran to the edge of the stage! LOL

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Warner Music/Hunan Television/Pioneer LDC)

The 2016 Sovereign Awards took place for the first time ever at Palais Royale, situated on Toronto’s Lakeshore. Honouring the best in Canadian Thoroughbred Racing for 42 years now, the annual fixture brought out a who’s-who in the industry. Winning Horse of the Year honours this year was Robert Marzilli‘s Caren, who also took home Champion Three-Year-Old Female honours. The tough filly last year was thrown all obstacles including a true stamina test on the turf to win the mile-and-a-quarter Wonder Where Stakes in August, defying all expectations. Trained by Michael De Paulo and his team, Caren‘s stablemate Noholdingback Bear also took home Champion Sprinter.

After shocking the racing world with an announcement of their exit from the industry with a complete dispersal of their horses last fall, Conquest Stables (Ernie Semersky and Dory Newell) were honoured as Outstanding Owner, an award which they took home also in 2014. I, along with Woodbine personality Dawn Lupul had the honour of accepting on behalf of Semersky and Newell.  I also had the honour of being nominated for Outstanding Photograph, which was awarded to Alberta’s Cody Gregory.  We congratulate him on his amazing win!

Mark Casse and his team continued their domination, taking home their ninth Outstanding Trainer title at the awards tonight, his daughter Camille accepting on his behalf. A few of his trainees – current and former – took home hardware this evening including Conquest Enforcer (Champion Turf Male), Lexie Lou (Champion Turf Female – a former  Horse of the Year also), King and his Court (Champion Two-Year-Old Male) and Victory to Victory (Champion Two-Year-Old Female).

Jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva won his third Outstanding Jockey title and just when we thought he was going to exit the stage without doing so, Emcee Jason Portuondo queued him to exclaim his signature line, “Get luck to everybody!”, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

For the first time ever, Outstanding Groom was awarded to Dexter Brathwaite, a member of Barb Minshall‘s team. The award was presented by the OLG.

Hot off the announcement that he has upped the purse of the 2018 Pegasus World Cup to a whopping $16 million, Frank Stronach was honoured for his industry contributions with the E.P. Taylor Award.  His daughter Belinda, who is still getting acclimated with the industry her father is so passionate about, joining him on-stage and she told the audience “I’m still learning and one day I”ll graduate”. Stronach’s Adena Springs operation took home Outstanding Breeder.

See our Instagram Story:

#SovereignAwards 2016 Photo Gallery 1.

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on Apr 14, 2017 at 12:37am PDT

#SovereignAwards 2016 Gallery 2.

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on Apr 14, 2017 at 12:46am PDT

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

From the same Director who brought us MY WEEK WITH MARILYN comes the Awards Season contender which you didn’t know you needed to see! We present to you, GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN!

Synopsis:
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN gives a rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children’s author A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) and his son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), whose toys inspired the magical world of Winnie the Pooh. Along with his mother Daphne (Margot Robbie), and his nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald), Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books; the enchanting tales bringing hope and comfort to England after the First World War. But with the eyes of the world on Christopher Robin, what will the cost be to the family?

While we’re still waiting on its Trailer, here’s a first look at new stills:

Fox Searchlight release GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Friday, November 10, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: Fox Searchlight)

A pairing couldn’t be more perfect.  Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson team-up in Vancouver-filmed Action-Comedy HITMAN’S BODYGUARD and this brand new Trailer looks wildly-entertaining!

Synopsis:
A bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) takes his former enemy, a hit man (Samuel L. Jackson), as a client so they can defeat a dictator (Gary Oldman).

See the Trailer:

VVS Films release HITMAN’S BODYGUARD Friday, August 18, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: VVS Films)

The season’s begun and guess what? PRINCESS is back too! We tried keeping this a secret but so much for that! Our girl A PIC BY MRWILL makes her three-year-old debut right in time for the start of the 2017 racing season at Woodbine Saturday, April 15, 2017. Under the silks of her proud parents John Ross and Cathy Wong, she will be ridden for the first time ever by respected journeyman and Avelino Gomez Award recipient Steven Bahen whom she struck a real strong connection with in a breeze last Saturday.

Steven Bahen

Steven who stunned the racing world in 2011 aboard 80-1 upset Queen’s Plate winner T J’s Lucky Moon, has in his career piloted greats like Mt. Sassafrass,  Simply Lovely, Silent Fleet, Cinquieme Essai and Nipissing. He unlocked something in Princess we’ve never seen prior before in her workouts and we’re excited to see their chemistry together on the track for the first time! Hopefully the Ross barn’s two wins on opening day in 2016 – one courtesy of Steven – are a sign of things to come? But really, we’re happy just to see progress as she’s shown us all winter in Florida!

Princess a couple weeks back had the honour also of working under #emmazing Emma-Jayne Wilson in a good work, her first since being back at Woodbine.  She has been paired with workmate Royal Katy under Katy Morrison and has kept right up.

Some Snaps of that:

She faces a talented and promising field of young ladies making their three-year-old debut at five furlongs, a distance Princess trained at last week. We have a feeling she might want to go a bit longer but this is a great starting point for her to get a race under her belt.

Send all your luck, we need it and appreciate it! See you at the races Saturday? Race 10, #10!  Post time is 5:59 PM EST.

Mr. Will x Princess

p.s. Princess is now on Facebook too! Come be her ‘priend’ here.

These past few days have been exciting for her and if you are in Toronto, tune in 6:20 PM EST tonight on CTV during their Sports segment for a feature including Princess, her dad John and Emma! Thanks CTV, Keith McCalmont and Woodbine!

Princess in 3D. Coming soon to theatres. 👑

A post shared by Princess 🍎 (@apicbymrwill) on Apr 8, 2017 at 10:27am PDT

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

For 40 years The Cheesecake Factory has been filling the tummies of Americans with decadence and value. Although the tease has been a long one for Canadians who already know their greatness through their cross-border adventures, the time has finally come for us in Toronto!

It was announced earlier today that The Cheesecake Factory will launch its first Canadian location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre this fall! The 10,400 sq. ft. space with two covered patios, will be situated in the A-tier mall’s north side.

The menu will showcase over 50 different signature cheesecakes and desserts. Also offered are their “super” foods, pizzas, glamburgers® & sandwiches, pastas, steaks, chops, fish & seafood, skinnylicious®, Sunday brunch, all handmade, in-house with fresh ingredients. 

We’ve tried their cheesecakes on many occasions but have never had the time for a sit-down and we’re beyond thrilled!

Stay tuned for more!

(Photo credit: Butter PR)

A new Trailer for one of this summer’s most-awaited blockbusters, TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT has arrived!

Synopsis:

The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock).

There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we are called upon to make a difference. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.

See the Trailer:

Paramount Pictures Canada release TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT Friday, June 23, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

A must-see for any Foodie! Check out the Trailer for upcoming Documentary, JEREMIAH TOWER: THE LAST MAGNIFICENT!

SYNOPSIS:

JEREMIAH TOWER: THE LAST MAGNIFICENT explores the remarkable life of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most controversial and influential figures in the history of American gastronomy. Tower began his career at the renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1972, becoming a pioneering figure in the emerging California cuisine movement. After leaving Chez Panisse, due in part to a famously contentious relationship with founder Alice Waters, Tower went on to launch his own legendary Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. Stars was an overnight sensation and soon became one of America’s top-grossing U.S. restaurants. After several years, Tower mysteriously walked away from Stars and then disappeared from the scene for nearly two decades, only to resurface in the most unlikely of places: New York City’s fabled but troubled Tavern on the Green. There, he launched a journey of self-discovery familiar to anyone who has ever imagined themselves to be an artist. Featuring interviews by Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Ruth Reichl and Martha Stewart, this delicious documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of America’s first celebrity chef, whose brash personality and culinary genius has made him a living legend.

See the Trailer:

The Orchard release JEREMIAH TOWER: THE LAST MAGNIFICENT Friday, May 5, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: The Orchard)

We’re all eagerly awaiting the return of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK and to pump us up, comes this exciting new sneak peek featuring the first 60 seconds of the fifth season’s first episode! Does this ever look intense!

Synopsis:
A riot sparked by Poussey‘s (Samira Wiley) death quickly escalates when the inmates gain control of the prison. Once they get a taste of power, chaos erupts in the halls of Litchfield. The unprecedented season will take place in real time and over the course of just three days, leaving the inmates’ lives forever changed as they are emboldened to fight for redemption, resolution and the respect they deserve.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Season Five streams on Netflix Canada Friday, June 9, 2017.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)