January 19th, 2009
Happy Martin Luther King Day!! Some enjoying a nice long weekend thanks to the holiday and some enjoying an even longer weekend to catch Inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow.
If you weren’t able to tune into the big kick off celebration, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, last night here’s how it played out:
Following an introduction from Denzel Washington, Bruce Springsteen launched the music with his post-September 11th song of inspiration, “The Rising.” John Mellencamp contributed “Pink Houses” while James Taylor teamed up with R&B star John Legend and country singer Jennifer Nettles for his hit “Shower the People” and Stevie Wonder joined Usher and Shakira for his hit “Higher Ground”. Folk legend Pete Seeger joined Springsteen to lead a rendition of the classic “This Land Is Your Land” before Beyonce closed the ceremony singing “America the Beautiful.” Hollywood stars including Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Steve Carell, and Marisa Tomei provided historical references and introduced video clips of inspirational speeches from past presidents. In addition, both Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Obama stepped to the podium to address the crowd. What a show!!
THIS WEEKEND’S TOP TEN MOVIES
1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $33.8 million
2. Gran Torino, $22.2 million
3. My Bloody Valentine 3-D, $21.9 million
4. Notorious, $21.5 million
5. Hotel for Dogs, $17.7 million
6. Bride Wars, $11.75 million
7. The Unborn, $9.8 million
8. Defiance, $9.2 million
9. Marley & Me, $6.3 million
10. Slumdog Millionaire, $5.9 million
I got a chance to see Defiance over the weekend at Fall Creek Pictures in Ithaca. I truly enjoyed it, as much as a movie about Nazi Germany and the genocide of the Jewish people can be enjoyed. I’ve seen numerous movies about the Holocaust, but this was a new side of the story I’ve never seen before. About the jewish families who fled from their villages into the surrounding forrests and made camp and on occassion attacked German outposts. It had an almost Robin Hood feel to it. Great movie!!
JOAQUIN PHOENIX RESURFACES AS A RAPPER!!
Joaquin Phoenix announced late last year that he was retiring from acting, to work on his music. Well he made his public debut Friday, as a rapper! He took to the stage at the Las Vegas nightclub LAVO, performing three songs from his upcoming new album. He told People.com that while he enjoyed punk rock music when he was younger, he soon discovered his love for the “storytelling aspect of hip-hop.” The crowd at LAVO was very receptive of his rap, even cheering him on after his performance. His brother-in-law, actor Casey Affleck, was among those in the crowd filming the performance for a documentary. No word on when Phoenix’s album is expected to surface.
REMEMBERING PRESIDENT BUSH
With just one day left in office the question was asked, what will you remember about outgoing President George Bush? According to a Rasmussen Reports poll, most American adults believe the legacy of George W. Bush will be the Iraq war, with 41-percent saying this is what will always stand out about him in people’s minds. Coming in at a distant second place, as the choice of 16-percent, is his response to the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. The economy is a close third, with 14-percent thinking this is what Bush will be remembered for. Six-percent see Bush’s response to 2005’s devastating Hurricane Katrina as the thing that will forever stick with people, while just two-percent say Bush will be remembered for his efforts in attaining Middle East peace.
Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Man On The Moon