Arts & Entertainment

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: Movies to see “Inglorious Bastards” and “Up in the Air”

MUSIC: Songs on my playlist…

MUSIC: Songs on my playlist...

1. Paradise Circus by Massive Attack. Massive Attack stays true to their signature sound of trippy sexy beats. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

2. Running Up That Hill by Placebo. A slinky update to the Kate Bush's 80s version.

3. Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down by Alicia Keys. I love the original with Jay-Z...but this version gives me goosebumps.

Commercials that make me laugh!

Commercials that make me laugh!

So, the Super Bowl is not a life changing event in my world... I wasn't planning on watching it, but I ended up at my best friend's home and like most red-blooded American men her husband WAS watching. As he crouched intently forward in game watching stance with beverage in hand, I had no choice but to surrender to joining in the football festivities. When I found myself reaching for the suspicious looking chip dip (for the second time) - I was about to stop watching and resume my shutterfly.com album on my laptop - but he insisted that I stay and watch "the greatest thing ever". Preparing myself to try to get excited over a fumble, I sat down in defeat. He pressed play on the DVR/ TIVO and up came a scene that resembled something from Lost. It was probably one of the funniest commercials I have ever seen in a long time. It was a parody of the show - complete with a sweat-drenched Kate trying to persuade her fellow castaways to save themselves... but like any good beer commercial, the group comes across a beverage cart stocked with Budweiser and leaving the island is the farthest from their minds. Damn those Super Bowl commercials - they sucker me in every time. I ended up throwing in the towel and enjoyed the rest of the evening watching the game and even dipping a few more chips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3GsTPgSGo

IF YOU LIKE MICHAEL MOORE ‘CAPITALISM A LOVE STORY’ DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: Capitalism a true love story- A MUST SEE

I have to admit I am a big Michael Moore fan (although I did not love Sicko) but "Capitalism: A Love Story" was GREAT. I really have to give it an A+. As always there are so many moments when he makes you laugh (imagine he takes an armored truck and drives around to every bank in Manhattan and demands each bank to give us our money back) but also educates you, reminding us of the laws that FDR wanted to enact before he died. Could FDR's ideas have prevented the financial meltdown the last year, probably not, but it does make you think. I remember I asked my father last October, who worked on Madison Avenue in the 80's, " Dad, is this what it was like in the 80's?" and he said "No!" and I was of course relieved until he continued "this is waaayyyyyyyyyyyyy worse. I've never in my lifetime experienced anything like this." Well, talk about a downer! (Moore calls President Carter in the film 'debbie downer'....until the new 'sheriff' arrived in town...Ronald Reagan that is...and then "chicken little" came around...G. Bush that is) I loved learning that the 'insiders' referred to the government as "Government Goldman" since so many Goldman Sachs executives were involved in running the government. Or that he compared Wall Street to "an insane casino. We allowed them to bet on anything they want." And to top it off he took 'crime scene' yellow tape and wrapped it around every bank he could find. Well, what can I say, it certainly made me pause when he pointed out that a manager at Taco Bell makes more money than most pilots in the airlines. Something is wrong with the world we are living in and his point is well taken that we have to do something about it or nothing will change.

MADONNA GIVES SPEECH ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON AT THE VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: Madonna's homage to Michael Jackson was A+

In case you missed it tonight (9/13/09) (which I did but thankfully Erin from my office bbim'd me), Madonna gave a speech/tribute to Michael Jackson at the Video Music Awards.

Part of what Madonna said that rang true was "When Michael Jackson was six, he became a superstar and perhaps was the world's most beloved child. When I was six, my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick. I never had a mother but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. But how to re-create your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass for your entire life."

Watch it now!

‘IN THE HEIGHTS’ is a MUST SEE BROADWAY PLAY

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: If you haven't gotten a chance to see the Broadway musical "In the Heights" it is a must see. 

They were nominated for 13 Tony's and won 4, including Best Musical!

It is refreshing and innovative and just feels new. I also can't help myself and brag that my cousin is the director and he was one the youngest director to ever be nominated for a Tony.

Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote and originally starred in the show was best friends with my cousin Tommy Kail ever since they met right after college. They spent over six years working on this project. I remember when they were still doing reading in the basement of a bookshop!  From basement to Broadway- gotta love that.

Anyway, this is the kind of story that dreams are made of and I have to say, run don't walk to go see this show. For more info: http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com/index.html

p.s. In case you're wondering, no it didn't go to my cousin's head, even though he won 4 Tony Awards. He is the most grounded down to Earth amazing man I know. (and hardest working) How cool is that?

THE DOCMENTARY ‘BEYOND BELIEF’ AIRED ON SUNDANCE CHANNEL LAST NIGHT

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: Beyond Belief is an amazing documentary

My dearest and closest friend, Beth Murphy, who also happens to be an award winning documentary filmmaker, had her documentary 'Beyond Belief' air on Sundance Channel last night. It has been in movie theaters all over the country the last few years but there was something about it being on Sundance that just made me so proud.

Here is the Film Synopsis:

Susan Retik and Patti Quigley are two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on the country where the terrorists who took their husbands' lives were trained: Afghanistan.

Over the course of two years, as they cope with loss and struggle to raise their families as single mothers, these extraordinary women dedicate themselves to empowering Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression - factors they consider to be the root causes of terrorism. As Susan and Patti make the courageous journey from their comfortable neighborhoods to the most desperate Afghan villages, they discover a powerful bond with each other, an unlikely kinship with widows halfway around the world, and a profound way to move beyond tragedy.

From the ruins of the World Trade Center to those of Kabul and back, theirs is a journey of personal strength and international reconciliation, and a testament to the vision that peace can be forged... one woman at a time.

http://www.principlepictures.com/beyondbelief/.