New in Theaters
The Rhythm Section – action/thriller starring Blake Lively and Jude Law (It’s made by the same company that does the James Bond movies)
Gretel & Hansel – horror starring Sophia Lillis who you may know as Beverly from the IT movies
Miss Americana – Taylor Swift’s documentary is now streaming on Netflix
It’ll be a quiet weekend at the box office, since you know…it’s Super Bowl weekend. Who’s the pick to win? The annual EA Sports Super Bowl simulation on “Madden” is predicting that the Chiefs will beat the 49ers 35-31. It’s been right 10 of the past 16 years, but it was WRONG the last two years.
How many people would you guess ditch out on work on Monday? A new survey found that more than 17 million workers are expected to take “Super Monday” off! That’s the highest-ever since “Super Monday” tracking began in 2005.
Shifting gears to basketball, the NBA announced some major changes to the All-Star game format which will pay tribute to Kobe Bryant. It’s kind of confusing, but I’ll try to explain as best as I can:
Every quarter will be turned into a mini-game for charity. The scores will be reset at the start of every quarter. The fourth quarter will be untimed and teams will play to reach a target score. That target score is determined by taking the leading team’s cumulative score through the first three quarters PLUS 24 points – which is their nod to Kobe.
Like I said, it’s kinda confusing, but I think it’s a nice way to make this game competitive again. Plus, it’s going to end up raising $500,000 for different charities. You can’t complain about that!
In non-sport related news…here’s something I can REALLY get behind. Yesterday, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling to “urgently” force tech companies to use just one type of charger. Lawmakers are asking for a common charger that can be used across different brands and types of devices including mobile phones, tablets and e-book readers. They also want to explore ways to increase the number of cables and chargers that are recycled, and to ensure that customers are not required to buy a charger with each new device. YES YES YES. Make this happen in the states too! I HATE having a million charging cables!
An update on the coronavirus, the World Health Organization officially declared the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern yesterday. It is only the sixth time such an emergency has been declared. They said the “greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems and which are ill-prepared to deal with it.” The pneumonia-like virus has infected more than 7,736 people and killed at least 170.
God Save Dolores Umbridge? Harry Potter actress Imelda Staunton has been cast to play Queen Elizabeth in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s acclaimed series The Crown. Olivia Coleman will star in the upcoming 4th season before passing her royal duties to Imelda. I’m so bummed that this means we likely won’t see them explore some of the family drama of the present day. I was really looking forward to seeing their interpretation of William and Harry’s love lives!
NATIONAL DAYS
- National Backward Day
- National Big Wig Day
- National Hot Chocolate Day
- National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day