Things to See: #OnTheWall #MichaelJackson

Perhaps more than any other artist, Michael Jackson’s legacy stretches beyond record sales and number of chart-topping singles and albums. Of course, both are astonishing and barely believable. But more than mere numbers, he was the King of Pop,  a global superstar and a musical genius who revolutionised the music video. And as this highly-acclaimed exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery makes clear (neatly titled On the Wall), he was an inspiration even to those far outside of music.

Film Quizzes – Denzel Washington

Along with Tom Hanks and Leonardo di Caprio (parts 1 and 2), Denzel Washington has long been one of my favourite actors. The two-time Oscar winner has been making quality films since the 1980s and at 62, is as prolific as ever. The New York star will probably lose out to Casey Affleck in the Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards tonight, but he really was astonishing in Fences. As good a performance as you will see (and kudos to Viola Davis who is incredible too). How many of the films below can you work out?

 1.(1980s)

 2. (1980s)

 3. (1990s)

 4. (1990s)

 5. (1990s)

 6. (1990s)

 7. (1990s)

 8. (2000s)

 9. (2000s)

 10. (2000s)

 11. (2000s)

 12. (2010+)

Answers below

Film Quizzes: My Favourite Films Part 2

There really were too many to fit favourite films into one post. And even then I think of some of the films I had to leave out. Will you do better better than last Part 1? Do you have a favourite among the list here? As always you comments and feedback are more than welcome.

  Film 1

 Film 2

 Film 3

 Film 4

 Film 5

 Film 6

 Film 7

 Film 8

 Film 9

 Film 10

 Film 11

 Film 12

 Film 13

 Film 14

 Film 15

Answers below

Line(s) of the Day #WeDidn’tStartheFire

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenberg’s H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather Homicide, Children of Thalidomide…

Buddy Holly, Ben-Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China’s under martial law
Rock and Roll, cola wars, I can’t take it anymore.

The verses from the song ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ which lists notable and notorious people, places and events from the years 1949 – 1989. It was taken from the album ‘Storm Front (1989) by Billy Joel.

Film Quizzes – Biographies

Film biographies have long been one of my favourite genres. Films always tell stories, but biographies give a film the opportunity to tell an even clearer story, and in some ways bring someone, and their reputation, back to life. Below are six films of six very different kinds of people. See how you do 🙂

 (1960s)

 (1980s)

 (1990s)

 (1990s)

 (2000+)

 (2000+)

Answers below