Love in 140 Characters or Less

All of you who are Twitter fanatics with a short attention span may enjoy this post, as I attempt to put my long form content on the shelf for a moment. 'L' stands for “Love” today and I welcome you to join me in discussing the topic of love or lack thereof as it relates to movies and the entertainment as a whole in some way. Here is a description of my thoughts on love within three areas of this industry including movies, television and music.....each in 140 characters or less.

Movies:
I've never understand why many people make such a big deal about “Love & Basketball.” The movie is a silly depiction of relationships.

Television:
The transition to Digital Television (DTV) has me falling in love with my DVD player due to frozen or pixelated scenes of “House” and lost signals.

Music:
Right now, I'm loving Adele, Nicki Minaj & Marsha Ambrosius but concert ticket fees these days have me enjoying their songs from a distance.

Can YOU share what you love, or don't love in movies, television and music in 140 characters or less?

Shoot! The television category is over by one character. I'll have to try this again on another day.

This post is a part of my participation in the A to Z challenge.

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Keys to Film Festival Knowledege and a Jeopardy Bet

'K' is for “Knowledge” today and you all reading this are invited to play a little Jeopardy styled game with me because I bet you didn't know much about these film festival movies that are listed here until visiting this blog today. Answer one of the following clues with the correct movie title and I will write a future blog post on the topic of your choice. You may need to do a little research, depending on your knowledge and experience in keeping up with film festival news and related happenings. If so, just consider it to be a very fun little film related scavenger hunt.

Arlee Bird over at Tossing It Out already won my David Duchovny Dare game earlier this month and now I'm hosting another activity for bloggers, brands, companies, services and movie goers to get recognized while also learning about film festivals and independent films in the process.....this is the day for Film Festival Wednesdays after all!

Jeopardy Category: Film Festival Movies

$400 – The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival is screening this Dick Maas movie about a battle to save children in Amsterdam from being slaughtered by a bloodthirsty bishop and his minions.

$800 – One of the stars of ABC's “Boston Legal” co-produced this comedy short film about a black man who is married to a white woman and he later learns that her family used to own his ancestors; which screened at the Connecticut Film Festival this past weekend.

$1200 – The European Film Festival screened this film recently, about a young female whose future becomes uncertain when her boyfriend gives her an untimatum after finding out that she is pregnant.

$1600 – Following the Cannes Film Festival screening of this movie about criminals who rob a bar at gunpoint and must wait to retrieve a code for the safe, in May, the film is reportedly scheduled to have a limited released in London theaters.

$2000 – A Tokyo director made this film about one middle class family whose cramped but drama free atmosphere becomes chaotic thanks to an unwelcome visitor who takes over their home and print shop; which was screened a few weeks ago at New Directors/New Films presentend by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society at Lincoln Center in New York City.

If you're not familiar with the famous Jeopardy TV show that airs on ABC in the United States, you CAN still play this game. Just remember to provide your answer in the form of a question.

For example....

If I was playing and the clue was: This movie blog hosts a King Dong series in which actor Vincent D'Onofrio won twice.

My answer would be: What is The Madlab Post?

You Got it? Good!

Now play! Leave your answer with your comment.

UPDATE as of Saturday, April 16, 2011: This Jeopardy game is now closed. The Answers and Winners are announced below. You can still find out more information about these films by going to the film festival websites.

And remember......the first person with the correct answer to any one of these questions Wins this Film Festival Wednesdays Jeopardy game and will get a future post on this blog written on the topic of his or her choice.-NOW CLOSED. ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND BELOW GAME RULES AND REGULATIONS.

This post was inspired by a Jeopardy writing exercise from the Writercize blog and written as part of my continuing participation in the A to Z Challenge.

GAME RULES AND REGULATIONS:

*You must have a blog, website, online store, twitter account or some way for me to contact you if you've won. I strongly recommend that you do not place an email address in your comment. There is a URL option in the comment box for you to add a website or online profile, if you desire.

***The author and editor of the Madlab Post blog (that would be me) reserves the right to determine the angle in which all editorial content will be posted as well as the and no offensive, hateful or other inappropriate content will be published if the nature of said content is not informative in some manner or intended to be used as a catalyst for sparking positive discussions.

Saturday, April 16, 2011 UPDATE:

Here are the answers to this Jeopardy game:

$400 - Sint (Also called “Saint” in North America)
$800 - I Own You
$1200 - Cairo Exit
$1600 -Four Hours (also titled as 4 Hours; starring Paul Bibbs)
$2000 - Hospitalité

Alana is the WINNER!
Congratulations to Alana for playing and having the correct answer for the $2000 clue!

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Jumping the Broom in Our Jaded Society

'J' is for "Jumping the Broom" as I continue through the A to Z Challenge.

The upcoming Sony Pictures release "Jumping the Broom" starring Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Mike Epps, Loretta Devine and Laz Alonso reminded me how major socioeconomic differences create conflict between families of a bride and groom in the days leading up to their wedding. Having watched an early screening of this film, I was pleased by it's comedic content and would recommend it to moviegoers who are looking for a good laugh. "Jumping the Broom" will be in theaters on May 6th so if you like comedy in the midst of heavy family drama....and even some unexpected secrets, then you will probably enjoy this movie.

Many of the cultural differences, life experiences and social status of the grooms family and the bride's family caused each side to prejudge the other without getting to know them. This got me thinking about how our society does this in real life, which can cause many romantic relationships to go sour. Here are some elements form Jumping the Broom that can reflect on how jaded out society is regarding interpersonal relationships, dating, selfishness and parenting.

More Money, More Problems & Less Money, More Problems
Yeah, there seemed to be a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation in this movie for both parties involved in the wedding. Fortunately for one family, their money gave them a slight upper hand in dealing with their problems but the opposite family still had problems nonetheless. This is important because too many middle class or working class families seem to prejudge those who may be a little well off financially. Yes, I know rich people judge other people who are not rich but this happens on both sides and it seems silly.

Many people who aren't financially stable seem to believe that rich people do not have any problems OR they believe that whatever problems rich people have....they still don't measure up to the types of things that working class folk have to deal with and I believe that this type of thinking does not help either side come together and work together as productive human beings. Too many people dismiss certain problems of the financially stable, as if these problems are not valid. This is not the way to find peace and unity in the world and will likely make for a society filled with people who disrespect each other on an ongoing basis without merit.

Women Dating Older Men
The “cougar” term was thrown out at one of the female characters in this movie after a relative notices the possibility of her dating a much younger man. It's no secret that there is a catch 22 in our society that allows older men to date younger women but label or judge women who date older men. Why do guys get the cool “bachelor” title while women are seen as vultures preying on men under their age?

Selfish Parents
So long as the child is truly happy, there isn't a reason to try and protect him or her from others, right? This did not seem to be the case in "Jumping the Broom," as each set of parents were concerned with their own feelings and judgements than their child's happiness. The selfishness takes an unfortunate turn in this movie, which could be a representation of real-life circumstances that many people can related to whether they are married, engaged to be married, dating or single. Many people have some form of selfishness and/or jealously going on in their lives whether indirectly or directly and they act on this behavior in a way that hurts others, while they defend their actions by claiming that they were in the best interest of whoever they are “protecting” or doing a favor.

Anyway, just because someone is financially stable or well off or has experienced the finest in what life has to offer does not mean that they are uppity. At the same time, just because someone does not have riches or worldly life experiences does not make them ghetto. It is not the money, education or experiences that make someone better or worse (hey, I find this phrase quite humorous since we're talking about weddings)....it is the person's behavior that determine what type of individual they are. Uppity people are uppity and ghetto people are ghetto.

The bottom line is, it may be better to try and understand where other people are coming from and then make efforts to join them in mutual compromises for the sake of everyone involved.......especially when planning a wedding!

"Jumping the Broom" Opens May 6th in Theaters!
Yes, the story has been done before and I can think of a few movies with a similar storyline of boy meets girl, family doesn't approve, etc. (like maybe, "The Notebook" and maybe...loosely...."The Other Sister").

Have you witnessed or endured any crazy behavior leading up to or on the day of your (or someone else's) wedding?

How two families from different backgrounds come together without fighting with each other, judging each other or disrespecting each other?

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