In Those Jeans #GBE2 #NaBloPoMo #NowPlaying

“Levis, Prada, Baby Phat....love the way you’re wearing that. Calvin, Iceberg, Sergio....trying to get inside of those.” - Ginuwine

Earlier this week, I briefed you all on why F. Gary Gray is my favorite director. That post was prompted by the current Group Blogging Experience topic of the moment but somehow, it just doesn’t quite fit because Gray is a director and person....not a “thing.” After spending sometime in the last few days trying to narrow down what my favorite thing is, I’ve come to realize that I have many favorite things. If I had to pick one though, it would be denim.....specifically denim jeans.

Jeans are my favorite thing to wear because they work as casual attire and evening attire for a night out on the town. You can dress them up or dress them down, making jeans a versatile clothing item that I never want to live without. During this year’s summer heat wave, I’ve come to build a very close relationship with jeans because I have worn them almost everyday........as in, 99 percent of the time out of 100....even on days when it’s very hot outside and the weather forecast calls for 95 degrees with a heat index of like, 102 due to the humidity levels and such.

Yesterday, I wore shorts outside for the first time this year and I almost had a nervous breakdown because it was a very uncomfortable experience. I got over it after a few hours but then changed into a pair of jeans later on in the evening. My love for jeans is great but not excessive compared to a woman that I know who owns at least 300 pairs of jeans. I’ve always thought that it was amazing that someone could own that many pairs of jeans....I mean, her closet must be huge, right?!

Since jeans are my favorite thing, you’d think that I would have seen “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” starring Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera before, right? Well, I have not seen that movie yet but it’s on my Netflix to-watch list. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy references to jeans in other areas of entertainment such as the music industry.

Here is one of my favorite music videos of all time, “In Those Jeans” by R&B singer Ginuwine:

While Ginuwine has the better song, fellow R&B singer Bobby Valentino’s “Tell Me” music video expresses a more accurate depiction of a love for jeans. Most of the video takes place in the jeans section of a clothing store, with additional scenes that show women trying on these pants in a dressing room:

I like the concept of Valentino’s video so much that I am willing to ignore the weird peeping tom-esque scenes where he watches security camera images of the women while they are in the dressing room. This same thing that works for entertainment value to sell an album is also the same action that will cause voyeuristic retail store employees to lose their jobs and be sent to jail, in real life.

Here are some questions for everyone reading this post:

What are your favorite pair of jeans?

Would you watch a movie about jeans?

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Why F. Gary Gray is My Favorite Director

When thinking “favorites” as far as movie directors go, I find it quite interesting that mine is a rather unexpected one that surprises even myself. Steven Spielberg inspired me enough to leave fine arts behind in pursuit of big Hollywood bucks and red carpets.

After quickly learning that not only all that glitters ain’t gold but also I traded one outrageous dream for another, Robert Rodriguez and Spike Lee later helped me realize that movies can be made independently of a studio system but it would require hard work, dedication, talent and lots of social equity that could be turned into favors when production budgets are tight. So, you'd think that I my favorite director's name would end in "Spielberg," "Rodriguez" or "Lee," right? Me too. The thing is, it doesn't.

While all of these men are among favorite directors....and I’m talking top ten and possibly top five, none of them are THE favorite, numero uno at times when I have to choose just one. The very productive and versatile F. Gary Gray is by far, my favorite director of motion picture films.

Since the mid 90s, Gray has directed several movies including “The Negotiator” starring Kevin Spacey and Samuel Jackson, “The Italian Job” starring Charlize Theron, Edward Norton and Mark Wahlberg, “A Man Apart” starring Vin Diesel and the most recent, “Law Abiding Citizen” starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. The hit comedy “Friday” with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker was Gray’s first feature film, which helped him make a transition from music videos to the big screen.

I like F. Gary Gray’s work because he turns scripts into something that captures audiences by getting the best and sometimes surprising performances out of his actors.....whether they are well known veterans such as Spacey and Donald Sutherland or new talent such as actress Kimberly Elise, who starred in the heist film “Set It Off” opposite Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah.

To this day, Gray is the only director who got me to become such a fanatic about a movie that I own the home video version, the soundtrack and the original score with plans to purchase movie stills and also upgrade to Blu-ray despite the fact that I currently do not even own a Blu-ray player. If the screenplay was available in stores, I would probably buy that too. I’ve also watched the same movie at least one dozen times, if not more and can probably recite the entire film’s dialogue and act out the scenes, on cue. Don’t ask me to do it though, because I won’t. That is just for fun!

I used to toy with the idea of trying to get a job working as Gray’s personal assistant but didn’t follow that one through. I figure that it would be a double opportunity for me. I’d get to spend time with and learn from a director who I admire while also gaining valuable hands-on experience in my area of study.

There is no other director whose film’s I follow to the point that I’m buying the ancillary merchandise, reading interviews and studying both the important and the silly details about a movie......with the exception of the“Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” series but those films don’t count because who doesn’t follow LOTR or the Hogwarts gang?

What do YOU think of these films?

Who is YOUR favorite director?

*This post is dedicated to Herman Turnip at Terrible Analogies.

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Pros and Cons of Midnight Movie Showings #GBE2 #NaBloPoMo #NowPlaying #atthemovies

Movie showtimes that are scheduled to take place at midnight are among the most populated screenings during opening weekend and beyond. This can be one of the greatest experiences ever for movie going audiences or one of the worst because there are advantages and drawbacks to attending these screenings. Here are pros and cons of midnight movie showings to consider when purchasing your next ticket at the box office.

The Pros of Midnight Movie Showings
1. Large groups of people who are mentally, physically and emotionally invested in a particular picture may share similar reactions to what is happening on the big screen. They laugh, cry, cheer, scare and get angry together, which creates a more communal experience. Therefore, people who camped out and went to see “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2” at midnight when it was released on July 15th likely had more fun watching the movie than a group of people who went to an afternoon show surrounded by people who are only there to get their kids, spouses and/or friends to stop nagging them about watching the movie.

2. Lots of new movies are often released at midnight, giving early audiences an opportunity to see them before everybody else in the town. This can be an advantage for everyone from office employees who want to brag at the water cooler about being among the first to see a film to students or parents who have a busy schedule an want to get a showing in as quickly as possible so they can get on with their upcoming day.

3. Going to see a movie that is released at midnight helps to eliminate the possibility of someone spoiling the plot during and after opening weekend. Learning about a crucial plot point in a movie that one plans to go see is no fun and ruins the anticipation for many, if not all movie going audiences. Someone will either decide to not go see the movie at all, which lowers the film’s box office gross or the person will go see it anyway but the experience will never be the same since another person who attended an earlier screening spilled the beans about the plot.

The Cons of Midnight Movie Showings
4. A college student that I consulted with about this blog post told me about a frustrating experience of going to see “Twilight: New Moon” at midnight. She had a difficult time enjoying the movie because fellow fans at this midnight movie screening were so excited that they were talking as it played on the big screen. The point of going to a theater is to watch the movie being shown, not to discuss what is happening or what you think is going to happen in later scenes.

5. Poor theater choices for midnight movie showings can sometimes result in audience members wishing that they waited until the daytime or after opening weekend has passed to see a film. This is because some movie theaters attract rowdy, ignorant and violent audiences that are inconsiderate of others. Movie goers who attend midnight screenings at low quality theaters are more likely to endure cell phone conversations, crying babies, kiddie pranks, fights and other nuisances that do not take place at theater locations where the audience is more mature, reserved and respectful of one another and the venue’s policies.

6. Having to stay up and awake late at night is one of the disadvantages of attending midnight movie showings. Many audience members do not enjoy staying up until 3:00 in the morning and then driving all the way home, even if the movie that they watched was enjoyable. So while going to see a movie at midnight may seem exciting at first, the experience becomes less enjoyable after the night has wound down and people realize that they have to get up in a few hours to go to work, church, school, run errands or complete other tasks. Their responsibilities need to be completed, despite the fact that they are running on only a few hours of sleep.....if they slept at all when returning home from a midnight movie showing.

What Pros or Cons of midnight movie showings would YOU add to this list?

Photo courtesy of Bonita Sarita

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