Let's talk about movie theater etiquette

Hi.
I just got back from watching the new Divergent movie at the AMC Marina Theater here in Long Beach and want to do a quick blog post about my night. I'll probably do a movie review on the actual movie in a separate post, but I wanted to make a quick post about movie theater etiquette.

As someone who has been to plenty of movie theaters in the past, I have never experienced such a terrible environment at Long Beach's AMC Marina theater tonight. I understand it was a busy Saturday night and obviously the crowds will be bigger, but tonight's movie watching experience was so terrible, I felt the need to rant about it on the internet. So, here I am. Sitting here typing up a post about my night. It's mainly prompted by the entire row of kids and family in front of me who's maturity level deemed a lot lower than their actual appearance. Divergent is a PG-13 movie, and though they looked well over the age of 13, they seemingly felt the need to be obnoxious throughout the entirety of the movie by whistling during sexual tension scenes, clapping unnecessarily, and laughing at a level that is obviously not a normal volume. Each ticket was probably around $15, so to have my family movie night wasted by a group of obnoxious wahoos seemed like a waste of a ticket. If you're not mature enough to enjoy a movie without disturbing everyone else, then maybe you should have saved everyone else the trouble and irritation, and just stayed home.

Don't be one of those people. People like that, for lack of a better word, suck.

I'm compiling a list of things that should and should NOT be done at a movie theater.

DO clap for epic scenes of victory or accomplishment or total bad-assery.
DONT clap randomly for moments in the movie, just for the sake of clapping.

DO laugh at scenes that you think are funny.
DONT overdo it. As in don't laugh at every single scene because it gets to the point where it's not even funny anymore, it's just annoying.

DON'T whistle/make stupid comments about the relationship scenes.
It's okay to laugh/chuckle at some of the weird sexual tension moments, but to constantly whistle every time the two main characters kiss or when Shaileene Woodley takes her sweater off/shows skin is inappropriate and obnoxious.

DO turn your phone off/put it on silent.
DON'T check your phone throughout the entire movie. Even if your screen is on the lowest light,  EVERYONE behind you can see it. there's a reason for the "Switch your phone to silent" commercials, kids.

DO whisper little comments to your neighbors.
key word: whisper.

DO put your feet up on the seats if no one is sitting in front of you.
DON'T put your feet up on the seats if someone is sitting in front of you.
or-- DON'T be the person who chooses to sit right in front of someone using the seat as a pedastool, when there are plenty of other seats in the house.


I'm sure there are more, but as for right now that's all I can think of.
DON'T BE THOSE PEOPLE!

Long Overdue Album Review: One Directions' Midnight Memories

Hi internet.
It's been years. not really, but it's been getting quite busy on my end over here. I'm currently in Week 9 of the quarter, and a lot is happening. We've got a dance concert coming up next week, two huge papers due, dance concert auditions on Wednesday, more dance auditions on Saturday, and just a whole lot of dancing and writing and studying.
With that said, I'm gonna go ahead and post an album review I wrote for my HC club a long time ago, that ended up never getting published on the internet... SO!
Here you go: Long Overdue, Album Review on One Direction's semi-new album Midnight Memories.

Photo Credit: http://3888.voxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/One-Direction-Midnight-Memories-Single.jpg

Biggest boy band of the year has done it again! On November 25th, One Direction released their third album, Midnight Memories. To promote Midnight Memories, the guys of 1D hosted a 7 hour long live stream two days prior to the release date, where dedicated fans all around the world tuned in to watch the guys attempt to break world records, answer fan Q & A’s, and perform songs from their albums. The album that has been highly anticipated by fans is finally out, and whether you like 1D or not, Midnight Memories is a record that you might actually want to consider giving a listen!

For starters, it’s a great coming of age album— they have definitely come a long way from hit single “What Makes You Beautiful.” Struggling to maintain a clean sound for their younger listeners while still embracing the idea of growing up, they manage to find a nice blend to satisfy all their listeners, no matter what age.

 If you listen to the radio at all, then you probably have already heard their two latest singles “Best Song Ever” and “Story of My Life.” Both singles are contrastingly different from each other, as “Best Song Ever” is still very reminiscent of their former pop albums with it’s sugary sweet catchy chorus that’s bound to get stuck in your head. Only a few other songs on the album like “Why Don’t We Go There” and “Little White Lies” have their familiar pop sound that we’ve all grown to know and love. Their recent single, “Story of my Life”, is an accurate preview of what's new in their album, with prominent influences from bands Mumford and Suns and The Lumineers. If you like that acoustic folk pop, then tracks “Through the Dark” and “Happily” are your go-to songs. Similar, to “Story of My Life”, they’re the kind of songs that would be in the soundtrack of a teen indie flick. You’ll feel “infinite” just by listening to them (Yes, I just quoted Perks of Being a Wallflower. I went there.)

The album takes a surprising edgy turn, with songs like “Alive” and “Little Black Dress” paying tribute to classic 80’s rock. The guys get cheeky with their double entendre lyrics, and even come about 99% close to swearing in some of their songs, including album titled song & single “Midnight Memories”: “ People talk shh but we don’t listen.”   Although older listeners may not have a problem with it, I don’t think boss Simon Cowell is ready for the boy band to be swearing in songs just yet (sigh). 

             Besides the different music styling’s, the guys got to personalize the album with their own words. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson all contributed to the album as co-writers to 15 out of 18 tracks. Though they still have professional writers by their side, you can really hear the guys pour their personal stories into songs, especially in “Don’t Forget Where You Belong” where their lyrics reflect their on-the-road tour lifestyle:

 “Living out the cases/Packing up and taking off/

Made a lot of changes/But not forgetting who I was.”

This was a huge step for the guys as they were finally able to get a bit of a voice in the music they’re putting out. A big cheers to the surprising Louis Tomlinson, who was one of the biggest contributors to the album, co-writing 12 out of the 18 songs.  

Overall, It’s refreshing to hear the band attempt to showcase a level of maturity in their sound while still maintaining a young “live life to the fullest” attitude in their lyrics. Although I miss the bright bubbly pop sound that the boy band is known for, it’s clear that the guys of One Direction want the world to know that they’re growing up, and they want you to grow up with them. Though it's a bit drastic of a change in music stylings, it's definitely an album you should give a chance. The album was a big risk to take, and they did it successfully.

Unmentioned songs that you should listen to: "Better than words", “Half a Heart”, “Strong”, and “Diana”.