Introductory Post: Meet JP

Hi. I'm Justin. Otherwise known as JP. Like my pal Steve, I too like movies. I like good movies, I like bad movies, and I like hating really bad movies.

I studied film a bit in college; not that I would consider myself a "film student" by any means, but my areas of study emphasized all aspects of mass media, including radio, television, film and journalism. So although I may now and then throw in a criticism of lighting, angles, or mise-en-scène, I'm really in it just to be entertained by cool things happening on the screen.

I work as a graphic/ad designer for a weekly newspaper in a South Dakota small town. We have only one movie theater here with two screens, plus the old-fashioned drive-in theater which shows a movie a week for two or three days each week in the summer months. So my moviegoing options are a bit more limited than big-city Steve's: no all-hours multiplex, Imax 3D, cheap second-run movies, or limited release independent films here. But, most of the blockbusters and solid, popular films usually find their way here; plus, I am a DVD freak.

Steve and I are also contrasted in our movie tastes. As he alluded, I enjoy movies with cool dinosaur or creature effects. I like action, adventure, and science fiction when they're done right. I like comedies when they don't try too hard (or too little). I don't like slashers or shock horror, but I'll give supernatural/monster movies a shot. Musicals and foreign films as a general rule are a miss for me. I don't like westerns, war movies, or period pieces, but I like smart movies with fast, witty dialogue.

As you can see, my movie tastes are varied and complicated. So when Steve mentioned starting a movie blog and asked me to be a part of it, I agreed without hesitation. But what to call it? We bounced ideas off each other; some good ones, but nothing that really popped. As usual when in such a situation, I consulted Wikipedia for answers. Browsing entries like cinema and theater for clever phrases or catchy buzzwords to use for a name, I came across flea pit, slang for a low-grade movie theater, derived from the belief that the theater seats were so infested with fleas they were uncomfortable to sit on.

What a colorful image, and also oddly appropriate: What sums up going to the movies better than the sticky floors and itchy seats that add to the richness of the theater experience?

I look forward to The Flea Pit blog, sharing my thoughts on movies, telling Steve when he's wrong, and defending my Oscar picks championship title.