I am not a huge fan of going to the movies.  The tickets are expensive, the snacks even more so, and, seriously, who is gonna sit through a feature length movie without some popcorn, goobers and a drink?  And there is always someone in the theater that is just obnoxious.  Whether they are yakking on their cell phones, or talking to their “date.”  Why would I want to deal with all of that, when I can watch a movie in the comfort of my own home?  Well, for the most part, I don’t.  I think the last movie we saw at the theater was Avatar for our anniversary last year, though I have to say that was worth EVERY penny!  Before that it was the new Friday the 13th on Valentine’s Day.  Perhaps not the most romantic movie, but I love me some horror movies!  We urge the kids to go check out the latest films, but for me, I prefer to wait for the DVD and chill on my couch.

However, this season there are a few movies that have me psyched enough to actually venture out of the house to see:

1) The Next Three Days - I’ll be honest, I don’t know if we’ll see this one at the theaters, but I definitely want to see it at some point!  Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson get together, so Crowe can break his wrongly convicted wife (played by Elizabeth Banks) out of prison.  The trailers have lots of action, and I have always like Neeson in this type of role - kind of shady, a bit dirty.

2) Faster - Come on!  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars, and he looks appropriately gritty and pissed off as he sets out to avenge his younger brother’s death.  Reminds me of The Fast and The Furious.  I’m sure it won’t change lives, but it could be a wild ride!

3) The Fighter - I love an underdog story, and after seeing the previews, this might be a Christian Bale movie in which he doesn’t annoy me.  (I don’t know why, Bale is a very capable actor, but for some reason he rubs me the wrong way.  Perhaps it’s from seeing him in American Psycho.)  I like Mark Wahlberg and am a big Amy Adams fan, so I like the idea of the two of them together, but it’s an underdog story, and those are some of my favorite movies.  Boxing, underdogs… another Rocky?

4) True Grit - This is the one I am most excited about.  Not sure why.  I am not a big Western fan, but Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin in one film.  I know it’s a remake of a John Wayne film.  A mistake?  Perhaps, but the Coen brothers are more than capable of pulling this off.  Plus the theme is similar to one of my favorite movies, The Professional.  If Roy is on board, I will be seeing this one at the theaters!

5) Country Strong - I admit it, Gwyneth Paltrow thoroughly charmed me last week on Glee - actually I think it was this week, but that’s besides the point.  This is another underdog movie - Paltrow is a HUGE country superstar that has fallen from grace.  After she starts working with an up and coming songwriter (Garrett Hedlund), she starts to believe she can rise again.  I am not a fan of country music, but the idea of someone putting together the pieces of their lives and coming out on top is a theme I always fall for.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows is out today as well, and I am sure that will be huge!  Corey and Joe seemed to have outgrown HP, Addi isn’t into it, and it’s above Hayden and Dean’s heads, so I don’t think we will be venturing out to see that one.  I am intrigued with Tron as well.  While Roy is a fan, I remarked to him that it looks cool, but I don’t get it, as I didn’t see the original.  He laughed and said, “No one gets Tron! But it’s still cool.”  The special effects look amazing and that might be enough to get me into the theaters.

I love Halloween! Okay, I love parts of Halloween. So let’s cover them…

Costumes - Spending money on silly costumes is not a part of Halloween I love, and Roy is on the same page. Costumes, even the ones bought from cheaper stores are getting ridiculous. Forty dollars for a cheap, polyester costume and a thin plastic mask is CRAZY! Roy and I don’t often see eye to eye when it comes to splurging. Wait, let me correct myself… Roy indulges us all. As long as we have the money for it, he is fine with a new video game once in awhile. He understands my thinking when it comes to handbags - at this point in my life I will not spend 50 dollars on a cheap, poorly made bag that will barely last a season, rather I would prefer to save some money and buy a well made handbag that I can pass down to my grandkids! And if I am being honest, he spoils the kids as much as I do. But, he will often tease me about being cheap or tight with money, but when it comes to Halloween costumes, he thinks they are just as oddly expensive as I do.

When Addi was about three, we bought a costume from the Disney Store - the little green alien guy from Toy Story. It was 50% off, so I think we paid about fifteen dollars for it. Corey was a vampire that year. He had his own black pants and little white dress shirt, and we bought a kit at Target with a little red vest, a medallion, and some fangs. Then Roy did his face makeup, and we used Halloween hair dye for his hair. Joe was a ninja - I don’t remember where we got it, but I’m sure it was Target or somewhere similar. Anyways, they were so cute! Especially little Addi in his alien costume. That year Roy also found this HIDEOUS mask and a long black robe at the local Halloween store for himself. I think his costume was the most expensive. But it was scary.

In the years that followed, we have had Power Rangers, more ninjas, Stitch, a mouse, skeletons, zombies, military men, and Grim Reaper’s, but the cool thing is none of the kids ask for silly costumes! Sure, Hayden loves looking at them, and occasionally will ask for one, though he usually just wants to be a ninja and really is just looking for a new katana sword to strap on his back (and for five dollars at Target, I’m cool with that). But the older boys are okay with scrounging up anything around the house and using their creativity to come up with something. Corey is finally tall enough to wear Roy’s long cloak and he has done that before, Joe has used an old military uniform my sister gave him and been “GI Joe.” Addi rummages around in the big costume bin and will come up with something crazy and then just happily take his younger brothers up to all the doors to get their treats. They use makeup, old wigs we have, and mess up old clothes to look like rotting corpses. Now, don’t get me wrong, if one of the kids had their heart set on a specific costume, I would consider it, but it’s so much fun to see what they can come up with.

Candy - Now, let’s talk about Halloween candy! CRAZY! I buy a little bit at a time, but I would say we probably spend at least $75 dollars on Halloween candy every year. Two years ago when it was warm out, I probably spent that, ran out half way through and used candy from the older kids’ bags to replenish the supply (they just go get more anyway)! We live in a large Suburban neighborhood and people from more rural areas bring their kids over here to trick or treat, so things can get crazy.

Decorations - LOVE THEM! I am not a fan of the cutesy ones though. No Pooh Bear dressed up as a vampire for us. I want a graveyard, fog, and creepy witches with warts and pointy hats. A few of the houses in the neighborhood go all out, and it is always a blast to see what people come up with. This year, if we are home (a theme park has been thrown out as an option, so we will see), Corey and I are thinking of doing a “Friday the 13th” homage. Set up a tent, à la Camp Crystal Lake, have a “campfire” and drag out the old OP short shorts and invite Jason to come hang out. YES, I am a HUGE Friday the 13th fan. I think we have convinced Roy to be Jason if we are here, and I will have to see if I can pull off feathered hair for my doomed counselor look. *wink*wink

Movies - But what I really love about Halloween is the new crop of cheesy horror flicks that always come out - whether it be in the theaters or on DVD (or even NetFlix). It’s only the first week of October, and already we have the “New Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Grindhouse” special editions coming out on Blu-Ray DVD. This past Friday “Let Me In” (an Americanized version of a very effective Swedish movie called “Let the Right One In”) opened, and though it had a disappointing opening, it will no doubt bring more attention to the very good original. Next Friday has Wes Craven’s “My Soul To Take” opening in 3D (in limited release I believe). I have seen the trailer and this looks like a fun slasher movie, and Wes had made a lot of good ones! Friday also has the release of a remake - “I Spit on Your Grave” was originally released in 1978. It was a brutal exploitation film that was actually banned in a few countries. While this movie isn’t nearly as vicious as some of the genre (I liken this to “Last House on the Left,” another Wes Craven film) it has a number of horrific images and scenes, and I imagine the modest success of the remake of, yes, “Last House on the Left” has led directors to remake old exploitation films to see what they can get away with now. I am not sure how the remake of “…Grave” is going to fare, but I will probably check out the DVD one dark and stormy night. And let’s not forget that “Devil” (written and produced by M Night Shyamalen) and “Case 39” (starring Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper) are still playing at many theaters. And finally on October 29th we get yet another installment in the “Saw” series. And I won’t even touch on the straight to DVD movies being released, all the fun that SyFy has this month, and A&E might surprise us with another scariest moments countdown (I don’t know if they are, but here’s hoping we get something!).

So, in short… all you Ghouls and Goblins have a Scary October and enjoy the haunting season! I know we sure will!

Pretend you are meeting someone for the first time…maybe someone from a different country or even an alien.  They want your recommendation for a good movie.  What do you recommend?

Really tough one… for fun I would recommend Friday the 13th (parts 1-7 are cool with me) or Nightmare on Elm Street.  They are some of the best slashers out there.

But for laughs… probably, “The Wedding Singer.”  Not sure why I love that movie.  The story isn’t particularly original, but the 80’s were such a fun, indulgent time, and this movie has the right amount of snarkiness, while still respecting the music of that decade.  Plus Adam Sandler’s hair was just too funny.