Let's talk movies

Given that I've admitted to my couch potato tendencies before, I'm sure it won't surprise you when I say that I love to watch movies. Very often, if Mike and I go out on a date, it will include catching a flick at the theater near our house.

But I like watching movies at home just as much. There are certain movies I consider to be "laundry" films. These are the movies that I've seen so often that I don't have to sit an watch every scene to know what's going on. So I pop one one while I'm doing the laundry, that way if I have to get up and switch the load from the washer to the dryer, or I need to carry a pile of folded laundry upstairs, it doesn't matter if I miss a few minutes.

Currently, my favorite laundry movies are:

• Fever Pitch
• The Holiday
• The Devil Wears Prada

Then there are movies to match my mood. On Friday, I was feeling a bit melancholy and really wanted a movie to complement -- not heal -- my mood. So I asked for suggestions on Facebook. The nominees included:

• Stepmom
• Gone with the Wind
• The Family Stone
• Love Actually
• The Way We Were
  

I ended up going with Dan in Real Life because a) I had it easily accessible and b) I LOVE that movie. It's just such a different role for Steve Carrell (of The Office fame) and the soundtrack is awesome.

Last night, we had a few friends over and we rented Away We Go with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. What a surprisingly funny and entertaining film that turned out to be. But definitely wait until the kids are in bed or out of the house.

The kids love to have "Family Movie Night." Some of our favorites for that are:

• Night at the Museum
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop
• Star Wars
• The Game Plan
• Garfield: The Movie

Of course, I love to introduce them to movies like Free Willy, Space Camp and Big -- movies that were popular when I was a kid.

The Heartland Film Festival is going on now in Indianapolis for the next two weeks. If you're at all within driving distance, I highly recommend trying to get to a few of the screenings. Check out the write up I did for the Indiana Insider blog. I'm hoping to see a couple of the films myself.

Of course, I can't see every movie that I want to see. That's what the Redbox is for! Movies I'm waiting for on the Redbox include Julie and Julia and Rachel Getting Married.

Are you a movie watcher? In-theater or at home? What are some of your favorites?