In the tough financial times of today, families are looking for fun things they can do that will not only be fun, but also affordable. Although it can be lots of fun to go to the theater to see a newly introduced movie, the cost can often be prohibitive, especially for larger families or if you would like to enjoy a container of popcorn and some cold sodas along with the show Dramacool. Even if you choose a more affordable matinee, it may still be a little too expensive to go out to view a movie.
Try initiating a movie night for your whole family rather than spending excessive money on a movie in a theater. You actually have a much wider variety of movies to choose from if you view them at home, because you can have your choice of TV shows, DVDs, or even your old VHS tapes. It can be enjoyable to take turns letting each family member select the movie for the evening, which can provide a great diversity in the shows you watch. It may even be fun to occasionally watch an old home movie that you recorded, such as a movie of your child’s birthday party or a favorite family vacation. You may make your evening as simple or as detailed as you want to. As an example, one family might enjoy simply sitting down on the couch with a big container of popcorn, while the kids in your family might enjoy setting up a popcorn stand inside your home and selling goodies to the family members. Your kids might also have fun making the tickets for the movie as a fun craft. You’ll probably have so much of a good time that you might forget that you’re also saving money.
Don’t miss the opportunity to preserve some memories of the way your family has fun with family movie night together. Get some shots of the movie watchers, and also the kids who are making snacks and serving drinks for everybody. Be sure that any other unique movie tickets, posters, or programs which your kids make an effort to make are saved so you can look back and remember this fun time later in life. Shadow box picture frames hung up on your walls are a wonderful way to display all of these fun mementos. If you would like to make something fun to hang on your walls, you could make a photo collage in a frame for each movie night you have- you may even make it a tradition to create these. For example, a movie ad cut out of a magazine, combined with a handmade movie ticket stub, perhaps a used candy box, and several family photos of everyone enjoying the movie together can be organized in a creative fashion in a single picture frame. These mementos will be enjoyable for you to look back on someday when your children are grown. Your kids will probably have a good time looking at the photographs from this time too.
A lot of books as movies are being optioned and produced lately. But with the increasing number of movies from books, is the quality lacking? Should we be happy or nervous about seeing books that are movies on the big screen?
Usually it’s a case-by-case basis, but for the most part there are a few different things that can make books as movies a good or a bad thing.
The first positive thing is definitely getting to see the story and the world come to life. Especially when you are talking about a book that is magical and has a lot of fantasy elements to it, sometimes seeing that world come to life can be an incredible experience. But such a wonderful concept also comes with big risks. Perhaps the budget left a lot to be desired and so the sets and effects are not all they could be. This can really ruin a story and unfortunately the visuals the movie provides become ingrained when you read the book again.
Another thing that is really exciting about seeing books as movies is getting to see the characters we envisioned while reading come to life before our eyes. It can be really cool to see new and established actors make our favorite characters a reality. But again, if an actor just doesn’t fit the role physically and as far as skill level is concerned, then movies from books can be more of a letdown than a positive experience.
The most wonderful thing about books hitting the big screen is that it tends to have this effect on the masses, drawing in people to read books that are movies because they enjoyed the film. A lot of times these people are not normally readers and it’s definitely a positive thing any time something gets people reading and exercising their minds. The only negative effect this has overall is that the supply and demand of books must be met. So we tend to see an increase in books that are cranked out too fast and end up being low quality and copycat storylines of other books.
No matter what though, the nice thing about getting to witness books as movies is that it entails more exposure for the book, author, and reading in general. If it’s a story we love, then it’s nice when a lot of people know about it and you can talk about it with them! But it also can be a little annoying when fans from the movie crossover to being fans of the book and claim to be the biggest fans, when in reality the biggest fans are those who increased the exposure of the book itself to the point of it being optioned as a movie.
alexjames 
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