There are so many movies to watch out there that it is hard to pick just one favorite. I have many favorites, for that matter. One would say that I collect movies; but in reality, I just purchase movies that I imagine I would want to see again at some point down the road. I love to watch movies because of the escape I feel when watching them. Because of this, I like to re-watch movies every now and then depending on the particular mood that I am in. Because my moods vary, I have my own selection of movies to watch.

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Movies to watch: Romantic movies

Some of my favorite movies to watch are romantic tales. A Walk in the Clouds isn’t necessarily a new movie, but it is still one of my all time favorite romances. It is about a military man coming home to find that the wife he had married just before leaving on his tour of duty wasn’t someone he really knew or even loved. Going out on the road to be able to give her the material things that she desired, he found his true love and it drew him to find that her family could be his family as well and his real occupation could be on the family vineyard, if he chooses so.  I love the way that fate keeps drawing the two characters together to fall deeper and deeper in love.  How they knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. What people are willing to give up to be able to give to one another. The passion they felt and yet had to hold back until the right time.  It is truly one of the movies I watch over and over again with my husband.

Some of my favorite movies to watch are based off of books, like The Notebook, for one. This romantic story was first a book written by Nicholas Sparks.  It tells the story of a love so deep and true that it can cross time and overcome all obstacles.  Everyone has choices to make and sometimes those choices are not as easy as just right and wrong or yes or no.  Sometimes two choices can both seem like the right choices.  One of my favorite moments in this movie is when they find each other again, they acknowledge the love they tried to bury, and they rekindle the flame that could never be put out. I also love the fact that she wrote down their story in a notebook so that she could remember it, all of the details, for always, no matter what.  The movie is really the story of them and their love. How they met each other, how they fell in love, how they were torn apart and what they did during their time apart.  Then it merges into how they find each other again and what they do to be together. True love has no boundaries.  I loved that about this movie. I also loved these same attributes in the Twilight series and the Time Travelers Wife.  However, in the Time Travelers Wife, I felt the ending was bitter sweet.  Sad that the main character could never find the way to truly hold himself in one time. That he had to suffer so much in the end.  It was a little disappointing, but I felt the emotion all the same.

A lot of my favorites also have something to do with possibilities – science fiction.  I love anything to do with vampires, so the Underworld series, the Blade series, and of course, Bram Stokers Dracula are all part of my collection. But I also enjoyed the Matrix series, which is about what happens after mankind advances computers to a state that they realize they don’t need humans to survive. These computers realize that they can actually use humans as food, as their energy source. What we are actually living in right now is a computer program that is telling us what we see and like and how we live. We’re not really conscious or even really acting out everyday life. The Matrix is about how you get out of this computer program and disengage yourself and defend yourself against the machines. It’s a very interesting theory.  I often wonder if it could be true, although I really hope it is not.

Comedies that can make me laugh time and time again are also favorites of mine. The Elf, although a Christmas movie, is one of my all time favorites when it comes to laughing. This is a story about a human that is raised at the North Pole by Santa’s elves and works at Santa’s workshop. One day, he gets to be too big and realizes the truth about who he really is. The rest of the movie is about finding out about life in the human world, falling in love, finding his family, and bringing the Christmas spirit back to the hearts of mankind.

My recent favorite movies to watch: Transformers series and Red

Some other movies that I can imagine adding to my collection that I just recently watched would be the Transformers series. If you don’t know these movies or stories, you have been living under a rock for far too long. Red was another good one. This movie has so many great and talented actors in it (like Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirrin, and even one of my new favorites, Jason Stathom) that it feels like the movie was built around an all star cast.  However, the story stands on its own, as well. It’s about retired hit men and assassins that the government has decided to eliminate so they will no longer be a threat to them and how they evade capture and bring down the bad guys! The only part I didn’t like was that Morgan Freeman dies in this one. (Oops. I gave that one away, didn’t I?) I can’t imagine him dying. It’s like having Clint Eastwood die in a movie. They are the heroes. They aren’t supposed to die. Just like in Gran Torino.  I love that movie, but I hated that he had to die in it.

At the end of the day, everyone has their favorite movies to watch and their reasons are all their own.  But, getting to share your love of movies is something else altogether. It is a great thing to be able to tell a story or even be able to escape into one.  I would recommend any and all of these films to anyone, because they are all my favorite movies to watch.

Movies On Demand (MOD) is a subset of Video On Demand (VOD), a service offered by most cable television providers. A person can access VOD through his cable remote. On almost every cable system, VOD is located on channel 1. Simply press 1, and the VOD menu appears. VOD can also be accessed through the cable online video guide. After pressing the ‘Guide’ button on the remote, the user can navigate to the VOD channel.

What’s on ‘Movies On Demand’?

The main screen for Video On Demand offers many choices including: top picks, TV series, and sport & fitness. This screen also offers access for two Movie On Demand channels: ‘movies’ and ‘free movies’. The viewer can use the arrow keys on the remote to navigate to the appropriate choice. When the proper choice is highlighted, pressing the remote’s enter key will open the channel.

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As the name indicates, the free movie channel offers free movies. At this point, one has several selection paths to choose. One can search ‘All Movies A-L’ or ‘All Movies M-Z’. On the other hand, one can search movies by categories. Drama, comedy, action, and family are some of the categories provided. One can also search for movies originally aired on certain movie channels such as TNT, Sundance, or the Independent Film Channel.

After one selects the search path, the movies are listed in alphabetical order. The arrow keys and the page up and page down keys allow one to navigate through the list of films. The user can obtain a short synopsis of each of the films by pressing the enter key. The running time of the particular film and the film’s major stars are listed. The year the film was released gives an indication of the vintage of the movie. The listing will also clearly restate that the film is free. One can choose to view the film or return to the list of films.

Movies On Demand: Free or not?

It may not be obvious, but some movies on demand are available after selecting the Premium Channels out of  the main VOD screen. The Premium Channel screen offers access to Home Box Office (HBO), Showtime, Starz, and other premium channels. Each of these premium-on-demand selections offers a good selection of MOD. The movies are free to subscribers of the premium channels. HBO and Showtime have many additional on-demand selections in addition to the movies.

The movie selection on the main VOD screen allows access to Pay-Per-View (PPV) films, although PPV is a term seldom used today. These films generally charge a fee for viewing. However, the cable subscriber can select ‘Trailers and Reviews’ to obtain a free preview of most offered films. This free trailer will give the cable subscriber a very good idea about whether he wants to pay to watch the film. Conversely, a movie can be selected out of the categories ‘Just In’, ‘All New Movies’, or ‘By Genre’.

The ‘By Genre’ path is more comprehensive than the similar ‘Category’ path for free movies. Of course, it has ‘Action’, ‘Comedy’, and ‘Drama’. But it also has the family categories of ‘Family’, ‘Kids’, and ‘Animation’. An ‘Adult’ genre is available. Other categories include ‘Crime’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Mystery’, ‘Romance’, ‘Horror’, ‘War’, ‘Thriller’, and ‘Western’. There are many more pay-per-view movies than free ones. This is one of the reasons for the greater number of genre categories. There must be a large enough number of categories ensuing a manageable number of films in each list.

When a viewer selects a film, a short synopsis is displayed. The cost for viewing the film is prominently displayed as part of the synopsis. It is important to remember that not all movies cost the same amount, and the average charge per movie is likely to increase year to year. Almost all films have a free preview. One is under no obligation to purchase a license to view the movie after watching the preview. Like the free-movie synopsis, these short reviews also list the major stars and the year of the film’s release. To watch the film, the cable subscriber must select ‘BUY’, an icon that clearly indicates the film is not free to view. There is little chance that a cable subscriber will mistake a PPV-film for a free movie.

If a cable subscriber, however, makes a mistake while viewing the Movies On Demand menu, he or she only needs to call the cable company to rectify the error. If the viewer clicks on ‘BUY’ in error, he should not view the movie, but call the cable provider. The charge for the movie will not appear on the person’s bill.

When a person purchases a Movie On Demand, he has access to the film for a full 24 hours. He can watch the film as many times as he wants during that day. The remote also allows the view the stop, pause, rewind or fast forward the film. So there is no worry about missing a part of a purchased MOD film because of a phone call or the demands of children or pets. Just stop or pause the film. When circumstances allow, the viewer can either continue at the point the film was stopped or start watching the film at the beginning.

The pause button on the remote, which is symbolized by two short vertical parallel lines, will freeze the film on the television screen. Pressing the play button, symbolized by a small triangle, will allow the film to resume. The stop button is symbolized by a square, and it temporarily ends the viewing of the movie. If the movie is not restarted after a few minutes after a pause has been selected, the system automatically issues a stop command. To restart a stopped movie, the cable subscriber must navigate the Video-On-Demand menu to find saved programs. A stopped PPV movie will remain in the saved program category for the remainder of the 24-hour rental period.

Movies On Demand allow cable subscribers the most convenient way to watch late-released films. All of Hollywood’s blockbusters and the majority of niche films are available on MOD. The movies are generally available at the same time they can be purchased on DVD or Blu-Ray. The cost of the latest MOD is a fraction of the Blu-Ray purchase price, and only a very few movies would be viewed repeatedly. MOD allows the cable subscriber to watch a movie when he or she wants and allows the movie to be stopped or paused if an interruption should arise. Movies On Demand is clearly an economical and convenient service delivered by the cable provider.

I can always come up with a long list of movies to watch… but certainly, choosing which movie or movies to watch depends on different aspects. I know, it shouldn’t be that complicated but as a movie buff and a parent, it definitely becomes a challenge.

When I am facing the choice of what movies I want to watch, I consider a lot of factors before settling on my choice of cinema.  First, do I want to watch something new or old?  Second, what kind of mood am I in?  Third, will I have my kids with me?  And fourth, what is my access level to various sources?  These four questions will come together to point me toward my final decision of movies to watch.

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The selection of movies to watch

The first issue I wrestle when picking a movie is whether I want to see a new movie or an old movie.  Do I want to see something in the theater?  If I do, I might hop onto an online film review site or update my status to ask friends if they have seen the movie I’m considering.  If I haven’t picked a film yet, I might do the same thing looking for suggestions. The decision to see a new show in the theater comes with the daunting secondary question of which show to select.  If I want to see something old, I’ll decide whether by ‘old’ I mean a classic I’ve seen multiple times, like L.A. Story, or a movie not in theaters anymore but which I have not yet seen, like X-Men: The First Class.  A new film will offer me some excitement, going out on a date with my spouse perhaps, but it has the drawback of costing substantially more than seeing an old film.  If we’ve just had an unexpectedly large paycheck, I might not care about the cost.  An old film might be cheaper, or free if I already own it, but old is just that, old. Seeing the latest installment in a movie franchise can be a fun thing to praise or trash with my husband and his coworkers, but hearing Steve Martin say, ‘I’m being filmed, I know I’m being filmed’ for literally the 2,000th time can be too much fun to pass up, depending on my mood.

To help make up my mind, I’ll probably sit down and think for a moment, ‘What am I in the mood for?’  Do I want to see something girly?  If so, I’m almost certainly seeing something old because my husband won’t want to go out on a date to see it, and I am too lazy to organize an outing with my girlfriends.  Do I want to see an action movie?  If so, I’ll almost certainly end up seeing something new since everyone knows the big budget special effects are best experienced with the massive screen and THX surround of the theater.  (It masks the terrible writing better.)  Do I want to get dressed up or sit in my pajamas?  I love to lounge around in comfortable clothes with chips and salsa, sitting in front of my favorite flick, and I can’t pull that off in the Cineplex.  I also love putting my makeup on, doing my hair, and going to experience a show on the big screen.  The current frizz level of my hair nearly always plays a significant role in the ‘Do I feel like getting dressed up?’ debate.  Also a consideration is the ratio of clean laundry in the hamper to dirty.  If the dirty is heavily represented, I’m probably staying in and telling myself I’ll do laundry, even if I don’t do a scrap of it.  I must also consider whether I am in the proper mental state to be able to concentrate on an unfamiliar plot.  A scatterbrained feeling might keep me home while a desire to have an interesting new concept to talk about would push me out the door.

Movies to watch with my kids

The third and possibly most important question to ask when choosing which movies to watch is whether my children will be with me.  I have a toddler and a baby, and their presence almost certainly nixes any plans to sit in a quiet room with other people for 2 hours.  If I really want to take them with me, I need advance planning, an appropriate movie, kid-friendly snacks, a time slot that works with naps, the ability to leave the movie if things get out of hand, and most definitely another adult to help me. It doesn’t utterly rule out a trip to the theater, but having my children with me makes the prospect substantially more daunting.  If I opt for older movies to watch, my options are more varied.  I might choose a child’s movie and snuggle up with the kids to watch.  However, if I make that choice I am almost certainly turning on a Pixar film I have seen at least 200 times and will not be getting much enjoyment in actually watching the show but rather in spending some time with my children. The more likely option is that I will wait until nap or bed time and watch a movie either alone (if the mood is chick flick) or with my husband.

All of the above discussion might be moot based on my access to various options.  For example, after Hurricane Ike shut down the city of Houston, my husband and I watched a LOT of movies, but because electricity was limited (we were lucky,) and Internet was spotty (we were not so lucky,) our viewing options were utterly and completely restricted to movies we already owned.  On another occasion, we were staying at a small, vintage hotel near the Hoover Dam with no television in the room and no Internet access, which meant no pay-per-view, no Netflix, and we didn’t bring any movies with us.  We wanted to watch a movie that particular evening, so our only option was to go to the local movie theater.  On an average Friday night, our options are limited by the presence of two young children who can’t be left in the house alone.  Unless we have access to an affordable babysitter, we limit ourselves to our own library, the library of Netflix, or one of us will drive 5 minutes to the Redbox in front of Kroger and see what shows are left after the rest of the families in our situation who were smart enough to come before 5pm have cleaned out the machines.

Well, there you have it. That’s how I choose on which movies to watch either alone, with kids or with my partner. It’s kind of complicated, maybe, but it works for me. How about you? Do you have a ‘movies to watch’ selection process?