I pull out all the stops for movie marathon nights in our house. We rearrange furniture, eat popcorn out of movie theatre-esque holders, and buy candy in bulk. I spare no expense at setting the mood and ambiance to create our own home theatre. Below are a few handy things that help make movie night an even more rewarding experience for the whole family.

1.       www.rottentomatoes.com. This website compiles all of the movie reviews published in most major news facilities and gives a movie an overall rating based on the percentage of critics who either liked or disliked the movie. Films that score 60 percent or higher favorable reviews earn a “Fresh” rating while those with a rating lower than 60 percent are deemed “Rotten.” While it’s not a flawless system by any means, it generally doesn’t fail me. Every once in a while I cave and watch something that is rated in the Rotten category and then I remind myself that I just lost $5 for renting it and at least two hours of my life watching it.

2.       www.dove.org. Ever been let down by an MPAA rating on a movie and regretted allowing your kids to watch it? This website leaves no stone unturned as it informs you of a movie’s content, including every bit of potty humor, every swear word, and every innuendo. Each movie is reviewed by a volunteer committed to wholesome family movies. The reviewer assigns a numerical rating for each of 5 categories of movie content (Sex, Language, Violence, Drugs, Nudity, and Other) and then ultimately decides whether the film will earn the Dove Seal of Approval. In order to be approved, a film must score within the acceptable range in each of these 5 categories.

3.       www.redbox.com. Anything cheap and convenient gets my attenae up every time. Redbox movies cost only $1 and can be rented from a grocery store. Films that cost a buck that you can rent and return at the same time you pick up milk; what mom wouldn’t love that?

4.       www.netflix.com. Not only is Netflix another cheap and easy way to watch movies, it also has a large selection of TV shows on DVD to rent. My husband and I have rented several TV series from Netflix and watched every episode from Season 1, all without having to own the series and store it in our home library. Netflix also has  movies you can watch online for free.

What great family films have you seen lately?