Do you read reviews before you lay down your entertainment dollars? Do you like reviews from real people, not just critics? I do!

A couple of years ago I wrote an entertainment themed post and it was so much fun. My husband and I are heavy on date nights—either on the town or at home—so entertainment is a hot topic.

I hope to publish these posts more regularly and I would love to hear about what you’re watching or listening to, too. Here are some recent picks and pans:

In Theaters

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I couldn’t possibly love this movie any more. I expected the action and I expected the laughs, but I wasn’t prepared for the tears. And of course, there’s Chris Pratt. If you haven’t seen it, for goodness’ sake watch the first one too.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a wonder! Full of action, adventure, and fun, this one felt more like it came from Marvel than DC, and I mean that as a compliment. (DC can be dark and humorless.) I love a good story about defeating Nazis.

The Book of Henry

We saw a screening for The Book of Henry this week and it blew us away. No spoilers here. It will show on fewer screens than the typical release, but it’s worth your effort to see.

Cars 3

My daughter and I saw a Cars 3 screening this week and loved it. This one is a lot of fun but also teaches some valuable lessons for both kids and adults: put others before yourself; your value isn’t based on the lies people say about you; it’s easy to blame the bad guy, but often it’s the limitations we put on ourselves that we have to overcome.

Everything, Everything

I promised pans too, right? My son and I saw an AMC Stubs member screening of Everything, Everything and I really didn’t like it. It was visually appealing, but the messages were all kinds of messed up and potentially dangerous for kids. I wonder how many teens will make horrible financial (and other) mistakes based on ideas from this movie. Dysfunctional families with a capital D. Ugh.

{If my review labels me as an adult instead of a teen, so be it. I am.}

What We’re Watching at Home

When Calls the Heart

I don’t remember where I heard about When Calls the Heart, but at some point I added it to our Netflix streaming queue. We just finished watching season 3 with our two youngest daughters, ages 11 and 13 and we loved it.

It deals with serious issues—most of the husbands and sons in this small town died in a mining accident before the story begins, and you see how it affects their families and the community—but it’s good clean entertainment you can watch with your family.

The fourth season concluded on the Hallmark channel in April but won’t reach Netflix until a later date, possibly in 2018.

Looking for something new . . .

My husband and I are looking for a new series to watch together on either Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu. We’ve tried some different ones recently—Arrow, Leverage, and Person of Interest—but I don’t think we’ll stick with any of them.

This week we saw one episode of Turn, which I think is now called Turn: American Spies, and liked it. I would love to hear your review if you watched it.

I intended to include some book and movie reviews, but I’ll save that for another post. Instead, I thought I’d share tips for bringing more movies to your life!

See More Movies for Less

As quality time, movie-lovin’ folks, we try to maximize our movie perks and possibilities. Most theaters offer a rewards program for their customers. AMC offers both a free and a paid Stubs card; we’ve used a paid one for years. We get reward points (good on tickets or concessions) based on what we spend; SCREENING INVITATIONS; free upgrades (larger sizes) on popcorn and drinks; up to $5 off tickets on Tuesdays; and more. Plus we never pay online ticketing fees.

Regal also has a paid Crown Club rewards card. We get better perks with the Stubs card—but it’s also a paid card—and we do get occasional screening invitations.

Another local theater is under new management and when I asked about their rewards program, they gave me a punch card to receive our sixth ticket free. That’s a pretty good deal.

AT&T cell phone customers can take advantage of a program call Ticket Twosdays: buy a ticket and get one free on Tuesdays at AMC or Regal Theaters. (You can buy the tickets any day of the week, but they must be used on Tuesday.) This program works in conjunction with movietickets.com, which charges a small fee, but your fee will be waived for AMC tickets if you enter your Stubs number at checkout.

What about you?

What have you seen at the movies recently? (and did you like it?)
What are you watching at home?