Fall Bucket List: Fall Movies

I am such a fan of late summer/early Fall movies!  I think it makes me nostalgic for the movies my siblings and I used to watch at Meadowbrook Park as kids.  I remember my mom would make a giant, brown paper grocery bag of yummy buttery popcorn and lay out our biggest blanket.  I'm pretty sure that we would eat most of the popcorn BEFORE the movie started and it always seemed like it took FOREVER for the sun to go down so that the movie could start.  One of my favorites to watch was "The Last Starfighter."  That one brings back memories like no other summer movie can!

Sadly, Andrew and I didn't have time to watch "The Last Starfighter" before summer was over.  We'll be sure to make it happen next year!

However, we were able to fit in some other favorites.  After we got back from the downtown street festival on September 12, we turned on "The Karate Kid."

When I was younger, some of the premium TV channels (Disney, Cinemax AKA "Skin-emax" and HBO) would run a free week of programming once a year or so.  My parents would load up on blank VHS tapes and use our VCR to tape record all of the movies we possibly could.  I remember our copy of "The Karate Kid" had messages that would periodically flash at the bottom of the screen saying, "You're enjoying HBO's free week of programming.  Subscribe today to enjoy all of your favorite movies!"

This movie feels more Halloween-ish to Andrew because of the whole skeleton vs. shower man scene at the costume dance but I like to watch it to celebrate back-to-school time--it's something about the whole fish-out-of-water in a new school trying to fit in that gets me.  And this song:

Wow.  THIS SONG!  I remember watching this music video on MTV.  Yes, Mom.  We watched MTV.  {I'm sure you knew, too, because now that I am a mom, I know that there isn't really anything that can get passed a mom.}  We used to sneak it when you left us home alone while you ran to the store.  Our family had this beast of a console TV that we got secondhand from Great Grandma Isenbarger (I think) and the buttons that changed the channel were super sticky and didn't always work.  I was usually on lookout by the front window and Sarah was in charge of changing the channel.  Let me just say that there were more than a handful of instances where Sarah was beating the TV channel pad as Mom came struggling up the walkway with groceries and we were all sure that we were going to get BUSTED for sneaking MTV.  But we didn't get caught.  At least, I don't remember us getting caught.

Another movie from our childhood that Andrew and I like to watch is "The Goonies."  {Here's a little heads up: the movies we loved as kids had a whole lot more swearing in them than we probably realized.}  I love "The Goonies!"  There's the Truffle Shuffle, Josh Brolin wearing gym shorts over sweatpants, and one of the best movie bromances of all time between Sloth and Chunk.  The DVD includes these outtakes which are a must-see:

In the past, we have watched "The Goonies" after apple picking so that we can relax and eat "Caramel Apple Explosion."  We like to top our apples with Magic Shell, caramel syrup, marshmallows, Heath toffee bits, and crushed walnut pieces.  This year we picked apples the same day as the General Women's Meeting and so we just watched tho movie and had our treat the following Family Home Evening (September 29).

The final movie that we make time for every Fall is my FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME: "Remember the Titans."  This movie has to be watched the Friday night before college football starts.  It just has to.  Because I'm the mom and I said so.  (That's the first time I've gotten to use that phrase and I love it!)  Speaking of moms: