This Mother's Day, grab a bag of popcorn and press play — it's time for a movie night! Whether you're a mother, daughter, or both, curl up together with some of Hollywood's famous maternal relationships. From the silly to the serious, these onscreen favorites will bring you close together while you enjoy a relaxing night in, a simple luxury that is well deserved!
There is nothing better than a night spent at home with a few friends, a classic movie, and, of course, good food! If you have the movie picked but are still unsure about the menu, we have you covered. With everything from fizzy cream soda to homemade pizza, we've created a refined twist on traditional movie-theater favorites, so you can fine dine at home.
Caramelized Coconut Popcorn
All movie nights need a big bowl of popcorn to munch on. For a tropical twist on this typically buttery snack, try popping it in coconut oil. If you love the sweetness of kettle corn, then add a few spoonfuls of sugar before you start popping, and finish it with salt. The coconut oil complements the caramelized sugar in such a way that will make you rethink ever buying the theater stuff again.
Cream Soda
No movie is complete without a big, fizzy soda to wash down all that popcorn. With this cream soda recipe, you can easily make your own batch of vanilla simple syrup to stir into soda. If you're looking for an adult version, then splash a jigger of vodka into the cream soda.
Nacho Bites
It's tough to resist a warm, gooey queso dip at the theater, but since you'll be viewing from home, try these nacho bites for a similar satisfaction without mess. Unlike the typical, waxy theater cheese, these bites are loaded with a mixture of cilantro salsa and creamy goat cheese. Top with a dollop of guacamole for the perfect finger food.
Classic Homemade Pizza
Rather than settle on the ordinary delivery, try making your own pizza dough and topping it with your choice of veggies and meats.
Spanish Pizza Topped With Swiss Chard and Walnuts
Since this is a refined movie night, after all, consider topping some of those pizza crusts with unusual ingredients like swiss chard and walnuts, like in this Spanish-style pizza.
We're not usually advocates of sitting at home on a Saturday night, but this week there's good reason to trade in your girls' night out for a movie night in. For the first time ever The September Issue is airing on TV. That means you can relive all of the fashion, drama, and amazing insider access to the making of Vogue's high-profile September issue with Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and André Leon Talley. Be sure to tune in tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on A&E and enjoy the show!
Madonna turning 50 is practically a holiday around here at Sugar HQ. I know one mega-fan here in the office who couldn't be more excited about the Queen of Pop's birthday. While many appreciate Madge's tremendous impact on popular music, I am equally appreciative of some of her movie roles. You'd think that Madonna's off-screen persona might overwhelm her characters onscreen, but that hasn't really been the case. I consider her a capable and engaging actress, and I've picked out a few of my favorite titles in her filmography. So, happy birthday Madonna — this Movie Night's for you!
Dick Tracy
I love that Netflix describes Madonna's character in this awesome '90s movie as the "seductive and sultry torch singer Breathless Mahoney." Dick Tracy was pretty much panned by critics, despite its star-studded cast. Regardless, the visual setting is vibrant, the costumes are neato, and to this day I still watch Madonna's performance of "Sooner or Later" and want to be her for Halloween.
For the other two Madonna movies on my list, just read more
Christopher Nolan is a director who initially made a huge splash with a little budget and not much celebrity star power. He's the director of The Dark Knight and the man responsible for resuscitating the Batman franchise. Not so long ago, he was an independent filmmaker, but after this weekend he'll probably be seen as one of the most influential creative forces in Hollywood. So who is the visionary behind the mask camera? Well, you could read this interesting New York Times profile, or you could let his work speak for itself by embarking on a Christopher Nolan Movie Night!
Memento
Try to remember back to 2000 — there was a lot of hype around a little movie about a guy suffering from short-term memory loss looking for the man who murdered his wife. Memento was a big deal and shot Nolan to the head of the class in the eyes of film critics and Hollywood bigwigs alike. Guy Pearce is mesmerizing as a man forced to tattoo himself to remember things, and the way the movie plays with time is chilling and mind-blowing.
Two more Nolan flicks to go so read more
I've been really inspired by traveling this week — both because of my own itch to go on an adventure and because I have a handful of friends who are either planning their honeymoon or enjoying it right now. As part of my travel urge, I got to thinking about movies that captured a culture and a country so well that they've made me add a new entry to my list of places I have vowed to visit. Come away with me on a mini-jaunt around the globe via this movie night!
Out of Africa
This Oscar-winning classic directed by the late Sydney Pollack starred Meryl Streep and an extremely dreamy Robert Redford, but the biggest star of the film is East Africa. The movie is loosely based on Karen Blixen's 1937 autobiography about her real-life journey to Kenya. The character based on Blixen enters a loveless marriage but then meets Redford's character, a local-game hunter, and an epic romance ensues. The movie was filmed on location and is breathtakingly beautiful. If this doesn't make you consider Africa as a travel destination, I don't know what will.
Two more glorious locations, so read more
Tax season is upon us and I know how stressful it can be to dig up receipts, fill out the forms and file the ol' taxes. Although my friend Savvy wouldn't be too happy to hear this, I have a bad habit of procrastinating and will find any reason to avoid doing my taxes. This year I have a new strategy: hold a money movie night with the following films and then do my taxes — no more excuses! It's a good plan because there are a lot of good lessons to learn from these movies, you know? OK, that's a lame rationalization, but hey, these movies are fun and might even convince you to stay away from white-collar crimes.
Trading Places
Just thinking about Trading Places makes me laugh, which is the perfect way to kick off a tax season movie night. Eddie Murphy stars alongside fellow funny man Dan Aykroyd in this film that poses the question: Does money make the man?
Louis Winthorpe III (Aykroyd) is a Harvard educated broker who has it all. Billy Ray Valentine (Murphy) is a street hustler angling for a dollar. When these two men switch places in society, all hilarity breaks loose. It's a wacky premise, but Murphy is hysterical and it's a funny peek at the ways in which money changes people.
Two more money movies, so read more
Though he wasn't nominated for any awards, I believe some of the year's best performances have come from Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn), and I'm a little sad that he's missing from the red carpet. The man has been honing his craft since he was a wee child and has been working steadily for years since. To properly pay my respects to the talented Mr. Bale this awards season, I'm designating a Movie Night to him. It's hard to choose given his large body of work, but I dug out some gems. In addition to these titles, he also sang his way into my heart in Newsies and freaked me out in American Psycho and The Machinist.
3:10 to Yuma
I've said it before and I'll say it again: 3:10 to Yuma is an excellent retelling of an old Western, reminding us that this dusty genre isn't dead. The lead actors turn in solid performances including Christian Bale who plays rancher Dan Evans, a man down on his luck physically and financially. Evans seizes an opportunity to earn some good reward money by delivering the infamous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the Yuma prison via the 3:10 PM train. With Ben's men hot on their trail, their journey to Yuma takes on a power struggle that is ultimately as simple as good versus evil. This film has one of Bale's most arresting portrayals in recent history, and should definitely kick off your movie night.
Two more titles from the deeper confines of Bale's past, so read more
For a French themed Movie Night, transform your living room into a comforting French style bistro. Hang classic French posters on the walls and place fun pillows on the couches. A garden gnome makes a great conversation starter that ties into the movie. Serve the food on oval TV dinner trays. Keep the dinner uniform by using plates, glasses, and flatware that all have a fleur de lis pattern.
Pour the wine in low tumblers for a casual effect. Light votive candles and a fire in the fireplace. Create a sensual mood during the show by turning off the lights. Don't forget to place a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers near the entryway to greet guests as they arrive.
Now that the movie nominations are rolling out, I've been playing catch up at the movies. I've got another date this Saturday night to go see Juno. It's going to be pretty low-key, but I still need to look like my Fab self!
I started you off with this Juicy Couture Lantern Sleeve Fleece Parka ($278) because it's comfy and weather-proof. Come back and tell me when your Fab Finds are up and tag them movie night. Be sure to check out all the foolproof outfit Fab Finds.
Let's see what you all came up with!
Oh! Now, you can build outfits by creating a list of clothing items. We have everything you need to build outfits with, and you can use your Fab Find bookmarks, too. This is an even better way to put together an entire outfit when you are completing your Fab Finding missions.
Look #1, created by maria212134, is so comfy — and the accessories she chose are all Fab!
To see a couple more, read more
