While reading is my #1 way to relax, I love being able to escape to movies and TV shows. When I have free time during the school year, I love relaxing with some Netflix and Amazon Prime because it takes less concentration—being an English and Communications double major means a lot of time with words (which I obviously love) so it’s nice to time a break here and there. And while I do admit that I feel guilty sometimes about choosing film over reading, I’ve watched SO many great things between from December and February that it’s been completely worth it. The following movies and tv shows do not include rewatches (we’d be here for a while if I counted all of my Parks and Recreation time) or Christmas specials that I watched in December.

Movies

Pitch Perfect 3– While I love Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2, I admit my sister and I went into with low expectations. Since the Bellas are finished with college, I didn’t know how the storyline would continue. While the plot wasn’t the most realistic, I soon fell in love with the music and even though I missed not having Skylar Austin and Ben Platt being in this installment, I really appreciated the focus on our female characters and characters. The soundtrack for this movie is actually my favorite out of all the Pitch Perfect movies because it really higlights Anna Kendrick’s talent. My favorite songs include “Freedom! ‘90” , “Toxic”, and “I Don’t Like It” and I was soon inspired to make a Spotify playlist with all my favorite songs from the movie.

Ocean’s Eleven– Ocean’s Eight is one of my most anticipated movies of 2018 for its female cast. In order to prepare myself for Ocean’s Eight, I know I needed to watch the movie that started it all, Ocean’s Eleven. If you’re a Six of Crows fan and need some more heists in your life, I highly recommend checking this one out.

The Big Sick– The Big Sick kept popping up on Amazon Prime whenever I logged in, so I figured it was a sign to watch it. Even though there’s plenty of comedic moments, The Big Sick is not a light & fluffy comedy, as the movie is based on Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s real-life experience with Emily’s illness. I grew up watching Everybody Loves Raymond with my parents, so it was really fun to see Ray Romano play Emily’s dad.

The Greatest Showman – The Greatest Showman is my surprise and absolute favorite out of the movies on this list. Beforehand, I kept referring to The Greatest Showman as “that circus movie” but so many of my friends and fellow reviewers kept giving it such rave reviews that my sister and I had to see it. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have listened to the soundtrack everyday since—it’s my favorite thing to listen to when I workout! The cast was absolutely phenomenal and the movie just felt so magical and surreal. I highly recommend at least checking out the soundtrack if you haven’t already and I cannot wait until it’s released on streaming services or DVD.

Fun Mom Dinner– In my opinion, Fun Mom Dinner is the funnier and a tad more realistic version of Bad Moms. By no means am I bad-mouthing Bad Moms because I loved Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, and Kathryn Hahn as its leading ladies and I will probably watch Bad Moms 2, but the comedy in Fun Mom Dinner felt so much less forced. I absolutely loved the cast – Toni Collette is becoming one of my favorite actresses, I’ll watch anything with Adam Scott, AND LET’S HAVE MORE MOVIES WITH ADAM LEVINE, PLEASE- and like the name, it’s the perfect movie if you’re looking for something fun.

Miss You Already– I cannot tell you the last book or movie that made me ugly cry as much as I did during Miss You Already. Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette star as two best friends, and I figured I was in for some tears from the get-go, as Toni Collette’s character, Milly, is diagnosed with breast cancer. I loved this movie so much, especially for its the emphasis on Milly and Jess’s friendship and the focus on their family and romantic relationships. I cried SOBBED for the last thirty minutes and continued to cry afterwards (reminder that I need more Kleenex for my dorm room).

TV Shows 

The Good Place– I talked about The Good Place in my February Wrap-Up, but I basically started TGP because so many people on Twitter were talking about ALL OF THE PARKS & REC Easter Eggs. While a comedy, TGP is so thought-provoking, as the show follows a group of characters who mistakenly end up in ‘The Good Place’ after their deaths, for its discussion on the meaning of good and bad. The cast is phenomenal, and I love all of the guest appearances, especially from the Parks & Rec cast — I loved Maribeth Monroe as Mindy St. Claire & Maya Rudolph as Gen and please let there be more Adam Scott in season 3.

Ghosted– February 25^th was the third anniversary of the ending of Parks and Recreation, and besides some season 6 rewatching, I knew I wanted to watch something with the P&R cast. As I’m sure you can tell from above, Adam Scott is one of my favorite actors, so I decided to continue watching Ghosted. The show features Craig Robinson and Adam Scott as detectives for a government agency that montiors paranormal activites. I watched the pilot back in September, and the Parks & Recreation anniversary inspired me to pick it up again. I’m excited to see more episodes come out in March because of Craig Robinson and Adam Scott’s chemistry and the flow of the show grows more with each episode.

What shows or movies captured your heart this winter? Any from above? Share in the comments!