Winter Break: Movies You NEED to Watch NOW!

I love Christmas movies, like LOOOOVE them, but by December 25th, I'm definitely ready to put them away for another year. As December and January rages on and the weather gets delightfully worse, I look forward to spending days and nights inside, snuggled up in pj's and a blanket by the fire with either a great movie or a great book. 

But first things first, what movies do you watch? There's an art to movie selecting you guys. Much like the guide I previously made for Summer movies (here), I've compiled a list of movies to watch during winter break since all your favorite TV shows are on hiatus, leaving you with mass amounts of available time! And by "mass amounts" I mean after work and by "available time", I mean the time you should be spending cleaning but eh, who really cares! You NEED to de-stress, unwind, and relax from the holidays, work and/or school, I mean, you deserve it! So why not with a stack of amazing movies?! It's not like you'll be wanting to go out in the stormy weather anyways, and who has money after Christmas to do anything to begin with?! You're really just doing yourself a favor and saving money to boot! :) 

10 Movies to watching during Winter Break:

1. Jurassic Park (1991)

This is one of my favorite movies. Ever. Any time it's raining, my sisters and I say to each other "it's the perfect weather to watch Jurassic Park!" and we usually end up watching it. Because it's ah-mazing. Not sold yet? Here's a list of reasons you should watch it NOW: A) Dr. Grant. Let's just get that out there. B) Dinosaurs COME TO LIFE GUYS. And they are SCARY! C) Steven Spielberg. NEED I SAY MORE?! 

PS- The 4th one with the studly Chris Pratt comes out June 12 (!!!) so you might as well get a start now! ;)

2. Notorious, (1946)

There is something about winter that screams Hitchcock to me. The suspense, the drama, that era, everything is PERFECT. Notorious is my favorite Hitchcock, though I think everyone has a favorite... This is one of his lesser known titles starring the amazing and handsome Cary Grant, who starred in several Hitchcock films like North by Northwest, To Catch a Thief and Suspicion. But if you haven't seen Notorious, do so. Now. You won't regret it.

3. ALL the Harry Potters

Who doesn't love Harry Potter!?! Seriously, I must've seen them a thousand times each and I still love them just as much as I did when they first came out. We are currently working on Harry Potter movie nights, but it's been hard with work and school. We plan to make the best of Winter break and hopefully get through a couple before the next semester starts back up again! Also, an equally amazing part about doing Harry Potter marathons, you can wear your Hogwarts t-shirt you pretend you don't have and make HP themed food!! There are tons of Pinterest boards dedicated to it, so you'll have plenty of ideas! Invite your friends or make it a family day and eat amazing grub while watching  Harry, Hermoine, Ron and the gang kick some serious wizard butt! 

4. Bridget Jone's Diary (I & II)

I have a special place in my heart for Bridget and her wacky self. She's so real, there's nothing fake about her and she's seriously hysterical, you can't help but love her. OH! And Mark Darcy (sigh)... I mean Colin Firth, is just a *dream*. Watching him and Hugh Grant's character get into fight after fight is the most comically pleasing thing to have ever happened. They're the perfect romantic comedies to ease your winter blues.

5. The Shining (1980)

I'm a fan of Steven King and all things creepy and scary, so this makes perfect sense to me. I'm also a huge fan of ghost stories and the hotel Steven King was staying at in Colorado while writing The Shining (The Stanely Hotel) is actually haunted and influenced a lot of how he wrote the Shining based on those experiences. I want to stay there SO BADLY, I can't even stand it. But the movie itself is great and Jack Nicholson is probably the second most creepy human being in the world (Christopher Walken is the first, obviously). Lots of snow and creepy happenings make this the perfect winter horror movie. 

 

6. Your *favorite* Jane Austen Adaptation (or ALL of them!)

While my sister's in town for the holidays, we decided to do "an Austen a day" to keep those *winter blues* at bay. Nothing cheers you up better than an Austen. I typically re-read Pride and Prejudice during Christmas, but this year I didn't have enough time! To fill the void, I'm watching ALL the Austen's because why not!? Plus, who doesn't love watching Collin Firth or Johnny Lee Miller anyways?! Yes please! :)




7. Twister (1996)

Nothing like a good ol' disaster film to brighten your post-holiday slump! ;) I LOVE Twister, it's just about one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm not sure why I love it so much, but I do. And there's just something about escaping the storm outside to watch a storm inside that just makes sense, right? Just me then?? Okay, well watch it anyways and enjoy Helen Hunt and the handsome Bill Paxton on their storm chasing journey to save people from deadly tornadoes. 



8. Signs (2002)

M. Night Shyamalan started out so good for me. I mean, the Sixth Sense scared EVERYONE half to death, even if they won't admit it. Signs for me wasn't as amazing, but still really really good. As a movie fan, this is one of my favorite "alien" movies. M. Night does such a good job because you're held in suspense almost the whole movie without fully seeing the aliens, so by the end when you actually do see them, it's terrifying!



9.  Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy 

Christopher Nolan's Batman series is much darker than any Batman was before. It's such an amazing trilogy, I don't think anyone could ever make it any better. Not only is the directing superb, but Christian Bale as Batman really sends it home. Not to mention the 3 villains (Scarecrow, Joker, and Bane) are just downright terrifying, all played by really great actors (Cillian Murphy, Heath Ledger, and Tom Hardy). The darkness of the mood and the gorgeous cinematography make these my all time favorite superhero movies and *PERFECT* for winter break!



10. The Walking Dead (2010-)

Okay, I know this isn't a movie, but whatever, it still counts. Netflix now has The Walking Dead (first 4 seasons) and I'm super excited to watch this from the beginning. I started watching this show a couple seasons in, so I've never seen how it ALL started and I'm VERY excited to do so. If, by some crazy chance you're not into the show (insanity!) then any good zombie flic will do (28 days later is a personal favorite). But if by chance you haven't tried the show out, NOW'S THE TIME!! Plus, you'll LOVE Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, despite all the gross zombie sounds that fill the background. ;) 

Happy Viewing!! 
xx