❆ My Favorites of Winter 2022 ⛄
Below, I have listed some of my favorite music, movies, movie trailers, Youtube videos, and specials that I have watched or listened to this winter. These are in no particular order.
Movies:
1. Spiderman: Homecoming (watched January 4th): I'm a little late to the Marvel world but man, am I enjoying myself. These movies just draw you in with wonderful writing, humor, storyline, and characters. There are so many characters that took my interest: Peter, MJ, Ned, Tony, Happy, Aunt May, Flash (haha), Karen, and even Vulture. This is my third movie in the MCU and I'm just loving my time with them.
2. Spiderman: Far From Home (watched January 9th): This was a great follow-up. We get more relationship development between Peter and the group. Along with the responsibility of being Spiderman and how that endangers those around Peter. Also, the introduction to Mysterio and his storyline was so intriguing. I didn't know how that story was going to go but man was it interesting.
3. Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2 (watched January 16th and 25th): These movies were just so incredible. Loved them so much and I cannot wait to see more of the Guardians. They are such a great group of characters and I loved watching them work off of each other. The music in these movies is so great, especially that opening scene in the first movie. What a great way of introducing Peter Quill. I don't know who is my favorite of the group as a whole. One minute I'm saying Rocket, the next I'm saying Drax, Gamora, and it continues through them all. I just really love this group of characters. I know I am late getting into these Marvel movies but man, am I happy that I'm getting into them now. They are incredible. I love the humor but also the hard-hitting scenes. So far my favorite is definitely Doctor Strange but these and the Spiderman movies are up there.
4. Iron Man (watched January 29th): My brother and I decided to go back to the first movie in the MCU as we continue to watch them. It's interesting to experience these movies for the first time with someone who has seen most of them. This one was another movie that I really enjoyed. I had never heard any of the plot details of this movie so I really did go into the movie not really knowing what was going to happen. Which was great. I love Tony's character and watching him as he becomes Iron Man in this movie and the reasons behind it. I cannot wait to see the next movie and see what happens next in Tony's journey.
5. Encanto (watched January 30th): This is definitely one of the best recent Disney movies. First of all, it is absolutely stunning. The animation is beautiful beyond words. Then we have the music by Lin-Manuel Miranda which brings so much to the movie. I loved his music in Moana but that has nothing on the music in this movie. I adored every song that he wrote and have been listening to a bunch of them on repeat ever since I watched the movie. It's so catchy and just beautiful. I loved the Madrigal family and their story. It was great to be able to see the bond that this family has.
6. Luca (watched February 14th): This movie was great, not that I'm surprised because it's a Pixar film and they can do no wrong with me. I have loved almost all of their films over the years. Loved the story with Luca, Alberto, Giulia, and Giulia's father. Their friendship and bond were strong and powerful. I loved watching them as they tried to get ready for the competition. Also, the setting of the story felt so real. It was great how they made it really feel like we were in Italy, some examples of this were the music and certainly the books. It had a great animation style that stood out and showed the beautiful Italian landscapes.
7. Iron Man 2 (watched March 16th): Took too long to watch this one. Loved watching Tony's arc throughout it. Another movie that I really did not know much about going into, which I'm glad of. Man,
I hated Justin Hammer. haha. What a piece of work. Natasha's introduction into the MCU was pretty good, especially her first scene with Happy. It was great that Happy got much more of an acting role in the plot. Great scenes. Also, Nick Fury is really becoming a favorite Marvel character for me. I also want to say how much I love the choice of music in the Marvel movies. They just do such a great job picking music to go along with each of them. I am really enjoying watching Tony in these movies. His sarcasm is everything.
Songs/Music:
1. Soundtrack from Tick, Tick...Boom!: I love the music from this musical so much, especially
"Come to Your Senses" and
"30/90". I have had these songs and many others on repeat throughout the entire beginning of the year. It's just beautiful in every way. Andrew is such an incredible singer and I hope he does more musicals. Vanessa Hudgens just keeps getting better and Alexandra Shipp was phenomenal.
2. Soundtrack from Encanto: Like I mentioned above in my movie review, I absolutely adored the music from Encanto. My favorites are "All of Me," "Surface Pressure," "We Don't Talk About Bruno," and "What Else Can I Do". Lin- Manuel Miranda's music is so incredible and I cannot get enough of it. Especially, the songs in this movie. They are just so impressive. If I had to pick a favorite it would be "Surface Pressure" because I love the message in this song. Also, I'm a child care provider and watch a four-year-old, so I've been listening to these songs a lot over the last couple of months and they still are so great.
3. Musical Playlist I made on Spotify: I have been really enjoying the musical playlist that I created on Spotify. It's the playlist that I have been listening to a lot when I am writing.
5. Benton High School's performance of Beauty and the Beast: I have been wanting to see the musical version of Beauty and the Beast for a very long time. We were supposed to go in my senior year back in 2012 but never got to. Then a high school around where I live performed it about two or three years ago but they were sold out and we never got to see it. Finally, we got to see it this year on March 13th at a local high school. They did an incredible job
Movie Trailers:
1. Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness Trailer: I watched Doctor Strange at the very end of December and it became a new favorite. I cannot wait to see this movie. Especially, seeing more of Won. Won is my favorite MCU character. I adore him so much!
2. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: I am one of the biggest Harry Potter fans and have always been. I just adore the Wizarding World. And Albus Dumbledore has always been one of my favorite characters ever. I am so excited for this movie and to see more of him, which is what I really wanted from these movies from the beginning. Jude Law's portrayal in
The Crimes of Grindelwald was the best part of that movie and it looks like it might be even better in this one. Also, Mads Mikkelsen looks great so far in the role of Grindelwald, which seems to bring a creeper factor to the character. And they had Fawkes at the end of the trailer, so that is very exciting!! Less than a month is left now. Yes!
Youtube:
1. BooksandLala: I have been watching Kayla for a long time, I don't even know how long. Probably over five years. She is my go-to Booktuber out of any. I'm not a thriller lover but I will watch her talk about them all day long.
- Some of my favorite videos from her during this season were:
~ 2021 reading stats
~ WORDLE chooses what I read
~ Weird reading challenge book controls my TBR for 48 hours
2. SuperCarlin Brothers: I started watching the Carlin Brothers a long time ago and I really don't remember how many years it has been. Probably five or six at this point. I watch every single one of their videos and love the theories that they have come up with over the years. They have such clever ideas that always get me thinking. I love how they have been branching off into other fandoms and I hope that they continue to do that this year.
- Some of my favorite videos that they made in the winter:
~ J vs Ben: The PRETTY OBVIOUS Gilderoy Lockhart Quiz
~ J vs Ben: ENCANTO Finish the Lyric Quiz!
~ TOP 5 Secrets of Dumbledore Questions | Harry Potter Theory
~ How Did Dumbledore Put The Stone In The Mirror? | Harry Potter Theory
3. With the Carlins: I love that Ben decided to make a Vlog channel at the end of last year when his little girl Addie was born. It has been a joy watching these videos and I have loved every single one of them. She is such a little cutie. I also really love seeing Ben try some pretty weird stuff like making clear ice. Never thought I would enjoy watching something like that. I love these because they feel like little home movies.
- Some of my favorites:
~ Addison Meets Spider Man!
~ Addison's First Snow Day!
4. The Library of Allenxandria: I got into watching Allen's videos almost two years ago and absolutely love him and his humor. His videos on the Discworld are what made me find him and I just love all of his content. I'm very excited for him to start doing history videos and I will watch them all.
- Some of my favorite videos from him during this season were:
~ Book Jeopardy Episode 12
~ 7k Extravaganza AMA Livestream
~ Equal Rites Review | Discworld Witches #1
~ 25 Question Tag Part Two! | Orangutan Edition!
~ Book Jeopardy Ep. 13 | Tournament of Champions of Champions! | Sarah v. Cait. v. Jessi!
Specials:
1. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (watched January 1st): This was an experience that I enjoyed with all my heart. I fell in love with the Harry Potter series when I first saw
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Before this, I had read the first book and watched the first two movies but what got me into the series was the third movie. After I watched that movie I picked up the book and fell in love with it. I loved the whole plot with Sirus Black and just the Mauralders in general. I was hooked on it and I have been ever since. So needless to say, I could not wait to watch this special on HBO Max. I bought a subscription for the month just to watch this show and man did it not disappoint. It was great! I loved listening to all of the actors and their experiences during the filming. My favorite part was when Robbie Coltrane was talking about the legacy of the movies. I put his quote to the side of this review. The special made me laugh and tear up at times. It was so beautiful and I recommend it to any Harry Potter fan.
2. Chris Colfer live event with Flipgrid (watched on March 18th): I adore Chris Colfer and have ever since I first watched Glee back in 2009. In 2012, I read The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell and fell in love with his version of classic fairy tales and other classic tales. Now almost ten years later it is my most read book (I reread the series every year) and it is my favorite series of all time. Chris is my favorite author and I just adore his writing style so much. I'm a big fan of retellings in all forms and I love how he has taken these stories and made his own from them.
I loved listening to him tell his story in this video of how he got to where he is today. This is a story I have heard before from his countless interviews, but I love that all the kids that watched this event were able to hear his inspiring words. It was a joy just listening to him talk. Loved his answer to the question about finding inspiration. Definitely, connect to his sentiment about that as a writer myself. I'm glad that kids will get to hear all of this and I hope that a bunch of them were able to.
Love the quote he gave from his books. "The more the world discourages you, the more it needs you." I had a lot of fun watching this video and just getting to listen to Chris talk about writing and his books.
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