Forget January blues, I’ve always found that February blues hit the hardest. The glittering potential of the New Year isn’t as, well… glittery. The skies are still grey, your fingers still turn blue in the chill, and the pressure of maintaining, or even starting, those New Year’s resolutions is weighing on your shoulders like an unbearably heavy backpack full of school books. You have no interest in reading them, yet you have to carry them with you everywhere until the straps bore red marks into your skin. It’s all just a bit glum, with Spring barely a flickering light in the far distance.
Sounds to me like the perfect time to escape from your monogamous everyday and disappear into the different worlds on your screen for an hour or two. So, here’s my watchlist to help you do that. I’ve got a little bit of everything to get you through this grey month…
Hunger Games
I was, (still am and always will be), a raging nerd for dystopian fiction. This trilogy had an absolute chokehold on me when I first read the books back in 2011. Then, when the films came out, I was floored. I have rewatched those films more times than I can count, with Catching Fire still being one of my all-time favourite films to date (no I will not accept any other opinions). To my inner pre-teen’s delight, Hunger Games seems to be making a resurgence on TikTok. My FYP is filled with Hunger Games edits, thirst traps of Peeta “if it wasn’t for the baby” Mellark and sugar-cube-munching Finnick Odair (the superior dystopian boys – Gale slander is most definitely welcome here), and Oscar-worthy montages of Everlark that I unashamedly admit have brought a tear to my eye.
So, do yourself a favour and rewatch the Hunger Games films this month. Take your inner child back to 2012 when dystopian fiction was taking the big screens by storm, and when your biggest stress was which Victoria’s Secret body mist you were going to take into school that day.
[Where to watch: Netflix or Amazon Prime]
Love, Rosie
Since it is the month of Valentine’s, I had to include at least one romcom on this list, and if you are only ever going to watch one romcom in your life, it has to be ‘Love, Rosie’. This film is filled with so much warmth it will heat your house for a whole week (booooo cost of living crisis). If you’re a fan of the friends to lovers trope, you will adore this film.
The story follows two childhood best friends who just can’t seem to get the timing right as life forces them to grow up and grow apart. Yet they still somehow keep finding their way back to each other. It is the best “will they, won’t they” film to warm your heart this February. And if I’m truthful, any movie that casts Sam Claflin as the main love interest automatically gains a seal of approval from me.
[Where to watch: Netflix]
OBX
If you’re growing tired of the Winter chills and counting down the days to that first burst of Spring sunshine, then Outer Banks is the perfect watch for you to inject some Summer heat into your veins.
This show has it all: a lovable group of friends, Pogues vs Kooks (the wealthy and elite vs wrong side of the tracks), a mysterious treasure hunt destined to cause chaos, romance, and a cast that isn’t bad to look at; if you’re not in love with at least one member of the cast by the end I will be shocked. Oh, and it’s all set in the sun-soaked, surf’s-up Outer Banks…guaranteed to lift you out of that cold, grey slump.
[Where to watch: Netflix]
The Menu
If you’re looking for a film to make you say, out loud, “what the actual f***k?!”, then look no further. With a stellar cast, including Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor Joy, this film is bound to have you on the edge of your seat lapping up every absolutely wacky moment.
When Margot, (Anya Taylor Joy), is taken along by her date to an extremely exclusive restaurant on a remote island, she soon discovers that this isn’t any ordinary dining experience. Human smores, a psychotic hide-and-seek, and a cult-ish kitchen staff are just some of the dishes available on the menu tonight. And it just gets crazier and more deadly as each course is served. You won’t know whether to cry with pure horror or laugh at the utter absurdity. It’s perfect.
[Where to watch: Disney + or Amazon]
You
Continuing with the theme of onscreen psychos, a new season of You is coming out this February. I for one, can’t wait to be sucked back into the life of our resident murderous sociopath, Joe Goldberg.
This series is honestly just a warning to private your social media accounts and stay the hell away from any self-proclaimed “nice guy”. While I appreciate an online stalking of your crush, Joe takes obsession to the *next* level. With the perfect blend of mystery, “romance” (if you can even call it that…more like a list of unfortunate victims to grace Joe’s path), murder, and the perils of obsession, this series is the ideal binge-watch to entertain you on a chilly February evening.
[Where to watch: Netflix]
The Traitors
When I say this is the best reality TV show to grace our screens in recent years, I mean it. And yes I’m including Love Island in that assessment, (sorry, not sorry). This show just proves how *good* reality TV can be when you throw a bunch of normal people together, instead of vapid, aspiring influencers. The Traitors has everything a lot of other reality TV shows right now don’t: personality, intrigue, true entertainment, and people you actually want to be rooting for.
Twenty-two strangers. One beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands. Brutal round table vote-offs. £120,000 to play for. 3 Traitors who threaten to steal all of the prize money from their fellow Faithfuls. And Claudia Winkelman. What more could you ask for?
[Where to watch: BBC iPlayer]
Happy watching!