2016: Movies, Music & TV

I can't believe I'm kicking off my end of the year posts today! 2016 has been quite the year and while I'll save my introspective thoughts for later, I am excited to talk about the songs, movies and TV shows I loved. My music habits haven't changed at all (aka always looking for new songs). I was much better about going to the movies this year and usually with my cousins which was an added perk. And lastly, Netflix binging happened a lot.

Most-Played Songs

Spotify's Year in Music makes this part of my post so much easier to do but they give you a playlist with 6 hour worth of songs. I looked at top of the list and picked out the ones I personally remember listening to it a lot.

I would say the least surprisingly artists on this list: Ariana Grande, James Bay (he shows up twice!), Maroon 5 and Florence + the Machine.

I knew I listened to these songs a lot but I didn't realize just how much: Draper, Betty Who, Nick Jonas, Kehlani, Drake, Hailee Steinfeld, Zoology, Meghan Trainor and Gwen Stefani.

Special mention on this list: Miranda Lambert. I don't normally gravitate towards country but my goodness, this song. I'm still playing it constantly.

Top TV Shows

Netflix was so bad (read: so good) this year! A lot of shows were released and two revivals I never thought would happen did (if you don't know which ones I'm referring to, it's Fuller House and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life). But when I sat down to think about my favorite new shows that I binged, I think the list might surprise you.

Newbies | Broadchurch, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Stranger Things, Poldark and The Crown.

Oldies that are still awesome | Bones, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead (I'll just ignore this recent season thank you very much), Grey's Anatomy (yes still), Outlander, The Affair, Daredevil, House of Cards (those last couple of episodes!), Orphan Black, The 100

Top Movies

I made a point to go to the movies more often this year and try to watch the ones I put on my Netflix/HBO Go queues. And I did both! Here are a mix of favorites and ones that just stood out to me the most.

Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them • I hadn't read the book before so I didn't know what to expect. But Eddie Redmayne was perfect in this role and Nifflers are the cutest beasts ever.

Captain America: Civil War • I feel like the Captain America movies just get better and better. I loved seeing the gang all together again (except I missed Thor and wanted to punch Iron Man in the face) and I can't wait to see what's next for everyone.

Doctor Strange • Again, it was a different kind of superhero movie. I'm not a super Benedict Cumberbatch fangirl but I liked him in this role and it was fun to see the magical side of Marvel.

Spotlight • This has on my list for a while and I'm so glad I finally watched it. It's such a powerful movie on an extremely tough topic. It absolutely deserves every awards it's won.

X-Men: Apocalyse • If you had told me Sansa Stark would make an awesome Jean Grey a couple years ago, I wouldn't have believed it. But she was! I think in general, they did a great job with casting and in general, I've enjoyed this X-Men arc more so than the original.

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong • It's basically a mash-up of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset but in Hong Kong but I still loved it. Real-life couple Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung's natural chemistry make it work and it's been a while since a romantic indie film tugged at my heartstrings.

The Fundamentals of Caring • Go Netlix and their original movies! I'm so aware of their shows that I forget they do original movies too. I have to admit this one is a bit cliche and has every indie road trip trope you can possibly thing of. And you know what? I still liked it. It's a feel good film and c'mon, it's got Paul Rudd!

Rogue One • I was definitely apprehensive after I heard this movie needed major reshoots but whatever they did.. it worked! This was exactly the kind of prequel I wanted and expected when episodes I-III came out. Felicity Jones was an amazing heroine and I think Star Wars fans will be happy with this release. (But Force Awakens is still my fave of the two!)

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What were some of your favorite music, movies and songs from this past year? 

Better yet - anything you'd like to recommend to me?