Editors' Picks: Entertainment Must Haves For February

The national holiday for fans of football, the Super Bowl, is on Feb. 2, and it's not just a great time if you love the Seahawks or the Broncos. Hilarious commercials also get their time in the sun, along with new movie trailers, a rockin' halftime show (this time, performers include Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers), and of course, the Puppy Bowl. It's a pop culture touchdown!

— Shannon Vestal, editor

This WWII drama directed by and starring George Clooney was pushed back from last year, but The Monuments Men is finally coming out on Feb 7. The story — about men who saved precious works of art from being destroyed by the Nazis — sounds compelling, plus the cast, which includes Matt Damon, John Goodman, and Jean Dujardin, is an amazing one.

— SV

So what if I'm excited about a movie with a bunch of LEGOs as main characters? I was so impressed with the trailer for The LEGO Movie that I've been looking forward to the movie for months. Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, and Will Arnett all voice characters in the kids film, which looks surprisingly sophisticated. Count me in on Feb. 7.

— MP

Frank and Claire Underwood return on Feb. 14 in the all-new second season of House of Cards, and you don't even have to set your DVR. The whole season will be available at once on Netflix, which means I'll be holed up all weekend, binging on Frank's scheming and Claire's plotting. Now that Frank is in the VP's office, how much hell can he raise? Probably a ton.

— MP

Whether you're catching up on Game of Thrones for the first time right now, or you want a refresher before the show picks back up in May, you'll want to watch season three of the series when it's released Feb. 18. It's the perfect way to kill time before the April premiere, though fair warning: the Red Wedding won't be any easier to watch the second time around.

— Becky Kirsch, entertainment director

As a big fan of both Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, I'm already planning on staying up past my bedtime when the guys take on new late night shows this month. Fallon will take his turn first, when he moves to The Tonight Show on Feb. 17, and I'm hoping the new time slot doesn't have any impact on the adorably wacky antics we've come to know and love from him. Meanwhile, Meyers makes the move from "Weekend Update" anchor to Late Night host on Feb. 24, and I'll be tuning in to root for him — and to watch him interview his former coanchor Amy Poehler.

— BK

All of Portlandia's quirky characters return on Feb. 27, and I can't wait. There's no other show quite like Portlandia on TV right now, and Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen's weird charms totally work on me. I want to know how to pickle it, what feminist books to buy, and how much gear I need to bring on a hike to brunch. I need Portlandia.

— MP

Having recently read Richelle Mead's YA novel Vampire Academy, I'm sufficiently pumped up for the movie version. The story revolves around a highly protected school for vampires and their guardians, but unlike Twilight or some other vampire-related fodder, these bloodsuckers are funny. Once you get all the lingo down, VA is a fun world to slip into, and I can't wait to see how the humor translates on the big screen.

— MP