Movies can provide an escape, which at this point in time is what we might need. While our lives might be put on pause and options limited for what we can do, we can watch safely on-screen as characters go out and experience life in worlds familiar and far away. If you are planning on doing a movie marathon while staying safely indoors, here are some movies to add to your queue.
A coming of age story that is beautifully told while basking in early 90s nostalgia, Perks of Being A Wallflower is one of the best comfort movies to watch. Regardless of your feelings about high school, this film takes us back to a time when everything matters but at the same time nothing mattered. The story is of how Charlie, a shy freshman, befriends Patrick and by proxy gains an entirely new group of friends and eventually his first girlfriend. It’s truly endearing to watch happen and will always make us feel good. The story is not perfect as life sometimes gets in the way and relationships and friendships are tested time and again. You will wish you had friends like this in real life whether you are in high school or if those days have past and have since become old photographs.
While this is one of those movies that is best reserved before the end of the school year as summer approaches, this entire pandemic can sometimes feel like a never-ending summer break. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most iconic movies from the 80s and has since then inspired many ways to ditch school or work. Ferris convinces his friend Cameron to take a day off from school and join him and his girlfriend as they make the city of Chicago their own as they do anything and everything. This movie feels freeing, whether you are a high school senior eager to have one more adventure or working adult who needs a break from the monotony. Watching this movie will be sure to take you back to a time when it felt like you could randomly go out and have a city-wide adventure before all of this happened. It might not feel life is moving pretty fast but as Ferris says, sometimes we do have to slow down and look around and appreciate where we are right now.
Another summer movie has made it onto this list because there’s something about the summer seasons where everything is just more vibrant and alive. Summer vacations might be a thing of the past, but you can still experience one through the eyes of Duncan, our shy and awkward main character. When all hope seems lost for having any kind of fun while on vacation, he visits a water park and quickly becomes integrated. He befriends Owen, a lifeguard without a care in the world, and quickly takes Duncan under his wing and shows him how to let loose and come out of his shell. We could all use a friend like Duncan and honestly, the entire summer season which can not arrive soon enough.
If you have been meaning to get into Harry Potter, you definitely have plenty of time to do so. One of the most celebrated series in literature comes alive in the eight Harry Potter movies that many of us have grown up on. Of course, the first film starts everything off, so it’s a logical place to start if it’s your first time. There is where we meet Harry who travels to Hogwarts for the first time and is also introduced to magic which shapes his entire life from that point on. Watching all the characters interact, the magic displayed and worlds explored is something incredible to watch. If you are up for a marathon, by all means, go for it. Be prepared for an emotional roller coaster of magical proportions.
This classic series of movies is pretty underrated as it shows what things were like back then and how things…might have been now. The Back to the Future takes place mostly in 1985 but also goes forward and backward in time as the race to get back to the right time starts. Not to mention, the idea of time traveling in a Delorean is cool even now. As Marty visits his parents in the past and sees his own future, hilarity ensues and learns a few important lessons. The future is indeed unwritten, so we all have a chance to make it a good one.
This movie leans a bit more on the weirder side, but still has plenty of heart. Our main characters are stuck on an island and one of them is a corpse. How’s that for a premise? While this corpse named Manny is not exactly alive, he proves himself to be quite useful to Hank for just about anything. He can chop down trees, transport him across the water and just provide companionship. The two depend on each other quite a bit as Manny also learns what it’s like to be human. What it’s like to fall in love, have a life and just be happy. This is definitely one of the indie gems that you shouldn’t let slip through the cracks.
One of the most critically acclaimed movies from this past year really captured the viewer’s attention through its realistic portrayal of one of the most complicated times couples can endure. Marriage Story tells the story of a couple who navigate the difficult and incredibly stressful world of divorce. They are forced to navigate this while also thinking about their son, the distance between their homes, and their work in the acting business. Despite this, the performances in this movie are simply incredible as they tell this story together even with a grim premise. If you somehow missed this and wondered why it got all the attention it did during awards season, check it out on Netflix.
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