Movies, TV shows and Video games - How to survive Quarantine
- Bruce Costa
- Apr 1, 2020
- 10 min read
Updated: May 18, 2020
Movies (5)
(in no particular order)
1. Joker (2019): Joker is one of those must see films, it is truly a generational piece and this is proven by its performance not only in theaters but also in the festival circuit and the Hollywood awards circuit. Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Joker is hauntingly beautiful; his portrayal of the killer clown was even good enough to win an Oscar and put him in the discussion of best Joker, which was never truly a discussion because Heath Ledger had owned that spot. Phoenix isn't the only star of this film though, Todd Phillips the director is also the star of this film. Phillips took a serial killer clown who up to this point never had a true origin story and made him this haunting character study. Phillip's version of the Joker is what makes the film work, and its all the political themes in the film and its slow burn that makes this film a film worthy of praise and attention.
(genre: slow burn, thriller, political thriller, comic-book adaptation, twisted)
2. Mid90s (2018): Mid90s is a film directed by Jonah Hill, and is about skate-boarding culture in the mid90s like the title suggests. However, this film is much more than that; Mid90s is everything an indie film should be and more. The film is hard to describe because of its loose plot but, that's exactly why its so good. The film is loose and easy to digest, but hard to analyze and so its both a good film for people who like to analyze films and its also a good film for those who simply just wish to enjoy films. What I can say about this film though, is that there is more too it than skateboarding and drinking, the characters have real depth in this film, but that depth is for you to discover on your own. (genre: time piece, realism, skateboarding, slow burn, drama)
3. Talladega Nights The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006): Will Ferrell is stunning in this film. I had to include at least one comedy in this section and what better comedy than this one. You have probably heard about this film, and if you haven't directly interacted with it then chances are you have heard quotes from it, because this film is one of the most quotable comedy films of all time. Talladega Nights is a tale about a race car driver who just wants to go fast, his dad left him at a young age and his mission has always been to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a race car driver. Don't feel bad though, his dad didn't die... he just showed up drunk to career day and then abandoned his son. Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is then the protagonist of this film, however his life becomes confusing when he suffers a traumatic crash that affects him more mentally then physically.
(genre: comedy, racing, betrayal, shake and bake)
4. Baby Driver (2017): Another racing movie, this time though its serious. Baby Driver is a about Baby (not an actual baby btw), a get away driver who is under the control of a man named Doc. Things go wrong for Baby however as one of his missions gets compromised and he is forced to not only run from the cops but also from the people he was helping get away. Baby doesn't only have to look out for himself however, as he also has a new love interest, and his grandpa to take care of. Baby driver is a heartfelt film about a kid who was pushed into a life of crime and who never wanted to hurt anyone. The film places heavy emphasis on sound btw, so pay attention to that and download the spotify playlist, because my god does Baby ever have good taste in music!
(genre: action, adventure, racing, thriller)
5. Free Solo (2018): Free Solo is a rock climbing movie that became popular because of the climber inside the film and what he attempts to do. Alex Honnold a professional climber is attempting his biggest feat ever in this film, as he attempts to 'free solo' El Capitan's 900-meter vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park. Now for those of you that don't know what 'free soloing' is, I will explain it. Free soloing something as a rock climber, means to climb without any security, this means that if you fall (depending on the height) you are dead. It is the most dangerous form of rock climbing of course and I would never recommend anyone to do it, but Honnold did it for 900 meters and up an extremely difficult route, and if you wanna see how hard this process was and have your hands sweat for hours then check this film out.
(genre: documentary, rock climbing, thriller)
TV shows (5)
(in no particular order)
1. The Punisher: I don't know what it is about the Punisher that makes me love it as a Netflix series as much as I do... and I know many people may say "oh its just Marvel he's a Marvel fan boy"... but I don't see Punisher being apart of Marvel. Of course I know that Punisher is a comic book character with extensive roots in both his own lore and other massive comic book characters like Spiderman; but this series doesn't focus on that. The Punisher on Netflix is about loss and about being triumphant even in the most unlikely situations. Jon Bernthals portrayal of Frank Castle (the Punisher) is wonderful and the plot highlights that. Quick catch up now, The Punisher is a comic-book anti-hero who kills evil people, he prides himself on his military background and outstanding aim and moral code. The Netflix series is of course an adaptation and so there is slight variation between the on screen Punisher and on-page Punisher. Nevertheless, this series is sure to leave your gut feeling empty and surprise on your face as Frank Castle attempts to navigate a world of danger where he is the Apex Predator.
(Netflix)
(genre: Action, Adventure, Comic-book adaption)
2. Tiger King: All I want to say for this one is Carol Baskin killed her husband. Tiger King is sweeping the world, as people are shocked and confused by this docu-series. When I first watched the series, I believed it to be a slight comedic documentary that was about crazy pet owners.... boy was I wrong. Tiger King takes everything you love to see in a TV show, which is to say that it includes people addicted to meth, Tigers, backstabbing, murder and South Carolina people. This documentary series is seriously insane and a must watch.
(Netflix)
(genre: documentary, comedy, thriller, dark)
3. Impractical Jokers: While there is only 4 seasons on Netflix, there are more seasons that will hopefully get released onto the platform... so why not play catch up now while your in quarantine? You may have heard about this show because of the film these 4 friends just released that preformed surprisingly well at theaters all across North America and some European countries. Impractical Jokers is a show that you can shut your brain off to and just enjoy... plus the concept of the show is fairly simple to understand as well, so you can explain it to your friends also :). The concept is 4 friends compete in scenarios in which they must do as they are told, if however the person fails attempting to accomplish the goal given to them they lose... which ever Joker (their club name) has the most losses by the end of the episode, has the other's choose a punishment for them to complete.
(Netflix)
(genre: comedy, reality TV)
4. Ozark: A better Breaking Bad... this is what Ozark has been called recently and with a new season just being released lets see if this argument holds up. Ozark is a Netflix original series about a normal American family who somehow gets involved with the Cartel. Now don't mistake this for a comedy... Ozark is an intense and dramatic piece that highlights the life of a family who is always in fear. If you like Breaking Bad, you will like this series, and if you haven't watched Breaking Bad, well then just watch Ozark.
(Netflix)
(genre: thriller, gritty, adventure, action)
5. Curb Your Enthusiasm: I wondered if I should include this on my list, and after an extensive debate with myself.. I decided to include it. I didn't debate myself on whether or not this show is a good show or not? or whether I would like someone to recommend it to me, no I debated putting it on here because HBO owns it, and I know that a vast majority of people who read this may not have HBO and so this becomes an invalid suggestion. Nevertheless though, Larry David and his hilarious sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm convinced me to include it on my list. Curb Your Enthusiasm is about nothing btw... I mean sure there is an underlying narrative to the show that connects episode to episode, but I mean does that really count? The best way i can accurately describe Curb Your Enthusiasm is: Seinfeld 2.0
(HBO)
(genre: comedy, sitcom)
Video games (5)
(In no particular order)
1. Call of Duty Warzone (2020): Call of Duty is back at again, gather a squad of 2 friends and hop into this new battle royal! A fairly simple game, just be the last one surviving and you win! A section of the Modern Warfare game, this battle royal is completely free to play and is cross platform, meaning if you are PS4 player and have friends on PC or Xbox you can play with them and they can play with you! To make things even more appealing for you.... YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION, JUST DOWNLOAD THE GAME AND START PLAYING! With all these features and Call of Duty's gameplay mechanics, this is a must play game that you and your friends can get sucked into during this quarantine!
(Price: FREE)
(Get it: https://www.callofduty.com/warzone)
2. League of Legends (2009): Aghh good old League of Legends.... this moba (multiplayer online battle arena) will either make you quit gaming forever or make you lose whatever life you have. With over 140 different in-game-champions to choose from, and 5 different roles in the game, you really are in control of how you play this game. A strategy based game that pits 5 players against each other in a environment titled "the rift", here these 5 players must work together to defeat the enemy team. Along the way to victory teams will have to fight dragons in order to gain their powers, and destroy whatever turret stand in their way! So get a group of 4 friends and storm the rift together and conquer it! Or if you want to be more competitive, grab just 1 friend and begin the long climb in ranked play! If all this seems to intense for you, don't worry League of Legends has a variety of game modes that are designed towards more casual gamer's, one of these game modes being TFT. Not only is TFT a more casual gaming experience but you can now download it directly onto your phone and play with friends while on the Go! (but since we are on quarantine you may as well download the computer version, so you don't get any ideas of leaving the house!)
(Price: Free!!!!! Plus in game purchases only consist of cosmetics --- so no pay to win!)
3. God of War (2018): Not a multiplayer fan? fear no more, God of War is here! This game is sure to keep you engaged for the entire story, but are you worried that this quarantine is going to be longer than God of Wars story-line? Fear no more again! As God of War also includes a massive open world in which players can explore and complete side-missions. With all the side-missions and main story missions that God of War provides, you need not worry about running out of things to do! And don't worry, even though this is the latest game in a franchise, don't feel like you need to watch or play the previous games... just know this; Kratos is a semi-god who hates the gods and who has killed gods before, there you go.. you are all caught up. Now go run free in this mystical world where you play as a GREEK MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE WHO KILLS GODS AND GIANTS!!!!!
(Price: original $19 on sale $14.99)
4. Rocket League (2015): Now I'm going to be honest, I don't play rocket league; however all of my friends play Rocket League and they LOVE IT. Rocket League is a soccer based car game where you can play 1 v 1, 2 v 2 or 3 v 3, where the goal of the match is to score on the opponent. This game utilizes high speed reaction time and fast paced cars in order to attract gamer's. And so if you love cars, soccer and "future sports" then you will absolutely love Rocket League.. and while I can't speak confidently about this game because I have no first hand knowledge, know this.... Rocket League is an extremely fun game that takes up barely any time, and yet it can still be a competitive game. And so look out for Rocket League, because is going to explode in popularity in the coming years.
(Price: original price $20 on sale for $9.99)
(Get it: https://www.rocketleague.com) - buy tab = top right
5. Dark Souls III (2016): You think you hate being in quarantine? wait until you play Dark Souls III, I promise after the first 20 minutes of the game you will hate this game more than you hate being in quarantine. Now with that being said, this is not a bad game, but it is an extremely difficult game to play and master. Beware though, once you begin playing this game it is extremely hard to put down, if you are like me and hate being bested by a random knight who shouldn't be hard to kill but somehow keeps killing you... Anyways this is yet another single player game that doesn't require you to play the previous installations of the franchise in order to understand where the character of this game is. This is the most expensive game on the list, so if you are looking for a Triple A game with the price to prove it then this game is for you, but to be completely honest... if you aren't sure on this game then get God of War, they are similar in style but God of War is more casual. However, this is still one of my favorite games, and so I must suggest it. Please don't hate me if you play it and lose your life.
(Price: $66.54)
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