by Kimi Andre
This quarantine I’ve been watching a lot of movies, and I mean, a lot. 236 to be exact. I told you, a lot of movies. Since quarantine started, 234 days ago, my dad and I have been watching a movie, sometimes 2, every night. Among these movies we have watched marathons of John Cusack movies, Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie movies, Judi Forster movies, and our ongoing one; movies with numbers in the title. Sadly, I’ve lost track of all the movies and haven’t made an official list ranking them all but here is my current top 5.
5: The Terminal
The Terminal is a comedy about a man who lives at an airport terminal. After Victor Navorski (Tom Hanks) arrives at JFK airport in New York City, it’s explained that his home country is at war, so the US isn’t able to accept him onto US grounds, but he can’t go back either. Victor doesn’t speak any English so he doesn’t understand until he recognizes his country’s name on the news. He understands he’s not allowed to leave and that “America is closed”. He is forced to sleep in a closed off gate on his makeshift bed of plastic chairs. He finds money by returning carts for a few quarters for food. This whole time the man in charge, Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), is trying to get him out of his hair in every way possible. Victor soon falls for a flight attendant with romantic issues of her own. He lives like this for nine months. This plot may seem silly and unrealistic, but it is actually based on a true story of a man named Mehran Karimi Nasseri. Nasseri was an Iranian refugee who did actually live in an airport terminal for 18 whole years, from August 1988 to July 2006.
4: Split
Split is a thriller/horror movie that starts off with 3 girls going home after a birthday party. Although before they start the drive home a man comes in the car and makes the girls unconscious. We later find out that the man, Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy), is diagnosed with DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. The three girls consist of Claire Benoit (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sulla), and the outsider of the three, Casey Cooke (Anya-Taylor Joy). As the girls panic and try to escape we learn more of Kevin’s 25 alters consisting of Dennis, an OCD man, Patricia who is a very sophisticated and gentle woman, and Hedwig, a 9 year old gullible boy. These three alters captured the girls to feed to what they call ‘The Beast’. Lastly, the other alters try to make their therapist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), aware of the tragedy happening. What makes this movie in my top 5 would be the amazing acting of James McAvoy. It’s obviously the same actor but the way he portrays all of his different alters can convince the audience that he is multiple people.
3: Now You See Me
Now You See Me begins by showing four regular but impressive magicians including J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenburg), Merrit McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco). They all get a mysterious card with a meeting point and time that they assume is from the presumed myth called, ‘The Eye’. They all meet up and are given specific instructions for their upcoming shows and rise to fame. They become the magic group called The Four Horsemen, where as a big finale at they’re show, rob a bank from halfway across the globe. The FBI get involved as Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) does everything in his power to track them down and stop them as they continue to rob people, corporations, and banks. He finds help with his partner Alma Dray(Melanie Laurent) and former magician, now critic, Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman). This is definitely the most interesting bank robbery I’ve seen. They fool the audience and you never know what’s going to happen and as soon as you think you figured them out, they prove you wrong. One of my favorite quotes from this film explains it the best saying, “Because no matter what you think you might know, we will always be 1 step, 3 steps, 7 steps ahead of you. And just when you think you’re catching up, that’s when we’ll be right behind you.”
2: What’s Up Doc?
The hilarious romantic comedy What’s Up Doc? Takes place at the Hotel Bristol with 4 separate groups carrying identical bags. The first bag belongs to Mr. Smith carrying government files he wishes to expose, while Mr. Jones is going to lengths to recover the documents from his bag. The second bag is full of igneous rocks that belong to Dr. Howard Banister, accompanied by his soon to be wife, Eunice Burns. Next is a Judy Maxwells bag of clothes and garments. Lastly, Mrs. Van Hoskins’ bag has her collection of valuable jewelry and gems. She is also followed by hotel employees, Fritz and Harry who are trying to steal her jewels. Much happens during this weekend for the four parties as Judy tries to find her way into Howard’s life in every inconvenient way possible, eventually driving him and his fiancée apart. As the four identical bags get switched up and replaced throughout the film chaos ensues as they try to get their belongings back. This movie is a great comedic relief and will definitely get you laughing more than once. It’s by far my favorite comedy and ranks #2 out of over 200 movies.
1: Now You See Me 2
Now You See Me 2 is the sequel to Now You See Me, which ranked 3rd in my list. However, in my opinion this film is one step ahead. This movie follows the Horsemen, although one of the magicians, Henley Reeves is replaced by a witty character, Lula (Lizzy Caplan). The four magicians have been in hiding for a year anxiously awaiting when they will come back to the public eye. They end up crashing a phone release to make they’re appearance and call out the corrupt maker of the phone. However, they are the ones who get hacked shortly after appearing on the stage to start the show. After a line of events they are somewhat magically transported to China where they are forced to help Merritts twin brother and Walter (Daniel Radcliffe), the leader behind it all. This movie has beautiful cinematography with some incredible shots that send you into a sort of trance. The captivating performances from the Horsemen are so aesthetically pleasing and well, magical, that I can’t help but smile while watching.
YR Raw 