It’s official folks. In light of the significant spike in Covid-19 cases, the Malaysian government has declared a loc- I mean a movement control order over the nation for the span of 14 days. This means all non-essential businesses, workplaces, social events and educational facilities will be out of commission until the end of March. Furthermore, everyone has been advised to remain quarantined at home and to limit their interactions with the outside world. In a nutshell, we all have to be involuntary introverts for a while. While some people might be cheering at the prospect of having a staycation, other more outgoing folks may find themselves despairing. That being said, there’s still plenty of fun to be had at home, especially if you’re subscribed to Netflix. Netflix has a ton of great classics and fresh additions that are just waiting to be explored.
We took the time to curate some of the best films to watch on Netflix as you while away the day at home. They’ll make you laugh, they’ll make your heart race and they are all excellent ways to spend your quarantine season! We recommend spacing them out between days to make them last.
1. Batman Ninja (2018)
By now, Batman has the same ubiquity as McDonald’s two golden arches. We’re all probably sick to death from seeing his origin story on screen. So why not take a look at the Dark Knight as you’ve never seen him before in Batman Ninja? All the iconic heroes and villains of the Batman mythos you’ve come to know and love, all given a brand-new medieval Japanese aesthetic. The plot follows Batman and crew battling Joker and various villains throughout feudal Japan after a time-travel experiment gone wrong. Now our heroes must foil their fiendish foes before their actions in the past forever alter future. If you have ever wanted to see Batman and Joker get into an anime-style katana duel, then Batman Ninja is most definitely the film for you.
2. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus (2019)
Chances are you’re a parent stuck at home with the kids. Perhaps you’re flipping through Netflix, looking for something that everyone can enjoy. Maybe something that doesn’t quite feel like an after-school special. If that’s the case, then Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus is just the film you’re looking for. Based on the Nickelodeon classic, Invader Zim sees the alien invader, named Zim enact a ridiculously complicated and zany plan to conquer the planet Earth. The only ones that can stop him is a nosy Earthling named Dib and his family of super-scientists. With visual flair to spare and a ton of great gags, Invader Zim will be sure to thrill kids and thoroughly entertain any adult in the room. Especially those who grew up watching the Nickelodeon channel.
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (2018)
We’re keeping this animated train rolling with yet another great animated film just waiting to become a modern classic. I’m talking about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Our resident film critic recently revisited Sony’s unique take on the wallcrawler and I’ve got to say that I could not have agreed with him more. Beyond being an amazing postmodern painting in motion with stunning visual flair and a wildly vibrant (if not trippy) colour palette, the film serves as the second-best Spider-Man film I have seen thus far! It’s got web-slinging fun, a fresh take on Spidey’s story through the eyes of Afro-Latina Miles Morales and a ton of cool comic book easter eggs. There is no shortage of superhero films on Netflix but none of them can promise a superhero fuelled acid-trip with interdimensional versions of other heroes.
4. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Seeing that most of us are getting a lot of days off work or school so to speak, why not spend it playing hookey and going on an adventure with one of the coolest cats of the ’80s? Now on Netflix, you can catch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Come follow Matthew Broderick’s Ferris Bueller, his best friend Cameron and his sweetheart Sloane as they run around town having the time of their life on a school day. Watch him evade his school dean and the local police as they all scramble to catch Bueller and gang. Go back to a simpler time before standardized surveillance cameras and world-ending diseases. When the biggest thing you had to worry about was your mum catching you out of school and goofing off.
5. Dazed and Confused (1993)
This next pick here is for those being quarantined in your college dorm with the rest of your buddies. The ones keeping indoors and still trying to have a party of three of four. There’s no reason this whole thing should kill your buzz and the perfect film to keep the fun going is Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. A hilarious coming-of-age comedy that chronicles the life and times of kids on their last day of school. The freshmen trying to keep their asses unspanked from marauding gangs of hazers. The seniors trying to make the most of their last night as high-schoolers before going into college. Oh and a very adult Matthew McConaughey as David Wooderson trying to score some barely legal tail is pretty wild as well. So settle in and live vicariously through the lives of these fine teenagers simply trying to have a good time.
6. The Ballard of Buster Scruggs (2018)
They say laughter is the best medicine to chase the blues away but hey sometimes other people’s hardships can be pretty darn funny too. A good dose of jet-black comedy for those with a more cynical sense of humour. May I present to you Ethan and Joel Coen’s The Ballard of Buster Scruggs. A deliciously wicked series of tales about life, death and love in the frontier times of the wild west all wrapped up in a single film. Buster Scruggs is pure Camusian comedy with its absurdly witty dialogue, sudden and thunderous bouts of macabre violence and killer performances by actors the likes of Liam Neeson, James Franco and HBO’s Watchmen’s Tim Blake Nelson. Life is uncertain, let comedy be your catharsis.
7. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Looking outside at the state of the world right now, it’s fairly reasonable to access our current situation to be crappy. I think we all need a little bit of schadenfreude right now to help us see the bright side of life with Shaun of the Dead. Animated with incredible undead life by director Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead was the first great gut-busting zombie comedy to have inspired films like Zombieland. Follow Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as a duo of slackers trying to navigate through the perils of adulthood before obliviously, but eventually, realizing the threat of zombies in their local neighbourhood. After giving this a watch, you will absolutely want to take social distancing to heart.
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
It’s not every day you get the chance to unwind for a bit at home and finally catch up on your cinematic bucket list. Why not take this opportunity to finally watch a great British comedy classic? If we’re talking about some of the funniest films of all time, rest assured that at some point Monty Python and the Holy Grail is going to come up in that conversation. Whether it’s the clapping of coconuts to simulate galloping horses or the Knights Who Say Ni, one way or another Holy Grail will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. This is precisely why I love streaming services like Netflix, you’ll never know what gems you’ll find while digging through its catalogue.
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