STREAMING
Stuck at home? These movies will help pass the time.
Indulge in movie magic while stuck at home
It’s almost impossible to keep up with the growing list of event cancellations, government-mandated crowd limits, tourist-site closures, delayed movie openings and other cultural fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. But the internet remains open for business. Here are some streaming options for the self-isolated, social-distanced and those with an abundance of caution.
SPORTS
Professional basketball, hockey, soccer and football leagues have all delayed their seasons, as have the Masters golf tournament and the Boston Marathon. We recommend:
A League of Their Own (1992): Tom Hanks manages an all-female team and gives us the immortal quote: “There’s no crying in baseball!” (Available on Amazon and itunes)
Saint Ralph (2004): A sweet comedy from Canada’s Michael Mcgowan about a boy who wants to compete in the 1954 Boston Marathon. (Amazon, itunes)
Space Jam (1996): Watch this because nothing else combines basketball’s Michael Jordan, Bill Murray and Bugs Bunny in one place. (Amazon, itunes)
MOVIES
Premières of No Time to Die, A Quiet Place Part II, Mulan, The New Mutants, F9 and more have been rescheduled or left unscheduled. But you can still see:
Moonraker (1979): It’s one of the sillier James Bond outings (Roger Moore in space!), with a plot about a mad industrialist looking to wipe out the human race and start anew. (Amazon, itunes)
A Quiet Place (2018): It features the fantastic premise of monsters that respond to sound, and a family headed by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt who have one rule of survival: Shhh. (Netflix, Amazon, itunes)
Mulan (1998): It is, of course, the original animated version of the new live-action release, and came out during the “Disney Renaissance” period that included The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. (Disney+, Amazon, itunes)
Logan (2017): Watch it because the New Mutants are part of the X-men universe, and this is the best film in that franchise, a dark, brooding neo-western starring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. (Amazon, itunes)
MUSICALS
Broadway may have gone dark, but so many of its greatest hits have been translated to film. And no, we’re not talking about that creepy Cats released last year! How about:
Fiddler on the Roof (1971): Directed by Norman Jewison and featuring Topol, it tells a stirring story of a Jewish family in pre-revolutionary Russia. (Amazon, itunes)
Chicago (2002): It won six Academy Awards, including best picture, while director Rob Marshall went on to make Into the Woods, and writer Bill Condon directed Dreamgirls. (Amazon, itunes)
Mamma Mia! (2008): Watch it because you can never have too much music by ABBA, even if it’s being “sung” by the likes of Pierce Brosnan. (Netflix, Amazon, itunes)
MORE MUSIC
The Junos were cancelled, and you won’t see stadium performances for a while, but some filmmakers have captured music on film. Some toe-tappers:
Lightning in a Bottle (2004): The aptly named documentary about the blues was shot by Antoine Fuqua at Radio City Music Hall. (Amazon, itunes)
Amazing Grace (2018): This was Sydney Pollack’s attempt to record Aretha Franklin in the modest venue of the New Bethel Baptist Church in 1972, but technical and legal difficulties delayed its release for 46 years. And you thought Bond was a long delay! Worth the wait, though. (Amazon, itunes)
Once (2007): One of the great musical romances, it features Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová making beautiful music together. (Amazon, itunes)
BOOKISH PURSUITS
The London book fair is only the most high-profile literary gathering to be shuttered by the coronavirus. Here are some movies that celebrate the power of the written word:
84 Charing Cross Road (1987): It features Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft in the true story of a transatlantic correspondence that blossomed into a deep friendship. (Amazon, itunes)
The Princess Bride (1987): This has Fred Savage sick in bed and listening to a rip-roaring story of adventure, romance and a mysterious six-fingered man. A classic! (Amazon, itunes)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018): It’s the true story of writer-turned-autograph-forger Lee Israel, played by Melissa Mccarthy, and her rakish partner in crime, a wondrous turn by Richard E. Grant. (Amazon, itunes)
PANDEMIC THRILLERS
Perhaps you want to fight viruses with viruses. Here are some recommendations for movies in which the disease is the star:
Contagion (2011): Steven Soderbergh’s cautionary thriller stars Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Ehle, Elliott Gould and others working together to fight a spreading pandemic. Call it Illness Eleven. (Netflix, Amazon, itunes)
Pontypool (2008): A very Canadian horror from Bruce Mcdonald, in which the virus might require everyone to learn French. Equal parts funny and disturbing, or amusant et inquiétant. (Amazon, itunes)
12 Monkeys (1995): Terry Gilliam’s dark sci-fi thriller features Bruce Willis as a man sent back in time to stop a virus before it spirals out of control. (Amazon, itunes)
I Am Legend (2007): One of several adaptations of Richard Matheson’s end-of-the-world novel — others are 1971’s Omega Man and 1964’s The Last Man on Earth — it’s worth watching for the blissful first half, in which Will Smith hunts deer and otherwise camps out in a depopulated New York City. It gets messy when the inevitable zombies show up, however. (Amazon, itunes)
Shaun of the Dead (2004): Watch because the end of the world doesn’t have to be gloomy. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost keep calm, carry on and battle zombies. (Netflix, Amazon, itunes)
BONUS RECOMMENDATIONS
Cast Away (2000): Tom Hanks is a Fedex executive who is washed up on a deserted island with nothing more than a volleyball for company after the plane he’s on crashes in the ocean. It’s the ultimate in self-isolation. (Amazon, itunes)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986): Starring Matthew Broderick and written and directed by John Hughes, it may feel like a fantasy these days. Sure, Ontario youngsters don’t have to do anything to avoid school — they’re off for three weeks, like it or not — but neither can they follow in Ferris’s footsteps, as he and his friends visit an art museum, attend a baseball game and jump into a massive street parade. But hey, a kid can dream. (Netflix, Amazon, itunes)