What to Watch: These Movies On Netflix May Raise Your Spirits During Isolation

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The last thing that a pandemic like COVID-19 should to do is propel films like Contagion and Outbreak into top 10 lists, and yet here we are and people are fuelling their hysteria with stories of doom and annihilation. These people must be sadists, right? Perhaps the same psychos who’d shiv ‘ya for a dunny roll.

So, with the probability of social isolation actually becoming an inevitability, we thought you might like some guidance, or rather some movie alleviation to calm those nerves while you ride out the storm.

Thankfully, Netflix (AUSTRALIA) has enough titles to have you covered through this Coronavirus frenzy. The following are best supplemented with a freshly brewed pot of tea and your daggiest pyjama bottoms. Oh, and we’ve also linked each title directly to their location on Netflix, so just click away and enjoy!

Any of the Studio Ghibli films. Considered to be the Disney of the East, Studio Ghibli’s catalogue of innovative and wholesome titles are amongst the best animated films ever made. Their charm is undeniable. Although almost every one of their movies is worth your time and a great number of them are currently on Netflix, perhaps Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind will lift your spirits.

Of course spare a thought for old mate Tom Hanks, who was hit with the dreaded virus alongside his wife Rita Wilson. The poor bloke might be infected with Coronavirus, but he hasn’t lost his sense of humour (check out his Twitter feed), and so it’s only fitting that we endorse some of his earlier, funnier films, such as the surreal and hugely underrated Joe Versus the Volcano, or the unabashedly cheesy rom-com You’ve Got Mail. Who can resist that iconic Hanks/Ryan double-act?

But if you like a little more integrity in your films then perhaps you might consider the Oscar nominated Brooklyn, the endearing Billy Murray flick St. Vincent, or Richard Linklater’s spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused, the fantastic Everybody Wants Some (our review of that one is HERE).

And here are a bunch of movies you could throw a dart at. Each bare this writer’s stamp of approval and ought to provide a welcome distraction: Long Time Running, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Begin Again, Midnight Run, GhostTown, Jersey Boys,Brewster’s Millions, The Duff, Tag, and Earth to Echo.

All of these are just some of the uplifting assortment of movies to take your mind off all that’s scary and unknown about the world outside. You might consider these recommendations to be silly, but think of them like a warm cup of soup on a cold winter’s day. They’re comfort movies and they work.

Please look after yourselves and as hard as it is to do, try not to overthink this predicament. We are in it together and we will prevail. May your rations go the distance and your toilet paper last the long haul. Stay safe and happy viewing.

Footnote: Avoid World War Z, The Crazies, Patient Zero, Carriers and Doomsday…they will not help you!