If you’re the kind of person who could watch one movie over and over again without getting sick of it, then congratulations, you’re just like me. After taking advantage of movie theaters selling their popcorn to take home, I’ve been rewatching all of my favorites nonstop since the quarantine began. But if you’re burnt out on watching the same movies for the past month, Downtown Devil brings you our staff picks for favorite movies we could watch over and over again.
Sara Edwards – Executive Editor
Pick: Rocketman (2019)
If there was anything that ever made me feel better, it was watching Taron Egerton dress up in silk robes and crazy plastic sunglasses. This movie is a musical fantasy about British icon Elton John’s life. It’s truly a work of art from the bright colors, energetic dance scenes and classic songs like “Your Song,” “Rocketman,” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Y’all when I tell you I loved this movie, I loved it so much that I saw it consecutively three times over the summer and each time, I wore my ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ T-shirt and big, pink circle sunglasses. Having grown up belting “Crocodile Rock” since I was two, this move was everything I wanted it to be. If you want a movie to take your mind off of quarantine, this is it.
Madeline Ackley – Arts and Entertainment Editor
Pick: Goodfellas (1990)
When your life is thrust into chaos and uncertainty, what’s more relaxing and cathartic than gratuitous on-screen violence? Watch Henry Hill, an aspiring young criminal, as he rises through the ranks of the New York Mafia. Dramatic and hysterically funny at once, this 1990 classic is a great intro to the mobster genre and is widely considered the best among all Mafia flicks (although I would argue that “American Me” is just as entertaining, if not as critically acclaimed). “Goodfellas” features an all-star cast of Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and the ridiculously funny Joe Pesci. Let this Scorsese masterpiece distract you from the fact that your life is falling apart by watching someone else’s life fall apart, ya schnook.
Lisa Diethelm – Politics Editor
Pick: Pride and Prejudice (1995)
I know what you are thinking. But Keira Knightley who? I mean the six-hour masterpiece with Colin Firth. And Jennifer Ehle. Yes, it is a television movie, but it is like the book unraveled at the spine and was woven into a movie script. The casting is perfect, the costumes are beautiful, and I love how accurate the music is for the time period. I do not mind this movie being six hours normally, but I especially do not mind now since I am definitely not going anywhere or doing anything. This television movie also captures one of Jane Austin’s most important lessons: Learning to love a person for who they are, and accepting who they are, is one of the best things you can do in a relationship. I understand if you do not want to take love advice from a woman who lived in a very different era, but you cannot deny that the romance and the drama of her story are timeless.
Hope O’Brien – Staff Reporter
Pick: Parasite (2019)
This is the type of movie that makes you forget you’re even reading subtitles. If you are a fan of new and fresh camerawork and interesting plot twists then this is perfect for you.
Josh Ortega – Staff Reporter
Pick: The Post (2017)
An eye-opening chronicle of one of the biggest news stories of the 20th century. Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and publisher Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) face the tough decision of whether to publish the Pentagon Papers, a collection of classified documents detailing the U.S. government’s knowledge of the dangers of the Vietnam War. This movie shows the First Amendment in action and proves that a well-informed press remains necessary to keep the government in check. It may seem dry and boring at first blush but it details the inner workings of operating a newspaper, and the difficult decisions that journalists must make to bring the news to light.
Luis Zambrano – Staff Reporter
Pick: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Dive into the surreal world of the 1970s, and follow the misadventures of Raoul Duke as he stumbles his way through Las Vegas. The movie explores gonzo journalism, the remnants of the 1960s counterculture movement, and a lot of psychedelic drugs. Based on the book of the same name, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” takes the watcher through a trippy experience that blends real-life events with fiction to create a unique watching experience. It’s a funny, dark movie that devolves into madness.
Kyla Pearce – Staff Reporter
Pick: mother! (2017)
A young woman and her author husband spend their days in their countryside home. One night, an unexpected guest invades their space, bringing terror and pain with him. This film follows a twisted series of events that form a beautiful and horrifying allegory. I won’t spoil the underlying allegorical meaning because it will come out subtly in camera angles, color and screenplay and I’ll let you determine it for yourself. “mother!” is visually captivating, brilliant and breathes life into issues threatening our existence. This film launched me into an existential crisis, but trust me when I say you want to see it. Also, how can you say no to Jennifer Lawrence?
Hailey Rein – Staff Reporter
Pick: Brokeback Mountain (2005)
My pick for the movie you should watch also happens to be the only movie that can make me cry. Its Academy Award-winning screenplay and extremely talented leads (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) make this movie the masterpiece that it is. A romance riddled with struggle during a time when homosexuality and masculinity were even more sore subjects (to say the least) than they are now. Forget the ugly stigma that surrounds this movie. This film is one of beauty and so much more than one might think. I will advocate for this one to anyone who will listen. So as you are inside and the days begin to be the same, allow your heart to be vulnerable to all this movie has to offer, with enough time to emotionally recover in the privacy of your own home.
Jonmaesha Beltran – Education Editor
Pick: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith. (To be honest, I didn’t even know the movie was based on a book until today. Now I have to read it.) This film is a tense psychological thriller and features a career-best performance from Matt Damon, who somehow does the impossible by managing to be charming and psychotic at the same time. Everything from the costume design to the score is impeccably crafted and tailored to suit the film’s themes of isolation, and its warped take on the pursuit of the American dream. Also, rest in paradise Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Contact the reporter at smedwar7@asu.edu.
Sara Edwards was the executive editor of Downtown Devil. She is a graduate student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sara has additional bylines in Phoenix New Times, West Valley View, L.A. Downtown News and Boardwalk Times.
Sara is also the co-secretary for the Multicultural Student Journalists Coalition.
