This past year has been quite the ride. Quarantine really had me doing some crazy things. Endless crafting. Endless workout videos. Endless Baking (to the point where there wasn’t any room left in my kitchen for actual food). Endless walks around the neighborhood. Endless “Gossip Girl”. At some point, my mom even tried ten different ways to make bread, so I guess endless sourdough as well. And while all of those things are great, the same five cookie recipes and TV shows just weren’t cutting it anymore. I decided it was time to revisit some of my favorite movies.

First up: “La La Land.” For those who have never seen it, I highly recommend watching this movie sometime (and if you do, let me know what you think). One of my all-time favorite comfort movies, “La La Land” is a lively musical filled with passion, heartbreak, stunning cinematography and visuals, really great dance numbers and of course, a soundtrack that I find myself listening to way too often.

 I absolutely love that every scene looks so euphoric and beautiful, like a painting, and how every time Ryan Gosling sits down at the piano to play “Late for the Date” or “City of Stars,” I get goosebumps. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve asked my sister to play this soundtrack on the piano, but let’s just say she doesn’t like to talk about “La La Land” with me anymore. 

The way “La La Land” pairs the struggles and silver-linings of being a dreamer in Hollywood with a captivating love story further adds to such an enjoyable and captivating cinematic experience. 

This movie has such a beautiful rhythm to it with a storyline both funny and exciting, lively dances and amazing acting performances from both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. I absolutely love the visuals in this movie especially in the scenes where Mia and Sebastian are dancing in the observatory or in front of the city skyline on Cathy’s corner. Every scene is filled with such vibrant colors which just makes the movie ten times more interesting and emotional. I will always consider “La La Land” to be one of my comfort movies and would highly recommend this movie to anyone.

If you are in the mood for action and science fiction, however, “Inception” is the perfect movie for you. I could watch “Inception” a thousand times and still be entertained because the storyline just gets better each time. 

“Inception” was nominated for various academy awards and I believe it is a cinematic masterpiece. Following the story of a thief, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, whose job surrounds entering people’s dreams and fiddling with their subconsciousness, Inception is one of those movies that twists your mind and makes you think, “What did I just watch?” 

This movie has so many layers to it (literally) and is so mysteriously intriguing that I feel like it’s a different experience everytime I watch it. Inception seriously was one of my favorites to rewatch over quarantine and would highly recommend either rewatching it or watching it for the first time. 

Finally, as a bookend to my series of quarantine movies, one of my all time favorite movies is “The Shawshank Redemption.” I definitely consider this to be one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. It is filled with incredible acting by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins and such an interesting and memorable storyline.