Thread by @rajamanirajesh

One thing I realized during my three weeks long covid quarantine is that Hollywood popular cinema can make for a great watch during this period. When the quarantine started, I was being a little too ambitious and started with Krzysztof Kieslowski's 'Deklog'.

But very soon, I realized that even if one's symptoms are only mild, watching serious cinema can be very exhausting and draining.

So I quickly abandoned all sorts of serious films that demanded a lot of emotional or mental investment and went with simple Hollywood classics.

And I must say they made my quarantine quite enjoyable.

I started with Steven Spielberg's 'Catch Me If You Can' (2002). The film had the right amount of thrills and also felt like a fuzzy Christmas movie at the same time.

The father-son like relationship that blooms between Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio was sweet and made me feel all upbeat.

Because I love Cameron Crowe's 'Say Anything' (1989), I decided to go next for one of his films.

So went with his popular 'Almost Famous' (2000), that follows a music band and their band aids. It was again lovely and gave me the satisfaction of having watched a very wholesome film with the right amount of drama. And it had a very cool soundtrack to make it even better.

Then I decided to explore the 1980s and watched 'The Breakfast Club' (1985). It was about a group of adolescents who are made to stay back at school on a Saturday as punishment. This film too was very sweet, fun and poignant.

And I also realized that I am sucker for films about adolescents growing up, odd friendships and such. Anyway, I loved it and I was glad to have chosen it.

I also watched 'School of Rock' (2002) which was absolutely cute. Funny, inspiring, moving and has cool music too.

And is made by the 'Before Sunrise' series filmmaker Richard Linklater.

By now I was getting sort of better and decided to go for something that's both funny and serious. And it was easy to narrowed down on Kubrick's 'Dr. Strangelove' (1964).

I had watched it long back, but re-watching it again now, I was able to better enjoy it and realize how wickedly funny it was. I also realized how much Wes Anderson seems to have borrowed from Kubrick's visuals.

Anyway, once you watch Kubrick, it is easier to get caught in his world. So I went next for his 'Barry Lyndon' (1975). And gosh, what a gorgeous movie it was. Because I didn't have the energy for such a long film, I gave myself a lunch break in-between.

But like I said, it was a beautiful film. Upbeat in the first half and tragic later. But overall very, very enjoyable to watch. Again, I shockingly realized how much Wes Anderson has borrowed from this film as well.

In between all this, I also watched Mandela, which was a light film. But its politics annoyed me. I also made the mistake of watching Promising Young Woman (2020), which was engaging but seemed like some film made out of social media conversations.

But the rest of the films made me feel much better during the gloomy quarantine period.

So my point is, if you are in quarantine, it might be a good idea to trust on Hollywood classics. They work perfectly like a khichdi sick meal and can be very uplifting and satisfying.

Even if they aren't as exciting at other times.