One of the things that I have noticed during the last several weeks of this COVID-19 pandemic, is what actions make things worse.
For example, many people are watching too much news. It is good to be informed, but they are watching so much that their anxiety is going through the roof. Not a helpful thing to do.
I am also pretty sure, that most people that have Netflix, Crave, Amazon Prime, Disney+, etc., have far more shows and movies on their to watch list than they know what to do with.
To help you out, I am not going to unduly burden you with more lists to watch.
Over the next several weeks of the pandemic, I am going to have some fun and suggest some stuff that can put a smile on your pandemic worries, inspire you and hopefully entertain you as well.
My first foray is list some movies that you should not watch. Just to let you know this is both tongue in cheek as well as serious. Please be aware that in my recommendations and dis-recommendations I am not taking into account course language, nudity and violence.
Please use your good common sense and sites like movieguide.org to see if there are things in the movie that are too much for your own sensibilities. So that being said, my suggested movies/TV Series that you should not watch during the pandemic are:
1. Baywatch (2017) — I didn’t expect much (very low expectations) when I saw this film in the theatre. I thought that you can’t go wrong with actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Well you can. It was so badly written and the jokes were so stupid that I was slowly dying inside. I remember that I got up a third of the way through the movie to get something from the concession, and asked myself why I was going back to the movie? So I left. Don’t see this or any other life draining film. Not worth it.
2. Any zombie apocalypse movie/TV series — I remember watching an episode of The Walking Dead (zombie TV Show) and my brother sitting down beside me and whispered to me, “A little intense isn’t?” and freaking out I replied “Yes!!!”. We have enough anxiety right now. Don’t add to it.
3. Any pandemic or disease destroying the world movies/TV series, for example Pandemic (2016) or Outbreak (1995). Why would you want to watch something that you are living right now? We can watch the news and get freaked out. Why watch a show that makes it worse. One of the main points is to watch stuff that allows us to escape our reality not to be trapped in the palatable angst of the moment.
Knowing what not to watch makes it easier to choose what to watch. Watch something that allows you to be happy, laugh and forget about your worries for a bit. Let me know by email some movies that you would include on the No Watch List and why? I will include the best as honourable mentions next week.
-Father Marc Cramer is the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Edmonton and a huge movie fan. Send your suggestions or comments to him at fathermarcmovies@grandinmedia.ca