The Quarantine Film List: Week 2 | Zafira

Hey, I hope you’re all well!

So as promised, I’m back this week with another round of some amazing films to watch whilst in quarantine. I’ve tried to mix it up a bit more and put a wide range of films in here and I’ve quite badly attempted to illustrate my own version of the film posters so I hope you enjoy those (pls enjoy them i spent too long doing them).

1. American Beauty

I feel like a few people won’t be happy that I’ve put this here considering Kevin Spacey is quite the disgusting person however, his character meets a bit of an unfortunate but well deserved ending in this so in my eyes, I feel like it’s justified a little.

A timeless classic, that’s what American Beauty is. I know that one day I’ll be old and grey and still feel like watching this. It’s about Lester, a middle aged man who has a bit of mid life crisis. He hates his wife, has a daughter he barely knows and hates his job. He ends up becoming infatuated with his teenage daughter’s best friend which causes Lester to completely change his life.

I think you have to at least watch this film once in your life. It’s definitely an experience and will make you think plastic carrier bags are pretty.

2. the killing of a sacred deer

Starring the lovely Nicole Kidman and Collin Farrell, The Killing of Sacred Deer fits into that whole weird psychological horror/thriller genre like Midsommar and Hereditary. It’s one of those films that makes you feel not scared but incredibly uncomfortable afterwards.

Steven, a successful surgeon with a perfect life and family, takes a 16 year old boy named Martin under his wing after his father dies on his operating table. They form a bond and Martin is treated almost like Steven’s adopted son. However, as their bond grows, Martin’s malicious intent becomes clear as he seeks a very messed up sense of justice by punishing Steven and his family. He believes a ‘pure soul’ must be sacrificed in order to set some sort of balance.

Visually, this is stunning. Each frame feels so clean and well structured. It’s easy on the eyes.

3. penelope

I remember the first time I had watched this was during wet play in primary school and even then at like 8 years old, I knew this would be a film I’d think about for the rest of my life.

Christina Ricci stars as a aristocratic heiress named Penelope who was born affected by the Wilhern spell which was put on her family many years ago and gives her the misfortune of being born with the nose of a pig. The only way to break the spell is quite unique and unbelievable. It’s … true love.

Her family bring countless suitors to the house since she’s hidden away at her family’s estate at their attempt to try and break the spell. A tabloid reporter however is eager to get a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and enlists the help of Max (played by the dreamy James McAvoy) who poses as a prospective suitor and ends up slowly falling in love with her.

It’s a great early 00’s rom com. One of the best in my opinion.

4. Queen

After going to Asian wedding event to Asian wedding event, there’s one song that’s always playing at a Mehndi and that is London Thumakda. A few months ago, I saw that this was on Netflix so I ended up watching it and was quite thoroughly surprised at how much I liked it.

Rani, a girl from Dehli is about to marry who she thinks is the perfect man, Vijay. It’s beautiful watching the scenes leading up to her wedding day, seeing her family so happy, seeing all the traditional wedding stuff play out and it’s so colourful and pretty. This all changes when Vijay calls the wedding off the day before leaving her heart broken.

Rani decides to venture out and go on their honeymoon alone to Paris where she makes new friends, meets new people, tries out new experiences and most importantly, discovers herself.

This is so different than most Bollywood movies that I’ve seen, it’s really refreshing actually and I loved every moment of this film.

5. Perfect Blue

Now we’re all suffering from a bit of headache from being inside too long and Perfect Blue will extenuate that headache and leave you feeling quite confused. But in a good way of course. I don’t think even after watching this a handful of times, I’m still exactly sure what happened in this.

I haven’t ventured into the world of anime at all but from what I’ve heard, Satoshi Kon (director of Perfect Blue) is wonderful. So wonderful in fact that his films have inspired films such as Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. These are both films that are so so so amazing.

Perfect Blue is about a retired pop singer who decides to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Her sense of reality however becomes a little disturbing when a fan from her past begins stalking her and Mima finds it difficult to separate what is real and what isn’t.

This is animated beautifully, every little detail is done perfectly whether that’s little objects in Mima’s room or what she’s wearing.

6. Frank

I actually watched this a few days ago and shared this on my Instagram stories because I absolutely loved this.

Jon, a young man who is an aspiring musician with a bit of boring life, decides to take the plunge and join an eccentric pop band led by Frank. Frank is a very mysterious and strange man who always wears this freakish fake head that he never takes off (as illustrated above).

I think this film is a bit of everything. It explores mental illness but at the same time, it’s also a very bittersweet comedy about friendship and identity. It’s one of the most unpredictable films you could ever watch. Everything I anticipated didn’t happen, the film had a life of its own.

I also love all the songs they sing in this, as strange as they are, they’re pretty good.

7. the darjeeling limited

I had to try and restrain myself from filling these lists with Wes Anderson films because I adore them so much but the Darjeeling Limited is something I think everyone will truly like.

Three brothers come together after a year of not seeing or speaking to each other since their father’s funeral decide to set off on a train voyage across Indian to try and reconnect with each other.

All three of them of so different, one of them is obnoxiously wealthy, the other is heartbroken over a break up (watch Hotel Chevalier please this is who it’s about and most importantly Natalie Portman is in it!) and the last, who enjoys taking things from his family without asking and is about to become a father.

It’s a story about family and grief, it’s hilarious and obviously, aesthetically the most beautiful thing I’ll see. Even the train itself is set up in the most visually stunning way and hello? They’re in India. The most colourful and wonderful place you could possibly be.

8. i lost my body

This felt like what I can only describe as a fever dream. It was so weird and dark and just so incredibly sad but with hints of upliftingness?

The story focuses on the character Naoufel, or rather Naoufel’s hand who is roaming the streets of Paris trying to find the rest of it’s body and we through Naoufel’s memories slowly unravel how his hand became severed from it’s body. It’s about self exploration but it’s also about love and life and death. It’s a strange watch but a good watch.

I hope you enjoyed this second round of films! I’ll post my third series sometime next week so make sure you follow me on my socials to know when that’s up.

Thanks for reading,

The Best Rainy Day Movies | Zafira

So as summer is slowly coming to end and we face nothing but endless days of torrential rain, there’s nothing better to do than cosy up inside and watch a great movie.

Not to brag, but I’d say I’ve slowly become quite the movie connoisseur (mainly because I’ve spent my entire summer watching movies) and I’d love nothing more but to share some of my faves that I love to watch on a rainy day.

1. Ever After: A Cinderella Story

Two words. Drew. Barrymore.

In Ever After, she plays the role of the one and only Cinderella who is forced to become the servant of her evil stepmother. We all know the story. What I adore about this version the period it’s set in. It’s in the 16th century and the outfits and settings are so good. Drew Barrymore is a little different from the Cinderella we all know so well. I’m not going to completely bash on the OG Cinderella but she wasn’t an independent woman, she was ditsy and had the typical ‘I need a Prince to save me’ thing going on. Barrymore is sucha strong character which makes me love this movie even more.

This is a great family movie, it’s a movie I think everyone will like in someway or other.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I think I first watched this when I was around 11/12 and I remember being like completely wtf but also absolutely smitten with this movie even at that age.

It’s the best comfort movie, I love watching this when I’m having a bit of poopey day.

The movie is all about the life of Benjamin Button. A man who is born old and starts ageing backwards as time goes on. Benjamin Button is played by Brad Pitt (drools) and he’s plays Benjamin beautifully. It’s a mix of romance, drama and it’s also kinda sad. This is almost 3 hours long but there’s never a moment in the movie where you feel like it drags. I’m not a massive romance drama kind of girl but this is my favourite romantic movie that I’ve ever watched.

3. Lost in Translation

I was debating whether to throw this in or not because it’s a very popular indie movie but it really is a wonderful movie.

There’s no way to really describe the tone of this movie other than quiet and calm. It’s my favourite thing to watch if I’ve had a busy week or when it rains purely because it makes me feel relaxed. The visuals are beautiful, you’ve most likely seen screen grabs from moments in the movie if you’ve ever owned a tumblr account. And it’s directed by Sofia Coppola who is one of my favourite directors of all time.

It’s all about a movie star and a woman neglected by her husband who become who get to know each other whilst both being in Tokyo. The scenery and settings are stunning. It’s amazing rainy day watch.

4. HERCULES

In my opinion, this is the best Disney movie ever made. The songs, the characters, the plot, it’s all just so good. I love it.

Hercules, the son of Zeus and Athena is stolen from Olympus as a baby by Hades, God of the Underworld. He is raised on Earth by mortal parents but one day discovers the truth about his heritage and the only way he can get back to Olympus is by coming a true hero.

Out of all the movies on here, I think this is the most heart warming one. Best. Movie, Ever.

5.The Darjeeling Limited

I don’t think it’s possible to truly enjoy a rainy day without throwing on a Wes Anderson movie. One of my favourites to watch when the weather is a little gloomy is the Darjeeling Limited.

The story focuses on 3 brothers come together a year after their father’s funeral to travel to India to try and reconnect with each other. I love the train that they travel in. It has to be one of the prettiest trains I’ve ever seen. Every scene is like a painting and the colour themes used throughout are just perfect.

This is such a good family movie, filled with humour and most importantly, a lot of love. Owen Wilson, Adrien Borody and Jason Scwartzman play the role of brothers so well. If you have any siblings, you know what it’s like. You argue, you fight but at the end of the day, you love them.

6. MULAN

Pretty much every time it rains really heavily, I think of the scene in Mulan when she decides to go fight in the war and rides off on her horse in the lashing rain.

If you haven’t seen Mulan, then you should be embarrassed because she is the best Disney princess. Mulan disguises herself as a man to go fight in the war instead of her father due to him being very ill and old and ends up becoming one of China’s greatest heroines.

My favourite character has always been Mushu, he’s hilarious and will instantly cheer you up on a gloomy day.

6. High School Musical

Before you laugh at me, you have to understand that this is a classic in my generation. Not a single day passes where I don’t think about High School Musical.

Since it’s a 2000’s movie, it is indeed very cringey but it’s like good cringey. Its’s about Troy and Gabriella, two teens from very different social backgrounds who end karokeing together one New Year’s eve. Gabriella later transfers to Troy’s school and they’re both like wow omg we go to the same school let’s join the school musical. And they do so, secretly. It’s cute and very corny but an amazing thing to waste your time on a rainy day.

7. AMELIE

This is another pretty popular movie but I love it nonetheless. I looooove watching this when it gets a little chillier or when the weather is looking a bit miserable.

Amelie is a very quirky movie, it’s about about a shy waitress in Paris who takes comfort in helping others find happiness in the most unexpected ways as well Amelie’s own journey to finding happiness. I think it might be the most whimsical movie I’ve ever watched. It also has one of the best soundtracks ever. Beautiful movie.

8. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

In my opinion, this is easily one of the top 3 Studio Ghibli movies ever made. Me and my brother have loved watching this for years now, it’s definitely a family favourite in our household.

A young woman is cursed by a witch into an old woman and the only way she can break the spell is by finding a young wizard by the name of Howl. It really is a perfect family movie. The animations are stunning, especially inside Howl’s walking castle.

Did I mention Christian Bale voices Howl??

9. Good Will Hunting

I can’t believe I put off watching this until this year. I’m completely disappointed at myself because this is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

It’s about a guy called Will who is really clever, he particularly has gift for mathematics (can’t relate) but is struggling to find direction in his life which where he gets some help from a psychologist who is played by everyone’s fave, Robin Williams.

I feel like this is the perfect thing to watch when you’re having an existential crisis or something, it really inspires you to get a move on with your life.

10. CLOSER

A movie that not only stars Julia Roberts but Natalie Portman and Jude Law? Yes please.

I don’t think I picked my jaw up from the floor once when watching this. Everything runs smooth for a bit, then something happens and this cycle repeats for 1 hour and 44 minutes. It’s great.

It’s focuses on the complicated relationship of two intertwined couples and is basically a massive tale of deceit. A man from one couple meets the woman from the other and thus starts literally the most dramatic thing I’ve ever sat through.

Thanks for reading! If you want to see more movie/ TV series based posts then let me know!

Lots of love,

Movies That Changed My Perspective on Life | Zafira

I'm a huge movie person. I'll pretty much watch anything, same with TV series but I think I'll save that for another blog post. As you can tell, photography is kind of my thing but cinematography is also something I've always had a keen interest in. It's like photography but it moves. I love it.

I don't know what it is but recently, I've had a thing for movies that make you rethink your entire life. Maybe it's because I'm in such a fast paced changing era of my life where every decision I make seems to affect me in someway or another or maybe it's just because I want a new perspective on life in general.

Here are a few of the movies that 'shook' me and made me want to change who I am.

1. American History X

For anyone that knows me irl, then you'd know I think skinhead culture is so fascinating. It's strange that it was even a thing but I still think it was quite cool minus the whole racism thing. Anyway, this is sort of on the same lines of This is England for those of you have seen that. It's set in America and is focused on the character of Derek who was a very popular neo-Nazi skinhead and how he tries to prevent his brother from following in the same footsteps as him. I don't really know why this affected me so much. I think maybe it's because I have a younger brother too and I don't want to do anything that reflects onto him badly. It's also made me appreciate my family so much more, I'd do anything for family if it was the best for all of us in the end.

2. The Matrix

This summer I wanted to watch all of the 'classic' movies and the Matrix was one of them. I sat and watched it until about 4am with family and it just messed with my head so much. I'm a huge conspiracy theory fan. Sometimes I'll sit on YouTube all day and watch one conspiracy theory after the other. Obviously, I don't believe most of them because they're just so wtf most of the time but they're still very entertaining to watch. Anyway, my main point here is the Simulation Theory. It's all about how reality today is all fake and we and life around us is nothing about a simulation (you can read more about it here PUT A LINK IN). It really messes with your head, and for a 2nd year college student running on little to 0 hours of sleep, it was probably not a good idea to watch this movie or read about the theory. In the Matrix, a computer programmer by day and hacker by night begins to question his reality once he is contacted by a group of rebels. It's literally the weirdest concept ever. Even the CEO of Tesla, a well known company, heavily believes in this theory. It's a such a good movie, just strange.

3. When Marnie Was There

Oh.My.God. This movie made me bawl my eyes out. I'm not a crier. I don't cry at any movies ever or anything really but this was so sad. A young tomboy gets sent to live with relatives in the countryside and becomes obsessed with this old mansion. The story unravels as you get more into the movie but the last 10 mins or so are the most shocking and upsetting. I don't really want to say much about it because I think it's better if you just watch it and feel all the feels. It just made me feel so sad and appreciative of everything really.

4. Her

This is such a hipster/indie movie but it made me feel so lonely after watching it. It's set in the future and the writer Theo starts a strange and unusual relationship with his operating system. Firstly, it's filmed so beautifully. In some scenes you can truly see the isolation that Theodore is feeling just by certain scenes. I love love love movies where they focus on small things like this, it makes watching not only an 'entertaining' experience but a pretty beautiful one too. The operating system is voiced by Scarlett Johanssen and it's so weird how real the operating system seems. It almost feels like she's a real person. The audience connects with the operating system 'Sam' just as much as Theo does. It's such a good movie and I've watched it so so so many times. I consider myself an independent person much like Theo, like I'm not one to get out much or to spend a considerable amount of time with friends so in some ways, I can sort of understand where Theo's loneliness and isolation comes from.

5. Every Wes Anderson Movie Ever

I love love love love love love love love Wes Anderson, I think I've watched all of his movies except from 2 maybe? I'm huge fan. I think the amount attention to detail is insanely beautiful. Some scenes are so so pleasing to the eye. The colours, the symmetry and the 60/70s vibes to every movie he makes is what drew me in. His movie ideas are so original, I think my absolute favourites are The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tennebaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel. All such amazingly filmed and constructed movies. I feel like movies like this are quite good if you have like artist's block or photographer's block or anything along those lines. You feel incredibly inspired. I think the first Wes Anderson movie I watched was Moonrise Kingdom and I remember all I wanted to do was paint and go out take pictures and that's what I did for about 3 weeks straight. I had never felt so inspired before.

JUST LOOK AT THAT PINK

6. Whiplash

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to watching this but it was so amazing. It's based on the character of Andrew who is a young drummer and he gets chosen to be mentored by a mentor who pushes musicians beyond their limits to realise their potential. I quite like Miles Teller in movies because he's quite a natural actor and pretty quirky too which I like. In this however, his character is a bit more serious which was very different. I watched this pretty late at night and you know when you have those really deep thoughts at like 3am? Well they got pretty deep after watching this. I think when it comes to my potential, I usually stop at what feels comfortable, if whatever it is I'm doing becomes harder than I would like then I just give it. But maybe it's time to change that. The mentor of Andrew pushes him so hard and at the end he becomes an amazing drummer just like he had always wanted. So, I think it's time for me to cross my boundaries and maybe after watching this, you should try to too?

7. American Psycho

Everyone that knows me knows that I've become so obsessed with this film and the book too. It's not very healthy. I'm actually writing about this for my A Level English Literature coursework and even writing about the subject manner of this book and now movie is so gruesome. American Psycho is based on the character of Patrick Bateman who is very wealthy businessman based in New York who has an alternative ego where he's basically the most psychotic and craziest serial killer I've ever seen. The movie itself is nowhere as graphic and violent as the stuff in the book but it's still pretty unsettling. Patrick Bateman looks and seems like a trust worthy man. After all, he's wealthy, well dressed and is well groomed but I think this heavily enhances how you should never judge a book by it's cover. (Christian Bale is Patrick Bateman btw 😉)

"I'm into murders and executions mostly."

8. American Honey

This I literally watched yesterday. I think I found the trailer on the A24 channel which I've become to love because the trailers of movies they upload are so original and just so beautifully filmed. American Honey is an amazing coming of age movie about Star, a teenage girl who joins a a travelling magazine crew where she begins to travel around the US, party and makes new friends. When I first watched the trailer, I was  blown away by the cinematography. It's what made me want to watch it in the first place and I was not disappointed. Some scenes filmed of the American South are breath taking. It's insanely beautiful. I liked how the whole movie was focused on Star. We become so close to her and see everything from her perspective and overall get to see her find out who she is. Also Shia Labeouf is in it who's character is amazing in this and fun fact of the day, Shia is the only 'professional' actor in this. The main actress Sasha Lane was spotted by Andrea Arnold, the director of the movie, whilst she was in Florida for spring break. This definitely made me want to be more adventurous. The character of Star is so free spirited, fearless and wild. She embraces life.

If you like blog posts like this about movies and TV series let me know because I love writing about this stuff!

Follow me on social media to stay updated: