8 Of The Best Movies To See Now That Cinemas Are Back On

After months of sitting at home in the dark watching movies with popcorn, most of Australia has been able to rejoin the world and sit in a movie theatre. In the dark. Watching movies. With significantly better popcorn.

Normally, I get super excited about trips to the movies. I would die for the popcorn there, it’s the perfect place to take a date you don’t really want to have to talk to, and you still feel like you’ve made an effort with your day even though you’ve done very little.

If you asked me right now, though, what movie I’m dying to see, I’d have to honestly answer that I have no clue. Something about lockdown put movies into limbo and nobody seems to have any idea what’s even on the movie cards at the moment.

So I’ve gone ahead and watched a bunch of trailers to re-educate myself, and I’ve picked my top 8, in no particular order. Just know that I will never include a scary movie because I’m a giant scaredy-cat, you’ll have to seek those out on your own. Sorry/ not sorry.

#1 The King Of Staten Island

This semi-autobiographical comedy/ drama just looks so lovely. Written by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Trainwreck), former SNL writer Dave Sirus and Pete Davidson, who also stars.

It follows the life of a young man growing up in, you guessed it, Staten Island, following the loss of his father in 9/11.  It also stars Steve Buscemi, so all good things.

#2 Waves

Did this trailer make me cry? Yes, absolutely.  The romance/ drama follows two young couples as they navigate life, live and family while they grow up in Florida.

Golden Globe winner Sterling K Brown (This is Us) stars at the father, alongside Alexa Demie from HBO’s Euphoria.

#3 Shirley

Ok, so this trailer definitely got my heart pumping but I’ve broken my ‘no scary movies’ rule simply because it stars your girl, Elizabeth Moss, so you know it’ll have a damn good storyline too.

It’s a quirky, and obviously fictionalised, biopic in which Moss plays famous horror writer Shirley Jackson, who wrote The Haunting of Hill House. She and her hubby take in a young newlywed couple, and start to mess with them as a way to gain inspiration for a new book.

#4 Mono

This trailer was so gripping I had to include it on my watch list. Set in a camp of teen guerrillas who are tasked with guarding an American hostage, the film looks at the ongoing unrest in Colombia as well as the normal teenage issues.

Honestly, I’ll probably need to promptly take myself home to watch a Disney movie straight after as emotional recovery, but it’s already one a bunch of film festival awards so it’ll be worth it.

#5 Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

Because I’ll need something uplifting to balance out the more intense films on this list, my next inclusion is the quirky looking tale of a celebrated architect turned full-time mum, trying to find herself again.

It has a heap of my favourite actors too, which helps. Queen Cate Blanchett stars, with Kristen Wiig as her nosy neighbour.

#6 The Assistant

Aaaand we’re back to a heavy one. Australian filmmaker Kitty Green tackles #metoo with this film that delves into the sexual harassment and sexually predatory behaviour in the entertainment industry, as well as the difficulty those who bare witness can have in speaking up.

#7 The Personal History Of David Copperfield

This Dicken’s classic is given a freshly modern and funny spin under the guidance of Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It, In the Loop, Veep).

The film is starring my absolute favourite actor ever since I saw Lion, Dev Patel, but the rest of the cast is also pretty star-studded. Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) are all on board.

#8 Bellbird

New Zealand is just damn good at making heartfelt films, in my opinion as a person who quite enjoys watching movies. If the trailer can be trusted, Bellbird is no different.

Set on a farm, it follows the story of a farmer and his grown son as they struggle to find a way to bond after the loss of their wife and mother.

(Lead Image: Shirley/ The King Of Staten Island/ Where’d You Go, Bernadette?)