Restaurants are reopening slowly. You finally can get a haircut.
Gradually, the sheltering-at-home orders are fading.
But theaters remained closed. And most other public gatherings are limited.
The hope? Local operators of Columbus’ nonprofit theater YES Cinema promise that its screens will be bright again.
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Until that becomes reel-ality, and considering you may have exhausted your own movie collection in recent weeks, those who manage or operate YES encourage you to consider a list of their favorite flicks — old, new, and plenty that land in between.
Keep in mind that some of those affiliated with YES, such as Randy Allman, sometimes would catch two movies per day when he first was married to wife Linda.
RANDY ALLMAN
BEING THERE (1979) — A simple gardener is escorted into high society and becomes the talk of the town. “A phenomenal message,” Allman said. “Is he a simpleton or Christlike?”
SEARCHING (2018) — John Cho, the lead in the “Columbus” film, plays a dad trying to find his missing teen daughter via the digital trail on her laptop. “One of the most interesting movies ever made in terms of every scene being shot through all the modern day technologies and social media,” Allman said.
HOOSIERS (1986) — A failed college basketball coach, played by Gene Hackman, takes over the program at a tiny Indiana high school. Loosely based on small Milan High School’s state championship. “This is the good March Madness,” Allman said.
RON ADAMS
CASABLANCA (1942) — “My favorite movie of all time with the great Bogart and Ingrid Berman, in the most bittersweet love story ever told (not counting my marriage). With a wonderful supporting cast of Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet — the list goes on and on. It has one great line after another (“We’ll always have Paris”).”
DUCK SOUP (1932) — “The Marx Brothers at their zaniest and most nihilistic,” Adams said. “It has the wonderful mirror scene with Groucho and Harpo.”
THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) — Guillermo del Toro’s fish out of water story, starring Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon. People either love or hate this movie (you have to buy into the fairy tale). The protagonist lives above a movie theatre, so ‘The Shape of Water’ makes this list.”
KAREN MOORE
BEN HUR (1959) — “It is my favorite movie of all time,” Moore said. “The story had a really profound impact on me.” An epic drama about an aristocratic Jew living in Judaea who incurs the wrath of a childhood friend, now a Roman tribune. Although forced into slavery on a galley and compelled to witness the cruel persecution of his family, he survives, harboring dreams of vengeance.
KNIVES OUT (2019) — A modern whodunit, the film follows a family gathering gone awry, after the patriarch’s death leads a master detective (Daniel Craig) to investigate. “It had mystery, comedy, a lot of cute innuendo and Daniel Craig as a whole different kind of character,” Moore said.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (series from 1981 and beyond): “I love, love, love Harrison Ford,” Moore said. “Cannot go wrong with ‘Indiana Jones.’”
SARAH VANDERLIND
“Here are some for different crowds,” Vanderlind said.
Family audiences:
The Game Plan (2007) Single football star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is tackled by some unexpected news: He has a young daughter, the result of a last fling with his ex-wife.
The Princess Bride (1987): A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her.
More mature or adult audiences:
MR. RIGHT (2015) A woman (Anna Kendrick) comes to a crossroad when she finds out that her new beau (Sam Rockwell) is a professional assassin who kills the people who hire him instead of the intended targets.
MARRIAGE STORY (2019) A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.
DAWN BIEBERLE
DOCTOR ZHIVAG0 (1965): During the Russian Revolution, Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a young doctor who has been raised by his aunt and uncle following his father’s suicide. Yuri falls in love with beautiful Lara Guishar (Julie Christie), who has been having an affair with her mother’s lover.
GHOSTBUSTERS: (1984) A group of scientists decide to become “ghostbusters” to wage a high-tech battle with the supernatural for money. They stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, a doorway that will release evil upon the city. “We all could use a good laugh right now,” Bieberle said.
BARRETT SCHNEPP
THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987): “Action, fantasy and comedy all in one,” Schnepp said. A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her.
THE DARK KNIGHT (2008): “Most interesting and fantastic villain performance done by Heath Ledger and a great story,” Schnepp said.
IT (Chapters 1 or 2)(2017 and 2019): Seven young outcasts are about to face their worst nightmare — an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town’s children.
ANN BOSTON
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (2019): Heartwarming feel-good classic movie with a Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer adventure “that gives all watching a lesson in how to appreciate and accept that we might be different, but we can all have dreams, learn to get along and even reach outside our comfort zones.”
A QUIET PLACE (2018): A family must live in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. Knowing that even the slightest whisper or footstep can bring death, Evelyn and Lee are determined to find a way to protect their children while desperately searching for a way to fight back. “This movie will have you sitting on the edge of your couch, grasping a pillow so you can scream into it,” Boston said.
BRENDA FLANAGAN
GREASE (1978) Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
WILD HOGS (2007) Starring William Macy, John Travolta, Tim Allen, and Martin Lawrence. Four middle age men decide to leave their commitments and take a motorcycle road trip to California.
EVAN BABB
Anything by director Quentin Tarantino.
