In a movie season filled with schlock and unoriginality, skip the trip to theaters and check out these personal favorites of mine.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Containing most of my go-to quotes for standardized test prompts back in the day, Catch Me If You Can blew me away when I first saw it in middle school. Steven Spielberg’s epic biopic tells the fascinating story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a conman who stole millions of dollars in forged checks and pretended to be a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer — all before turning 22.
The movie totes a heavy dose of talent. Spielberg masterfully steers the film through its numerous emotional beats, Leo DiCaprio perfectly captures the charisma of the elusive protagonist, and Tom Hanks’ straight-shooting Carl Hanratty delivers one of cinema’s all-time funniest movie lines (“Knock-Knock”). Christopher Walken, Amy Adams, and Martin Sheen round out the excellent cast, and John Williams’ lively score keeps you anxiously awaiting Abagnale’s next move.
Despite its length, Catch Me if You Can’s fast-paced plot and relatable themes keep the audience invested from start to finish. Abagnale alone is a mesmerizing force on-screen, one of those always-one-step-ahead-of-you characters you just can’t help but root for. It also doesn’t hurt that young Leo was so darn cute.
Chinatown (1974)
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
Do I love a movie with a Jake for a main character? For sure, but Roman Polanski’s neo-noir contains so much more intrigue. A fictionalized retelling of the power struggle for the water supply of Owens Valley, Chinatown’s excellent costume and set design suck you into a 1938 Los Angeles rife with murder and mystery. The time period also coincides with the emergence of the classic noir films which inspired Chinatown, allowing Jack Nicholson’s J.J. Gittes to recapture the cynicism and loneliness of the hard-boiled detectives who walked the mean streets before him. Likewise, you never feel like you’re watching a period piece, but rather a film noir of its own time.
If you’re sick of movies that substitute sky-beams for storytelling, you should definitely check out Chinatown. In an age before studios demanded writers finish scripts in six weeks *cough cough Warner Brothers*, writing could stand as the most powerful part of a movie. This is certainly the case with Robert Towne’s Academy Award-winning screenplay for Chinatown. With so many twists and turns along the way, you’ll be glued to the couch trying to figure it all out alongside Detective Gittes. Add in a shocking conclusion, and you have Hollywood gold.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Do you like smart movies? Do you like funny movies? Do you hate Michael Bay?
If you said yes to all of these questions, watch genre-bending guru Edgar Wright’s sophomore effort in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (watch all three flavours while you’re at it — they’re all stellar). A send-up of modern action movies, Hot Fuzz stars Simon Pegg as Nicholas Angel, a London cop reassigned to the countryside town of Sandford for being too good at his job. Once there, he notices something strange about the seemingly perfect village: if Sandford’s murder rate is so low, why is the accident rate so high?
Leads Pegg and Nick Frost are a joy to watch, displaying the clear chemistry between the two actors despite their opposite nature on-screen. Wright’s comedic direction shines as well, exemplified in scenes where he applies the incoherent, quick-cutting style of modern action films to tasks as mundane as filing paperwork. Even when the film descends into a chaotic finale, it somehow remains more entertaining than any explosion Michael Bay could fantasize. Hot Fuzz is also the rare movie where every single thing a character says or does comes back into play later in the film. Wright expertly utilizes the gimmick, making Hot Fuzz a blast to revisit for movie-goers looking to find all the clues and jokes hidden along the way.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
A proper disclaimer: this movie packs an emotional punch that rivals even Marley and Me. You’ve been warned.
Maybe this film is a little too famous for me to recommend, and you might find it silly when I say a sequel starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first movie to make me cry since Owen Wilson’s golden retriever…let’s not talk about that right now. But I find a lot of people my age haven’t experienced possibly the greatest action film ever or even realize a movie like this could be incredible in so many ways.
Despite being spoiled by the trailers (don’t watch them first), the opening act of T2 features a tension-filled game of cat-and-mouse in which neither our hero John Connor nor the audience can tell the good guys from the bad. The film never lets up from there, with Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 returning to kick-ass and take names in a number of massive set pieces that step the game up entirely from the smaller-scale original film. And while I would still recommend it, you don’t need to watch the first Terminator to enjoy James Cameron’s masterpiece.
Complete with a blend of practical effects and impressive CGI that makes today’s effects-driven blockbusters seem childish in comparison (looking at you, Terminator Genisys), T2 was revolutionary at the time and compels us to wonder why no one has crafted an action movie of its caliber since. Add in a lot of heart and cinema’s most surprising father-and-son story, and *sniff* I guess I know now why you cry.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Hoping to instill a little quirkiness in your summer? I’d highly recommend Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, an oddball family drama of the quirkiest variety. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll probably feel the urge to tell your siblings how much you love them afterwards.
Starring Gene Hackman as the titular Royal Tenenbaum, a deadbeat dad who fakes a terminal illness in order to reunite his estranged family, the film features an ensemble cast of Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Danny Glover. Anderson skillfully balances all of their strange and troubled characters, resulting in an endearing and comedic story-line.
After his early films Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums truly marks the unleashing of Anderson’s unique style. Every frame of the movie is a marvel to look at. The opening scene recounting the story of Royal’s three child prodigies is so rich in visual detail you can learn everything about the characters just by glancing around their rooms. From a film-making standpoint alone, it’s incredible how timeless The Royal Tenenbaums feels, both through its sets and distinct color palettes. If you find yourself a fan of Anderson after watching the film, continue checking out his wide range of awkwardly hilarious movies.
What films did we miss that absolutely need to be on everyone’s Summer Movie Watchlist? Let us know in the comment section below!
