Thursday Movie Picks: Escape

I’ve been really into blog prompts lately (in case you couldn’t tell by the fact that almost all of my posts are recurring weekly or monthly themes). When I saw that Wandering Through the Shelves has been hosting a weekly movie prompt since 2014, I knew I wanted to join in this year.

Even though I spend a lot (and I mean a lot) of time watching things, I tend to go for TV shows over movies, so answering these film prompts might be a bit of a challenge for me. But, who knows, maybe this will be the push I need to watch more movies in 2020! And hopefully I can introduce or re-introduce you to some movies you’ll enjoy as well.

This week’s theme is Escape. At first I thought this would be easy for me based on my love of true crime stories, but I realized these types of movies actually really stress me out. In my opinion, the following three films are great, and honestly I’ll probably never be able to watch them again.

Shawshank Redemption

Based on a novella by Stephen King, Shawshank Redemption is a classic that I actually didn’t see until a few years ago. I don’t know how I made it into my late 20s without having any idea what this movie was about, but I was an emotional mess through the entire thing.

Shawshank is on a very short list of movies that left me wanting to change careers the next day and spend the rest of my life trying to fix the issues it presented. Our prison system is so broken, and there are many moments in this film that still cross my mind and make me tear up because the problems they highlight haven’t been solved yet. Shawshank Redemption is a great movie, and if you somehow (like me) have waited too long to see it, I think you should fix that.

Green Room

Green Room is intense. I try to see every A24 movie, and it took me a while to build the courage to watch this one because I had a feeling it was going to stress me out. And I was right.

The cast in this movie is amazing: Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cold, and Sir Patrick Stewart. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll stick with Green Room‘s one-line description: A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar. It’s as wild as it sounds. Brace yourselves.

Catch Me If You Can

Okay, this one I could watch over and over. Catch Me If You Can tells the true story of an incredible con man who has stolen millions of dollars through forgeries. He’s being pursued by the FBI and, in case you couldn’t tell by the film’s title, is constantly evading them. It’s full of twists and turns and is highly watchable. Enjoy.

Bonus: Prison Break

I know Prison Break isn’t a movie, but it’s the first thing I think of when I hear the word “escape.” I didn’t watch this show live, but once I started I was fully obsessed. I don’t know that I would necessarily call it amazing television, but the first few seasons at least are very entertaining. Plus it’s super fun to see Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller back together in D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow!

What are your favorite escape movies? What should be added to this list?