Thursday Movie Picks: On The Run

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This week's theme from Wandering Through the Shelves probably doesn't want you to know where it is. It's all about characters that are on the run from something or someone. I tried to think outside of the box a little, since all the films that first came to mind are very popular (Bonnie and Clyde, Natural Born Killers, No Country for Old Men, Catch Me If You Can, etc) Here's what I came up with

1) Dirty Girl

Danielle decides to run away from home and she ends up taking her classmate Clarke, and their bag of flour that they're supposed to be pretending is their baby with her. It has a horrible title but is actually a lovely little film.

2) Looper

Joe's job as a "Looper" means he has to eventually "close his loop" IE kill his future self as part of his job description, but when he fails to do that, he ends up on the run from the Gat Men as he tries to find out who the mysterious "Rain Maker" is. I love this film from director Ryan Johnson. I can't wait to see how he handles the next Star Wars movie.

3) Mouth to Mouth

Sherry manages to run away from her mother twice in this film. We meet her when she's joining a street gang called S.P.A.R.K (Street people armed with radical knowledge) Her life is a disaster, so I don't blame her for the multiple times she does try to run away from someone. Ellen Page gives a great angsty performance here, and she actually shaved her head for this part. 

Comments

  1. joel65913March 2, 2017 at 7:14 AM

    I've only seen Dirty Girl which I can't say I loved but it was okay. A friend with similar tastes to mine absolutely hated Looper so I've avoided it but maybe someday. Haven't heard of the other but it fits well.

    As you said there are many memorable films about people on the run, and I love two you mentioned-Bonnie & Clyde and Catch Me If You Can, so I too tried to dig a bit deeper rather than go with the more popular. Then I realized the first three were all on the serious side so I added an extra with a comic spin.

    The Clouded Yellow (1950)-Fired and seeking tranquility after a case goes wrong British Secret Service agent David Somers (Trevor Howard) retreats to the Fenton country estate and a quiet job cataloging butterflies. Upon his arrival he meets and becomes enamored with the Fenton's niece, the fragile Sophie (Jean Simmons). His peace is short-lived though when Sophie is framed for the murder of menacing handyman Hick. Escaping to London he uses his skills and a network of old friends to evade capture as both the police and the real murderer chase them across Britain as they attempt to flee to safety. Tidy thriller that benefits from location filming throughout England and a superior cast.

    Dust Be My Destiny (1939)-Down on his luck but honest Joe Bell (John Garfield) gets into a fight with a crook and is sentenced to a work farm for 90 days. There he falls for Mabel Alden (Priscilla Lane), much to the displeasure of her stepfather Charles Garreth (Stanley Ridges) the farm's foreman. Goaded into a fight Joe knocks Garreth out and the panicked pair flee. To avoid suspicion and hard up for cash the couple endure an audience wedding then learn Garreth has died and Joe is wanted for his murder. Moving from town to town to elude capture they try to build a new life when Joe get a job as a photographer on a newspaper after capturing pictures of fleeing bank robbers but destiny is still on their trail. Solid Warner Bros. social issue drama with two excellent lead performances.

    You Only Live Once (1937)-Ex-con Eddie Taylor (Henry Fonda), recently released due to the influence of his fiancée Joan (Sylvia Sidney) the public defender’s secretary, attempts to stay to the straight and narrow after they marry. Things go wrong however when he’s accused and convicted for a bank robbery he didn’t commit in which six people were killed. Sentenced to fry in the electric chair he escapes on the eve of execution with the aid of a smuggled gun, accidentally killing the prison chaplain while fleeing. Taking Joan with him they go on the lam but only tragedy lays ahead. Bleak Fritz Lang directed film, an amalgam of the Bonnie & Clyde legend and Lang’s reaction to his first wife’s embrace of Nazism, is considered the precursor to film noir.

    Lighthearted Extra-Midnight Run (1988)-Fun adventure comedy/buddy film of bounty hunter Robert DeNiro taking fugitive mob accountant Charles Grodin cross country to collect his reward and dogged every step of the way by the FBI, Mafia and other bounty hunters all of whom want Grodin for reasons of their own. DeNiro & Grodin have a spiky exasperated chemistry with each other that adds greatly to the comedy of the situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 2, 2017 at 10:08 AM

      Looper is amazing, I can't see how anyone could hate it lol.

      I haven't seen any of your picks this week.

      Delete
  2. s.March 2, 2017 at 1:31 PM

    Looper! Yes! Love that movie so much, one of the best sci-fi movies ever and it blows stuff like Arrival out of the water :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 3, 2017 at 6:41 AM

      lol. It definitely is one of the best sci fi movies out there. Now I want to watch it again.

      Delete
  3. Sonia CercaMarch 2, 2017 at 2:06 PM

    Haven't seen any of these but Looper sounds great. And I love Ellen Page so I guess I'll have to watch Mouth to Mouth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 3, 2017 at 6:41 AM

      Looper is wonderful I can't wait to see what Rian Johnson does with The Last Jedi.

      Delete
  4. BirgitMarch 3, 2017 at 11:30 PM

    I haven't seen any...hahahahaaa. You usually haven't seen my picks and vice versa. I have wanted to see Looper and have marked this down

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 4, 2017 at 7:46 AM

      One of these days we'll match up three and three lol

      Delete
  5. KatyMarch 4, 2017 at 3:52 PM

    Nice picks! I'd never heard of Sherry before, but wow - Ellen looks wild in the part. :)

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    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 7, 2017 at 11:32 AM

      It's called Mouth to Mouth, and it's a really interesting performance from her.

      Delete
  6. Katie HoganMarch 7, 2017 at 4:23 PM

    Aw Dirty Girl. Yeh the title was a bit lazy but the film was actually quite sweet, friendship! Love Looper too! I get annoyed when people moan about the time travel element. Just enjoy it haters! Mouth to Mouth was grim. I don't think I can watch that again.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 8, 2017 at 11:44 AM

      Right? Looper IS the best time travel movie out there, IMO. I'm glad someone else has at least seen Mouth to Mouth here! I agree about it being grim.

      Delete
  7. thevoid99March 10, 2017 at 8:49 PM

    Looper is the only film in that list that I've seen as I do want to see Mouth to Mouth because of Ms. Page.

    ReplyDelete

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