Picks of the Week

Here each week we recommend a film for each type of filmgoer that we believe they’ll love – taking the guesswork out of going to the video store.

Mainstream Pick:

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Written By:  Jaff Nathanson

Starring:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

Plot: A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor.

What We Say: With DiCaprio starring in Shutter Island this weekend, it’s a great time to look back at one of his “lighter” flicks. Spielberg’s slick and stylish con film has aged well in eight years thanks to strong performances and its overall enjoyable cat and mouse game. As soon as the opening credits roll, they get the audience in the mood of this very entertaining film. Pay close attention to subtle acting that DiCaprio and Hank add to each scene. They make the movie. Sometimes it’s the smaller films by big name directors that really show what they’re made of. Spielberg beautifully paces the film and makes Catch Me If You Can effortlessly watchable again and again.

Offbeat Pick: 

Taxi Driver (1976)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Written By: Paul Schrader

Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne

Plot: A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as nighttime taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.

What We Say: As Scorsese releases his next feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (who it seems is his new De Nero), and talk of a follow up to Taxi Driver, it’s probably a safe bet its been awhile since you’ve seen his 1976 classic. A testament to cinema’s power, Taxi Driver’s tale of urban alienation and loneliness still packs a wallop. Scorsese and De Nero creates such a fascinating character study in Travis Bickle, we as an audience want to try and figure out why he makes the decisions he does and what compels him to make them. It’s brutally compelling and unsettlingly tense. Perfect Scorsese.