Five Movies You NEED To Watch (If You Have Not Already)

1. Wild(2014)

Summary: The movie tells the true story of Cheryl Strayed based on her memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. In June 1995, inexperienced hiker Cheryl Strayed begins her 1,100 mile hike across the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl became distrought over loosing her mother, Bobbi to cancer and turned to heroin and anonymous sex to numb the pain. This led to the abortion of an unwanted pregnancy and the end of her marriage to her husband Paul. Cheryl hopes to use the experience to heal and rediver who she is. As Cheryl treks along she runs into hardships such as animals and bad weather, and even lost toenails but she pushes forward testing her courage, strength and determination to complete the hike and emerge greater than she was before.

Thoughts: I watched this movie when it came out on DVD. I would later have to discuss the film for a project in college. I didn't realize how much it would affect me seeing it at eighteen and twenty-two. As a teenager I felt like there was so much I still needed to learn and as a adult I still feel this way but I realized all I've learned. Cheryl chose to change to last named to Strayed as a way to start fresh. The movie is very intense and shows moments of Cheryl cussing and screaming or even tending open wounds. There are also heartfelt moments where we see Cheryl spending time with her family and friends before Bobbi's death. This story shows perseverance and how even when things are bad we can always choose to move forward.

Stream: Hulu

2. Into The Wild(2007)

Summary: The movie tells the trus story of Chris McCandless based on the same title non-fiction novel of his life by Jon Krakauer. n 1990 Chris McCandless graduates from Emory University. He comes clean to his parents and sister Carine that he is dissatisfied with all his "stuff" and wants to makes a change. Chris destroys his credit cards and identifications, donates all his savings to Oxfam and decides to being a trip to Alaska to spend the winter in the wilderness. As Chris adopts the surname Alexander Supertramp he spends the next two years, driving, hitchhiking, hiking, kayaking, camping, working in difference places, and even finding a homeless shelter before finding an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness and living there. The people he met would tell his story.

Thoughts: In tenth grade my Laguage Arts teacher sent home a permission slip asking if it was alright showing an R rated film to underage students. I did not know what to expect but I was excited. The film comes off as stuck up because Chris just abandoned his life in pursuit for Alaska. He mentions how happy he is without money and resents his father for having an affair with was the result of Corine and himself. The author warns the reader in the beginning to feel however they want about Chris but to listen. I enjoyed the film and I did feel bad for Chris but I always wondered why he abandoned his savings or did not take his sister with him. His family spends the whole movie worried about him. However, he does go out of his way to help or just spend time with the people he meets. This film makes you look at your life with a new set of eyes and how important it is to appreciate what you have but also show that people have more to offer than materials and how we should not be afraid to ask for advice or do things alone.

Stream: Hulu, Paramount Plus

3. CODA(2021)

Summary: In Gloucester, on the northeast coast of Massachusetts, seventeen-year-old Ruby Rossi is the only hearing member of her family; her parents, Frank and Jackie, and older brother, Leo, are all deaf. She assists with the family fishing business and plans to join it full-time after high school. Ruby loves to sing but does not know if she is any good as her family cannot hear her and she never sings in front of anyone. When her high school insists all students sign up for an extra curricular activity Ruby takes the chance to sign up for choir. When her teacher Mr. Bernardo "V" Villalobos, encourages her to sing more after insisting she had talent Ruby suddenly invests herself in her passion. When her family's fishing buisness is in jeopardy Ruby has to prove she will be more than just the interpreter she grew up being.

Thoughts: The title had a double meaning as it is a music term and stands for Child Of Deaf Adults. The movie is sweet and funnier than I thought. Ruby gets along with her family and best friend Gertie but she feels like an outcast at school. The actors in the movie are deaf in real life and it proves how it doesn't stop anyone from working or having a normal life. One thing that this movie makes people aware is that deaf people can enjoy music. Ruby's father touches her through to feel her sing. As I do choir and musical theater I could relate to the practices and silly but important vocal warm ups. I am not fluent but I know a little ASL. My favorite is clasping your two pointer fingers together which means friend. This movie points out how much you can do or how you might have more in common with someone that you originally thought. Take chances and don't let a difference hold you back, use it.

Stream: Apple TV+

4. Secretariat(2010)

Summary: In 1969 Denver housewife and mother Penny Chenery returns to her childhood home with her family to attend her mother's funeral. Upon their arrival she meet Arthur "Bull" Hancock to enlist her help to save Meadow Stables in Kentucky. Penny witnesses the birth of a Thoroughbred horse and over the next few years the horse named Secretariat and grows up to become one of the greatest race horses of all time.

Thoughts: I watched this movie because I was curious and I because I love horses. I did not know a thing about the real story but I was cheering at every opportunity. One thing I did not notice until I was much older was the role of a housewife. Penny takes care of her kids and and loves her husband but the whole time watching it I thought Penny quit her job to help with the horse race and Secretariat. This movie is a family movie but I would not say this a good representation of the real story. It comes off as more of a Disney movie. If you are curious then do your research but do not let it sway you. It is a good movie. The determination of Penny and her friends along with support or criticism of everyone else proves that when you put your mind to something you can achieve anything. Don't be afraid to take up a challenge and try something new. Just go for it.

Stream: Disney Plus

5. Hugo(2011)

Summary: In 1931 Paris Hugo Cabret lives with his clock making widowed father who works at a museum. One day he brings home an automaton, a mechanical man who can write with a pen. The two begin to repair it but they discover that it need a heart shaped key to work properly. One day Hugo's father dies in a fire leaving Hugo in the care of his alcoholic Uncle Claude who maintains the clocks at Gare Montparnasse railway station. Sometime later Uncle Claude himself leaves and does not return. Hugo continues to maintain the clocks in secret while also working on the automaton. As Hugo works and sneaks around the watchful eye of Station Inspector named Gustave Dasté he meets a girl named Isabelle who keeps a heart shaped key around her neck. As the two team up to repair the automaton and test Isabelle's key they find themselves in the deep end of a family's secret past and the mysterious disappearance of the silent filmmaker Georges Méliès.

Thoughts: I am going to cheat just a little and suggest that everyone watch the silent films A Trip To The Moon and The Great Train Robbery before watching this movie. Motion pictures have changed so much since they were first made in 1888. What began as a series of photo spun to create the illusion of a picture movie has evolved into story telling and effects that were once not possible. This is based on the children's book The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Hugo not only sparked my infatuation with Asa Butterfield but also got me interested in the history surrounding the production and final edit of many movies. I was only fourteen when this came out and was starting to feel the awkwardness of adolescence but this movie will always make me feel like a child again. I'm okay with that. It is innocent, sweet, and funny. Hugo and Isabelle are the main characters but they are not the only focus. Gustave Dasté is not the villain you are led to believe. He is simply doing his job. He also wears a brace from a WWI injury. When he was not doing his inspector duties I enjoyed his scenes with a young woman selling flowers in the train station. She shares the loss of her brother with him. All the characters portarayed have their own motivation. On the one hand is it a children's mystery story and on the other it's a beautiful and wholesome family movie. I highly recommend Hugo.

Stream: Hugo, A Trip To The Moon, and The Great Train Robbery are all available on YouTube.