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Great Movies: The Wrongful Arrest

Always making for a great story is someone wrongfully accused, arrested, and/or convicted of a crime they didn’t commit. I believe the following would be the best of these movies:

  1. The Hurricane (1999) – Based on a true story and made legendary by Bob Dylan’s song, this is quintessential Denzel Washington viewing.

  2. In the Name of the Father (1993) – This is a good movie, though not many know about it. I think it hits different for audiences from the UK than it does for North Americans, considering the content. 

  3. Ben-Hur (1959) – A well known, well respected epic. I don’t have anything to add here.

  4. First Blood (1982) – If you were never a fan of the Rambo movies and found them ridiculous, you may still like this one. It was a great movie, it was just the sequels that added the stereotypical hero shaking a zillion of bullets out of a machine gun. This one is a classic but got buried under the ensuing mountain of gunfire and yelling.

  5. The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) – The original novel is a perfect story and the this movie couldn’t have done better at adapting it.

  6. The Green Mile (1999) – The electric chair is at the centre of the movie, so be forewarned of scenes that could disturb. Great performances by Tom Hanks, Michael Clark Duncan, Sam Rockwell, and Michael Jeter. And one of the best villain portrayals by Doug Hutchison.

  7. If Beale Street Could Talk (2017) – When I was younger, I would see that a TV show or movie had a cast of all or mostly all people of colour and would conclude that it wasn’t for me. Like all of us, I grew up in a culture that conditioned me the think this way without knowing it. Thankfully that is changing more as each year passes. Watch this movie and you won’t regret it!

  8. The Fugitive (1993) – “I didn’t do it!” … “I don’t care!”

  9. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – One of the best courtroom dramas of all time, both on the page and on the screen.

  10. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – Was there really any other option here?

Congratulations . This is your week.


Best Actress:

Regina King rocks, but this week is her theme, so for this week it’s Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart in

Best Actor: LaKeith Stanfield as Cherokee Bill in Honourable mention to Idris Elba as Rubus Buck in the same movie.

Best Quote:“Unbow your head, sister.” – Teyonah Parris as Ernestine Rivers in

Here are some honourable mentions for the above list. A lot of them were dropped from consideration because of the arrest being a smaller part of the story. 

  • Trading Places (1983)

  • Edward Scissorhands (1990)

  • Gone Girl (2014)

  • In the Heat of the Night (1967)

  • Papillon (2017)

  • Straight Outta Compton (2015)

 
 
 

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