Watch out! These movies are on the loose!
Killers, conmen, nukes, and... babies? They're all on the loose.
This week on Movienaux we’re looking at movies that feature people or objects that have gone missing. But not just disappeared. No, these are movies where you can only describe them as “on the loose.” There is a distinction between missing persons or missing objects movies. “On the loose” movies sit at the intersection between missing persons and manhunt movies.
Below you’ll notice we have our very first guest contributor! Zach is a bonafide cinema scholar and a filmmaker in his own right. His outstanding documentary, THE RINGMASTER, is a meta look at creating a documentary. It is available to watch on Amazon Prime! Thanks Zach! After our picks I’ll talk more about how you, yes you!, can become a contributor to Movienaux.
Harr Pick: BROKEN ARROW (1996)
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Category: Exciting!
Is BROKEN ARROW a good movie? Debatable. Is it a fun movie? Abso-freaking-lutely. Aside from FACE/OFF, John Woo never made a downright classic action movie in the United States. But most of his American movies are at least fun times at the cinema. BROKEN ARROW is no exception. It’s about nukes on the loose and only stealth bomber pilot Christian Slater and a plucky park ranger can stop the nefarious plans of John Travolta. The movie features some bombastic John Woo action in some clever settings. The back half of the movie largely takes place in a mineshaft. Cool! —Harrison
Harr Pick: KUNG FU KILLER (2014)
Where to watch: Available to stream on Amazon Prime, Tubi, & PlutoTV
Category: Exciting!
KUNG FU KILLER takes the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS approach and applies it to a martial arts flick. The only way to stop a killer is with another killer. Donnie Yen is a martial arts master imprisoned for involuntary manslaughter. When a serial killer on the loose starts slaying other martial arts masters, only Donnie Yen can stop him! This movie rules. It’s one of the better Donnie Yen movies. It features some amazing fight choreography and a memorable sequence on a busy highway. —Harrison
Harr Pick: SHORT CIRCUIT (1986)
Where to watch: Available to buy on Amazon Prime & Google Play
Category: Comedy
Johnny 5 is alive! This the type of high concept comedy that was prevalent in the 80s and has pretty much died out in the modern era. For shame. There are a lot of fun hijinks in this movie about a sentient robot on the loose from its government creators. It’s a charming, low stakes, silly movie. What a delight. —Harrison
Zach Pick: BABY’S DAY OUT (1994)
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Apple iTunes, & Google Play
Category: Comedy
BABY’S DAY OUT is undoubtedly the most underrated John Hughes production of all time. This film has some of the best slapstick comedy ever and it all centers around an adorable Baby named Bink who gets kidnapped for ransom. The kidnappers (Joe Mantegna, Joe Pantoliano, & Brian Haley) end up having difficulty keeping hold of Baby Bink, who is more intelligent than his captors and is seemingly always a step a head of them. Hilarity ensues in this laugh out loud family film with a baby on the loose in Chicago. You’ll laugh ‘til you cry especially with the scenes involving a crotch on fire and a gorilla at the zoo. —Zach
Zach Pick: PATRIOTS DAY (2016)
Where to watch: Available to stream on Amazon Prime, HBO MAX, & Tubi
Category: Human drama
PATRIOTS DAY is a remarkable retelling of the tragic Boston marathon bombing in 2013. Director Peter Berg delivers a gripping instant classic with an amazing cast led by Mark Wahlberg. The film tells the story from many perspectives including the FBI, the police, some of the victims, heroes, and the citywide manhunt for the terrorists, Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsaernev, who are on the loose after the bombing. This is a thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat ‘til the very end. Stay tuned after the film to see some of the real people involved in the story. —Zach
Zach Pick: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002)
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Apple iTunes, & Google Play
Category: Four quadrant
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is the unbelievable true story about criminal forger Frank Abagnale Jr, who before his 19th birthday runs away from home and manages to write millions of dollars worth of checks posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor and ultimately a legal prosecutor. Steven Spielberg directs Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks in one of the best films of all of their respective careers. This is the ultimate cat and mouse flick and arguably one of the best con films ever made. —Zach
At the time this was released I was positively obsessed with this movie. Saw it twice in theaters and watched it countless times on DVD. Phenomenal flick about how running away from one’s demons and crafting a new identity still leaves you with your demons. Early 2000s Spielberg was godlike. —Harrison
Question of the Week
Are you someone who frequently looses keys or other objects in your life?
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