Three years ago, I began, in the study hall of my middle school cafeteria, to draft a list. I titled it “Movies EVERYONE Must See In Their Lifetime.” I wanted everyone to fall in love with the movies I had, so I began to add all of my favorite movies to this small, half-a-google doc list. I started taking suggestions, and looking at today’s list, I could still tell which movies were suggested by whom. This list became somewhat of my legacy. My friends quiz me on my claims that I know quotes from “every movie on the list” (which is only somewhat true), people I’ve barely even met already know about my list, and my Instagram polls get pretty heated when I claim Ethan Hunt is way better than James Bond. The natural next step was to share it with everyone, right? Every week, I go through a different movie that managed to make a list that now strains to stay one one page. What I liked, what I didn’t, where you can watch: you have found the movie you’ve been looking for, and it won’t take you a lifetime to see it.

Catch Me If You Can
Year: 2002
Genre: Drama/Crime/True Story
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Awards: BAFTA, best supporting actor; SAG, best supporting actor

This fast-paced Steven Spielburg stunner starts off on the old hit game show: “To Tell The Truth.” The subject of the show displaying the world’s most interesting people introduces himself as Frank Abergnale, jr: the youngest person ever to make the FBI’s Most Wanted List. He goes on to say that he worked as a doctor, lawyer, airline pilot, and as the most successful bank robber in US history, all before the age of 18. Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hanks play a game of cat and mouse throughout the movie, with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Amy Adams, and Natalie Faye in supporting roles.

What I liked: The twists and turns of this film are top-notch. I hate predictable movies, and this was not one of them. Dicaprio as Frank plays such a likable character that you find yourself rooting for the villain, but his character is complex, and the backstory at the beginning lends to Frank’s internal dialogue throughout. Some of the movie is shot in France and those winter scenes are magical. This movie is riveting beyond riveting, and keeps you guessing the entire time.

What I didn’t like: Some parts of this movie get a little bit convoluted. There’s flashbacks within flashbacks, and at one point I could barely tell who was who. Frank’s love interest Brenda Strong (Amy Adams) had an excellent performance, but she was still something of a static character. Additionally, since it’s pretty outdated based on the time it was set in, some of Frank’s antics don’t make sense in our generation, where forging is mostly impossible and the FBI doesn’t often get fooled.

Conclusion: Catch Me If You Can is truly a film for all viewers. It has lots of twists to keep audiences on the edge of their seats, but it also has strong character development. It’s an action movie, but it’s not too shallow, and it’s a drama, but it’s not too heavy. It is the perfect Friday night movie for a bowl of popcorn after a long week of school, and I enjoyed it immensely. This film is available on Amazon Prime and Youtube for $2.99 and on cable channel E! November 22, 28, and 29.