Welcome to the Video Store Podcast.
It’s March, the snow is slowly melting, and the world is turning green. Everywhere you look, stores are pushing the same movies about leprechauns and four-leaf clovers.
I’m here to give you a break from the lucky charms and offer up four different movies for the green spring season.
Soylent Green (1973)
Set in a crowded, overheated dystopian future, Soylent Green follows New York City detective Robert Thorn as he investigates the murder of a wealthy businessman. By 2022, the world has been pushed to the edge by overpopulation, pollution, and food shortages. Most people survive on processed food rations distributed by the powerful Soylent Corporation: Soylent Yellow, Soylent Red, and their new product, Soylent Green.
As the investigation unfolds, Thorn uncovers a conspiracy that reveals the shocking truth behind Soylent Green and reaches the highest levels of the Soylent Corporation.
If you like classic 1970s science fiction with a darker edge and big ideas about the future, this one is for you.
The Emerald Forest (1985)
The Emerald Forest tells the story of a young boy, Tommy, who disappears while his father is working on a massive dam project in the Amazon rainforest. Bill Markham spends the next decade searching for his son, traveling deeper into the jungle and encountering the indigenous tribes who call the forest home.
It’s a story of love, loss, and hope set against the lush green backdrop of the Amazon rainforest.
If you’re in the mood for an adventure that feels different from the usual Hollywood formula, this one is worth pulling off the shelf.
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Romancing the Stone is often labeled an “Indiana Jones clone,” even though the script was written two years before Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Romance novelist Joan Wilder is suddenly pulled into a real adventure when her sister is kidnapped in Colombia. To save her, Joan must deliver a mysterious treasure map deep into the jungle. What follows is a fast-moving adventure filled with treasure hunters, narrow escapes, and an unlikely partnership with a rugged fortune hunter.
Much of the film takes place in the thick green jungles of South America, where the landscape becomes just as important as the story. The lush setting adds a sense of danger and excitement as the characters try to stay one step ahead of the people chasing the same treasure, a priceless emerald
Romancing the Stone is pure 80s adventure fun. If you like action, humor, and a little romance, this is an easy choice for movie night.
The Green Mile (1999)
The Green Mile takes place inside a prison during the Great Depression and follows a group of guards who oversee death row. The story centers on John Coffey, a kind, imposing inmate who arrives with a mysterious presence and an unexpected gentleness.
The “green mile” is the nickname given to the stretch of green linoleum floor that prisoners walk on their way to the execution chamber. Over time, the guards realize the man walking the Green Mile possesses something extraordinary, turning a routine prison job into a powerful story about compassion, redemption, and humanity.
Settle in for this epic. It’s a powerful, character-driven story that blends drama, mystery, and a touch of the supernatural.
