The Fifth Wave (2016)

IMDb plot summary: Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother.
Directed by J Blakeson. Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Zackary Arthur, Nick Robinson, and Alex Roe.

(Very very minor spoilers.)

This movie got a lot of bad press as just another sloppy dystopian future YA story, but, really, as far as dystopian future YA stories go, it's not terrible. The premise is good, if simple, the characters are likable, if not original, and there are some pretty fun disaster porn sequences and entertaining plot twists. Aside from one minor subplot that was eye-rollingly stupid (and that I assume is planned for a bigger role in any sequels), this was a pretty decent little movie, more along the lines of Ender's Game than The Hunger Games. Not the best of its genre, but certainly watchable.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Fifth Wave > Camp Rock
The Fifth Wave < Eat Pray Love
The Fifth Wave < Strictly Ballroom
The Fifth Wave < Die Hard
The Fifth Wave < The Age of the Medici
The Fifth Wave > Sex Tape
The Fifth Wave < Death at a Funeral (2007)
The Fifth Wave > Checking Out
The Fifth Wave < Where's God When I'm S-S-Scared?
The Fifth Wave > Ratatouille
Final spot: #1163 out of 2427.

The English Patient (1996)

IMDb plot summary: At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Directed by Anthony Minghella. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Defoe, and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Good grief, this is boring, and beyond that, the writing and acting just all seems... off. There's a sense of intense melodrama that keeps me at a distance and never lets me feel like I can buy into the characters. The music swells and the characters laugh and cry, but very little of that feels earned and I cannot for the life of me figure out how this won so many awards because it seems so shoddily made.

There are a few things that do stand out as positives. The scene at the end where he returns to the cave is nicely tragic, the bomb-defusing scene is wonderfully tense, and the cinematography is gorgeous. Some of those desert landscape shots would no doubt have been even more stunning on the big screen. But these few isolated moments out of a 2 hour 40 minute movie did not make up for the rest of it. I'm afraid I have to side with Elaine Benes on this one.

2 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The English Patient < Happythankyoumoreplease
The English Patient > Taxi
The English Patient < Mickey's Christmas Carol
The English Patient < Treasures of the Snow
The English Patient < JFK
The English Patient > 2046
The English Patient > Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
The English Patient > The Misfits
The English Patient > Waltz with Bashir
The English Patient > Drive Me Crazy
The English Patient > Jumper
Final spot: #1745 out of 2426.

One Hour to Die (2011)

No IMDb plot summary because the one on IMDb is clearly a broken mash-up of this movie's synopsis and, for some reason, Jurassic Park's.
Directed by Philip Gardiner. Starring Melanie Denholme, Robert Knowles, Rob Ireland, and Jessica Messenger.

This movie was apparently entirely improvised. The actors got a day of rehearsal to figure out characters and plot, and then they filmed it all in one 90-minute take. That's an impressive attempt, but it's got SUCH bad results. With smarter improvisers, this kind of thing could have worked, but as it is, the acting is wooden, the dialogue ridiculous, and the pace of the movie is ridiculously slow - there's about 45 minutes of random party games before anything actually happens, and that's not even a little bit interesting to watch. It's too bad this is such a miserable failure, because I think something like this is capable of being much better.

0.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
One Hour to Die < Happythankyoumoreplease
One Hour to Die < The Interpreter
One Hour to Die < The Merchant of Venice (2004)
One Hour to Die < Dinner at Eight
One Hour to Die > Bean
One Hour to Die > The Other Sister
One Hour to Die < The Jazz Singer (1927)
One Hour to Die > Love Wrecked
One Hour to Die > Cold Blood
One Hour to Die < Horse Sense
One Hour to Die < Medium Cool
Final spot: #2298 out of 2425.

Rio Bravo (1959)

IMDb plot summary: A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a cripple, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Directed by Howard Hawks. Starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickinson.

Right from the start when I got assigned this movie as part of an online movie exchange I did, I was awfully curious as to whether or not this was given to me by someone who knew how tough a sell westerns are for me. Unfortunately, this is not the western that changed my mind.

Like all John Wayne movies, John Wayne is the least interesting part of it. I was drawn in by Dean Martin's character arc and found him very moving at times, and the cinematography was lovely. But as a whole, I had a really tough time keeping my interest in this movie. The main plot never caught my attention, and I found the love story frustrating. I'd happily watch a whole movie focused on Martin's character, but he really only has 15-20 minutes devoted to him here, leaving 2+ hours of things I didn't care about much.

1.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Rio Bravo < The Kids Are All Right
Rio Bravo > The Interpreter (I suppose. I don't remember Interpreter, but I think I found it boring.)
Rio Bravo < Deja Vu
Rio Bravo < Bounce
Rio Bravo < The Children's Hour
Rio Bravo > The Enemy Below
Rio Bravo > Seasons of the Heart
Rio Bravo < House of Games
Rio Bravo < Sharknado (...I'm sorry. But Sharknado was so much more entertaining.)
Rio Bravo > Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed
Rio Bravo < Quigley Down Under (A western someone tried to get me to like during my movie challenge. It just barely wins.)
Final spot: #1758 out of 2424.

Room (2015)

No IMDb plot summary because my experience was way better for having been unspoiled.
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, and Joan Allen.

(Spoilers.)

Ooer.

OK, let me say this right up front: I went into this movie completely blind, no idea what it was about, and so the first 30-40 minutes or so were me figuring out what exactly was even happening along with the main character. If you don't know anything about the movie, I highly suggest you stop reading now and do the same.

That being said... I LOVED this movie. The world it created for me inside this child's mind was so compelling. The film is split into two distinct parts, and I was so wrapped up in the first half of the story that when it ended, I found myself startled that it had only been an hour and we were only halfway through the movie -- it felt like a very complete story on its own. The second half of the movie, though, doesn't drag at all and instead tells the necessary second half of the saga and how the characters have to adjust or readjust to their "normal" lives.

Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay are spectacular here, with their fascinating little world they've built together, and as their world slowly expands (in so many ways), I could not wait to see what would happen next. It's a story that doesn't get told very often, and it's told in a very unique way. This is by far my favorite of the Oscar Best Picture nominees, and even though it won't win, I would be ecstatic if it did.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Room > Happythankyoumoreplease
Room > Eat Pray Love
Room > High School Musical (Which is too high. High School Musical 2, maybe. But the first one? Nah, shouldn't be here.)
Room < Catch Me If You Can
Room > The Matrix (...This movie is soaring because it's going up against a lot of old favorites.)
Room > Chaplin
Room < The Squid and the Whale
Room > Halloween (Rated too high.)
Room > Unforgiven
Room > The Bridge on the River Kwai (Due a rewatch.)
Room < Who Am I This Time?
Final spot: #172 out of 2423. WHOA.

Spotlight (2015)

IMDb plot summary: The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Directed by Tom McCarthy. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, and Liev Schreiber.

This is exactly the kind of movie that I expect to win the Oscar - well-written, well-acted, well-directed, has some serious weight, a fascinating story. And I liked it, don't get me wrong, but it didn't blow me away. There are some very moving moments and it's done very capably, but it's also done in a very expected way. As such, it's not my favorite of the Best Picture nominees, but I would have no qualms whatsoever with it winning.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Spotlight > Happythankyoumoreplease
Spotlight < Eat Pray Love (A tough choice, and while I think Spotlight is better made, I think Eat Pray Love is going to stick with me longer.)
Spotlight > Strictly Ballroom
Spotlight > Hamlet (2009)
Spotlight > Bend It Like Beckham (BILB is almost certainly ranked too high, though it's due a rewatch.)
Spotlight > The Boondock Saints
Spotlight < Lethal Weapon (I think. I'm not certain about this one. Lethal Weapon is also due a rewatch.)
Spotlight > Oldboy (2003) (I like Spotlight better bit-by-bit but Oldboy better as a whole. For now, that means Spotlight wins.)
Spotlight > The Return of Captain Invincible
Spotlight < They Came Together
Spotlight < Cannibal!: The Musical

Final spot: #628 out of 2422.

The Martian (2015)

IMDb plot summary: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, and Jeff Daniels.

(Very very mild spoilers.)

One of the things I didn't expect from this movie was for it to be as light-hearted as it is. I'd expected a colder sci-fi thriller, something along the lines of Gravity. When I saw at the end that Drew Goddard had written the screenplay, that made ALL the sense. It's that light-hearted tone that makes this movie stand out at something special, and, interestingly enough, the tone doesn't ever make it feel like not enough is at stake. It just helps us enjoy the ride a lot more.

My husband also brought something up that made me think -- that it was really nice to, for once, have a sci-fi story where everybody was working together for good things, Star Trek-style. The movie wasn't about politics or greed, it was about the bigger question of helping a human stuck on Mars. I think that helps as well. It's a genuinely inspirational movie. It's an interesting Best Picture nominee, and even though there's no way it'll win, I'm happy it was on the list.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Martian > Camp Rock
The Martian > Argo
The Martian < High School Musical
The Martian > Kiss Me, Stupid!
The Martian > The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
The Martian < The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Martian > Muppets Most Wanted
The Martian < Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
The Martian < The Gods Must Be Crazy
The Martian < Paths of Glory
The Martian < Edge of Tomorrow
The Martian < Big Hero 6
Final spot: #351 out of 2421.