Gran Torino (2008)

IMDb plot summary: Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, and Christopher Carley.

While, as always, I appreciate that Clint Eastwood's take on vigilante justice is quite a bit more thoughtful than most, I had a really tough time with his character in this movie. Besides not buying the motivation for his character change, his anger and racism are never really addressed or called out in any way -- it just gets sidestepped in favor of "But you're a good man" when, really, there's been no indication of that so far. It's especially uncomfortable in an era when hate speech gets downplayed so much, and that feels like the case here too -- like the racial slurs aren't seen as harmful and degrading as much as just "tough guy with a heart of gold" flavor dialogue. It's tough to listen to and really gets in the way of the rest of the story for me. It means I'm not convinced he confronted his prejudices at all, I think he just thinks he found "the good ones." Plus Clint Eastwood is unintentionally hilarious when he angrily growls at people. A good ending, rough rest of the movie.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Gran Torino < Sunday in the Park with George
Gran Torino > How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Gran Torino > The Amazing Spider-Man
Gran Torino > SpaceCamp
Gran Torino > Chaos Theory
Gran Torino > Teacher of the Year
Gran Torino < V/H/S
Gran Torino < Dunkirk
Gran Torino > Cinderella (1950)
Gran Torino > Memphis Belle
Gran Torino < Anna and the King

Final spot: #1486 out of 2900.

Marjorie Prime (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A service that provides holographic recreations of deceased loved ones allows a woman to come face-to-face with the younger version of her late husband.
Directed by Michael Almereyda. Starring Lois Smith, Geena Davis, Tim Robbins, and Jon Hamm.

The theater I work at produced this play last season, and it remains one of my favorite plays I've ever read. This film adaptation is kind of an odd duck, in that it can't quite decide whether to do just a straightforward adaptation of the (very sit-down-and-talk-y) play, or whether to expand the script further. The result is a sort of awkward mishmash of static dialogue scenes and miniature flashbacks that happen at confusing moments. Of the actors, Geena Davis is the only one whose performance I really love (surprising, since Lois Smith apparently did the original stage production and I'd have expected she'd resonate with me more). It's still an interesting idea and still has some beautiful philosophical musings on memory and technology, but it doesn't pack the same punch as it did for me when I first read the script or saw the theatrical production.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Marjorie Prime > The Matador
Marjorie Prime < A Snoodle's Tale
Marjorie Prime > Lifeforce
Marjorie Prime < Idiocracy
Marjorie Prime < The Glass Menagerie (1973)
Marjorie Prime < A Chorus Line
Marjorie Prime < Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)
Marjorie Prime > Run Fatboy Run
Marjorie Prime < City Lights
Marjorie Prime > A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
Marjorie Prime > Lord of the Flies

Final spot: #1071 out of 2899.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A romance sparks between a young actor and a Hollywood leading lady.

Directed by Paul McGuigan. Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Kenneth Cranham, and Julie Walters.

This was a story I didn't know much about, so it was interesting to watch it play out. Annette Bening does an incredible job here, both with capturing the essence of Gloria Grahame and with just acting the part, making her more than just a Norma Desmond knockoff character (which the script itself seems to be pushing for). The use of the nonlinear story is also surprisingly effective, particularly about two thirds of the way through the movie when we revisit an earlier scene and see it again with more context behind it, and it packs more of an emotional punch than I expected. It's an interesting movie that, for the most part, manages to escape the tropeyness the script has in it.

3 stars.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > Talk Radio

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < A Snoodle's Tale

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > Lifeforce

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Young Frankenstein

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Before Sunset

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Brothers

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < My Favorite Year

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Stardust

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < John Carter

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < The Happening

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > John Wick

Final spot: #1084 out of 2898.

Kes (1969)

IMDb plot summary: A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon.
Directed by Ken Loach. Starring David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, and Colin Welland.

Watching this movie shortly after The Long Day Closes was interesting, as they're both sort of sprawling coming-of-age stories about young boys in the UK. But while I found myself distantly admiring The Long Day Closes, I got entirely emotionally wrapped up in this kid's story. Maybe because he reminded me of some of the kids I've worked with, and seeing how he was treated by his teachers hit close to home. But toward the end, I found myself tearing up as I saw his story play out. My heart went out completely to this child. It's a deeply moving film -- though I definitely suggest watching it with subtitles. Those Yorkshire accents are not kidding around.

4.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kes > Frequency
Kes > Zodiac
Kes > Boyhood
Kes > In the Bedroom
Kes < Arsenic and Old Lace
Kes < The Rocketeer
Kes < A Quiet Place
Kes < All About Eve
Kes < Arrival
Kes < This Is Spinal Tap
Kes < Catch Me If You Can
Kes > Take the Money and Run

Final spot: #180 out of 2897.

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Devil worshipers plan to convert two new victims.
Directed by Terence Fisher. Starring Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, and Leon Greene.

While most of this is firmly under a silly campy B-movie horror umbrella, there are some decently creepy moments in it that work, and it's a moderately entertaining story. I wish the romance it attempts to set up felt more consensual.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Devil Rides Out < Talk Radio
The Devil Rides Out < A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
The Devil Rides Out > The Godfather Part II
The Devil Rides Out > The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
The Devil Rides Out > Mission: Impossible III
The Devil Rides Out > Withnail & I
The Devil Rides Out > Anchors Aweigh
The Devil Rides Out > Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Devil Rides Out > Avanti!
The Devil Rides Out > A Thief in the Night
The Devil Rides Out > War Machine

Final spot: #2173 out of 2896. That feels a bit low, but the chart doesn't lie.

Horror of Dracula (1958)

IMDb plot summary: Jonathan Harker begets the ire of Count Dracula after he accepts a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses.
Directed by Terence Fisher. Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, and Melissa Stribling.

This is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the Dracula story, with only a few changes made. It's fun enough, I guess, but doesn't really stick with me even just a day after having seen it.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Horror of Dracula < Talk Radio
Horror of Dracula > War Machine
Horror of Dracula > The Polar Express
Horror of Dracula > The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Horror of Dracula < Imitation of Life (1959)
Horror of Dracula > Shrek Retold
Horror of Dracula < The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Horror of Dracula < Julie & Julia
Horror of Dracula < Treasures of the Snow
Horror of Dracula < Hustle & Flow
Horror of Dracula > Black Snake Moan

Final spot: #1581 out of 2895.

Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997)

IMDb plot summary: Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin are best friends who wish they could be together forever. However Christopher Robin needs to go to school. Christopher Robin has trouble telling Pooh that they will be separated, so he leaves him a note. Pooh, misunderstanding and believing that Christopher Robin has gone to Skull and needs his help launches a rescue mission with the help of Rabbit, Tigger, and Piglet. 
Directed by Karl Geurs. Starring Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Ken Sansom, and Paul Winchell.

This is... all right. Having seen Christopher Robin at the end of last year, this seems like a pale facsimile of the characters clearly targeted toward very young children. It's not egregious or anything, but it doesn't really offer anything for older audiences the way the original books (and even movies) do. I'm just altogether the wrong demographic to get much out of this.

1.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Pooh's Grand Adventure < Frequency
Pooh's Grand Adventure > A Thief in the Night
Pooh's Grand Adventure < The Barkleys of Broadway
Pooh's Grand Adventure < Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Pooh's Grand Adventure > Almost Famous
Pooh's Grand Adventure > MASH
Pooh's Grand Adventure > Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Pooh's Grand Adventure < Anything Else
Pooh's Grand Adventure < The Cat in the Hat (1971)
Pooh's Grand Adventure > Mulholland Dr.
Pooh's Grand Adventure < The Three Faces of Eve
Final spot: #2009 out of 2894, or 31%.