Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968)

IMDb plot summary: When Castle Dracula is exorcised by the Monsignor, it accidentally brings the Count back from the dead. Dracula follows the Monsignor back to his hometown, preying on the holy man's beautiful niece and her friends.
Directed by Freddie Francis. Starring Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, and Barry Andrews.

Well, this is exactly what you would think it is. It's hilariously campy and ridiculous, and every time Christopher Lee just widens his eyes at people and they freak out is so much fun. I'm almost certainly going to forget all about it a day or two after having seen it, but it was an enjoyable watch while it was going!

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave < The Absent-Minded Professor
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave < State of the Union
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Get Carter
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Spinning Into Butter
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Don't Look Now
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Out of Time
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > A Farewell to Fools
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Simone
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > Rancho Notorious
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave > The Black Stallion
Final spot: #2293 out of 3056, which seems low but it is what it is.

Naughty Marietta (1935)

IMDb plot summary: In order to avoid a prearranged marriage, a rebellious French princess sheds her identity and escapes to colonial New Orleans, where she finds an unlikely true love.
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard and W.S. Van Dyke. Starring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, and Elsa Lanchester.

This is… oddly compelling, and I can’t put my finger on why exactly, because if I examine the individual pieces of it, none of them stand out as, “Ah, yes, that’s why I liked this movie.” But it all comes together into something very charming and engaging, and I really enjoy how abruptly the rather significant conflict is wrapped up at the end. We don’t have time for anything more elaborate than that, there are songs to be sung! And unlike a lot of films about upper-class women running away to find their freedom (there are a surprising amount of these) I actually feel like Marietta might do all right off on her own.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Naughty Marietta > Inland Empire
Naughty Marietta < An American Werewolf in London
Naughty Marietta > Away We Go
Naughty Marietta > Oliver Twist (1948)
Naughty Marietta > Billy Elliot the Musical Live
Naughty Marietta < Show Me Love
Naughty Marietta < The Happening
Naughty Marietta < There Will Be Blood
Naughty Marietta > The Matador
Naughty Marietta < The Mummy (1932)
Naughty Marietta < Hannah Arendt
Naughty Marietta > Andhadhun
Final spot: #852 out of 3055.

Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983)

IMDb plot summary: IMDb plot summary: As the Metropolitan Museum of Art closes, Big Bird decides to leave his Sesame Street friends behind in search of Snuffy. Once locked inside for the night, educational hilarity ensues as Big Bird and Snuffy team up to help a ghost of a small Egyptian boy solve a mysterious riddle. The rest of Sesame Street's residents search for Big Bird.
Directed by Jon Stone. Starring Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and Martin P. Robinson.

Let me start by saying I did not grow up watching Sesame Street, so my nostalgic attachment to these characters is much lower than it would be for most folks my age. That being said, this is a pretty charming little art special for kids. It’s engaging for younger ones without talking down to them, and I like how many pieces of actual art we get to see, as well as seeing characters connect to them for different reasons. The songs are all pretty decent, too. Even though I am not the intended audience for this, I admire what it’s doing.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Don't Eat the Pictures < The Princess Diaries
Don't Eat the Pictures > Start the Revolution Without Me
Don't Eat the Pictures > Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Don't Eat the Pictures > Son of Rambow
Don't Eat the Pictures > Three Amigos
Don't Eat the Pictures < Ramona and Beezus
Don't Eat the Pictures > Iron Eagle
Don't Eat the Pictures > Incredibles 2
Don't Eat the Pictures < Amazing Grace
Don't Eat the Pictures > Lost in America
Don't Eat the Pictures > Music Within
Don't Eat the Pictures > Liz & Dick
Final spot: #1581 out of 3054.

Swing Girls (2004)

IMDb plot summary: A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up vitiating and replacing the schools brass band.
Directed by Shinobu Yaguchi. Starring Juri Ueno, Yûta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya, and Yuika Motokariya.

This one took a little while for me to really get into, all about this group of girls (and one boy) starting a jazz band. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and their names are hardly ever spoken, which makes it trickier to track who is who. But it settles into a nice, entertaining groove toward the end and finishes with a nice mix of silly and sentimental, along with a really fun final musical number.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Swing Girls > Inland Empire
Swing Girls < An American Werewolf in London
Swing Girls > Away We Go
Swing Girls < Catfish
Swing Girls < American Teen
Swing Girls < The Horse's Mouth
Swing Girls < Interiors
Swing Girls > How Do You Know
Swing Girls > The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Swing Girls > Princess Mononoke
Swing Girls > Children of Paradise
Swing Girls > Loving Vincent
Final spot: #1122 out of 3053.

City of God (2002)

IMDb plot summary: In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund. Starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, and Douglas Silva.

This is a movie that’s been on my watchlist for a very long time, and I should have seen it long before now. While I have a very tough time buying into crime movies, this one has some pretty heartbreaking scenes, particularly some of the ones featuring very young children getting caught up in the violence that’s all around them. The camera work could be distracting but it works here -- really makes me feel like you’re part of this world with them (though I don’t really want to be). Overall a well-made movie, even if it isn’t quite my genre.

How it entered my Flickchart:
City of God > Inland Empire
City of God < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
City of God > Away We Go
City of God > Oliver Twist (1948)
City of God < The Miseducation of Cameron Post
City of God > The Children's Hour
City of God < World War Z
City of God > The General
City of God > Monsters Vs. Aliens
City of God < Moneyball
City of God > Meet Joe Black
Final spot: #885 out of 3052.

Jackie (2016)

IMDb plot summary: Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
Directed by Pablo Larraín. Starring Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, and Billy Crudup.

This film comes two years after what I like to call The Year of “Difficult Men and the Women Who Loved Them” Movies. Five of the eight movies nominated for Best Picture that year fell in this category, and a sixth escaped the label only because the difficult man didn’t get a woman. Anyway, that to say I am VERY TIRED of this formula, which is probably why I avoided this movie the first time around because I felt like it would inevitably end up being *about* John F. Kennedy despite pretending to be about Jackie. To my surprise, that was not the case. It’s definitely her story. The decision for him to not even be in the movie in flashbacks until the end was genius, as it really lets us focus on her experience. And when she speaks about him, it’s often in disagreement with other people also discuss him, and since we never see him himself to confirm or deny her assessment, it makes it so much more about her reaction than about who he was. Natalie Portman is excellent here, of course. She is a master of subtle acting, particularly in her facial expressions, which means she’s so good at portraying characters who are acting one way but feel another -- something Jackie constantly must deal with as a woman going through a tragedy in the public eye. The film didn’t blow me away, but it is a good one, and best of all, it feels like a *film* instead of a solemn chronicling of events the way many biopics are.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Jackie > Lazer Team
Jackie < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Jackie > The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Jackie < Anna Karenina
Jackie < Zoolander
Jackie > The Wedding Singer
Jackie < 35 Up
Jackie < The Sound of Music
Jackie < Junebug
Jackie > The Hidden Fortress
Jackie > The Horse's Mouth
Jackie < The Bad Sleep Well
Final spot: #1092 out of 3051.

My Blueberry Nights (2007)

IMDb plot summary: A young lonely woman takes a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love while encountering a series of offbeat characters along the way.
Directed by Kar-Wai Wong. Starring Jude Law, Norah Jones, David Strathairn, and Natalie Portman.

This kind of works as a series of short films but is much less compelling as an overall narrative. Elizabeth’s arc from story to story is mostly unconnected (and I don’t think it’s Norah Jones’ acting inexperience at fault here, it’s a script problem) but the people she finds herself enmeshed with are fascinating, especially David Strathairn’s alcoholic police officer unwilling to accept the demise of his marriage. The bookended pieces are only held together by Jude Law being supernaturally charming.

How it entered my Flickchart:
My Blueberry Nights > Lazer Team
My Blueberry Nights < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
My Blueberry Nights < Gentleman's Agreement
My Blueberry Nights < As It Is In Heaven
My Blueberry Nights < Holiday (2018)
My Blueberry Nights < The Wiz
My Blueberry Nights < I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
My Blueberry Nights < The Pursuit of Happyness
My Blueberry Nights < A Night to Remember
My Blueberry Nights < The Absent-Minded Professor
My Blueberry Nights < The Princess Diaries
My Blueberry Nights > Company (2011)
Final spot: #1524 out of 3050.