Fando and Lis (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Fando and his partially paralyzed lover Lis search for the mythical city of Tar. Based on Jodorowsky's memories of a play by surrealist Fernando Arrabal.
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Starring Sergio Kleiner, Diana Mariscal, María Teresa Rivas, and Tamara Garina.

Well, I hated every single second of this. Not only was it the kind of nonsense nightmare surreal symbolism I hate so much, it also is very viscerally unpleasant and just *gross*. No horror movie has given me the thought, "I may never be able to eat anything again," but this did. It was one of the most disgusting and upsetting movies I've ever seen, but not in a way that was productive at all, just... in a horrific unpleasant way that I can't wait to forget.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Fando and Lis < Enemy of the State

Fando and Lis < Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Fando and Lis < The Music Man (2003)

Fando and Lis < Head

Fando and Lis < Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion

Fando and Lis < The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Fando and Lis < Doogal

Fando and Lis < Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

Fando and Lis < Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

Fando and Lis < American Pie

Fando and Lis < Mallrats

Final spot: #3128 out of 3128.

Coogan's Bluff (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Arizona Deputy Sheriff Coogan is sent to New York City to escort an escaped fugitive back for trial.
Directed by Don Siegel. Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, and Tisha Sterling.

This is maybe one of the least likable heroes I have seen on screen in recent memory. Toward the end, when he is confronted about how he hurt someone and responds by going back to hurt them again, I thought, "Surely we MUST be meant to see him as the villain, right? This is too over-the-top for us to not!" But no luck, as his doubling down on his hurtful actions gets him both the criminal he's been chasing AND, apparently, the love of the woman who tried to call him out in the first place. (That last moment actually made me exclaim out loud, "DON'T go back to him, he's reprehensible!") I can't in a million years root for this character, and that makes the rest of this movie, which I think *is* trying to set him up as admirable, a really unpleasant watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Coogan's Bluff < An American in Paris
Coogan's Bluff < Persona
Coogan's Bluff < Playtime
Coogan's Bluff > Head
Coogan's Bluff < Shalako
Coogan's Bluff < Susannah of the Mounties
Coogan's Bluff > Attack of the Crab Monsters
Coogan's Bluff > The Good German
Coogan's Bluff > Tuck Everlasting
Coogan's Bluff > Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Coogan's Bluff < Broken Flowers
Final spot: #2886 out of 3127.

You'll Never Get Rich (1941)

IMDb plot summary: In order to cover up his philandering ways, a married Broadway producer sets one of his dancers up on a date with a chorus girl for whom he had bought a gift, but the two dancers fall in love for real.
Directed by Sidney Lanfied. Starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, and John Hubbard.

(Spoilers ahead.)

This definitely isn't one of Fred Astaire's stronger rom coms. There are a couple good dance numbers (his lovestruck number in the guardhouse is particularly great) but the plot is pretty darn loose and ultimately hinges on our hero tricking a woman into marrying him but it's all okay because he wasn't a philanderer like she thought! (Just someone who thinks it's totally cool to say, "Surprise, we're married now.") I did really enjoy the side character of the guy who speaks super fast and mumbles his words so nobody knows what he's saying, and my subtitles had a super fun time trying to keep up with him! Overall it fell a little flat for me but old timey big dance numbers are nice.

How it entered my Flickchart:
You'll Never Get Rich > If...
You'll Never Get Rich < Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994)
You'll Never Get Rich < White Heat
You'll Never Get Rich < Batman Returns
You'll Never Get Rich < The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
You'll Never Get Rich > The Kids Are All Right
You'll Never Get Rich > A Foreign Affair
You'll Never Get Rich < A Bug's Life
You'll Never Get Rich < Focus
You'll Never Get Rich < Must Love Dogs
You'll Never Get Rich < The Age of the Medici
You'll Never Get Rich > Trumbo

Final spot: #1488 out of 3126.

Wimbledon (2004)

IMDb plot summary: A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon.
Directed by Richard Loncraine. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, and Jon Favreau.

I've been reopening myself to loving romantic comedies, a genre I used to think I loathed, and now I'm pretty sure I just dislike bad ones, but mediocre ones are a ton of fun for me. This one's pretty bad, though. The main problem is that we don't really get to know either of the characters and they don't get to know each other, so it's impossible to buy their growing romance or care about it. What do they like and appreciate about each other? Nothing that I can tell. That's like the bare minimum of necessary characterization for a rom com, and this film can't even manage to meet that, so it's a definite dud.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Wimbledon < Yellow Submarine
Wimbledon < La Dolce Vita
Wimbledon > The Lone Ranger
Wimbledon < Green Lantern
Wimbledon < Paradise Now
Wimbledon < The Tribe
Wimbledon > 30 Minutes or Less
Wimbledon > Like Mike
Wimbledon < Short Circuit 2
Wimbledon < The Killing of Sister George
Wimbledon > 8 1/2
Final spot: #2696 out of 3125.

Firecreek (1968)

IMDb plot summary: A peace-loving, part-time Sheriff in the small town of Firecreek must take a stand when a gang of vicious outlaws takes over his town.
Directed by Vincent McEveety. Starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens, and Gary Lockwood.

James Stewart and Henry Fonda are interesting enough to keep this from being awful, but there's nothing unique or interesting about this movie. It all plays out very predictably. It kind of dances around a deeper meaning to the story but never lands on anything, and so ultimately it's a very by-the-book western, which means I'm going to forget it immediately.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Firecreek < Company (2011)
Firecreek > La Dolce Vita
Firecreek < Rio Bravo
Firecreek < Nothing Like a Dame
Firecreek > Charlie Wilson's War
Firecreek < Ted
Firecreek < Where Eagles Dare
Firecreek < The Baby-Sitters Club
Firecreek < The Love Witch
Firecreek < How to Marry a Millionaire
Firecreek < Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Firecreek < One 2 Ka 4
Final spot: #2245 out of 3124.

The Firemen's Ball (1967)

IMDb plot summary: A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.
Directed by Milos Forman. Starring Jan Vostrcil, Josef Sebánek, Josef Valnoha, and Frantisek Debelka.

What a strange tiny little comedy! There are some pieces of this that made me laugh out loud hard -- the ongoing problem of people stealing the raffle prizes in particular -- but there's also a very long, very uncomfortable section about a beauty contest where all the women (characters, not actors) are clearly having a terrible time and it's played for laughs, and that didn't land for me at all. But it's definitely worth a watch. This was apparently Milos Forman's last movie in Czechosovakia, and it became quite a controversial one for its portrayal of government programs.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Firemen's Ball > Yellow Submarine
The Firemen's Ball < Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
The Firemen's Ball < The Gold Rush
The Firemen's Ball < Camp
The Firemen's Ball > Rushmore
The Firemen's Ball < Duck Soup
The Firemen's Ball > All the Money in the World
The Firemen's Ball < Pitch Perfect 2
The Firemen's Ball < The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe (1988)
The Firemen's Ball < Mrs. Miniver
The Firemen's Ball > Downfall
Final spot: #1437 out of 3123.

Marriage Story (2019)

IMDb plot summary: Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Directed by Noah Baumbach. Starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, and Azhy Robertson.

I really didn't have very high hopes for this. I often find Noah Baumbach a little too clever in his writing and his characters a little too removed. But this easily the best thing I've ever seen of his. I think it owes most of that to the performances -- Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson bring such a richness to these characters and make them feel like such real people. I also didn't expect it to be quite as funny as it was, but there are a lot of moments of humor that lean into the absurdity of the situation and how awkward everyone feels about it. This one surprised me in a good way, and I'm glad I made space to see it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Marriage Story > Rosemary's Baby
Marriage Story > Hoodwinked!
Marriage Story > Chariots of Fire
Marriage Story < In the Bedroom
Marriage Story < Nativity!
Marriage Story < Footloose (1984)
Marriage Story < Nosferatu
Marriage Story > Soapdish
Marriage Story < Best in Show
Marriage Story > The Wizard of Oz
Marriage Story > Revengers Tragedy, which is clearly way too high
Marriage Story > Death at a Funeral (2007), also way too high? What's going on with this section of my chart?
Final spot: #372 out of 3121.