All About My Mother (1999)

IMDb plot summary: Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his second mother, a trans woman, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, and Antonia San Juan.

As I've been watching a LOT of Almodovar, I reach this one, which one the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as being his #1 film on Flickchart. I hoped this would be my turning point in understanding his films, as this seems to be one of his more accessible, but... it isn't quite. I really appreciate a film with so many rich female characters (I LOVE that the first man credited on IMDb is a full seven spots down -- that like never happens), and I thought many of them had interesting moments in and of themselves, but as always I can't find his narrative throughline. What experience is he trying to convey? What questions is he trying to raise or answer about motherhood or female relationships or gender identity? No clue. It all feels engaging enough as it goes along but ultimately I can't find the heart of it. Were it not for the more grounded character of Manuela, the entire thing would have felt more like the sensationalized soap operas his other films conjure for me, but her groundedness just conveys a sense that *something* deeper is meant to be going on here and it's just whooshing past me.

How it entered my Flickchart:
All About My Mother > The Lion in Winter (2003)
All About My Mother < Hairspray Live!
All About My Mother < Nick of Time
All About My Mother > Beverly Hills Cop
All About My Mother > The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
All About My Mother > A Man Escaped
All About My Mother < The Killing of a Sacred Deer
All About My Mother < At First Sight
All About My Mother < The Sound of Music
All About My Mother < Never a Dull Moment
All About My Mother < The Miracle Worker
All About My Mother > Quiz Show
Final spot: #1233 out of 3159.

Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)

IMDb plot summary: On the Carolina coast, Godolphin College's new track coach lodges at Blackbeard's Inn, run by the Daughters of the Buccaneers, who claim to be descendants of the notorious pirate, and who risk losing their hotel to the local mobster.
Directed by Robert Stevenson. Starring Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, and Elsa Lanchester.

Well, this is is just goofy and charming and is absolutely something I would have loved as a kid. It feels very much in the vein of The Absent-Minded Professor, down to the failing college sports team and their magical wins. Dean Jones is my least favorite of Disney's recurring live action actors -- he never quite pulls off the character who has magical stuff happening to them, he just always comes across as kind of stupid -- but Peter Ustinov is a lot of fun and I did laugh out loud at a few of the visual antics, especially toward the end. Very well-trodden path for Disney but enjoyable nonetheless.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Blackbeard's Ghost > The Lion in Winter (2003)
Blackbeard's Ghost < Muriel's Wedding
Blackbeard's Ghost > Singles
Blackbeard's Ghost > Kagemusha
Blackbeard's Ghost < A League of Their Own
Blackbeard's Ghost < The Shoes of the Fisherman
Blackbeard's Ghost > How to Train Your Dragon
Blackbeard's Ghost < Carefree
Blackbeard's Ghost > Andhadhun
Blackbeard's Ghost < There Will Be Blood
Blackbeard's Ghost > Monsters Vs. Aliens
Final spot: #952 out of 3158.

Danger: Diabolik (1968)

IMDb plot summary: International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them.
Directed by Mario Bava. Starring John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, and Adolfo Celi.

This is easily more entertaining than Barbarella, the other De Laurentiis-produced film I've seen from 1968. It is beyond ridiculous and the ending scene made me laugh out loud, but it is enjoyably zany. This was apparently the final episode of MST3K before its 2010s revival, and this is definitely one that would be fun to riff. An engaging B-movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Danger: Diabolik < The Devil Wears Prada
Danger: Diabolik > The Motorcycle Diaries
Danger: Diabolik < Julie & Julia
Danger: Diabolik < My Best Friend's Wedding
Danger: Diabolik < The Children's Hour
Danger: Diabolik > Night at the Museum
Danger: Diabolik < Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Danger: Diabolik < The First Wives Club
Danger: Diabolik < Bad Moms
Danger: Diabolik > Withnail & I
Danger: Diabolik < Batman Begins
Final spot: #2314 out of 3157.

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

IMDb plot summary: Operation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
Directed by Richard Attenborough. Starring Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Paul Maxwell, and Dirk Bogarde.

(Mild spoilers ahead.)

While I typically find war films extremely uninteresting, I found myself interested by this for at least the first two out of three hours. I particularly found myself intrigued by the focus in the early half on how many people attempted or wanted to speak about the concerns they had with the mission, only to be shut themselves down or be shut down by others for quasi-political reasons. This is a pretty impressive cast to assemble too (I legitimately didn't recognize Anthony Hopkins until last third) but they don't stand out as individuals as much as they seem to be representing the ensemble of whichever group they're with, which would usually be a negative for me but, again, kind of works here. It doesn't hit as hard in the last third for me as other stories of failed war missions, but it still worked for me a lot more than I expected.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Bridge Too Far < The Lion in Winter (2003)
A Bridge Too Far > Tombstone
A Bridge Too Far > Happythankyoumoreplease
A Bridge Too Far > Dr. No
A Bridge Too Far > A Scanner Darkly
A Bridge Too Far > Oblivion
A Bridge Too Far > Avengers: Infinity War
A Bridge Too Far > No eres tu, soy yo
A Bridge Too Far > Trumbo
A Bridge Too Far > Holiday Affair
A Bridge Too Far < The Age of the Medici

Final spot: #1581 out of 3156.

Bandidas (2006)

IMDb plot summary: In turn-of-the-century Mexico, two very different women become a bank-robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorizing their town.
Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. Starring Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steven Zahn, and Dwight Yoakam.

In the first 15-20 minutes or so of this movie, I was having a good time. Some interesting female characters teaming up to rob corrupt banks is a good premise. And then... whoo, did it go off the deep end. The characters lose all their early promise and devolve into petty cat fights and slapstick revolving entirely around them as sexual objects. How tremendously disappointing.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Bandidas < Swing Time
Bandidas < Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Bandidas > The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Bandidas > Countdown
Bandidas < Premonition
Bandidas < Brother Bear
Bandidas < Rebel Without a Cause
Bandidas < Facing the Giants
Bandidas > The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Bandidas < The Omega Code
Bandidas < Run Fatboy Run
Bandidas > Glory Road
Final spot: #2556 out of 3155.

Vampyr (1932)

IMDb plot summary: A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Starring Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, and Sybille Schmitz.

I'm a huge fan of early vampire movie Nosferatu and was a little less charmed by this one. I kept being aware of just how very slowly it was moving. It does however have some really nicely unsetting moments. I was particularly struck by the visuals of the shadows not cast by people -- that was always eerie every time. Definitely worth a watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Vampyr > Trumbo
Vampyr < Muriel's Wedding
Vampyr < Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Vampyr < Strictly Ballroom
Vampyr > Something to Sing About
Vampyr < The Blues Brothers
Vampyr < Munich
Vampyr < Father of the Bride Part II
Vampyr > Arctic
Vampyr > Frank
Vampyr < Monsters
Final spot: #1468 out of 3154.

Police Story (1985)

IMDb plot summary: A virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.
Directed by Jackie Chan and Chi-Hwa Chen. Starring Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, and Kwok-Hung Lam.

This is very fun and silly. As always, Jackie Chan is a charismatic action star, and he's given lots to do here, including some wonderfully goofy gags -- the one with the telephones at the police station especially amused me. The police procedural scenes aren't nearly as interesting as either the fight scenes or the comedic scenes, but they hold the story together just fine. All in all, an enjoyable little movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Police Story > The Good Dinosaur
Police Story < Muriel's Wedding
Police Story < Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Police Story > Broken Blossoms
Police Story > Natural Born Killers
Police Story > Children of Paradise
Police Story > Green Room
Police Story < Intolerable Cruelty
Police Story > Lo
Police Story < The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Police Story > Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe
Final spot: #1198 out of 3153.