Boyz n the Hood (1991)

IMDb plot summary: Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.

Directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, and Nia Long.

This was based heavily on writer-director John Singleton's experiences, and it carries that aura of authenticity. These characters are rich and real, these neighborhoods feel lived in, these dilemmas feel weighty. I was most drawn to Ice Cube's debut performance as Doughboy, the main character's childhood best friend who has just been released from prison in the latter half of the film. It's a tremendous performance with so much subtext, and it's especially powerful as this kind of character is often written as a flat stereotype in films about inner-city crime. And that's the best part -- NONE of these characters are stereotypes, which makes it so, so easy to get drawn into their stories. Part of the film's message is that either nobody knows or nobody cares what's happening in these parts of the country, and art like this is a powerful tool for amplifying those voices and getting people to care. Great film.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Boyz n the Hood > Broken Embraces

Boyz n the Hood > Chronicle

Boyz n the Hood > Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Boyz n the Hood < Arrival

Boyz n the Hood < The Florida Project

Boyz n the Hood < Inglourious Basterds

Boyz n the Hood > Naughty Marietta

Boyz n the Hood < The Kindergarten Teacher

Boyz n the Hood > Romancing the Stone

Boyz n the Hood < Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Boyz n the Hood > Perfect Blue

Final spot: #373 out of 3270, or 89%.

Billy Liar (1963)

IMDb plot summary: A lazy, irresponsible young clerk (Sir Tom Courtenay) in provincial Northern England lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family.

Directed by John Schlesinger. Starring by Tom Courtenay, Wilfred Pickles, Mona Washbourne, and Ethel Griffies.

This film is a sort of strange cross between The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and A Clockwork Orange. Its title comes from the fact that Billy just constantly lies, to everyone, about everything, and when caught in a lie he spins another to try to right it. But despite doing and thinking terrible things, there's a tragedy about Billy as well -- he fabricates stories about getting away from this town and starting an exciting new life elsewhere, but when it comes down to it he's too scared to take the necessary steps, because if he actually tries, he might fail. The film gives him more empathy than he deserves, frankly, but it does show just how thoroughly he's stuck in the persona he's created for himself, and it's a compelling and well-done character study.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Billy Liar > Letters from Iwo Jima

Billy Liar < Chronicle

Billy Liar > Kill Bill Vol. 1

Billy Liar > Under the Skin

Billy Liar > The Last Metro

Billy Liar < Center Stage

Billy Liar > Auntie Mame

Billy Liar > Gone Baby Gone

Billy Liar > The Color Purple

Billy Liar > Unbreakable

Billy Liar > Wonder Boys

Billy Liar < Re-Animator

Final spot: #870 out of 3269, or 73%.

The Babysitter (2017)

IMDb plot summary: The events of one evening take an unexpected turn for the worst for a young boy trying to spy on his babysitter.

Directed by McG. Starring Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell, and Hana Mae Lee.

This movie has an incredibly silly premise and is everything I hoped it would be -- campy and cheesy and over-the-top and made me laugh a lot. Every so often its metacommentary on high school tropes would dance right on the edge of being annoying but then would find its balance again. This is one of those movies that can go so right or so wrong based almost solely on its execution, so seeing it executed well was a real treat. I especially love the strange dynamic between the main character and the evil cult jock, who tries to encourage the kid to stand up for himself to the local bully (before then trying to murder him). It is a wild, goofy ride that completely entertained me and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Babysitter > Letters from Iwo Jima

The Babysitter > Chronicle

The Babysitter < Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

The Babysitter > The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Babysitter < Dawn of the Dead (2004)

The Babysitter > Loving Vincent

The Babysitter < Jesus People: The Movie

The Babysitter > Moonrise Kingdom

The Babysitter < Jojo Rabbit

The Babysitter < 22 Jump Street

The Babysitter > Scream

The Babysitter > Red Eye

Final spot: #545 out of 3268, or 83%.

13th (2016)

IMDb plot summary: An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Directed by Ava DuVernay.

The title of this film is a reference to the 13th amendment, which abolishes slavery except in the case of those convicted of crimes, and then looks at how this current legal slavery affects black communities. It's a sobering bit of education, tracing the system's history all the way from just after the Civil War through the civil rights movement, the war on drugs, the war on crime, and Black Lives Matter. While I'd learned a lot of this from various sources through the years, it's intense to see it laid out so clearly this way, with archival footage alongside historians and activists and politicians commenting on the effect these policies have had on minority communities. The film came out several years ago now but definitely carries further weight after the June 2020 protests, especially looking at the many examples of law enforcement escalating peaceful protests with violent tactics. This is definitely an important and concise look at something our country needs to take seriously.

How it entered my Flickchart:

13th > Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

13th < Chronicle

13th > American Outlaws

13th > Mary Poppins Returns

13th > Dangerous Liaisons

13th < Re-Animator

13th < Nerve

13th > Husbands and Wives

13th > Forgetting Sarah Marshall

13th < Morgan

13th > Manhattan Murder Mystery

Final spot: #897 out of 3267, or 73%.

The Last Metro (1980)

IMDb plot summary: In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.

Directed by François Truffaut. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poirot, and Andréa Ferréol.

This film is very effective in showing the small ways in which Nazi Germany chipped away at human rights and how that affected people who before this point might not have considered themselves political at all. We are watching a series of resistances here, both small and large, for all kinds of personal and political reasons. There's also a bit of a love story, but the movie isn't ABOUT that, and that love story resolution makes it even clearer that it is secondary to the broader story of resistance. The film's resolution, by the way, is an interesting choice, and without spoiling anything I just want to say I think it is a perfect little thematic wrap-up and works very well. François Truffaut has been hit-or-miss for me, but I appreciate this one a lot -- it is definitely a hit.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Last Metro > Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

The Last Metro < Chronicle

The Last Metro > American Outlaws

The Last Metro > Mary Poppins Returns

The Last Metro > Dangerous Liaisons

The Last Metro < Center Stage

The Last Metro < Auntie Mame

The Last Metro < What the Deaf Man Heard

The Last Metro < Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

The Last Metro < An American Werewolf in London

The Last Metro < Kursk

The Last Metro > Children of Men

Final spot: #917 out of 3266, or 72%.

Popcorn (1991)

IMDb plot summary: A master of disguise deranged killer begins killing off the college students who are organizing a horror-movie marathon in an abandoned theater.

Directed by Mark Herrier. Starring Jill Schoelen, Tom Villard, Dee Wallace, and Derek Rydall.

Popcorn tells the story of a group of film students who decide to put on a horror movie festival. As they prepare, they find a creepy film that was the precursor to a murder several years ago, and then... someone connected to that film and those murders comes back to make the film festival horrific as well. It's hard to succinctly describe the plot because so much of it circles around just a vague *sense* that something is wrong for about half the movie. One girl is having weird dreams, there's a weird old movie, Mom is getting creepy phone calls... It doesn't really gel until much later in the film, and even then whether it makes any sense is questionable. The most enjoyable piece of this actually is the series of films-within-a-film that is the group's horrorthon. We see short segments of delightfully tropey B-movies made up for the film, all of which purportedly came with a theatrical gimmick like pumping bad smells into the theater or vibrating the seats, and as the film group attempts to recreate those gimmicks, it does feel like a really enjoyable nostalgia trip. The actual story outside these mini-films is far less engaging (and often just kinda gross) but there are some fun moments here.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Popcorn < Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

Popcorn > Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Popcorn > Grace of Monaco

Popcorn < The Deer Hunter

Popcorn > Withnail & I

Popcorn > Event Horizon

Popcorn < Interstate 60

Popcorn > Wedding Crashers

Popcorn > Peter Pan Live!

Popcorn < Camp Rock

Popcorn < The Commitments

Popcorn > Horror of Dracula

Final spot: #1867 out of 3265, or 43%.

3 Generations (2015)

IMDb plot summary: After Ray decides to transition from female to male, Ray's mother, Maggie, must come to terms with the decision while tracking down Ray's biological father to get his legal consent.

Directed by Gaby Dellal. Starring Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon, and Tate Donovan.

This film garnered some controversy for casting Elle Fanning as the trans main character, rather than a trans actor or at least a cismale one to match the character's known gender, but frankly, the movie isn't good enough for that to be the deciding factor in its quality either way. This is very soap opera-style writing, with characters constantly emoting at a level 10 out of 10 for no known reason, and several moments of comedic relief not landing even a little bit. It makes the few moments that do ring genuine stand out and make me wish they were part of a better movie. Susan Sarandon as the lesbian grandmother is a truly obnoxious character that simultaneously pushes her family away and also attempts to worm her way into their business and I think it's supposed to be charming? It isn't, and neither is the movie overall.

How it entered my Flickchart:

3 Generations < Letters from Iwo Jima

3 Generations > Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

3 Generations > Grace of Monaco

3 Generations < King Kong (2005)

3 Generations > Withnail & I

3 Generations < Harry and the Henderson

3 Generations > Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

3 Generations > No Country for Old Men

3 Generations > Blow Out

3 Generations > Manhattan

3 Generations < My Sassy Girl

Final spot: #1889 out of 3262, or 42%.