Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

IMDb plot summary: When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father and one brother's wife hurtling towards a shattering climax.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei.

I like that this is almost a half-and-half family drama/crime movie. The tension of the crime only works with the familial relationships underpinning the whole situation. Both primary actors, as well as Albert Finney as their father, are superb in their roles. They really highlight the humanity of fear and loss in a way that I often feel gets overlooked in crime films. I also enjoy how the film plays with time and perspective, moving back and forth in time to highlight one person's experience of this event, and frequently revealing something in each section that forces us to look at the previous entries in a new light. It's a superbly paced film in terms of unraveling the mystery bit by bit, and thoroughly engaging all the way through.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > To Be or Not To Be (1947)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < Hoop Dreams

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Ramona and Beezus

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Full Metal Jacket

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Undercover Blues

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > A Christmas Carol (1951)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Logan's Run

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < Children of Men

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < RoboCop

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > The Hudsucker Proxy

Final spot: #937 out of 3298, or 72%.

Serpico (1973)

IMDb plot summary: An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, and Biff McGuire.

This is definitely an interesting watch in the 2020, as questions of bad police behavior are very much on the public's minds. The film does a great job of showing Serpico's frustration with how deeply embedded this corruption is at every level. I found myself especially moved by one of the scenes where he talks to his girlfriend about why he became a police officer in the first place, and how those dreams of helping people are being dashed as he sees how willing everyone is to do what's best for themselves, not the community. There are also some chilling early scenes where he is flat-out asked to place the wellbeing of his police colleagues ahead of his own sense of personal justice, and they aren't pleased when he doesn't give them the answer they want. It's a little discouraging to see we're still fighting these battles on so many levels, but it's definitely an interesting watch because of that.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Serpico > High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Serpico < Chronicle

Serpico < Ramona and Beezus

Serpico > I Love You, Man

Serpico < Never a Dull Moment

Serpico > State and Main

Serpico > The Sword in the Stone

Serpico < Children of Paradise

Serpico > Trading Places

Serpico > The Sea Gull

Serpico > Ratatouille

Final spot: #1353 out of 3296, or 59%.

Pain and Glory (2019)

IMDb plot summary: An aging film director suffering from chronic illness and writer's block reflects on his life.

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and Nora Navas.

Antonio Banderas is truly stunning in this role, embodying this aged, exhausted man so perfectly I kept forgetting he was acting at all. He brings a mournful gravitas to the role that serves it beautifully. As with many Almodovar films, I find myself engaged with each individual scene but can't quite make it coalesce into the full story I want it to. These are great individual scenes, though, each one rich with layers of subtext. But as is so often the case with his films, I can't quite track the narrative arc of his central character. What is he searching for? What is the turning point for him? How does he view the world or himself differently at the end as opposed to the beginning? I can see a vague pattern of growth but I wish I were able to get a stronger grasp on this character's journey. Still worth the watch for Banderas' incredible performance.

How it entered my Flikchart:

Pain and Glory > Christine

Pain and Glory < Chronicle

Pain and Glory > The Hidden Fortress

Pain and Glory > Native Son

Pain and Glory < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Pain and Glory > Kind Hearts and Coronets

Pain and Glory > A Nightmare on Elm Street

Pain and Glory < Logan's Run

Pain and Glory < High Strung

Pain and Glory < Nick of Time

Pain and Glory < Marjorie Prime

Pain and Glory > Smiles of a Summer Night

Final spot: #951 out of 3295, or 71%.

Mank (2020)

IMDb plot summary: 1930's Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.

Directed by David Fincher. Starring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, and Tom Pelphrey.

This movie feels a little caught between the two stories it wants to tell -- Mank's full life and his work writing Citizen Kane -- and they never meld quite as neatly as I want them to. The latter is far more interesting to me, but the story ends just as it reaches one of the more dramatic moments in that narrative and abruptly jumps to the resolution. I think I'm supposed to fill in the narrative and thematic gaps with what has been revealed about his past, but I still find myself missing what feels like the end of the story. Instead the film meanders and aimlessly philosophizes and feels like it's grasping for *something* it never quite reaches.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Mank > It Comes at Night

Mank < Chronicle

Mank < The Hidden Fortress

Mank < Two Weeks Notice

Mank > The First Wives Club

Mank < Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Mank > Mr. Nice Guy

Mank < Duck Soup

Mank < Frequency

Mank > The Forbidden Kingdom

Mank > The Diary of Anne Frank (2009)

Mank > Anonymous

Final spot: #1512 out of 3293, or 54%.

Point Break (1991)

IMDb plot summary: An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, and Lori Petty.

This is a spectacularly goofy, over-the-top movie that somehow seems to be playing itself completely seriously, but I'll be darned if it didn't ultimately pull me into its drama. Once I stopped trying to figure out how to close the plot holes the movie left, I kind of settled into its way-too-sincere atmosphere and found myself enjoying it a lot more, and I was even a little moved by the film's ending. And while I do not care at all about surfing or skydiving on a personal level, the action scenes are filmed well and definitely tap into some vicarious thrills of living life on the edge. Keanu's a little one-note here, and Gary Busey is baffling, but Patrick Swayze is great. I can definitely see how this got its cultlike following of fans.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Point Break > Christine

Point Break < Chronicle

Point Break > The Hidden Fortress

Point Break > Native Son

Point Break < Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

Point Break > Kind Hearts and Coronets

Point Break > A Nightmare on Elm Street

Point Break < Hell in the Pacific

Point Break > High Strung

Point Break > Bride & Prejudice

Point Break < Logan's Run

Final spot: #941 out of 3294, or 71%.

Strange Days (1995)

IMDb plot summary: A former cop turned street-hustler accidentally uncovers a conspiracy in Los Angeles in 1999.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, and Tom Sizemore.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable cyberpunk thriller almost-noir, if a little less grim than most true noir films. The way this slightly futuristic tech is woven into the seedy underbelly of this world seems wholly believable, as do the things people would do for and with it. There are strong themes of police brutality and racism that seem far, far too relevant today. Despite this movie being 25 years old, it still feels extremely current, like this future is still just a few years ahead of us. This is by far the most interesting thing I've seen from Kathryn Bigelow, and I'm bummed it flopped because I would have loved to see her continue exploring strange worlds. Or, well, I suppose, strange days.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Strange Days > As It Is In Heaven

Strange Days > Chronicle

Strange Days > Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Strange Days < Arrival

Strange Days < The Florida Project

Strange Days > (500) Days of Summer

Strange Days < Oldboy (2003)

Strange Days < Lion

Strange Days < The Fisher King

Strange Days > Pirate Radio

Strange Days < Stranger Than Fiction

Final spot: #355 out of 3292, or 89%.

I Am Number Four (2011)

IMDb plot summary: Aliens and their Guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters. They can only be killed in numerical order, and Number Four is next on the list. This is his story.

Directed by D.J. Caruso. Starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, and Callan McAuliffe.

For as much silly sci-fi as this movie contains, it's also a surprising amount of just... normal teen drama. New guy moves to town, gets on the school bullies' bad side, tries to find love despite an overprotective parent... It hits all the expected beats, except the character has superpowers. It doesn't do anything really exciting with this story and is a pretty bland mushing together of all the sci-fi YA tropes, and our leads have zero on-screen chemistry either alone or together. Additionally, the villains' makeup designs are pretty generically goofy and it's hard to take them very seriously, and they set up a HECK of a deus ex machina with characters abruptly discovering new superpowers as is convenient. But it's a harmless kind of bland, and if this is a genre you love already (as I do), you might enjoy it enough.

How it entered my Flickchart:

I Am Number Four < Meet John Doe

I Am Number Four > The Secret of My Success

I Am Number Four < Mission: Impossible

I Am Number Four < Stand and Deliver

I Am Number Four > Pepito and the Magic Lamp

I Am Number Four < Ocean's Twelve

I Am Number Four > K-19: The Widowmaker

I Am Number Four < On the Waterfront

I Am Number Four > The Third Man

I Am Number Four > Apocalypse Now

I Am Number Four < Sand Castle

Final spot: #2330 out of 3291, or 29%.