Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)

IMDb plot summary: At the end of a long and hot summer day, members of one family gather in a large house. Everyone has something painful and offensive to say, and their silence is even worse.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, and Dean Stockwell.

This is often considered one of the greatest American plays out there, and there's certainly a lot to be gleaned from it, especially for any actors taking it on. You have to be prepared to lean back into this style, though. It's very reminiscent of the classical plays -- Greek tragedies come to mind most strongly -- with long poetic monologues taking the place of any semblance of realistic speech. Characters don't seem to be interacting with each other so much as existing out loud near each other, which definitely brings out the sense of isolation and "every man for himself" within this family. Lumet keeps the theatrical staging in translating it to film but makes incredible use of lighting to narrow in on these characters as they feel more and more trapped in the life they have. This film won't resonate with everyone but it definitely grew on me as I watched.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Long Day's Journey Into Night > Le Week-End

Long Day's Journey Into Night < Safe

Long Day's Journey Into Night > Event Horizon

Long Day's Journey Into Night > Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Long Day's Journey Into Night > The Shallows

Long Day's Journey Into Night > Good Morning, Vietnam

Long Day's Journey Into Night > Cries and Whispers

Long Day's Journey Into Night > Look Out, Officer!

Long Day's Journey Into Night < My Name Is Joe

Long Day's Journey Into Night < Hoop Dreams

Long Day's Journey Into Night > The Game

Long Day's Journey Into Night > The Black Cat

Final spot: #850 out of 3361, or 75%.

Twister (1996)

I was terrified to watch this movie when I was younger, as I grew up in the Midwest where tornadoes were a fairly common occurrence, and though thankfully we never got this close to one, I was still so scared of them. This film sets up a series of properly terrifying scenes that hit home for me. There's one moment in particular where a character looks up at a black sky that seems harmless, only for a flash of lightning to suddenly illuminate the tornado RIGHT THERE in front of her. That is something directly out of my nightmares. The film is a wild ride that paces itself very well and delivers on those big scary moments, which is all it really needed to do it accomplish its goals.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Twister > The Major and the Minor

Twister > Kuroneko

Twister < Big Hero 6

Twister < The Talented Mr. Ripley

Twister > The Hateful Eight

Twister < Cats (1998)

Twister < The Red Shoes

Twister < The History of Future Folk

Twister > The Graduate

Twister > Take Shelter

Twister > Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Twister < Hustlers

Final spot: #723 out of 3360, or 78%. That seems very unexpectedly high but it was a good time!

Sweet Charity (1969)

IMDb plot summary: Taxi dancer Charity continues to have faith despite endless disappointments at its hands, and hope that she will finally meet the man to romance her away from her sleazy life. Maybe, just maybe, handsome Oscar will be the one to do it.

Directed by Bob Fosse. Starring Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Ricardo Montalban, and Sammy Davis Jr.

This is a musical about a young dance hall hostess named Charity. She wants to find true love and get out of her job, which she finds degrading, but her optimism about the world leads to lots of disappointments, and we get to see a whole bunch of them. If you're thinking that sounds exceptionally depressing for a musical, you'd be right! It's based on the Italian film Nights of Cabiria, which I loved, but this one hit me on a very different level and I found myself unable to enjoy any of the big dance numbers because I remembered where this story was heading. Mild spoiler: The ending here is at VERY best, bittersweet, and at worst absolutely devastating. Shirley MacLaine does turn in a great performance, bringing a ton of energetic physicality to her role. The best parts of this movie, though, are the group musical numbers featuring stage veterans Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly, and Stubby Kaye, and for one number, Sammy Davis Jr. Those numbers are fantastic -- a nice distraction from the absolute non-cathartic misery of the core story. I sound more negative about this than maybe I should be, but I just had such a difficult time enjoying any of Charity's highs knowing the lows were on the way. I'm a little curious how I would have felt if I went in blind, but as it is, I certainly don't want to rewatch it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Sweet Charity > Absolute Power

Sweet Charity < Kuroneko

Sweet Charity < True Grit (2010)

Sweet Charity > Tangled

Sweet Charity < Knight and Day

Sweet Charity > Battle of the Sexes

Sweet Charity < The Gold Rush

Sweet Charity < Guys and Dolls

Sweet Charity < Is It Fall Yet?

Sweet Charity < The Trouble with Harry

Sweet Charity < The Help

Sweet Charity > Liberal Arts

Final spot: #1416 out of 3359, or 58%.

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

IMDb plot summary: A senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.

Directed by Ang Lee. Starring Sihung Lung, Yu-Wen Wang, Chien-Lien Wu, and Kuei-Mei Yang.

This is a slow, thoughtful movie that spends much of its time lingering on the sights and sounds of the father's cooking. Details of the various daughters' approaches to life and to their father unravel a little at a time, and sometimes interacting with each other in interesting ways. One daughter, for example, begins seeing the man who jilted her older sister years before without knowing it's him, and when she finds out, you are concerned for both of them and how this is going to play out. The final scene is very touching and beautiful and ends the film perfectly. Overall a really beautiful movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Eat Drink Man Woman > Raising Cain

Eat Drink Man Woman > Chronicle

Eat Drink Man Woman < Revengers Tragedy

Eat Drink Man Woman > The Muppets

Eat Drink Man Woman < William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Eat Drink Man Woman > Cats and Dogs

Eat Drink Man Woman < Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead

Eat Drink Man Woman < Thermae Romae

Eat Drink Man Woman < They Live

Eat Drink Man Woman < Jackie Brown

Eat Drink Man Woman < Queen of Katwe

Eat Drink Man Woman > Loving Vincent

Final spot: #575 out of 3358, or 83%.

Half a Sixpence (1967)

IMDb plot summary: Arthur Kipps, an orphan apprenticed to a tyrannical owner of a mercantile, has a sudden abrupt change of life when his wealthy grandfather dies and leaves him a pile of money.

Directed by George Sidney. Starring Tommy Steele, Julia Foster, Cyril Ritchard, and Penelope Horner.

Like so many musicals, this is a long movie to be able to fit in all the tunes, but not a single one of these songs is a throwaway. Even the songs that in ANY other musical would have been time killers at best -- I'm thinking particularly of "Flash Bang" and "Money to Burn" -- become absolutely enthralling to watch here. I attribute some of that to Tommy Steele's magnetic energy. It'd be easier for him to become just "too much" in a movie, but here he brings a sense of joy to every song he's in, and made every single song thoroughly enjoyable. The rest of the cast is pretty good as well, but it's very definitely Steele who carries the movie, and he does it well. It's the first musical I've seen in awhile where I left genuinely wanting to find a cast album and get to know those songs better. It's too bad this one isn't better known, it's delightful.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Half a Sixpence > The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Half a Sixpence > Hoop Dreams

Half a Sixpence > He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not

Half a Sixpence < This Is Spinal Tap

Half a Sixpence < Shattered Glass

Half a Sixpence > Trust

Half a Sixpence < The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Half a Sixpence < The World's End

Half a Sixpence > Once

Half a Sixpence < I.Q.

Half a Sixpence < Inglourious Basterds

Half a Sixpence < A Simple Plan

Final spot: #366 out of 3357, or 89%.

Toys (1992)

IMDb plot summary: When Lieutenant General Leland Zevo (Sir Michael Gambon) inherits a toymaking company and begins making war toys, his employees band together to stop him before he ruins the name of Zevo Toys forever.

Directed by Barry Levinson. Starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, and Robin Wright.

This is an exceptionally odd movie. There are so many things that I think are meant to be whimsical or fun but are instead pretty terrifying. For example, there's a song about happy workers played in the factory early on that I think might be trying to convey a "Whistle While You Work" joviality but instead just creeps me out. The song later gets remixed as a dark electronic version as the new owner takes over, but that one isn't any creepier to me! I had trouble finding my footing in the film's humor, as well, I couldn't quite figure out how much of a manchild Robin Williams was supposed to be and couldn't get a handle on Joan Cusack at ALL (though the final few scenes with her helped). It has some good adventure sequences toward the end, but as a whole this aesthetic mostly misses me.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Toys < Raising Cain

Toys < Deceived

Toys > Jules and Jim

Toys > Brokeback Mountain

Toys > One 2 Ka 4

Toys < Get Smart

Toys < X2

Toys < Beaches

Toys > Throw Momma from the Train

Toys < Quitting

Toys < Howl's Moving Castle

Toys > Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?

Final spot: #2614 out of 3356, or 22%.

Mame (1974)

IMDb plot summary: Following the death of his father, an orphan is sent to live with his free-spirited aunt.

Directed by Gene Saks. Starring Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, Robert Preston, and Bruce Davison.

Lucille Ball plays the title character here, and while her singing chops aren't the best, she does bring a sense of tremendous warmth to this character which I haven't seen in other versions of this story. You truly feel Mame's generosity, which is important for the story's third act, where Mame is hurt that her nephew hasn't embraced those lessons of inclusivity and open-mindedness she tried so hard to instill in him. The songs are catchy and mostly pretty fun, with some good choreography and some weird choreography. There is an odd gap in the story at the end that made me wonder if I'd missed a scene. Mame does something outrageous, it blows up, her nephew is furious with her... and then it's suddenly six or seven years later and everything is fine now? It's an anticlimactic way to close out the story and is just plain confusing given the dynamic we'd been shown. The film definitely has its flaws, but if you like classic musicals, you'll probably enjoy this one.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Mame > The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Mame < Chronicle

Mame < Harakiri

Mame > Burn After Reading

Mame < Rabbit Hole

Mame < Munich

Mame < The Last Unicorn

Mame < Blood Diamond

Mame > A Few Good Men

Mame < The Ladykillers (2004)

Mame > Stolen Kisses

Final spot: #1459 out of 3355, or 57%.