Abigail (2024)

IMDb plot summary: After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, and Alisha Weir.

Abigail follows a group of mercenary criminals hired in a highly-mysterious heist to kidnap a young girl and hold her hostage from her powerful father. Once they find out who her father is, though, and the bizarre legends surrounding him, they start to second guess the job... and then things get worse. This is fun enough as a horror movie, with some good moments and entertaining effects. It does get unexpectedly gross at a few moments, but not necessarily in a way that works against the movie. It is, however, increasingly difficult to remember much about it. I know I enjoyed it while watching it, but it turns out to be ultimately a very unmemorable movie. I wonder if maybe a sillier tone would bring some extra oomph to the story, especially once the big reveal happens. Worth a watch if you're a horror fan, but it doesn't stand quite as strongly on its own.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Abigail > Killing Season

Abigail < In the Name of the Father

Abigail < Peeping Tom

Abigail > Trading Places

Abigail < The Dresser

Abigail < Man Hunt

Abigail < Splice

Abigail > Rififi

Abigail > My Week With Marilyn

Abigail < Knight and Day

Abigail < Exotica

Abigail < Anna and the Apocalypse

Final spot: #1737 out of 4025, or 57%.

The Man From Earth (2007)

IMDb plot summary: An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.

Directed by Richard Schenkman. Starring David Lee Smith, Tony Todd, and John Billingsley.

The Man From Earth begins with a group of academics helping their friend and co-worker move, and as they talk, he poses a hypothetical: What if he were actually an immortal caveman who's lived for millennia? Could he prove or disprove it? His friends begin a lively debate on the topic, but as time goes on, more of them begin to wonder if it's actually true. This is a unique film that absolutely reeks of super-low budget but a creative writer. It's a one-room, real-time, talky theatrical piece that often slightly missteps in its execution but in a way that feels charmingly homemade for me and my roots in minimalist theater. Seeing how the different characters react to this preposterous claim is a lot of fun, and I found myself trying to, in a sense, solve the puzzle along with them and decipher who this person was. It felt like being invited along on a thought experiment with a group of interesting people, and even if the music was cheesy and the dialogue occasionally pretentious or awkward, it was the kind of experience I don't often get from films and very much enjoyed. If anything, the film's flaws actually add to its vibe, and I had a great time with it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Man From Earth > Killing Season

The Man From Earth > In the Name of the Father

The Man From Earth < Network

The Man From Earth < Spencer

The Man From Earth < Shiva Baby

The Man From Earth < Erin Brockovich

The Man From Earth > Mister Roberts

The Man From Earth < Sherlock Jr.

The Man From Earth > Love's Labour's Lost

The Man From Earth < Dogma

The Man From Earth < Night Must Fall

The Man From Earth < The Substance

Final spot: #966 out of 4024, or 76%.

Road House (2024)

IMDb plot summary: Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.

Directed by Doug Liman. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, and Conor McGregor.

Road House is a 2024 remake of a 1980s movie I have never seen. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a former wrestler who takes a job as a bouncer of sorts at a bar in the Florida Keys that attracts some serious troublemakers. As he works to keep the place safe, he begins to find some sketchy business deals might be behind the increase in violent behavior. What a strange, silly movie this is. Gyllenhaal is extremely entertaining with his sense of absolute detachment from the entire situation, casually tossing exhausted one-liners as he pummels the film's villains. It's pure ridiculousness, and as far as that vein goes, it does its job pretty well. It loses its way a bit when it tries to get sincere or do basically anything with the female characters. We spend a little bit too much time on back stories and unraveling mysteries when that's not what the film really cares about, and as such there are some long dull sections. But when the film is just being goofy, it's a fun watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Road House < Killing Season

Road House > City Slickers

Road House > Val

Road House > A Bridge Too Far

Road House > The Black Pirate

Road House < Be Kind Rewind

Road House < Passing

Road House < The Beach

Road House > My Girl

Road House < Malignant

Road House < Fatherhood

Road House > The Trial

Final spot: #2128 out of 4023, or 47%.

Men Without Law (1930)

IMDb plot summary: Returning from the war, Buck finds his younger brother in trouble; while trailing him he gets caught by Murdock, who takes his letter of introduction to the Del Rays.

Directed by Louis King. Starring Buck Jones, Carmelita Geraghty, and Thomas Carr.

Men Without Law follows a soldier who comes home from the war to find his younger brother getting into trouble with the wrong people. The soldier tries to help his brother get everything pulled together, but the leader of the brother's gang isn't about to let him leave. This story kind of wanders all over the place for being so short, and as I typed up the synopsis I kept remembering other subplots that I'd forgotten about -- there's a whole thing with the family of one of the soldier's army buddy, and the gang leader impersonates him to get their money... It's definitely entertaining enough, but it meanders. I wish it settled more definitively on some of these stories, because each one individually is pretty engaging, but watching them interact with each other isn't. A pretty middle-of-the-road watch for my 1930 project.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Men Without Law < Hamlet (2009)

Men Without Law > City Slickers

Men Without Law > Val

Men Without Law > A Bridge Too Far

Men Without Law < Meet John Doe

Men Without Law > Arlo the Alligator Boy

Men Without Law < Anna

Men Without Law < Critical Care

Men Without Law < The Morning After

Men Without Law > Licorice Pizza

Men Without Law < The Lighthouse

Men Without Law < The Baby-Sitters Club

Final spot: #2195 out of 4022, or 45%.

Anora (2024)

IMDb plot summary: A young stripper from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Directed by Sean Baker. Starring Mikey Madison, Paul Weissman, and Yura Borisov.

Anora is the name of the film's title character, although she goes by Ani. She's a club dancer who hits it off with a rich Russian playboy, and as they get closer and closer, it looks like she's going to get a Cinderella-style happy ending until suddenly everything goes sideways. I was a big fan of The Florida Project by the same director, and when Anora started getting all the awards love, I was looking forward to seeing it. I have to say it didn't hit quite the same way for me. I find our lead character likable and relatable, especially as she's put in horrible circumstances and continuously fights back. But there's an odd tonal shift here that I couldn't place until I saw that it was being credited in some circles as a "screwball comedy," and while I don't think it's particularly funny, there is a zany "I can't believe this is happening" vibe to the second half of the film, and it makes for an odd journey. The final scenes come back to working for me a little bit more, but it doesn't all cohere as smoothly as I hoped a Best Picture winner might. This one might need to sit with me for awhile and then get a revisit, to see if it gels better with me.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Anora > Killing Season

Anora < Elf

Anora > 7 Plus Seven

Anora < Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Anora > The Minus Man

Anora < Trick 'r Treat

Anora < A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Anora > A Star Is Born (1937)

Anora > Prometheus

Anora > The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Anora > Trouble in Paradise

Anora > Moby Dick (1930)

Final spot: #1350 out of 4020, or 66%.

Moana (2016)

IMDb plot summary: In ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the demigod Maui reaches Moana's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out Maui to set things right.

Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, and Don Hall. Starring Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, and Rachel House.

Moana is a Disney film about the daughter of a Pacific Island chief on a remote island that seems to be losing its ability to sustain its people. She thinks she's found what will revive their island, but it involves leaving the island and adventuring across the sea, which her father is staunchly against. This was a movie that has been on my "I need to see this" list for a LONG time and I'm glad I finally got around to it, because it's quite good. I kind of knew some of the songs going into it, but they're significantly more interesting in the context of the story. I'm happy to join the chorus of folks lauding "How Far I'll Go" as one of the best "I want" songs Disney's put out there. The story is simple but well-crafted, hitting all the beats you want a story like this to hit. It is of course also very nice to have a princess story where the crux of the main character's arc doesn't revolve around her marriage. Overall, definitely one of Disney's stronger efforts this century, and I'm glad I finally got to watch it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Moana > Killing Season

Moana > Key Largo

Moana < Network

Moana > Theater Camp

Moana > Sleeping Beauty

Moana < Black Panther

Moana > Regarding Henry

Moana > I've Loved You So Long

Moana < Tomboy

Moana > Lawrence of Arabia

Moana < Paddington 2

Moana > Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Final spot: #574 out of 4021, or 86%.

Rebel Ridge (2024)

IMDb plot summary: A former Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief.

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Starring Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, and AnnaSophia Robb.

Rebel Ridge follows a man who is on the way to post bail for his cousin when the local cops pull him over and seize his money. He tries to get it back, but the police are having none of it, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. I first learned about civil forfeiture from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and it astounded me that something that seemed so blatantly wrong was an active legal practice, and this was a fascinating look at the specifics of how that can be used against people. The film is paced oddly, and I still can't decide if I like it or not -- it seems to jump from mood to mood throughout the course of the story, and I kept thinking it was one kind of story and then it would abruptly shift to another, which was often exciting, but also incohesive. That being said, it did effectively create an atmosphere of being trapped by corrupt authorities and having no available recourse. I'm not sure it stuck the landing as well as I'd have hoped, but I think some of that is coming from its uncertainty as to what kind of story it wanted to be -- if your story isn't clear, the ending isn't going to be able to fully satisfy. Still a good movie and worth a watch, but it was missing something for me to make it a great movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Rebel Ridge > Can't Hardly Wait

Rebel Ridge < Elf

Rebel Ridge < 7 Plus Seven

Rebel Ridge > You've Got Mail

Rebel Ridge > The HItchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Rebel Ridge > Glory

Rebel Ridge > Begin Again

Rebel Ridge > All That Jazz

Rebel Ridge > For a Few Dollars More

Rebel Ridge > Family Business

Rebel Ridge > National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Rebel Ridge > Mrs. Brown

Final spot: #1508 out of 4019, or 62%.