The Naked Gun (2025)

IMDb plot summary: Following in his father's footsteps, a detective works to solve a murder case and save his police department from closure.

Directed by Akiva Schaffer. Stars Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, and Paul Walter Hauser.

The Naked Gun stars Liam Neeson as a police officer who stumbles into a new conspiracy plot filled with criminal masterminds and wildly escalating set pieces. I've actually never seen the original Naked Gun, so I can't compare this specifically to that, but this does feel very much in the spirit of other older ZAZ movies. It was way more fun than I expected. The jokes are a great mix of sharp wordplay, absurd misunderstandings, and delightfully stupid physical gags, and they come so quickly that you don't have time to roll your eyes at a bad joke before a better one comes along. I've very rarely seen Neeson do comedy, but he turns out to be a perfect fit here because of how dead serious he plays it; he's the perfect impassable idiot who never acknowledges the chaos happening around him. I really appreciate comedies that commit to being unapologetically silly, and this scratches that itch perfectly. It’s a fast, goofy, good-natured reboot that understands the assignment.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 The Naked Gun (2025)

📊 Ranked #1045/4144 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 75

beat How I Live Now (#2070 → #2071)

lost to The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (held at #1035)

beat Panic Room (#1552 → #1553)

beat The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (#1293 → #1294)

beat The River (#1164 → #1165)

beat National Lampoon's Vacation (#1099 → #1100)

beat La La Land (#1067 → #1068)

beat Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (#1051 → #1052)

lost to The Pirates of Penzance (held at #1043)

beat Hot Millions (#1047 → #1048)

beat Ocean's Eleven (#1045 → #1046)

lost to Fruitvale Station (held at #1044)

One of Them Days (2025)

IMDb plot summary: When best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa discover Alyssa's boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.

Directed by Lawrence Lamont. Stars Keke Palmer, SZA, and Vanessa Bell Calloway.

One of Them Days follows two best friends, played by Keke Palmer and SZA, whose quest to pay their rent spirals into a chaotic series of misadventures. This is such a classic trope story which depends entirely on how enjoyable the actual adventures are, and this one was an absolute blast from start to finish. Palmer and SZA have fantastic chemistry together. They’re so dynamic and funny as a pair, I could watch those characters interact for hours. I laughed out loud a lot, which is pretty rare for me, and the movie always keeps things fresh with sharp jokes, unexpected twists, and a brisk pace that keeps the energy moving. Alongside that, there's a sense of such warmth and community running through the whole thing that makes it all even stronger. This one is bright, bold, fun, and a girl-buddy comedy movie to put up there with the likes of Plan B and Bottoms.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 One of Them Days (2025)

📊 Ranked #396/4143 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 90

beat Deep Impact (#2070 → #2071)

beat Robin Hood (#1035 → #1036)

beat Soapdish (#517 → #518)

lost to A Woman Under the Influence (held at #258)

lost to Knock at the Cabin (held at #387)

beat Citizen Kane (#452 → #453)

beat Contagion (#419 → #420)

beat Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#403 → #404)

lost to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (held at #395)

beat Nativity! (#399 → #400)

beat The Producers (#397 → #398)

beat Wings of Desire (#396 → #397)

The Horse Whisperer (1998)

IMDb plot summary: The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.

Directed by Robert Redford. Stars Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Sam Neill.

The Horse Whisperer follows a teenage girl (played by a young Scarlett Johansson) who loses her leg in a car accident with her horse. She and the horse are both traumatized, and her mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) determines to meet up with renowned horse trainer Robert Redford who specializes in rehabilitation for horses. I usually dislike this kind of sweeping rural drama, but this one was more engaging than I expected. The film is far more focused on the slow-burn potential romance between Redford and Thomas than on the horse itself, which gives it a more relational, human-centered tone than its marketing suggested to me. The acting is strong across the board, and Johansson is fascinating to watch in an early role as a newly disabled teen. Still, the movie is undeniably long and slow, taking its time in ways that it can't always justified. But despite its length, it held my attention decently well, and the emotional nuance worked more often than not. 

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 The Horse Whisperer (1998)

📊 Ranked #2071/4142 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 50

lost to How I Live Now (held at #2069)

beat Chinatown (#3105 → #3106)

beat Life of Pi (#2587 → #2588)

beat Pete's Dragon (#2328 → #2329)

beat Spaceballs (#2198 → #2199)

beat Airborne (#2133 → #2134)

beat Phantom of the Opera (#2101 → #2102)

beat 2046 (#2085 → #2086)

beat Connie and Carla (#2077 → #2078)

beat Hamlet (#2073 → #2074)

beat Happythankyoumoreplease (#2071 → #2072)

lost to Deep Impact (held at #2070)

An Innocent Man (1989)

IMDb plot summary: After airline mechanic James Rainwood is framed by two corrupt police officers, he begins plotting his revenge against them.

Directed by Peter Yates. Stars Tom Selleck, F. Murray Abraham, and Laila Robins.

An Innocent Man follows an ordinary everyman played by Tom Selleck who’s wrongfully convicted by corrupt cops trying to cover up their own mistakes. He is sent to prison where he must toughen up to survive and eventually seek justice once he’s released. This sounds like it should be a tense, gripping thriller, but it turns out to be a pretty boring prison drama. Peter Yates made sharp, energetic films in his earlier years but at this point in his career he seems to have drifted into pure dullness in his later years, and this is another example of that. I genuinely struggled to remember most of it even moments after the credits rolled. The characters are all broad stereotypes: the hardened inmate, the cartoonishly evil guards, the unconvincing villains, the stoic hero. There’s no compelling character arc, nothing to elevate it above dozens of similar but better movies. Disappointingly flat and forgettable.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 An Innocent Man (1989)

📊 Ranked #3214/4083 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 21

lost to Fail Safe (#2027 → #839)

lost to My Darling Clementine (#3047 → #3043)

beat Johnny Tremain (#3571 → #3572)

beat Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (#3317 → #3377)

lost to Multiplicity (#3189 → #3186)

lost to State Fair (#3256 → #2940)

lost to What Lies Beneath (#3284 → #3263)

lost to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (#3299 → #3245)

beat Kinsey (#3303 → #3311)

beat That Darn Cat! (#3301 → #3316)

lost to ParaNorman (#3300 → #3201)

beat Zorba the Greek (#3302 → #3303)

Two Lovers (2008)

IMDb plot summary: A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.

Directed by James Gray. Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Vinessa Shaw.

Two Lovers follows Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix), a depressed man living with his parents, who becomes torn between two women: a beautiful but troubled neighbor and the kind, steady family friend his parents hope he’ll choose. I can see what the film is trying to do here. It's aiming to capture the emotional drift of this man caught between uncertain excitement and warm stability, but the execution ends up feeling mostly blah. Phoenix’s character is so muted that it’s hard to connect with him, and the film’s emotional beats land with a thud because there’s so little personality driving them. The ending aims for ambiguity but feels like it just gives up and lapses into a boring shrug rather than anything thought-provoking. The movie also meanders throughout, treading very familiar indie-drama ground without offering much new insight. By the time it wraps up, the whole thing has fizzled into nothing.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Two Lovers (2008)

📊 Ranked #3270/4082 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 20

lost to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (#2037 → #2048)

lost to Bully (#3057 → #2690)

beat Johnny Tremain (held at #3570)

beat The Pagemaster (#3313 → #3308)

lost to Multiplicity (#3185 → #3174)

beat The Dark Side of the Moon (#3249 → #3484)

beat Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (#3217 → #3271)

beat Thoroughly Modern Millie (#3200 → #3208)

beat Roman J. Israel, Esq. (#3192 → #3194)

beat The Bishop Murder Case (#3188 → #3187)

beat Shane (held at #3186)

Country Strong (2010)

IMDb plot summary: A rising country-music songwriter works with a fallen star to work their way to fame, causing romantic complications along the way.

Directed by Shana Feste. Stars Garrett Hedlund, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Leighton Meester.

Country Strong stars Gwyneth Paltrow as a troubled country music star attempting a comeback. She's also caught up in some sort of tangled love quadrangle with her husband/manager, played by Tim McGraw, and two up-and-coming singers, played by Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester. The film is such a boring, messy, weirdly pretentious slog that it’s hard to care about any of it. Somehow Tim McGraw ends up being the best actor in the cast, which I did NOT see coming, and says a lot for the fact that he's in a movie with many more seasoned actors. The plot mostly consists of everyone cheating on everyone else and making pretentious statement about what "real music" is, and the script is asking too much of us to stay emotionally invested in that. The movie wants to be a raw, soulful drama, but it’s ultimately just a messy, boring film that takes itself far more seriously than it should.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Country Strong (2010)

📊 Ranked #3484/4081 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 15

lost to De-Lovely (#2038 → #2035)

lost to Spider-Man: Homecoming (#3057 → #2836)

lost to Johnny Tremain (#3569 → #3570)

beat Duane Hopwood (#3823 → #3825)

beat Road to Morocco (held at #3696)

beat White Comanche (#3632 → #3633)

beat I, Robot (#3600 → #3601)

beat You Were Never Really Here (#3584 → #3589)

beat Hangman's Curse (#3576 → #3578)

beat Madigan (#3572 → #3575)

lost to The Importance of Being Earnest (#3570 → #3349)

lost to My Family (#3571 → #3572)

It's What's Inside (2024)

IMDb plot summary: A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that awakens long-hidden secrets, desires and grudges.

Directed by Greg Jardin. Stars Brittany O'Grady, James Morosini, and Gavin Leatherwood.

It’s What’s Inside is a clever, high-concept sci-fi thriller that takes place in a single location, following a group of college friends who reunite years later and end up testing out a bizarre new technology that allows them to body switch with each other, and things get weird. This is one of the more creative sci-fi films I’ve seen in a while. It's delightfully twisty but all the twists feel organic and earned. It pulls off the small cast and a contained setting and turns it into something surprising and delightful. The characters are sketched out strongly enough that you care about them as things get stranger, making the escalating chaos more gripping than gimmicky. By the end, I was fully won over. It's smart and weird, and I’m so glad I caught it. Definitely recommend this one.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 It's What's Inside (2024)

📊 Ranked #627/4080 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 84

beat The Act of Killing (#2036 → #2043)

beat The Quick and the Dead (#1016 → #1038)

lost to The Matrix (#508 → #488)

beat Destroy All Monsters (#762 → #1201)

beat The Jungle Book (#635 → #641)

beat The Courtship of Eddie's Father (#571 → #572)

lost to Sleeping Beauty (#539 → #531)

beat Brooklyn (#555 → #828)

beat Only Yesterday (#547 → #587)

beat Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead (#543 → #633)

lost to The Big Sick (#541 → #570)

lost to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (#542 → #528)