1408 (2007)

IMDb plot summary: A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
Directed by Mikael Håfström. Starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, and Tony Shalhoub.

I knew this was an adaptation of a Stephen King story and that it was set in a hotel room, but that's about all I knew going in. It definitely has a strong atmosphere to it, and it builds nicely in the horror throughout, aside from about a 20-minute stretch in the middle where I became very keenly aware of how much it was just a list of creepy things happening. Had that section been cut or shortened and the momentum not lost, I think this movie would land higher on my chart. As it is, I think it's pretty decent but not great. It's very Stephen King-esque, in that the spooky parts are effective and the dramatic parts mostly rub me the wrong way. (I also discovered there are like four different filmed endings to this. I watched the one identified on Wikipedia as the "Director's Cut Ending.")

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
1408 > The Post
1408 < Up in the Air
1408 > Phantom Thread
1408 < The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
1408 < Batman
1408 < Misery
1408 < John Carter
1408 < Punch-Drunk Love
1408 < Thor
1408 > Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl
1408 < Hamlet (1990)

Final spot: #1070 out of 2861.

Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)

IMDb plot summary: Cleo, a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
Directed by Agnès Varda. Starring Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, and Dorothée Blanck.

This is the kind of story that a lot of filmmakers try to tell -- a slow, musing look at someone's reaction to terrible news or, in this case, anticipation of terrible news. Some of these are great, others are just slow and meaningless. This one falls somewhere in between for me, but leaning toward greatness, and I feel like another rewatch or two might bring that out for me. The editing is particularly interesting, as it does a really phenomenal job of getting into the anxious mind of the character as she goes from activity to activity, trying to get her mind off the news she is certain is coming. There are pieces of this that I think are really beautiful (her fights with her maid, her breakdown over music, her interactions with the soldier toward the end) as well as quite a few that just don't gel with me (most notably the silent movie she watches with her friend). There's a lot to like about it overall, though, and I'm glad I saw it.

3.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Cleo from 5 to 7 > The Whole Nine Yards
Cleo from 5 to 7 < What the Deaf Man Heard
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Frances Ha
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Cool Runnings
Cleo from 5 to 7 < Christmas in Connecticut
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Smiles of a Summer Night
Cleo from 5 to 7 < Kolya
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Battle Royale
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Last Year at Marienbad
Cleo from 5 to 7 > All That Jazz
Cleo from 5 to 7 < The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
Final spot: #829 out of 2860.

Kicking & Screaming (2005)

IMDb plot summary: Family man Phil Weston, a lifelong victim of his father's competitive nature, takes on the coaching duties of a kids' soccer team, and soon finds that he's also taking on his father's dysfunctional way of relating.
Directed by Jesse Dylan. Starring Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka, and Kate Walsh.

I mentioned to one person I was watching this for my movie challenge, and got an "I'm sorry" kind of response. But, honestly, this isn't bad. I mean, it's not *good* or anything. But it's pretty inoffensive. I seldom find Will Ferrell as annoying as many of the other comedians he gets compared to. And this is such a weirdly low-key movie, even with these little moments of more manic comedy. It's still just kind of... pleasant. No personality to speak of, but at least it didn't bother me. If it had more of a personality I'd probably have more to say of it, but as it is, it's a definite "*shrug* Sure," without any strong opinion. (Making this the most boring review ever. Sorry about that.)

2 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kicking & Screaming < Wedding Crashers
Kicking & Screaming > The French Connection
Kicking & Screaming > The Ides of March
Kicking & Screaming < Dakota Skye
Kicking & Screaming > 13 Going on 30
Kicking & Screaming < Martian Child
Kicking & Screaming < Mission: Impossible
Kicking & Screaming < Scrooge
Kicking & Screaming > Bounce
Kicking & Screaming < Rebecca
Kicking & Screaming > Days of Heaven

Final spot: #1689 out of 2859.

Kwaidan (1964)

IMDb plot summary: A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Starring Michiyo Aratama, Rentarô Mikuni, Keiko Kishi, and Tatsuya Nakadai.

I knew nothing about this movie going in, not even that it was an anthology movie (and barely that it was a horror movie). While the first two stories are more compelling to me than the last two, the movie as a whole is stunning, both in terms of its look and its stories. It's so atmospheric and vivid. I'm glad I finally sat down and watched this one.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kwaidan > V/H/S
Kwaidan > Peggy Sue Got Married
Kwaidan < Silver Linings Playbook
Kwaidan > American Dreamz
Kwaidan < Rurouni Kenshin
Kwaidan < Cats
Kwaidan < The Hunger Games
Kwaidan > Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Kwaidan < The Land Before Time
Kwaidan < Beetlejuice
Kwaidan < Grave of the Fireflies
Kwaidan < What We Do in the Shadows

Final spot: #523 out of 2858.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

IMDb plot summary: In 1980s Italy, a romance blossoms between a seventeen year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino. Starring Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Amira Casar.

There are a lot of things about this that I really love. There are some stunning performances here and some really lovely bits of dialogue. (I was particularly drawn to Michael Stuhlbarg's ending monologue.) That being said though, I had a real tough time with the age gap between the characters. Even taking into account the much lower age of consent in Italy and how assertive Elio is in this relationship, he is such a *teenager* that it is tough not to see Oliver as predatory from very early on, and that colors the story in ways I couldn't get past. A lot of good things, but one that weighs down the rest of the movie for me.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Call Me By Your Name < Oliver Twist
Call Me By Your Name > The In-Laws
Call Me By Your Name > A Dangerous Method
Call Me By Your Name > Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
Call Me By Your Name > The 'Burbs
Call Me By Your Name > Must Love Dogs
Call Me By Your Name > The Dresser
Call Me By Your Name < Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Call Me By Your Name > A Time to Kill
Call Me By Your Name > The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
Call Me By Your Name > Cinderella (1950)

Final spot: #1441 out of 2857.

Sharknado 4: The Forth Awakens (2016)

IMDb plot summary: Fin, his family and the cosmos have been blissfully sharknado-free in the five years since the most recent attack, but now sharks and tornadoes are being whipped up in unexpected ways and places.
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante. Starring Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Masiela Lusha, and Cody Linley.

I watched the first Sharknado several years ago and found it decently enjoyable, if not as funny as other people found it. There needs to be a bit more earnestness involved in liking a so-bad-it's-good movie for its badness, and more jokes involved for it to be an actually-good-and-funny movie. I never saw parts two and three, but having seen part four, I don't really feel an urge to go back and watch them. This installment leans heavily on the tongue-in-cheek but without actually incorporating humor so much as just calling everything a "[random item]nado" and frequently quoting other, better, movies. It's mostly just... loud, both visually and auditorily. I don't even think it would be fun to snark with a group, there's too much happening the whole time and it's very distracting. So... not inspired to hop back into this franchise.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Sharknado 4 < Nowhere Boy
Sharknado 4 < The In-Laws
Sharknado 4 < The Yellow Handkerchief
Sharknado 4 > Yours, Mine & Ours (2005)
Sharknado 4 < Clash of the Titans (1981)
Sharknado 4 > Bright Eyes
Sharknado 4 > Celebrity
Sharknado 4 < Frida
Sharknado 4 < Three Guys Named Mike
Sharknado 4 > Sahara (2017)
Sharknado 4 > A Cinderella Story
Sharknado 4 > If Only

Final spot: #2605 out of 2856.

Summer Stock (1950)

IMDb plot summary: A small-town farmer, down on her luck, finds her homestead invaded by a theatrical troupe invited to stay by her ne'er-do-well sister.
Directed by Charles Walters. Starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, and Gloria DeHaven.

While this movie doesn't knock me off my feet the way a few classic musicals do, it's really solid. Plenty of Gene Kelly dancing, plenty of Judy Garland singing, a charming little love story, and even though it's a little bit confusing as to how this can actually end well for most of these characters (thinking about the logistics of their future relationships is not terribly positive), it taps into that "good old-fashioned happy ending" feeling that I knew I instinctively wanted for this movie from the moment it opened. My favorite moment was the Kelly dance sequence where he uses the sounds of the stage around him -- a creaky floorboard, a newspaper on the floor -- to create new sounds and rhythms to play with. It's the sort of carefree, "well, hey, look what I can do" style I've always loved in Kelly's dancing, and it really works here. Overall, a good movie, if not necessarily a great one.

3.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Summer Stock > Father of the Bride Part II
Summer Stock < The Hustler
Summer Stock > Lilies of the Field
Summer Stock > Mr. Holmes
Summer Stock > Flight of the Navigator
Summer Stock < Spellbound (2002)
Summer Stock < Inherit the Wind
Summer Stock < Bubba Ho-tep
Summer Stock > Pushing Tin
Summer Stock > 28 Up
Summer Stock < Au Revoir Les Enfants

Final spot: #794 out of 2855.