The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

IMDb plot summary: When an archeologist uncovers a strange skull in foreign land, the residents of a nearby town begin to disappear, leading to further unexplainable occurrences.
Directed by Ken Russell. Starring Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, and Peter Capaldi.

This is exactly what you would expect from a movie called "The Lair of the White Worm." It is ridiculous and campy and ludicrous but also pretty darn fun. I enjoyed seeing very young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi. The enjoyably cheesy gothic dialogue really brought the whole thing home for me. A fun watch, though I'm not sure I could ever call it a *good* movie as much as just an entertaining one.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Lair of the White Worm > Incredibles 2
The Lair of the White Worm < Dredd
The Lair of the White Worm < Death to Smoochy
The Lair of the White Worm > Finding Forrester
The Lair of the White Worm > The Prestige
The Lair of the White Worm > Monsters and Men
The Lair of the White Worm < Good Time
The Lair of the White Worm > Frances Ha
The Lair of the White Worm > A Fistful of Dollars
The Lair of the White Worm < Hamlet (1990)
Final spot: #1129 out of 2936.

Holiday (2018)

IMDb plot summary: A love triangle featuring the trophy girlfriend of a petty drug lord, caught up in a web of luxury and violence in a modern dark gangster tale set in the beautiful port city of Bodrum on the Turkish Riviera.
Directed by Isabella Eklöf. Starring Victoria Carmen Sonne, Lai Yde, Thijs Römer, and Michiel de Jong.

This is a difficult review to write, because objectively, this movie does most things well. It creates our main character and the difficult situation she's in with minimal dialogue and great acting, but I just don't feel myself gripped by it, not even in the more intense moments of the movie. It's a film I admire from a distance but feel nothing about, even though it's hard to actually come up with anything negative to say about it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Holiday < Logan
Holiday > Braveheart
Holiday > How I Live Now
Holiday < Blade Runner
Holiday > The Giver
Holiday > My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Holiday > The Whistleblower
Holiday > Despicable Me
Holiday > In Time
Holiday > The Milagro Beanfield War
Final spot: #1654 out of 2935.

Invictus (2009)

IMDb plot summary: Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, and Patrick Mofokeng.

This is an interesting genre hybrid we don't see too often: a political/sports movie. It was also kind of fascinating to watch 10 years after it came out when it feels like my country is also spectacularly fractured (though obviously not to the extent or for the reasons that we see here) -- seeing anything uniting a fractured country through compassion and forgiveness gives me hope. And tying that into people's love for sport almost made me care about the outcome of the Big Sports Game! Almost. It didn't come together quite as much as I wanted it to in the end, but the lead-up to it was more interesting than I anticipated.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Invictus > Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Invictus < Rock of Ages
Invictus < Death to Smoochy
Invictus > No eres tu, soy yo
Invictus < The Prestige
Invictus > Pitch Perfect 2
Invictus < Lucky Number Slevin
Invictus < To Be or Not to Be
Invictus < Moonwalker
Invictus > The Chalk Garden
Invictus > Spider-Man: Homecoming
Invictus > Meet John Doe
Final spot: #1232 out of 2934.

Captive State (2019)

IMDb plot summary: Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and dissidents.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt. Starring John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, and Vera Farmiga.

This is somehow the most tedious alien invasion action thriller I've ever seen. And it's not because nothing happens -- there are chase scenes and fight scenes and there's intrigue, but it somehow all happens under an extremely bland umbrella. Every actor seems to be phoning it in, including John Goodman, who can be excellent but is just as bland as everyone else here. Even its big dramatic twist ending is extremely underwhelming and seems to be drowning in tonal drudgery.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Captive State < Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Captive State > Lincoln
Captive State < How I Live Now
Captive State < Boys Don't Cry
Captive State > The Toy That Saved Christmas
Captive State < Twist of Faith
Captive State < I, Robot
Captive State < Les Miserables (1935)
Captive State < Frankenstein
Captive State > Fun Size
Captive State > Defending Your Life
Captive State < Wind River
Final spot: #2104 out of 2933.

Captain Marvel (2019)

IMDb plot summary: Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck. Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, and Jude Law.

I think I'm hitting that point with MCU movies where even when they don't really connected to the rest of the MCU very strongly, I just feel tired watching them. Black Panther managed to be unique enough to push past that barrier, but this one mostly just feels like The Origin-est of All Origin Stories. There's not a single unexpected moment or turn in here. I feel like I've seen this movie at LEAST six times before. It's an all right movie in and of itself, I had an OK time watching it, but it would be better if it was like... the first movie I'd ever seen and I had nothing to compare it to. But I'm glad it exists. Representation is good.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Captain Marvel < John Dies at the End
Captain Marvel > Lincoln
Captain Marvel > How I Live Now
Captain Marvel > The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Captain Marvel < Ghost Ship
Captain Marvel < Ballet Shoes
Captain Marvel < Hustle & Flow
Captain Marvel > Runaway Jury
Captain Marvel > Code 46
Captain Marvel < Black Snake Moan

Final spot: #1630 out of 2932.

Us (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A family's serenity turns to chaos when a group of doppelgängers begins to terrorize them.
Directed by Jordan Peele. Starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex.

I absolutely loved this from beginning to end. I'm not sure it's as culturally essential as Get Out was, but I think I enjoyed it more. I was slightly dissatisfied with Get Out's plot reveal, while a similar reveal in Us delighted me. It's terrifying and sad and an amazing balance of humor with horror and just beautifully done overall.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Us > Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Us > Rock of Ages
Us > Breaking Away
Us > Kes
Us < Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Us < The Rocketeer
Us < A Quiet Place
Us > Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Us > Another Woman
Us > Repulsion
Us > Speed

Final spot: #161 out of 2931.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

IMDb plot summary: A scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman.
Directed by Stephen Frears. Starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Swoosie Kurtz.

(Mild spoilers ahead.)

This has more than a touch of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? about it, in that it's a powerplay between two horrendous people doing horrendous things. Here, though, I find it difficult to really engage with the two leads' battle for power because I find it so unpleasant to watch Malkovich's character abuse and assault and rape the women around him. I know we're supposed to know he's a terrible person, but I hated him so much at the end that even when he attempts some sort of redemption or garnering any genuine sympathy, I'm entirely cold to him. I find Close's ending far more compelling because, while she is a despicable Iago-style villain, I don't have to watch the immediate hurt and fear and panic she instills in people the way I did him.

All that being said, though, this film is cleverfully scripted, skillfully acted, and beautifully shot (seriously, every shot in the final 10 minutes is just gorgeous). There's a lot to like about it, and when I've distanced myself a bit emotionally from the ugliness I just watched, I suspect I'll appreciate it more for what it is. I suspect it will sit with me for awhile.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dangerous Liaisons > Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Dangerous Liaisons < Doctor Strange
Dangerous Liaisons < Death to Smoochy
Dangerous Liaisons > No eres tu, soy yo
Dangerous Liaisons > The Prestige
Dangerous Liaisons > Monsters and Men
Dangerous Liaisons > Good Time
Dangerous Liaisons > I Am Legend
Dangerous Liaisons < The Happening
Dangerous Liaisons > John Wick
Dangerous Liaisons > Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Final spot: #1105 out of 2930.