10 (1979)

IMDb plot summary: A Hollywood composer goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy, newly married woman.

Directed by Blake Edwards. Starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek, and Robert Webber.

It's to Dudley Moore's credit that he makes this character less insufferable than I usually find protagonists of this ilk. There's a genuine sadness to him that makes it easier to empathize with him when he's acting like a jerk. That being said, I DON'T care that much about his character arc or him realizing what he does or doesn't want out of life. There are a lot of moments here that I suspect are being mined for comedy, but they don't land for me, they're too broad and too incongruous when placed haphazardly into the character's much more dismal life story. In short, this is a frequently-told story that I don't find much to like to begin with, and this version has one or two spots of interest but doesn't win me over in the end.

How it entered my Flickchart:

10 < High School Musical 3: Senior Year

10 > The Cocoanuts

10 > Midnight Cowboy

10 < The Boston Strangler

10 < No Highway in the Sky

10 > Bully

10 > Revolutionary Road

10 < Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

10 < Jurassic World

10 > Star Trek Into Darkness

10 > Iron Eagle

10 > Withnail & I

Final spot: #1981 out of 3303, or 40%.

The Paper (1994)

IMDb plot summary: New York City tabloid editor Henry's faced with tough decisions while he faces several serious life challenges, and a tempting job offer.

Directed by Ron Howard. Starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, and Marisa Tomei.

There are moments where this movie seems to be spinning off into soap opera-level drama, particularly in the last half hour, but it never quite falls into absurdity and all seems to fit into the world that has been built for us. Everything is heightened here, and the effect is a little dizzying, but it's a fun and enjoyable watch, especially if you're a fan of newspaper movies already.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Paper > High School Musical 3: Senior Year

The Paper > The Black Cat

The Paper < Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

The Paper < You Can't Take It With You

The Paper < The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

The Paper > Before Sunset

The Paper < Role Models

The Paper < The Man Who Wasn't There

The Paper > Apollo 13

The Paper < This Boy's Life

The Paper < The African Queen

The Paper > The Man in the Iron Mask

Final spot: #765 out of 3302, or 77%.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017)

IMDb plot summary: Can twelve 12-year-olds escape from the most ridiculously brilliant library ever created? Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library plunks a dozen sixth-graders into the middle of a futuristic library for a night of nonstop fun and adventure.

Directed by Scott McAboy. Starring Casey Simpson, Breanna Yde, Klarke Pikpin, and AJ Rivera.

This is the kind of thing I would have EATEN UP as a child, and I still find myself smiling fondly at it now. The various children in the story are drawn broadly but effectively, there's some simple character growth involved, and none of the child actors are irritating or cloying. It's clearly not intended for adults but it's a cute, charming piece that I can definitely see being a favorite for nerdy youngsters like I was.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library < High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library > The Cocoanuts

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library > Nashville

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library > The Boston Strangler

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library < Pulp Fiction

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library < Like Crazy

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library < When a Stranger Calls (1979)

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library > Marathon

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library > Moonstruck

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library > Shame (1968)

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library < Notorious

Final spot: #1835 out of 3301, or 44%.

New Faces (1954)

IMDb plot summary: A filmed performance (in CinemaScope) of the highly popular Broadway hit that was basically a collection of skits, sketches, songs and dances built around a flimsy plot to meld them all together.

Directed by Harry Horner and John Beal. Starring Ronny Graham, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, and Alice Ghostley.

There's no plot here to speak of, it's mostly just a camera pointed at a stage as the actors perform a series of individual scenes and songs, which, to my understanding, was how the original Broadway production went as well. It's honestly the kind of transfer that's a little befuddling to me -- why adapt this into a cinematic style when a couple cameras pointed at the stage capturing a live performance would have done just as well, probably better, because of getting a genuine audience reaction? Well, whatever the reason, it's fine. The version I watched was pretty clearly an old VHS transfer and both video and sound quality was pretty iffy, but there was still enough I was able to enjoy. Most of the songs are interesting in the stories they tell, and each individual piece is pretty good. A particular favorite was the "Lizzie Borden" number and the short-but-amusing "Waltzing in Venice."

How it entered my Flickchart:

New Faces < To Be or Not to Be

New Faces > The Cocoanuts

New Faces > Nashville

New Faces > The Boston Strangler

New Faces > Pulp Fiction

New Faces > Small Time Crooks

New Faces < The Firemen's Ball

New Faces > Deceiver

New Faces > All the Money in the World

New Faces > The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

New Faces > Downfall

Final spot: #1677 out of 3300, or 49%.

Bad Santa (2003)

IMDb plot summary: A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.

Directed by Terry Zwigoff. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, and Lauren Graham.

I didn't enjoy a SINGLE second of this. The primary brand of humor seems to be that cursing at/around kids is incongruous and therefore inherently funny, or maybe that seeing someone in a Santa suit spout sexual innuendo is funny. I'm not opposed to dirty humor, but none of these lines are clever or interesting, and I'm done with the shock value after about 5 minutes and ready for it to move on to something else. Unfortunately, it never does, and just treads the same old jokes over and over again, but they never land any better. At least this movie is mercifully short at just barely over an hour and a half.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Bad Santa < To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Bad Santa < The Cocoanuts

Bad Santa < Oklahoma! (1955)

Bad Santa < The Art of War

Bad Santa < Laserblast

Bad Santa > Don't Touch If You Ain't Prayed

Bad Santa < Ladies in Lavender

Bad Santa > Identity Thief

Bad Santa < The Truth About Charlie

Bad Santa < Paulie

Bad Santa < Ella Enchanted

Bad Santa < The Ultimate Gift

Final spot: #3235 out of 3299, or 2%.

The Speed Cubers (2020)

IMDb plot summary: Discover the special bond -- and uncommon competitive spirit -- shared by the world's Rubik's Cube-solving record breakers in this documentary.

Directed by Sue Kim.

This documentary is short and sweet (in both senses of the word), though its length makes the actual championship section itself feel somewhat rushed, as the whole thing is over in a matter of minutes. It's always heartwarming to see young people pursuing something they're passionate about, especially when they've had trouble finding other passions in the past, and even more so to see them encouraging each other over it. It's a charming little film, if not one I'm going to remember for very long.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Speed Cubers > High School Musical 3: Senior Year

The Speed Cubers < Hoop Dreams

The Speed Cubers < Ramona and Beezus

The Speed Cubers > An Affair to Remember

The Speed Cubers > Never a Dull Moment

The Speed Cubers < War Horse

The Speed Cubers < Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

The Speed Cubers > Dark Shadows

The Speed Cubers > Rachel, Rachel

The Speed Cubers < Clueless

The Speed Cubers > Once Upon a Mattress

Final spot: #1317 out of 3297, or 60%.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

IMDb plot summary: When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father and one brother's wife hurtling towards a shattering climax.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei.

I like that this is almost a half-and-half family drama/crime movie. The tension of the crime only works with the familial relationships underpinning the whole situation. Both primary actors, as well as Albert Finney as their father, are superb in their roles. They really highlight the humanity of fear and loss in a way that I often feel gets overlooked in crime films. I also enjoy how the film plays with time and perspective, moving back and forth in time to highlight one person's experience of this event, and frequently revealing something in each section that forces us to look at the previous entries in a new light. It's a superbly paced film in terms of unraveling the mystery bit by bit, and thoroughly engaging all the way through.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > To Be or Not To Be (1947)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < Hoop Dreams

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Ramona and Beezus

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Full Metal Jacket

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Undercover Blues

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > A Christmas Carol (1951)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > Logan's Run

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < Children of Men

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead < RoboCop

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead > The Hudsucker Proxy

Final spot: #937 out of 3298, or 72%.