Cell 211 (2009)

IMDb plot summary: The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.

Directed by Daniel Monzón. Stars Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, and Antonio Resines.

Cell 211 is set in a maximum-security prison in Spain where the most dangerous prisoners successfully take over their cell block. Unbeknownst to them, a brand-new guard is trapped in the closed-off block, and he must convince the prisoners that he is one of them. I did not have high hopes for this one going into it, but it turned out to be a surprisingly and enjoyably taut thriller. It's especially interesting to watch the relationship build between the main character and the primary antagonist. Our protagonist is intelligent and makes quick savvy decisions in this situation he finds himself in. It also does a little bit more of a nuanced job than prison films sometimes do at looking at the question of treatment of the prisoners. While these men are absolutely violent and dangerous and not to be messed with, it does also show how additional violence visited upon them does not fix the problem. An enjoyable action thriller that has a little bit of depth beneath it. Pretty good watch!

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Cell 211 (2009)

📊 Ranked #1995/4287 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 54

beat Another Earth (#2152 → #2145)

lost to Hoop Dreams (#1093 → #1114)

lost to The Long Day Closes (#1622 → #1634)

lost to Lifeforce (#1883 → #1745)

beat Lord of the Flies (#2019 → #2100)

lost to Imitation of Life (#1951 → #1927)

beat Struck by Lightning (#1985 → #2082)

lost to The Informer (#1969 → #1825)

beat Drive My Car (#1977 → #1988)

lost to One Hundred and One Dalmatians (#1973 → #1995)

lost to Dark and Stormy Night (#1975 → #1976)

lost to Murder on the Orient Express (#1976 → #1854)

Dark Waters (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.

Directed by Todd Haynes. Stars Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, and Tim Robbins.

Dark Waters tells the true story of lawyer Robert Bilott, played by Mark Ruffalo, who began his career in the employ of a chemical corporation. However, he begins to discover that that company may be responsible for some horrific effects after dumping unregulated chemicals, and he sets out to try to prove it and get restitution for the victims. This is pretty well-told, although it's a deeply depressing story. Mark Ruffalo is very good at playing this sort of worn down bureaucratic character who is going to do the right thing even if he's exhausted. Despite this being an important story and well told, I did find myself tuning out a little bit and emotionally disengaging because of feeling overwhelmed by how common this kind of behavior actually is, which is of course I'm sure the exact opposite of the reaction that I was intended to have for this film. But I came around a bit by the end. Closing out the film in the middle of the struggle, rather than with a neat bow, was unexpectedly encouraging as a reminder that there are still people who are fighting for those who can't fight for themselves. A depressing film which offers a tiny glimpse of hope that was much needed at the end.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Dark Waters (2019)

📊 Ranked #1630/4288 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 63

beat The Woman in Black (#2161 → #2327)

lost to Crocodile Dundee (held at #1114)

beat Cell 211 (#2112 → #2114)

lost to Prometheus (#1388 → #1391)

lost to The Trojan Women (#1520 → #1519)

lost to She's Gotta Have It (#1584 → #1383)

lost to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (#1613 → #1608)

lost to Frozen (#1375 → #1328)

lost to Krisha (#1612 → #1531)

beat Love Songs (#1361 → #1658)

lost to Coffee and Cigarettes (#1620 → #1537)

lost to Red Rocket (#1088 → #1050)

Jingle Jangle (2020)

IMDb plot summary: An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.

Directed by David E. Talbert. Stars Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, and Hugh Bonneville.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a Christmas musical about a toy inventor whose apprentice steals all his ideas and runs off to capitalize on them. Years later, the disillusioned inventor is visited by his granddaughter, who is determined to bring his spark back to life. I vaguely remember this movie garnering some attention when it came out but it had completely disappeared from my memory. It's got some cute moments and a couple of fun songs, most notably the villain songs, which stand out with the amount of energy they bring to the story. Even the moments that designate this as clearly a film for children with a wildly whimsical message of believe in yourself at all costs, they don't sit in an annoying place and are just kind of not fully for me.

Keegan-Michael Key and Ricky Martin are the best part of the whole thing though. The good characters are a little too perfect and sweet, and as a result their songs are kind of vague inspirational blandness that mostly I'm waiting for it to be done with. But then the villain numbers are so engaging that it brings me right back in. Some good moments, though I don't know that I have an interest in revisiting it on the whole.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

📊 Ranked #2300/4286 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 49

beat The Accidental Tourist (#2151 → #2310)

lost to Red Rocket (#1094 → #1084)

lost to The Long Day Closes (held at #1623)

lost to Kiss Me Kate (#1884 → #1727)

lost to Peppermint Candy (#2020 → #2021)

beat Spider-Man: Homecoming (#2083 → #2287)

lost to State and Main (#2051 → #1982)

lost to Top Hat (#2067 → #2068)

beat The Wailing (#2075 → #2280)

lost to Bowling for Columbine (#2071 → #1939)

lost to It's Kind of a Funny Story (#2073 → #2072)

beat The Ascent (#2074 → #2247)

A House of Dynamite (2025)

IMDb plot summary: When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, and Gabriel Basso.

A House of Dynamite tells the same story from three different perspectives: that of the United States seeing a missile launched from somewhere in the Pacific toward Chicago, with no country willing to take credit for it and only minutes to decide how to respond. This is gripping and also depressing -- pretty par for the course for Kathryn Bigelow, I suppose. Retelling the same events from different perspectives somehow brought new drama and tension each time, even though I knew exactly where it was headed on the subsequent versions of the story. The film never offers any real sense of release, keeping its grip on you from beginning to end. Its ambiguous ending preserves the ominous tone rather than resolving it. Excellently made, but so relentlessly uncomfortable that I'm not sure I ever want to watch it again.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 A House of Dynamite (2025)

📊 Ranked #1118/4295 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 74

beat Mudbound (#2154 → #2324)

beat Jack Goes Boating (#1081 → #1077)

lost to Petite Maman (#544 → #314)

lost to Megamind (#814 → #813)

lost to Yojimbo (#947 → #665)

lost to The Pirates of Penzance (#1013 → #997)

lost to Teen Beach Movie (#1045 → #1031)

beat Kuroneko (#1063 → #1076)

beat Big Trouble in Little China (#1055 → #1040)

lost to The Cameraman (#1051 → #1026)

beat Crazy Rich Asians (#1053 → #1074)

beat Atonement (#1052 → #1049)

In America (2002)

IMDb plot summary: A family of Irish immigrants adjust to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

Directed by Jim Sheridan. Stars Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, and Djimon Hounsou.

In America tells the story of an immigrant Irish family in the United States. The father wants to be an actor, and his wife and two daughters are having to figure out how to make their way in this new world, as well as how to deal with the tragic death of their youngest brother. This is a sweet movie that follows a lot of familiar ground but tells it well. It does a good job of keeping the focus on the younger siblings while also making it clear to us the viewers what is happening that may be going over their heads. I also like the ending scene, which comes together nicely. However, I did find it boring much of the time, with its slow, meandering pace making it difficult for me to stay fully engaged. It's undeniably sweet and heartfelt, but ultimately too slight to leave much of an impression once it was over.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 In America (2003)

📊 Ranked #2018/4291 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 54

beat The Ghost and the Darkness (#2150 → #2149)

lost to Re-Animator (#1087 → #1088)

lost to Laurence Anyways (#1618 → #1608)

lost to Fanboys (#1879 → #1868)

lost to Lo (#2015 → #1867)

beat The Little Things (#2080 → #2081)

beat 17 Again (#2048 → #2165)

beat Fly Away Home (#2031 → #2026)

beat A Few Good Men (#2023 → #2055)

beat 3 Men and a Baby (#2019 → #2017)

lost to The Ladykillers (#2017 → #1958)

beat Walk Cheerfully (#2018 → #2019)

World's Greatest Dad (2009)

IMDb plot summary: When his son's body is found in a humiliating accident, a lonely high school teacher inadvertently attracts an overwhelming amount of community and media attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.

Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Stars Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, and Morgan Murphy.

World's Greatest Dad stars Robin Williams as a father with the world's worst son: a cruel, crass, disinterested teenager who shows no interest in anything or fondness for anyone. When the son accidentally passes away during an attempt at autoerotic asphyxiation, Williams decides to stage his death as a suicide, complete with note, which makes people see his son in a whole new light that is in no way consistent with the person he was. For any of my theater friends who are thinking, “this sounds a lot like Dear Evan Hansen,” you're not wrong, although this does a better job of telling that story. In the first portion of this film I found myself really not excited to spend a full two hours with the son character, so it was definitely an emotional journey when I suddenly learned I wasn't going to have to, for very sad in-story reasons. Williams himself is of course an exceptionally empathetic character. He always had an extraordinary ability as an actor to engender sympathy, even when doing some terrible things as he does in this movie. I am not sold on the ending -- I don't think it really ties the whole thing together, and that kind of lets it down for me as a whole. But it's an interesting film with a subtle performance by Williams.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 World's Greatest Dad (2009)

📊 Ranked #2127/4294 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 52

lost to I Lost My Body (#2148 → #1963)

beat The Conjuring (#3241 → #3238)

beat It's Not You, It's Me (#2685 → #2682)

beat An Innocent Man (#2420 → #2411)

beat Out of Africa (#2289 → #2581)

beat Rodney King (#2220 → #2213)

lost to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (#2188 → #2173)

beat Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (#2204 → #2400)

beat EDtv (#2196 → #2188)

beat Fatherhood (#2192 → #2393)

beat Source Code (#2190 → #2184)

lost to Vanya on 42nd Street (#2189 → #2181)

O'Dessa (2025)

IMDb plot summary: A farm girl in search to recover a cherished family heirloom travels to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love. To save his soul, she must put the power of destiny to the ultimate test.

Directed by Geremy Jasper. Stars Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Murray Bartlett.

O'Dessa is a post-apocalyptic gender-swapped musical retelling of the story of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, in which Sadie Sink plays a young balladeer destined to change the world with her guitar. This is a wonderful mishmash of vibes and styles, and while that chaotic back-and-forth will definitely be a turn-off for some folks, I had a great time with it. The post-apocalyptic plot is cheesy and sometimes awkwardly done, but something about these enormously broad unsubtle strokes worked, especially once I realized the mythological basis of the story. The folksy nature of the songs is a stark contrast to the high technological feel of the rest of the world, and I really love that. Plus the songs are actually just pretty good on their own, which of course is a big pull for me in a musical movie. This movie is absolutely not gonna gel with everybody. It has a very distinct style, but I found myself fully drawn in and had a great time with it.

🎥 O'Dessa (2025)

📊 Ranked #250/4285 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 95

beat The Chalk Garden (held at #2143)

beat Holiday (#1089 → #1088)

beat Collateral (#563 → #578)

lost to Late Spring (#256 → #253)

lost to tick, tick... BOOM! (#412 → #262)

beat Chariots of Fire (#488 → #499)

beat The Innocents (#448 → #451)

lost to Boyz n the Hood (#431 → #429)

beat 'night, Mother (#439 → #436)

beat The Seventh Continent (#435 → #443)

beat Naughty Marietta (#433 → #445)

beat Billy Elliot: The Musical Live (#432 → #450)