A Chorus of Disapproval (1988)

IMDb plot summary: A man new to a smallish British town joins an amateur theatre company. Once there, he discovers that the drama on stage is quite often nothing compared to what's happening behind the scenes: seduction, romance, faction fighting, and the inevitable jealousy.
Directed by Michael Winner. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Irons, Richard Briers, and Barbara Ferris.

As much fun as it is to get the occasional movie that's structured nothing like the rest of the movies I've been watching, this one isn't great. It's pretty messy and never ends up being either funny or profound. Moderately entertaining at best.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Chorus of Disapproval > Office Space
A Chorus of Disapproval < Doctor Strange
A Chorus of Disapproval < The Happening
A Chorus of Disapproval > A Star Is Born (2018)
A Chorus of Disapproval < The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
A Chorus of Disapproval < Inside Llewyn Davis
A Chorus of Disapproval < Silent Movie
A Chorus of Disapproval > The Interpreter
A Chorus of Disapproval > Kung Fury
A Chorus of Disapproval < The Good Dinosaur

Final spot: #1257 out of 2911.

Rounders (1998)

IMDb plot summary: A young, reformed gambler must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks, while balancing his relationship with his girlfriend and his commitments to law school.
Directed by John Dahl. Starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, and John Malkovich.

This is a lot of fun. Definitely taps into the adrenaline and the desperation of the narrative. It feels very much like a heist movie. Edward Norton does an excellent job of playing truly loathsome characters.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Rounders > Office Space
Rounders < Evil Dead II
Rounders > The Happening
Rounders > Where's God When I'm S-Scared?
Rounders < Night Must Fall
Rounders > Hannah Arendt
Rounders < Panic Room
Rounders > Mrs. Brown
Rounders > The Death of Stalin
Rounders > Laurence Anyways

Final spot: #843 out of 2910.

Into the Dark: Pooka! (2018)

IMDb plot summary: A struggling actor takes on a seasonal holiday job as the mascot for the year's hottest new toy: Pooka. However, after putting the costume on, he develops two personalities - one for himself, and one for Pooka.
Directed by Nacho Vigalondo. Starring Nyasha Hatendi, Latarsha Rose, Jon Daly, and Dale Dickey.

I haven't watched any of the Into the Dark horror anthology films up until this point, but my husband started watching this on a whim today and so I followed along. It is a frustratingly vague experience much of the time that feels more like watching a David Lynch film than a traditional horror piece. I often enjoy using horror tropes to tell other, deeper kinds of stories, and this attempts that, but it gets bogged down in its first hour of not-very-scary, mostly-just-weirdly-surreal imagery.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Pooka! < Office Space
Pooka! < Cars
Pooka! > Armageddon
Pooka! > The Battle of Algiers
Pooka! > Green Lantern
Pooka! > Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Pooka! < A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Pooka! < Before I Fall
Pooka! > Apocalypse Now
Pooka! > Avanti!
Pooka! > The Queen
Final spot: #2199 out of 2909.

Jezebel (1938)

IMDb plot summary: In 1850s Louisiana, a free-spirited Southern belle loses her fiancé due to her stubborn vanity and pride, and vows to win him back.
Directed by William Wyler. Starring Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, and Margaret Lindsay.

I've never quite gotten on the Bette Davis love train, and that remains true here. While I like the uncertainty of the film's ending, I find myself largely indifferent to the central character's arc. Everyone just seems extremely unlikable, and I struggle to figure out what to take away from this. It reminds me a lot of Gone With the Wind, but without any of the beautiful cinematography.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Jezebel < Office Space
Jezebel < City Slickers
Jezebel > Dumb and Dumber
Jezebel < Special
Jezebel > Road to Morocco
Jezebel > Dinner for Schmucks
Jezebel > The Name of the Rose
Jezebel > No Reservations
Jezebel > Five Children and It
Jezebel < Miss Congeniality

Final spot: #2369 out of 2908.

The Fallen Idol (1948)

IMDb plot summary: A butler working in a foreign embassy in London falls under suspicion when his wife accidentally falls to her death, the only witness being an impressionable young boy.
Directed by Carol Reed. Starring Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, and Bobby Henrey.

(Spoilers ahead.)

My biggest complaint with noir is how often it all feels the same. The same characters, beats, twists, and stakes over and over again. This one goes for a more unique spin -- it tells it all through the story of a child. Since noir so frequently looks at cynicism and loss of innocence and idealism, it seems only right to see it through the eyes of a child. Even when things work out in the end as far as the narrative goes, the child's worldview has been shaken, and that lingers through the "happy ending" plot events. It's an interesting effect, and one that pushes this up into the top half of my chart.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Fallen Idol > Gattaca
The Fallen Idol > We're No Angels
The Fallen Idol < Boyhood
The Fallen Idol < Grave of the Fireflies
The Fallen Idol < My Name Is Bruce
The Fallen Idol > Brooklyn
The Fallen Idol < The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Fallen Idol < The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Fallen Idol > Hoodwinked!
The Fallen Idol < Gone Girl
The Fallen Idol > Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
Final spot: #673 out of 2907.

Dead Ringers (1988)

IMDb plot summary: Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
Directed by David Cronenberg. Starring Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, and Barbara Gordon.

(Mild spoilers ahead.)

Well, this was unsettling. That shouldn't have been a surprise to me at all -- after all, it is Cronenberg -- but I particularly like how disturbing this is with very little of the gross-out body horror Cronenberg is known for. Its uncomfortableness is almost entirely psychological. These characters' downward spiral is so fascinating to watch from scene to scene. Jeremy Irons was very smart about how he played the two characters. There is nothing at all to set them apart from each other in their features, and the dialogue is not helpful when the brothers swap places so often, so it all comes down to the acting to figure out who is who from scene to scene, and Irons does this very effectively. The final 10 minutes of the movie or so are deeply, deeply sad. Easily my favorite Cronenberg I've seen thus far.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dead Ringers > Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Dead Ringers > Date Night
Dead Ringers < Breaking Away
Dead Ringers < Grave of the Fireflies
Dead Ringers < My Name Is Bruce
Dead Ringers > Brooklyn
Dead Ringers > The Ten Commandments (1956)
Dead Ringers < Detroit
Dead Ringers > Gremlins
Dead Ringers < Galaxy Quest

Final spot: #651 out of 2906.

Drunken Master (1978)

IMDb plot summary: Wong Fei-Hung is a mischievous, yet righteous young man, but after a series of incidents, his frustrated father has him disciplined by Beggar So, a Master of drunken martial arts.
Directed by Woo-Ping Yuen. Starring Jackie Chan, Siu Tin Yuen, Jung-Lee Hwang, and Dean Shek.

I think I've narrowed in on one of the things that make martial arts movies so unappealing to me. When every scene has to be a setup for the inevitable fight at the end of it, you get a lot of characters who are just constantly aggressive with each other, sometimes for no reason. It's hard to find a likeable character to root for. Jackie Chan is definitely more charismatic than a lot of other martial arts movie leads (and his fight work looks amazing), but even he can't convince me there's any kind of hero in this movie. That being said, I enjoyed the lighter comedic aspects of this, and some of the fight scenes were fun, though they definitely all blur together for me. I liked it more than I anticipated.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Drunken Master < Three Amigos
Drunken Master > It Had to Be You
Drunken Master > Buddy Buddy
Drunken Master > The Robe
Drunken Master < The Bishop's Wife
Drunken Master < Treasures of the Snow
Drunken Master > Whisper of the Heart
Drunken Master > Kagemusha
Drunken Master < Black Snake Moan
Drunken Master > Shrek Retold
Drunken Master < The Sword in the Stone
Final spot: #1596 out of 2905.

A Simple Plan (1998)

IMDb plot summary: When three blue collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash they make a plan to keep their find from the authorities but find complications and mistrust weaving its way into their plan.
Directed by Sam Raimi. Starring Bill Paxton, Bridget Fonda, Billy Bob Thornton, and Brent Briscoe.

I did not expect at all to like this as much as I did. I definitely didn't expect Billy Bob Thornton to be my favorite part of it, as I seldom like him much. But wow. This movie builds the tension really nicely, and its characters are fascinating to me, and I found it very moving by the end. It was what I always want Coen brothers crime movies to be.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Simple Plan > Three Amigos
A Simple Plan > The Producers (2005)
A Simple Plan > Boyhood
A Simple Plan < In the Bedroom
A Simple Plan < Hacksaw Ridge
A Simple Plan > Sabrina (1954)
A Simple Plan < I.Q.
A Simple Plan > Dave and the Giant Pickle
A Simple Plan < The Iron Giant
A Simple Plan < Beginners
A Simple Plan > Trust

Final spot: #303 out of 2904.

Epic (2013)

IMDb plot summary: A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group of characters in order to save their world -- and ours.
Directed by Chris Wedge. Starring Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, and Christoph Waltz.

This is an incredibly difficult movie to figure out how to review because it feels like such a nonentity. While on one hand I dig the simplicity (but uniqueness) of the mythology surrounding these competing tribes of life and rot. It's a cool concept. But it plays out in a very run-of-the-mill way, down to the tiresome comic relief characters (I love Aziz Ansari and Chris O'Dowd, but it's so hard to do so in this movie). There are weird emotional threads that never get followed through on - MK dealing with her mother's death, Nod not finding a kinship within his people, and so on. It's as if there was a fuller draft that brought all these emotional plotlines to some sort of conclusion, but then it got cut for time, because the setups are all still there. It's all right as a movie, one or two good moments, but nothing that really stands out.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Epic < Three Amigos
Epic < The Trouble With Angels
Epic > The Talk of the Town
Epic > Miss Congeniality
Epic > Scarface (1983)
Epic < The Passion of Joan of Arc
Epic > Passion
Epic > On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Epic > There's Something About Mary
Epic < A Scanner Darkly
Final spot: #2229 out of 2903.

Predator (1987)

IMDb plot summary: A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Directed by John McTiernan. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, and Bill Duke.

Predator is one of those movies that's been on my list of movies I should have seen for AGES. I also always link it with Alien in my mind (one of my very favorite movies) because of the later Alien/Predator crossover film (which I also have not seen). But aside from being about someone fighting off an alien creature in an isolated location, the two don't have a lot in common. Alien is a tenser, more suspenseful build, and in general a more engaging horror flick. Predator feels too much like a regular war movie until the last 15 minutes or so. I do like the Predator's design, especially in the final moments once it takes its helmet off. But overall it felt like all the time it spent on buildup were a distraction rather than a build toward anything, and it didn't pay off enough.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Predator < Three Amigos!
Predator < The Trouble With Angels
Predator > The Talk of the Town
Predator > Miss Congeniality
Predator > Scarface (1983)
Predator > The Passion of Joan of Arc
Predator < Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical
Predator > The Out of Towners (1970)
Predator > Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Predator < Red Cliff
Final spot: #2205 out of 2902.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

IMDb plot summary: A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
Directed by Sergio Leone. Starring Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, and Charles Bronson.

This is such a difficult movie for me to discuss, let alone rank and assign any sort of qualitative assessment to it. Because the fact is, this movie is good. It's beautifully shot and scored, and Henry Fonda as a villain is fascinating, but it's also almost a three-hour-long western, and between the long length and it being a genre I hate, I got incredibly bored with it. It's a very slow-moving three hours, too, it's lots of lingering shots taking their time. So even more than usual, the ranking here reflects my own personal feelings on it and not whether I think it's a good movie or not.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Once Upon a Time in the West < Away From Her
Once Upon a Time in the West > How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Once Upon a Time in the West > Crash
Once Upon a Time in the West > Monsters University
Once Upon a Time in the West > Hancock
Once Upon a Time in the West < The Paperboy
Once Upon a Time in the West > The Avengers
Once Upon a Time in the West > August: Osage County
Once Upon a Time in the West < The Asphalt Jungle
Once Upon a Time in the West < The Dresser
Once Upon a Time in the West < The Conversation
Once Upon a Time in the West < Gypsy (1962)

Final spot: #1507 out of 2901.

Gran Torino (2008)

IMDb plot summary: Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, and Christopher Carley.

While, as always, I appreciate that Clint Eastwood's take on vigilante justice is quite a bit more thoughtful than most, I had a really tough time with his character in this movie. Besides not buying the motivation for his character change, his anger and racism are never really addressed or called out in any way -- it just gets sidestepped in favor of "But you're a good man" when, really, there's been no indication of that so far. It's especially uncomfortable in an era when hate speech gets downplayed so much, and that feels like the case here too -- like the racial slurs aren't seen as harmful and degrading as much as just "tough guy with a heart of gold" flavor dialogue. It's tough to listen to and really gets in the way of the rest of the story for me. It means I'm not convinced he confronted his prejudices at all, I think he just thinks he found "the good ones." Plus Clint Eastwood is unintentionally hilarious when he angrily growls at people. A good ending, rough rest of the movie.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Gran Torino < Sunday in the Park with George
Gran Torino > How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Gran Torino > The Amazing Spider-Man
Gran Torino > SpaceCamp
Gran Torino > Chaos Theory
Gran Torino > Teacher of the Year
Gran Torino < V/H/S
Gran Torino < Dunkirk
Gran Torino > Cinderella (1950)
Gran Torino > Memphis Belle
Gran Torino < Anna and the King

Final spot: #1486 out of 2900.

Marjorie Prime (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A service that provides holographic recreations of deceased loved ones allows a woman to come face-to-face with the younger version of her late husband.
Directed by Michael Almereyda. Starring Lois Smith, Geena Davis, Tim Robbins, and Jon Hamm.

The theater I work at produced this play last season, and it remains one of my favorite plays I've ever read. This film adaptation is kind of an odd duck, in that it can't quite decide whether to do just a straightforward adaptation of the (very sit-down-and-talk-y) play, or whether to expand the script further. The result is a sort of awkward mishmash of static dialogue scenes and miniature flashbacks that happen at confusing moments. Of the actors, Geena Davis is the only one whose performance I really love (surprising, since Lois Smith apparently did the original stage production and I'd have expected she'd resonate with me more). It's still an interesting idea and still has some beautiful philosophical musings on memory and technology, but it doesn't pack the same punch as it did for me when I first read the script or saw the theatrical production.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Marjorie Prime > The Matador
Marjorie Prime < A Snoodle's Tale
Marjorie Prime > Lifeforce
Marjorie Prime < Idiocracy
Marjorie Prime < The Glass Menagerie (1973)
Marjorie Prime < A Chorus Line
Marjorie Prime < Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)
Marjorie Prime > Run Fatboy Run
Marjorie Prime < City Lights
Marjorie Prime > A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
Marjorie Prime > Lord of the Flies

Final spot: #1071 out of 2899.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A romance sparks between a young actor and a Hollywood leading lady.

Directed by Paul McGuigan. Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Kenneth Cranham, and Julie Walters.

This was a story I didn't know much about, so it was interesting to watch it play out. Annette Bening does an incredible job here, both with capturing the essence of Gloria Grahame and with just acting the part, making her more than just a Norma Desmond knockoff character (which the script itself seems to be pushing for). The use of the nonlinear story is also surprisingly effective, particularly about two thirds of the way through the movie when we revisit an earlier scene and see it again with more context behind it, and it packs more of an emotional punch than I expected. It's an interesting movie that, for the most part, manages to escape the tropeyness the script has in it.

3 stars.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > Talk Radio

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < A Snoodle's Tale

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > Lifeforce

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Young Frankenstein

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Before Sunset

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Brothers

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < My Favorite Year

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < Stardust

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < John Carter

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool < The Happening

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool > John Wick

Final spot: #1084 out of 2898.

Kes (1969)

IMDb plot summary: A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon.
Directed by Ken Loach. Starring David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, and Colin Welland.

Watching this movie shortly after The Long Day Closes was interesting, as they're both sort of sprawling coming-of-age stories about young boys in the UK. But while I found myself distantly admiring The Long Day Closes, I got entirely emotionally wrapped up in this kid's story. Maybe because he reminded me of some of the kids I've worked with, and seeing how he was treated by his teachers hit close to home. But toward the end, I found myself tearing up as I saw his story play out. My heart went out completely to this child. It's a deeply moving film -- though I definitely suggest watching it with subtitles. Those Yorkshire accents are not kidding around.

4.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kes > Frequency
Kes > Zodiac
Kes > Boyhood
Kes > In the Bedroom
Kes < Arsenic and Old Lace
Kes < The Rocketeer
Kes < A Quiet Place
Kes < All About Eve
Kes < Arrival
Kes < This Is Spinal Tap
Kes < Catch Me If You Can
Kes > Take the Money and Run

Final spot: #180 out of 2897.

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Devil worshipers plan to convert two new victims.
Directed by Terence Fisher. Starring Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, and Leon Greene.

While most of this is firmly under a silly campy B-movie horror umbrella, there are some decently creepy moments in it that work, and it's a moderately entertaining story. I wish the romance it attempts to set up felt more consensual.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Devil Rides Out < Talk Radio
The Devil Rides Out < A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
The Devil Rides Out > The Godfather Part II
The Devil Rides Out > The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
The Devil Rides Out > Mission: Impossible III
The Devil Rides Out > Withnail & I
The Devil Rides Out > Anchors Aweigh
The Devil Rides Out > Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Devil Rides Out > Avanti!
The Devil Rides Out > A Thief in the Night
The Devil Rides Out > War Machine

Final spot: #2173 out of 2896. That feels a bit low, but the chart doesn't lie.

Horror of Dracula (1958)

IMDb plot summary: Jonathan Harker begets the ire of Count Dracula after he accepts a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses.
Directed by Terence Fisher. Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, and Melissa Stribling.

This is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the Dracula story, with only a few changes made. It's fun enough, I guess, but doesn't really stick with me even just a day after having seen it.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Horror of Dracula < Talk Radio
Horror of Dracula > War Machine
Horror of Dracula > The Polar Express
Horror of Dracula > The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Horror of Dracula < Imitation of Life (1959)
Horror of Dracula > Shrek Retold
Horror of Dracula < The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Horror of Dracula < Julie & Julia
Horror of Dracula < Treasures of the Snow
Horror of Dracula < Hustle & Flow
Horror of Dracula > Black Snake Moan

Final spot: #1581 out of 2895.

Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997)

IMDb plot summary: Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin are best friends who wish they could be together forever. However Christopher Robin needs to go to school. Christopher Robin has trouble telling Pooh that they will be separated, so he leaves him a note. Pooh, misunderstanding and believing that Christopher Robin has gone to Skull and needs his help launches a rescue mission with the help of Rabbit, Tigger, and Piglet. 
Directed by Karl Geurs. Starring Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Ken Sansom, and Paul Winchell.

This is... all right. Having seen Christopher Robin at the end of last year, this seems like a pale facsimile of the characters clearly targeted toward very young children. It's not egregious or anything, but it doesn't really offer anything for older audiences the way the original books (and even movies) do. I'm just altogether the wrong demographic to get much out of this.

1.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Pooh's Grand Adventure < Frequency
Pooh's Grand Adventure > A Thief in the Night
Pooh's Grand Adventure < The Barkleys of Broadway
Pooh's Grand Adventure < Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Pooh's Grand Adventure > Almost Famous
Pooh's Grand Adventure > MASH
Pooh's Grand Adventure > Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Pooh's Grand Adventure < Anything Else
Pooh's Grand Adventure < The Cat in the Hat (1971)
Pooh's Grand Adventure > Mulholland Dr.
Pooh's Grand Adventure < The Three Faces of Eve
Final spot: #2009 out of 2894, or 31%.