Hereditary (2018)

IMDb plot summary: After the family matriarch passes away, a grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences, and begin to unravel dark secrets.
Directed by Ari Aster. Starring Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Toni Collette, and Milly Shapiro.

(Spoilers ahead.) Maybe my expectations for this were too high, but I found myself slightly disappointed with this one. Some great performances from Toni Collette and Alex Wolff, but the story as a whole lacks the cohesion and the thoughtfulness I ached for in a movie with this title and this premise. It's got some good scares, but the performances are too good to be used on a final narrative with such lack of nuance. And it's too outright depressing to function solely as a great horror movie. Maybe I've been spoiled by the last few years of really intriguing and deep horror hits. I just wanted... more.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Hereditary > Iron Eagle
Hereditary < Evil Dead II
Hereditary < The Help
Hereditary > Seven Chances
Hereditary > Finding Vivian Maier
Hereditary > Hamlet (2009)
Hereditary > Undercover Blues
Hereditary < Bridge of Spies
Hereditary < The Slipper and the Rose
Hereditary < Thor
Hereditary < Josie and the Pussycats
Hereditary > Hamlet (1990)
Final spot: #1117 out of 2924.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

IMDb plot summary: When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.
Directed by Marielle Heller. Starring Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, and Ben Falcone.

Melissa McCarthy is definitely the shining star of this film. The script is mostly solid, though it seems to be missing a few beats in the latter half, but it is an academically interesting story to follow, and McCarthy imbues humanity into her character in a very engaging manner.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Can You Ever Forgive Me? < Evil Dead II
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > John Carter
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > Mean Girls
Can You Ever Forgive Me? < La jetee
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > Taxi Driver
Can You Ever Forgive Me? < Au Revoir Les Enfants
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > The Pianist
Can You Ever Forgive Me? < Laurence Anyways
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > Pushing Tin
Can You Ever Forgive Me? > The Long Day Closes
Final spot: #851 out of 2923.

If... (1968)

IMDb plot summary: In this allegorical story, a revolution led by pupil Mick Travis takes place at an old established private school in England.
Directed by Lindsay Anderson. Starring Malcolm McDowell, David Wood, Richard Warwick, and Christine Noonan.

There's a part of me that can understand and even appreciate what this film is doing... but it doesn't really work for me on any kind of emotional level. I spent most of my time just trying to make sense of specific artistic choices. But it's fun to see Malcolm McDowell in his first screen role -- and you can definitely see how this performance connected to his performance just a few years later as A Clockwork Orange's Alex.

How it entered my Flickchart:
If... < Star Trek Into Darkness
If... > The Proposal
If... < Love's Labour's Lost
If... > Luther
If... < X2
If... > Tombstone
If... < The Baby-Sitters Club
If... < Zero Dark Thirty
If... > Arlington Road
If... < Last of the Red Hot Lovers
If... < Con Air
If... < The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

Final spot: #1957 out of 2922.

The Sandlot (1993)

IMDb plot summary: In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
Directed by David Mickey Evans. Starring Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, and Chauncey Leopardi.

I always associated The Sandlot with The Goonies in my mind. A lot of people I know seemed to love both of them, and for similar reasons, as far as I could tell. Given my distaste for Goonies, I worried The Sandlot would feel similarly unenjoyable, but this is actually pretty well-done. It walks the line of being slightly too precious about childhood at times, but overall it's a solidly built story. I wish we'd gotten a bit more insight into the individual kids, especially given how much the movie is about that bond. But, yeah, this was all right overall.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Sandlot > I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
The Sandlot < Evil Dead II
The Sandlot < The Thing
The Sandlot > Sleepers
The Sandlot < The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
The Sandlot < Judgment at Nuremberg
The Sandlot < The Horse's Mouth
The Sandlot > Finding Forrester
The Sandlot < A Bug's Life
The Sandlot < Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Sandlot > Focus

Final spot: #1264 out of 2921.

The Cruise (1998)

IMDb plot summary: Affectionate portrait of Tim "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for Manhattan's Gray Line double-decker buses.
Directed by Bennett Miller.

This is an incredibly straightforward documentary, following our central character around New York City and letting him talk about whatever he wants to talk about. I don't think most of what he's saying is nearly as profound as either he or the documentarian thinks it is, but I have no doubt he believes deeply in all he's saying and that makes him kind of a fascinating figure. He takes this somewhat dreary job of being a tour bus guide and imbues it with meaning that clearly makes it worth it for himself, which is possibly more interesting than if it was meaningful for the rest of us. It's not something I have a desire to rewatch (an hour and 16 minutes is quite enough time to spend with this guy, who I find ultimately a little exhausting), but it was interesting for a single viewing.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Cruise < Star Trek Into Darkness
The Cruise > The Proposal
The Cruise > The Visitor
The Cruise > Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
The Cruise > Happy Christmas
The Cruise < Stepmom
The Cruise > The Dresser
The Cruise < Real Genius
The Cruise > A Time to Kill
The Cruise < The Wailing
The Cruise < Cool Hand Luke
The Cruise < The Paperboy

Final spot: #1522 out of 2920.

Shoplifters (2018)

IMDb plot summary: A family of small-time crooks take in a child they find outside in the cold.
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. Starring Lily Franky, Sakura Andô, Kirin Kiki, and Mayu Matsuoka.

This movie reminds me a bit of The Florida Project, in that it's a movie about poverty that focuses heavily on complex relationships between family members -- or, in this case, chosen family members. The young girl in both movies is also probably the most compelling character. Shoplifters also has an equally uneasy ending, one that makes me yearn for another five minutes, something to give me resolution, but that's not what this movie is about. It's such a lonely film, but so well done.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Shoplifters > Natural Born Killer
Shoplifters > Evil Dead II
Shoplifters < Boyhood
Shoplifters > The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Shoplifters < Caddyshack
Shoplifters < Bride of Frankenstein
Shoplifters < Ninotchka
Shoplifters < Six Degrees of Separation
Shoplifters < The Land Before Time
Shoplifters < Beetlejuice
Shoplifters < Grave of the Fireflies
Shoplifters < What We Do in the Shadows

Final spot: #547 out of 2919.

BASEketball (1998)

IMDb plot summary: Two childhood friends are pro athletes of a national sport called BASEketball, a hybrid of baseball and basketball, and must deal with a greedy businessman scheming against their team.
Directed by David Zucker. Starring Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, and Yasmine Bleeth.

My expectations going into this were exceedingly low... but it ended up being not as bad as I expected. Now, don't get me wrong, there's plenty of gross humor in here that does nooooot land with me. Like, a lot of it. But I expected there to be a higher quantity of it. I'd say the silly-to-gross humor ratio is a solid 2:1, which left plenty for me to enjoy. If the movie had cut the more tasteless (not to mention homophobic and transphobic) jokes, there'd still be plenty of content and it'd have worked just fine for me as a goofy comedy. As it is, it's going to have to sit moderately low, but there's some entertaining bits in here, and I had a surprisingly okay time with it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
BASEketball < The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
BASEketball > Transformers
BASEketball > As Good As It Gets
BASEketball < Dead Man Walking
BASEketball < Hello, Dolly!
BASEketball < Planes, Trains & Automobiles
BASEketball > The Lost Skeleton Returns Again
BASEketball < Birdman of Alcatraz
BASEketball > Our Idiot Brother
BASEketball > Nashville
BASEketball > Aguirre: The Wrath of God

Final spot: #1791 out of 2918.

Carefree (1938)

IMDb plot summary: A psychiatrist agrees to hypnotize his friend's girlfriend in order to convince her to accept his proposals of marriage, but she ends up falling for the psychiatrist instead.
Directed by Mark Sandrich. Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy, and Luella Gear.

This is certainly one of the more ridiculous plots of a Fred and Ginger movie, especially in the final third when "oh, no, I've hypnotized her to love the wrong person and kill someone else" becomes a plot point. But there are some really enjoyable musical sequences, especially two (the golf number and the ending hypnotism dance) that have some fun and creative gimmicks that make for an entertaining watch. I often feel like 1930s musicals have long sections where they get bogged down in boring subplots, but this stayed entertaining the whole time. It's definitely my favorite of the Astaire/Rogers pairings I've seen.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Carefree > 12 Monkeys

Carefree < Evil Dead II

Carefree > The Happening

Carefree > The Princess and the Frog

Carefree < Night Must Fall

Carefree > Hannah Arendt

Carefree < Panic Room

Carefree > Mrs. Brown

Carefree > The Death of Stalin

Carefree < Laurence Anyways

Final spot: #848 out of 2917.

Focus (2015)

IMDb plot summary: In the midst of veteran con man Nicky's latest scheme, a woman from his past - now an accomplished femme fatale - shows up and throws his plans for a loop.
Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, and Gerald McRaney.

So... it took me probably half an hour into the movie for me to realize this wasn't the 2015 movie about Will Smith being a football player with a concussion. (Turns out that movie is called Concussion.) I kept waiting for that twist to happen. That threw me off a bit from the beginning, but eventually I settled into this. I had trouble buying Will Smith and Margot Robbie's chemistry, though -- which is strange, because they're both very charismatic people individually. But the film feels more like it relies on the "ooh, fun" twists and turns than on the relationships built between characters, so all the drama feels a bit forced and the twists aren't quite big enough to make the payoff worth it. I like the vibe they're trying to go for here, I'm just not convinced they fully made it there.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Focus > 12 Monkeys
Focus < Doctor Strange
Focus < The Happening
Focus > The Kids Are All Right
Focus < The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Focus < Irma La Douce
Focus < Aliens
Focus > Kung Fury
Focus > The Good Dinosaur
Focus < Silent Movie

Final spot: #1258 out of 2916.

The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)

IMDb plot summary: In the tiny town of Milagro, New Mexico, where the local water is a premium resource, shady developer Ladd Devine has conceived a glitzy resort that will ultimately siphon off all the water from the neighboring crop-fields. When handyman and farmer Joe Mondragon accidentally breaks a water valve reserved for major companies, he inadvertently sets off a small-scale water-rights war between the farmers and the developers.
Directed by Robert Redford. Starring Rubén Blades, Chick Vennera, Carlos Riquelme, and Sônia Braga.

I did a little bit of review comparing after this movie because I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about it. I hit on one review that talked about the mismatch in tone between the characters. The most interesting portions of this are magic realism amid a sort of darkly realistic setting... but then we have these cartoonish over-the-top villains who don't seem to match anywhere. It's also spread pretty thin as far as character development. I knew nothing about this movie going into it but didn't come away super impressed.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Milagro Beanfield War < Drunken Master
The Milagro Beanfield War > King of the Zombies
The Milagro Beanfield War > Annie (1999)
The Milagro Beanfield War > American Hustle
The Milagro Beanfield War < Ghostbusters (1984)
The Milagro Beanfield War < Camp Rock
The Milagro Beanfield War < Ponyo
The Milagro Beanfield War < Blade Runner
The Milagro Beanfield War > The Room
The Milagro Beanfield War > Independence Day
The Milagro Beanfield War > The 400 Blows
The Milagro Beanfield War < Steel Magnolias

Final spot: #1630 out of 2915.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

IMDb plot summary: A man studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple to fight back against the oppressive Manchu government.
Directed by Chia-Liang Liu. Starring Chia-Hui Liu, Lieh Lo, Chia Yung Liu, and Norman Chu.

I keep remembering scenes from this film to refer to and then realizing I'm thinking of a scene from Drunken Master, which I watched a couple weeks ago. I really have nothing extra to add to this -- it was fine, I liked the creative training scenes more than the fighting, I'm going to forget it immediately.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin < Drunken Master (...Sometimes Flickchart chooses interesting matchups. We'll let Drunken Master take it for the humor.)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin < Cars
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin > Did You Hear About the Morgans?
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin > The Enemy Below
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin > A Mighty Wind
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin > Hangman's Curse
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin < The 39 Steps
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin > Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin < Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin < Red Cliff
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin > Enter the Void

Final spot: #2217 out of 2914.

Without a Clue (1988)

IMDb plot summary: A drunken Sherlock Holmes is really just a cover for the real detective, Dr. Watson.
Directed by Thom Eberhardt. Starring Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Jeffrey Jones, and Lysette Anthony.

Well, this is a fun idea that doesn't ever really transform into laughs. It's all a little too broad and winky at the audience, when it could have fared better with smaller character-centric humor. I like both of the actors involved and I like Holmes mythos stories, but this one was disappointing.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Without a Clue < Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Without a Clue > Cars
Without a Clue < Beverly Hills Cop
Without a Clue < Spider-Man 3
Without a Clue > Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
Without a Clue > Kiss Me Kate
Without a Clue > Hush (1998)
Without a Clue > Cracks
Without a Clue > The Witches of Eastwick
Without a Clue > The Machinist
Without a Clue > My Six Loves

Final spot: #2004 out of 2913.

A Foreign Affair (1948)

IMDb plot summary: In occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.
Directed by Billy Wilder. Starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, John Lund, and Millard Mitchell.

I don't know a whole lot about the post-World War II situation in Berlin, and found this kind of fascinating as a look at that, especially since the film doesn't paint the US with a blanket coat of perfection. I'm actually significantly more interested in the pieces of the story focusing on that than I am in the love story, which is dated in a less-than-flattering way, depending on stereotypes I find extremely unpleasant and never really elevated beyond them with the acting or the writing. Billy Wilder was one of my favorite screenwriters, but here the jokes don't land for me and I just want to know more about Marlene Dietrich's back story.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Foreign Affair > Quills
A Foreign Affair < Rock of Ages
A Foreign Affair < The Happening
A Foreign Affair > Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Foreign Affair < The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
A Foreign Affair < The Bishop's Wife
A Foreign Affair < De-Lovely
A Foreign Affair > Steamboat Bill, Jr.
A Foreign Affair > No eres tu, soy yo
A Foreign Affair < Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

Final spot: #1257 out of 2912.