Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Starring Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, and Harrison Ford.

It should probably be noted I was never a huge fan of the original Blade Runner -- it dug hard into its noir inspiration, and, as with most noir, I found it to be emotionally predictable while pretending not to be. This sequel has the same problem for me. I just didn't care about anything in this world or this set up, I didn't care about Ryan Gosling, I didn't care about the evil corporation trying to make baby robots, I didn't care about the infinite chain of clues being followed to the end... It's hard to know if I would have cared more if this was an original movie and not a sequel. Probably not much, given how little I care about its predecessor, but I'm sure it didn't help.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Blade Runner 2049 < Struck by Lightning
Blade Runner 2049 < Simone
Blade Runner 2049 > Roger Dodger
Blade Runner 2049 > The Net
Blade Runner 2049 > Top Gun
Blade Runner 2049 < Albatross
Blade Runner 2049 > Facing the Giants
Blade Runner 2049 < The Great Train Robbery
Blade Runner 2049 > Analyze This
Blade Runner 2049 > Jane Eyre (1997)
Blade Runner 2049 < Rebel Without a Cause
Final spot: #2345 out of 3043.

Will Penny (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Aging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by a husbandless woman and her young son.
Directed by Tom Gries. Starring Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence, and Lee Majors.

Well, this is just very strange to watch right after The Stalking Moon, another western movie from 1968 with an incredibly similar plot. This one, however, emphasizes the romance, ends on a downer, and doesn't dance around nearly so many interesting plots. This is definitely one that's going to disappear out of my memory very quickly.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Will Penny < Struck by Lightning
Will Penny < Stardust Memories
Will Penny > Roger Dodger
Will Penny > The Net
Will Penny > Top Gun
Will Penny < The Savages
Will Penny > Facing the Giants
Will Penny > The Great Train Robbery
Will Penny < 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Will Penny < The Swiss Family Robinson
Will Penny < Adam's Rib
Will Penny > Animal House
Final spot: #2340 out of 3042.

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

IMDb plot summary: A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
Directed by Travis Knight. Starring Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, and Rooney Mara.

This has been on my watchlist for quite some time, I just hadn't made space for it yet. It had a great beginning, with a very compelling mythology and unsettling villains. The middle section where Kubo travels with his animal companions is less compelling to me -- it veers very close to a Disney talking-animal-sidekick feeling, which I seldom connect with. But it brings it all back together in the end, and I found myself tearing up from the final villain confrontation through the end of the film. It really ties together in a very lovely way that I didn't anticipate early on in the story. Plus it looks gorgeous.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kubo and the Two Strings > Fanboys
Kubo and the Two Strings < The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Kubo and the Two Strings > The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
Kubo and the Two Strings > Taxi Driver
Kubo and the Two Strings > The Secret Garden (1987)
Kubo and the Two Strings > L'atalante
Kubo and the Two Strings > Do the Right Thing
Kubo and the Two Strings > Red Eye
Kubo and the Two Strings > The Hudsucker Proxy
Kubo and the Two Strings > Dangerous Liaisons
Final spot: #763 out of 3041.

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

IMDb plot summar: When two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, and Milo O'Shea.

This has never been a Shakespeare play I've particularly cared for, but this is an astonishingly good version of it. The two lovers here are so, so young, their dramatic outbursts so childlike, their immediate impulses so unchecked that it feels nearly impossible to keep them from hurting others or themselves with their very raw emotions. Mercutio too gets an interesting spin here-- truly cruel and malicious in the scene with the nurse, seemingly mentally unstable from a few of his isolated scenes-- and his death, where no one realizes he isn't doing a bit until he is actually dead, is fascinating. The best Shakespeare performances make the poetry of the words seem like the most emotionally natural things for these characters to say, and that's certainly true here. It almost makes me actually like the play.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Romeo and Juliet > Fish Story
Romeo and Juliet > The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Romeo and Juliet < Jean de Florette
Romeo and Juliet < 10 Cloverfield Lane
Romeo and Juliet < Key Largo
Romeo and Juliet > Shakespeare Behind Bars
Romeo and Juliet > Hawking
Romeo and Juliet > My Name Is Joe
Romeo and Juliet > The Graduate
Romeo and Juliet < The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Final spot: #671 out of 3040.

Eighth Grade (2018)

IMDb plot summary: An introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.
Directed by Bo Burnham. Starring Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, and Jake Ryan.

I had a lot of people who connected HARD to Lady Bird when it came out, seeing themselves and their relationships in hers, and falling head over heels in love with the movie. That's how I feel about Kayla in this movie. Even though social media wasn't really a thing when I was in eighth grade, I definitely had an Internet presence and was very conscious of how online I was more confident, more interesting, and more comfortable than offline. It's been a very long time since I identified so hard with a character, and seeing her step into a sense of "If things suck, it's okay, I'll be all right" was still inspiring to me as a grown adult 20 years older than her. This is a great film.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Eighth Grade > The Trouble with Harry
Eighth Grade > An American Werewolf in London
Eighth Grade > Vertigo
Eighth Grade < The Adventures of Robin Hood
Eighth Grade > The Gods Must Be Crazy
Eighth Grade < Across the Universe
Eighth Grade > Airplane!
Eighth Grade > Operation Petticoat
Eighth Grade < I'm Not Scared
Eighth Grade < Shaun of the Dead
Eighth Grade < Sister Act
Eighth Grade > Pitch Perfect
Final spot: #248 out of 3039.

Cats (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.
Directed by Tom Hooper. Starring Francesca Hayward, Idris Elba, Judi Dench, and Taylor Swift.

...How do you even rate and review Cats? Either the movie or the show. To Hooper's credit, he stays absurdly faithful to the original, only making one or two tiny changes, but he was definitely embracing it for what it is, which means this was only ever going to be a ridiculous movie. It was in no way helped by having photorealistic cat fur with terrifying human hands protuding out of them. Rebel Wilson and Jason Derulo both failed to capture the *only* trait their characters have, but the Skimbleshanks number rules, and I laughed a lot and had just a great time with this weird, weird, weird movie. I hope it gains a Rocky Horror-style cult following and gets midnight sing-along viewings for decades to come.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Cats > Red
Cats > Dangerous Liaisons
Cats < Vertigo
Cats < Rise of the Guardians
Cats < Key Largo
Cats < Shakespeare Behind Bars
Cats < Sherlock Jr.
Cats > Sneakers
Cats < The Pirates of Penzance
Cats < The Basketball Diaries
Cats < The Body Snatcher
Cats > Manhattan Murder Mystery

Final spot: #746 out of 3038.

Legendary Weapons of China (1982)

IMDb plot summary: A band of killers from an ailing kung fu and magic society are sent on a manhunt for a former member of the society, whose bad mouthing threatens it's existence.
Directed by Chia-Liang Liu. Starring Chia-Liang Liu, Chia Yung Liu, Kara Wai, and Hou Hsiao.

Kung fu movies are very much not my jam, and I couldn't get myself to care about any of the characters involved in this story at all, but there were some fun fight choreography scenes, especially the ones that bordered on slapstick. That's about all I have to say on this one!

How it entered my Flickchart:
Legendary Weapons of China < Manhattan
Legendary Weapons of China < Simone
Legendary Weapons of China > Gigi
Legendary Weapons of China > I Accuse My Parents
Legendary Weapons of China > City Slickers
Legendary Weapons of China > The Yellow Birds
Legendary Weapons of China < The Devil Wears Prada
Legendary Weapons of China < Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
Legendary Weapons of China < The Hoober-Bloob Highway
Legendary Weapons of China < Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
Legendary Weapons of China > Running With Scissors
Final spot: #2323 out of 3037.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

IMDb plot summary: The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.
Directed by J.J. Abrams. Starring Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega.

(Spoilers ahead.)

I saw this two nights ago, and the longer I sit with it, the more I a) forget what actually happened in it and b) am left with irritation. I'm not usually annoyed by fan service, but I *am* when fan service and retconning takes the place of actual character and plot development. There are no narrative cohesive threads in this movie because they cut all the ones that the previous film set up, and then scrambled to make ends meet. I found the redemption arc wildly unconvincing and a very disappointing ending to someone who began as one of the most interesting villains we'd seen in the series. Also, four fake-out deaths is TOO MANY if your movie is not a comedy. It's just a messy, messy movie, but that's what happens when you try to conclude a trilogy while ignoring the entire middle section. Fortunately it's also forgettable so I can pull an Abrams and pretend this one didn't exist.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Rise of Skywalker < Red (2018)
The Rise of Skywalker > The TV Set
The Rise of Skywalker < Stand and Deliver
The Rise of Skywalker > Spy
The Rise of Skywalker < Legally Blonde
The Rise of Skywalker > Lilo & Stitch
The Rise of Skywalker > The Amazing Spider-Man
The Rise of Skywalker > Hollywood Homicide
The Rise of Skywalker > Brigadoon
The Rise of Skywalker > Cambio de ruta
The Rise of Skywalker > Where the Wild Things Are
Final spot: #1993 out of 3036.

A Song Is Born (1948)

IMDb plot summary: With her gangster boyfriend under investigation by the police, a nightclub singer hides out in a musical research institution staffed by bachelor professors - one of whom begins to fall for her.
Directed by Howard Hawks. Starring Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey.

So apparently this is a musical version of Ball of Fire, which, to my shame, I have never seen. I do want to though after watching this, which is clearly just a very weird retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It's exactly what one would expect from a Danny Kaye musical comedy -- it's silly and light and goofy -- but it does have some great music, thanks to a plot piece that involves bringing together a bunch of actual 1948 musicians and bandleaders including Tommy Dorsey and Louis Armstrong. Super fluffy and pleasant, but not spectacular.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Song is Born > Manhattan
A Song is Born < An American Werewolf in London
A Song is Born < Primal Fear
A Song is Born > Pitch Perfect 2
A Song is Born < Hedwig and the Angry Inch
A Song is Born > Lagaan: Once Upon a Time In India
A Song is Born > Aguirre: The Wrath of God
A Song is Born > Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
A Song is Born > The Wicker Man (1973)
A Song is Born > The Green Mile
A Song is Born > Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
Final spot: #1234 out of 3036.

Hot Millions (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Paroled London fraudster Marcus Pendleton poses as a computer specialist in order to work for an insurance company that entirely relies on its corporate server.
Directed by Eric Till. Starring Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, Karl Malden, and Bob Newhart.

Oh, this is a fun, silly ride. It's got a dry lightness to it that just makes me smile, with a lead character who's so pleasant and entertaining that we don't even mind that he's embezzling the entire time. There's also an unexpectedly sweet romance between him and Maggie Smith -- the scene where she proposes to him and he plays it off as a joke but then it becomes clear that they both very much want this is quite a lovely moment. Overall, one of the better films I've seen lately in my quest to watch 100 films from 1968.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Hot Millions > Peter Pan (1960)
Hot Millions > Dangerous Liaisons
Hot Millions < Vertigo
Hot Millions < Sergeant York
Hot Millions < The Florida Project
Hot Millions > Hannah and Her Sisters
Hot Millions > Kill Bill Vol. 2
Hot Millions < Finian's Rainbow
Hot Millions > Brave
Hot Millions > National Lampoon's Vacation
Hot Millions > Robot and Frank
Final spot: #677 out of 3035.

Knives Out (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Directed by Rian Johnson. Starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

This is such a charming watch. Rian Johnson is a master of blending tone here, as he manages to evoke all the feeling of a classic 1920s British murder mystery while also making it feel somehow very modern, never stale or outdated. Marta is a truly wonderful character to position as our lead, and the supporting cast and characters are all just over-the-top enough to be funny without seeming impossible. A really enjoyable flick.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Knives Out > Kiss the Girls
Knives Out > Thor
Knives Out < Jean de Florette
Knives Out > Sergeant York
Knives Out > King George and the Ducky
Knives Out < La Strada
Knives Out > The Jungle Book (1967)
Knives Out > Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
Knives Out > High and Low
Knives Out < Dog Day Afternoon
Final spot: #432 out of 3034.

The Stalking Moon (1968)

IMDb plot summary: A sympathetic retired army scout takes-in a white woman and her half-Apache son, not knowing that the boy's father, a murderous renegade Apache, is after them.
Directed by Robert Mulligan. Starring Gregory Peck, Eva Marie Saint, Robert Forster, and Noland Clay.

This was more engaging than a lot of westerns I've seen (and 1968 especially seems to have just an endless supply of them), but, like all of them, their focus is always on the least interesting characters. Gregory Peck saving the day isn't even half as interesting to me as the interaction between the two Apache/white mixed characters, or the story of Eva Marie Saint's survival after being captured. But I did appreciate the oddly quiet tone for the story, given how much danger the characters were in -- it helped put the emphasis on them as people rather than archetypes.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Stalking Moon > Blow Out
The Stalking Moon < Thor
The Stalking Moon < State and Main
The Stalking Moon < Letters from Iwo Jima
The Stalking Moon > The Tourist
The Stalking Moon < A Foreign Affair
The Stalking Moon > Along Came a Spider
The Stalking Moon > Neighbors
The Stalking Moon > L.A. Confidential
The Stalking Moon > Kung Fury
The Stalking Moon > No eres tu, soy yo
Final spot: #1376 out of 3033.

Yellow Submarine (1968)

IMDb plot summary: The Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred (Lance Percival) in his Yellow Submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music hating Blue Meanies.
Directed by George Dunning. Starring The Beatles, Paul Angelis, John Clive, and Dick Emery.

After watching Head earlier this year and *hating* it, I was a little nervous about another surreal absurdist musical featuring a 1960s band. But overall, this is kind of engaging. The calm, dry personalities of the Beatles characters help to tone down what could be an exhausting over-the-top hour and a half, and some of the visuals paired with the music were really captivating. ("Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" was my favorite.) It's not something I ever feel a need to watch again, but it's got charm and I can see why people like it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Yellow Submarine < Blow Out
Yellow Submarine > Deja Vu
Yellow Submarine > Midnight Cowboy
Yellow Submarine > The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Yellow Submarine > The Whole Nine Yards
Yellow Submarine < John Dies at the End
Yellow Submarine > Office Space
Yellow Submarine > How to Rob a Bank
Yellow Submarine > The Day After Tomorrow
Yellow Submarine > The Blues Brothers
Yellow Submarine < Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (what an interesting match-up...)
Final spot: #1566 out of 3032.

The Stand (1994)

IMDb plot summary: After a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a maleficent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
Directed by Mick Garris. Starring Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, and Laura San Giacomo.

So, I have this longstanding problem with Stephen King's work. Or, well, film adaptations of it, since I don't think I've actually read anything by him. But the issues I have with his films are plot-based, and from reading book synopses on Wikipedia I think I'd have the same problem with them, and regardless King wrote this teleplay, so it's definitely his writing I dislike here.

The thing is, he comes up with these decently creepy premises and then throws *everything* at them without bothering to connect them. In The Shining, the hotel is full of ghosts AND Jack Torrance also just happens to be a little crazy to begin with AND his son just happens to have ESP. And it's never clear whether one is influencing the other at all, so it just looks like multiple separate stories he's trying to smush together.

The Stand is (I think mostly?) just two stories: A mysterious flu kills off most of the population, and the survivors have to fight Satan. The first half of the miniseries is about the flu and survival, the second half is about going off to fight Satan in the desert. But there's also all this weird throwaway stuff about visions from God, Satan trying to make a baby with a human woman, a healing ghost, several characters with disabilities that I don't know WHAT he's doing with them, a bunch of drama about choosing town council members, and more. All of these issues flare up with great significance like they're going to play major roles in how things go, and then they seem to be either resolved or forgotten within minutes. What does King think this story is *about*? Nothing stays, nothing holds, nothing matters.

Speaking of nothing mattering -- that final scene. The good guys are captured by Satan who decides to tear them apart at a public execution, but then one of our (very uncomfortable) disability characters shows up with an atomic bomb, and then some sort of ghost comes out of two of Satan's dead minions and sets off the bomb. And back in the town, everybody lauds the dead heroes' sacrifice and talks about how they went out there to "stand, and that's what they did." But, like... What? Aside from I guess gathering everyone in one place for the execution, nothing they did made any difference at all. (And if it's an atomic bomb, they don't need to be *that* close together for it to do the trick.) They didn't make the ghosts happen (right?), they didn't make the bomb appear, they did ab.so.lute.ly.no.thing and are treated like they saved the world.

The first hour or so is good. Watching the world get slowly taken down by the flu and seeing the survivors trying to figure out what to do next is fascinating. But when it suddenly turns into a supernatural God's-people-vs-a-literal-demon battle, it loses me entirely and tosses out a thousand threads it can never resolve well.

I don't get it, y'all. I don't get King, and I don't get this adaptation, and it was a very long four-and-a-half hours once it started going off the rails.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Stand < Blow Out
The Stand > A Farewell to Fools
The Stand > Ulysses
The Stand < Cellular
The Stand < The Robe
The Stand > Thoughtcrimes
The Stand < Company (1997)
The Stand < Ghost
The Stand < The Love Bug
The Stand < Reality Bites
The Stand < Sunshine
The Stand > The Iceman
Final spot: #1844 out of 3029.