Twisted Nerve (1968)

IMDb plot summary: Martin Durnley is a troubled young man who retreats into an alternate personality - that of six-year-old Georgie. It is Georgie who befriends Susan Harper, but friendship soon turns into obsession. When Susan begins to distance herself, something inside Georgie snaps and he embarks on a killing spree, with Susan as the next target.
Directed by Roy Boultin. Starring Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billiw Whitelaw, and Phyllis Calvert.

(Spoilers.)

Well, right off the bat, I need to acknowledge that this movie's understanding of disability, mental illness and neurodiversity does NOT hold up. The film's implications definitely dabble in autism (and possibly Down's Syndrome) as explanations for the main character's psychopathic tendency, which was really uncomfortable to listen to.

Assuming those weird moments weren't there, though, it's a moderately compelling film. I like the amount of agency Hayley Mills gets -- up until the very end, when someone else has to come rescue her because she stupidly went around exploring her house with an almost-certain killer lurking in it. Hywel Bennett was engagingly over-the-top as the villain, bringing in some serious Alex DeLarge vibes (three years earlier). The final act feels contrived and falls apart, which was disappointing. It's got its lurid fun moments but seriously loses its way with its finale and its assessment of what makes someone a murderer.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Twisted Nerve > The Italian Job (2003)
Twisted Nerve < Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Twisted Nerve < Were the World Mine
Twisted Nerve < Kiss the Girls
Twisted Nerve < Father of the Bride Part II
Twisted Nerve < Ben-Hur (1959)
Twisted Nerve > Ender's Game
Twisted Nerve > Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
Twisted Nerve > The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Twisted Nerve > The Firemen's Ball
Twisted Nerve < Mrs. Miniver
Final spot: #1536 out of 3165.

The Color of Pomegranates (1968)

IMDb plot summary: A super-stylized, surreal biography of Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova, whose life is depicted through non-narrative amalgamations of poetic images.
Directed by Sergei Parajanov. Starring Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan, and Gogi Gegechkori.

All right, so this was never going to, like, wow me. Or it would have been extremely unusual for it to do so. Visual symbolism so seldom connects with me that an avant-garde biopic told almost entirely through visual symbols was going to be a rough ride. It's not at all a commentary on the quality of it, and I'm always open to trying to engage with these films, but typically I find myself zoning out without a linear plot to ground me to what's actually being said. That being said, this was at least a peaceful, slow, meditative time zoning out. Knowing it was (loosely) about the life of a poet made sense, because it felt like a series of poetic lines, and if I had sat down and paused on each individual image I could probably have muddled some meaning out of it. Some of the images and use of color were striking. So I admire the effort and suspect there's something good here, but it doesn't quite get through to me, so it's still getting ranked low.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Color of Pomegranates < Melinda and Melinda
The Color of Pomegranates > Green Book
The Color of Pomegranates < Bobby
The Color of Pomegranates < Cars
The Color of Pomegranates < Adam's Rib
The Color of Pomegranates < Wild Hogs
The Color of Pomegranates < Jake's Women
The Color of Pomegranates > Party Girl
The Color of Pomegranates < Petulia
The Color of Pomegranates > Annie Get Your Gun
The Color of Pomegranates < Steve Jobs
Final spot: #2357 out of 3164.

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

IMDb plot summary: An East European girl travels to the United States with her young son, expecting it to be like a Hollywood film.
Directed by Lars von Trier. Starring Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, and Peter Stormare.

(Spoilers ahead.)

This is definitely an unusual musical but hauntingly so. I think without the musical numbers it would have just felt needlessly melodramatic to me (a frequent criticism of this movie, it seems) but with them it brought it to a different level. The songs definitely have Bjork's sort of eerie dreamy style, which makes the whole thing so unsettling, especially as the number of songs ramps up the further we get into the film, so the worse life gets for Selma, the more interludes we have where she interprets them through cheery musical numbers. There's something very striking about Bjork's performance as well -- she seems to float through and above this movie even when she's not singing, with this dissociative quality that, for me, really drives home the horrors of everything happening to her.

I also love how, until the very very end, the movie never reveals how the outside world is reacting to the musical numbers happening inside her head. We see her singing joyously as she's leaving the crime scene or being arrested by police, so we get a sense of where the narrative's taken us, but it allows us to fill in the gaps and doesn't worry about providing every little plot detail, which I love.

Overall a movie that will definitely sit with me for a long time and I'm glad I finally got the push to see it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dancer in the Dark > The Italian Job (2003)
Dancer in the Dark > Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Dancer in the Dark < The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Dancer in the Dark > Big Trouble in Little China
Dancer in the Dark < Planet of the Apes (1968)
Dancer in the Dark > Face/Off
Dancer in the Dark > Summer Wars
Dancer in the Dark < Jesus People: The Movie
Dancer in the Dark > Scream
Dancer in the Dark > Fright Night (2011)
Dancer in the Dark < Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead
Final spot: #509 out of 3163.

Your Name. (2016)

IMDb plot summary: Two strangers find themselves linked in a bizarre way. When a connection forms, will distance be the only thing to keep them apart?
Directed by Makoto Shinkai. Starring Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryô Narita, and Aoi Yûki.

This is a strange movie to try to write about because I can feel it gripping onto my heart but not because of reasons I can put into words. It feels more like... Here's an odd example. When I'm especially anxious, there is a general fear that doesn't stem from anything in particular, it just seems to permeate through every bit of me and stick. That is how I'm feeling about this movie, but with satisfaction instead of fear. When I start thinking about the pieces of this and trying to pinpoint what worked for me and what didn't, I can't figure out what it is. It is a lovely story, with some gorgeous animation and creative storytelling and great characters. But somehow they all add up into something more. This is one that I think is going to sit with me and in my soul for awhile before I can figure out what to say about it. But it works, and it is beautiful.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Your Name > The Italian Job
Your Name > Shall We Dance? (2004)
Your Name > The Maltese Falcon
Your Name < Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Your Name > My Man Godfrey
Your Name > Bambi
Your Name < Parasite
Your Name < Night of the Living Dead
Your Name > High Noon
Your Name < Blindspotting
Your Name > That Thing You Do!
Final spot: #237 out of 3162.

The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)

IMDb plot summary: The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.
Directed by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub. Starring Gustav Leonhardt, Christiane Lang, Paolo Carlini, and Ernst Castelli.

This feels less like a film than just a Bach concert in period costume with occasional readings explaining pieces of Bach's life. I feel like that would be a more interesting way to see this as well, as perhaps it would allow for readers who had a bit more expression. I had to actually slow down the video and audio during the spoken portions because they are spoken so quickly and with so little inflection that I had a great deal of difficulty following along with them. The music of course was very nice, but I'm not at all well-versed in Bach and couldn't tell you if it was an especially good performance of any of these. Certainly an interesting format for a music history movie, but it didn't draw me in as much as I hoped it would.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach < The Sandlot
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach > One 2 Ka 4
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach < Tulpan
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach > Goldfinger
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach > Tiramisu
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach < Steel Magnolias
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach < Four Weddings and a Funeral
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach < Lovelace
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach > Gozu
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach > Mission: Impossible
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach < The Core

Final spot: #2064 out of 3161.

Volver (2006)

IMDb plot summary: After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, and Blanca Portillo.

My last Almodóvar I'll get to this month, I think, and easily my favorite. It's one of the best performances I've seen thus far from Penélope Cruz, it's another one with a rich cast of nuanced and complex women, the plots seemed to unfold from each other and connect thematically rather than be thrown down from the sky at random... And the visuals here are truly stunning. I noted Almodóvar's use of color in other films, but this is the first time it actually brought up an emotional response from me. Either I saved the best for last or I'm finally finding my way to understanding his work. Either way, as I most likely take a break from him for a bit, I'm glad to have gone out on a high note.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Volver > Hook
Volver < Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Volver > Captains Courageous
Volver > The Whistleblower
Volver > Le samourai
Volver > Sneakers
Volver < Notting Hill
Volver < The Great Silence
Volver > Auntie Mame
Volver > Hoodwinked!
Volver < Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
Final spot: #829 out of 3160.

All About My Mother (1999)

IMDb plot summary: Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his second mother, a trans woman, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, and Antonia San Juan.

As I've been watching a LOT of Almodovar, I reach this one, which one the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as being his #1 film on Flickchart. I hoped this would be my turning point in understanding his films, as this seems to be one of his more accessible, but... it isn't quite. I really appreciate a film with so many rich female characters (I LOVE that the first man credited on IMDb is a full seven spots down -- that like never happens), and I thought many of them had interesting moments in and of themselves, but as always I can't find his narrative throughline. What experience is he trying to convey? What questions is he trying to raise or answer about motherhood or female relationships or gender identity? No clue. It all feels engaging enough as it goes along but ultimately I can't find the heart of it. Were it not for the more grounded character of Manuela, the entire thing would have felt more like the sensationalized soap operas his other films conjure for me, but her groundedness just conveys a sense that *something* deeper is meant to be going on here and it's just whooshing past me.

How it entered my Flickchart:
All About My Mother > The Lion in Winter (2003)
All About My Mother < Hairspray Live!
All About My Mother < Nick of Time
All About My Mother > Beverly Hills Cop
All About My Mother > The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
All About My Mother > A Man Escaped
All About My Mother < The Killing of a Sacred Deer
All About My Mother < At First Sight
All About My Mother < The Sound of Music
All About My Mother < Never a Dull Moment
All About My Mother < The Miracle Worker
All About My Mother > Quiz Show
Final spot: #1233 out of 3159.

Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)

IMDb plot summary: On the Carolina coast, Godolphin College's new track coach lodges at Blackbeard's Inn, run by the Daughters of the Buccaneers, who claim to be descendants of the notorious pirate, and who risk losing their hotel to the local mobster.
Directed by Robert Stevenson. Starring Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, and Elsa Lanchester.

Well, this is is just goofy and charming and is absolutely something I would have loved as a kid. It feels very much in the vein of The Absent-Minded Professor, down to the failing college sports team and their magical wins. Dean Jones is my least favorite of Disney's recurring live action actors -- he never quite pulls off the character who has magical stuff happening to them, he just always comes across as kind of stupid -- but Peter Ustinov is a lot of fun and I did laugh out loud at a few of the visual antics, especially toward the end. Very well-trodden path for Disney but enjoyable nonetheless.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Blackbeard's Ghost > The Lion in Winter (2003)
Blackbeard's Ghost < Muriel's Wedding
Blackbeard's Ghost > Singles
Blackbeard's Ghost > Kagemusha
Blackbeard's Ghost < A League of Their Own
Blackbeard's Ghost < The Shoes of the Fisherman
Blackbeard's Ghost > How to Train Your Dragon
Blackbeard's Ghost < Carefree
Blackbeard's Ghost > Andhadhun
Blackbeard's Ghost < There Will Be Blood
Blackbeard's Ghost > Monsters Vs. Aliens
Final spot: #952 out of 3158.

Danger: Diabolik (1968)

IMDb plot summary: International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them.
Directed by Mario Bava. Starring John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, and Adolfo Celi.

This is easily more entertaining than Barbarella, the other De Laurentiis-produced film I've seen from 1968. It is beyond ridiculous and the ending scene made me laugh out loud, but it is enjoyably zany. This was apparently the final episode of MST3K before its 2010s revival, and this is definitely one that would be fun to riff. An engaging B-movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Danger: Diabolik < The Devil Wears Prada
Danger: Diabolik > The Motorcycle Diaries
Danger: Diabolik < Julie & Julia
Danger: Diabolik < My Best Friend's Wedding
Danger: Diabolik < The Children's Hour
Danger: Diabolik > Night at the Museum
Danger: Diabolik < Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Danger: Diabolik < The First Wives Club
Danger: Diabolik < Bad Moms
Danger: Diabolik > Withnail & I
Danger: Diabolik < Batman Begins
Final spot: #2314 out of 3157.

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

IMDb plot summary: Operation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
Directed by Richard Attenborough. Starring Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Paul Maxwell, and Dirk Bogarde.

(Mild spoilers ahead.)

While I typically find war films extremely uninteresting, I found myself interested by this for at least the first two out of three hours. I particularly found myself intrigued by the focus in the early half on how many people attempted or wanted to speak about the concerns they had with the mission, only to be shut themselves down or be shut down by others for quasi-political reasons. This is a pretty impressive cast to assemble too (I legitimately didn't recognize Anthony Hopkins until last third) but they don't stand out as individuals as much as they seem to be representing the ensemble of whichever group they're with, which would usually be a negative for me but, again, kind of works here. It doesn't hit as hard in the last third for me as other stories of failed war missions, but it still worked for me a lot more than I expected.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Bridge Too Far < The Lion in Winter (2003)
A Bridge Too Far > Tombstone
A Bridge Too Far > Happythankyoumoreplease
A Bridge Too Far > Dr. No
A Bridge Too Far > A Scanner Darkly
A Bridge Too Far > Oblivion
A Bridge Too Far > Avengers: Infinity War
A Bridge Too Far > No eres tu, soy yo
A Bridge Too Far > Trumbo
A Bridge Too Far > Holiday Affair
A Bridge Too Far < The Age of the Medici

Final spot: #1581 out of 3156.

Bandidas (2006)

IMDb plot summary: In turn-of-the-century Mexico, two very different women become a bank-robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorizing their town.
Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. Starring Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steven Zahn, and Dwight Yoakam.

In the first 15-20 minutes or so of this movie, I was having a good time. Some interesting female characters teaming up to rob corrupt banks is a good premise. And then... whoo, did it go off the deep end. The characters lose all their early promise and devolve into petty cat fights and slapstick revolving entirely around them as sexual objects. How tremendously disappointing.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Bandidas < Swing Time
Bandidas < Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Bandidas > The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Bandidas > Countdown
Bandidas < Premonition
Bandidas < Brother Bear
Bandidas < Rebel Without a Cause
Bandidas < Facing the Giants
Bandidas > The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Bandidas < The Omega Code
Bandidas < Run Fatboy Run
Bandidas > Glory Road
Final spot: #2556 out of 3155.

Vampyr (1932)

IMDb plot summary: A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Starring Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, and Sybille Schmitz.

I'm a huge fan of early vampire movie Nosferatu and was a little less charmed by this one. I kept being aware of just how very slowly it was moving. It does however have some really nicely unsetting moments. I was particularly struck by the visuals of the shadows not cast by people -- that was always eerie every time. Definitely worth a watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Vampyr > Trumbo
Vampyr < Muriel's Wedding
Vampyr < Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Vampyr < Strictly Ballroom
Vampyr > Something to Sing About
Vampyr < The Blues Brothers
Vampyr < Munich
Vampyr < Father of the Bride Part II
Vampyr > Arctic
Vampyr > Frank
Vampyr < Monsters
Final spot: #1468 out of 3154.

Police Story (1985)

IMDb plot summary: A virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.
Directed by Jackie Chan and Chi-Hwa Chen. Starring Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, and Kwok-Hung Lam.

This is very fun and silly. As always, Jackie Chan is a charismatic action star, and he's given lots to do here, including some wonderfully goofy gags -- the one with the telephones at the police station especially amused me. The police procedural scenes aren't nearly as interesting as either the fight scenes or the comedic scenes, but they hold the story together just fine. All in all, an enjoyable little movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Police Story > The Good Dinosaur
Police Story < Muriel's Wedding
Police Story < Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Police Story > Broken Blossoms
Police Story > Natural Born Killers
Police Story > Children of Paradise
Police Story > Green Room
Police Story < Intolerable Cruelty
Police Story > Lo
Police Story < The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Police Story > Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe
Final spot: #1198 out of 3153.

Gothika (2003)

IMDb plot summary: A depressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the asylum where she worked, with no memory of why she is there or what she has done.
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, and John Carroll Lynch.

When Halle Berry looks the bad guy in the eyes and says, "Logic is overrated," she is absolutely trying to convince the audience to like this movie, because it is absolutely ridiculous. But I found myself liking it way more than I should, in a cheesy lurid B-movie kind of way. A lot of reviews of this movie cited Halle Berry's performance as being good even among the mess, and I absolutely agree, I think she's what holds this thing together for me even while the plot is spinning off into goofiness. A silly, enjoyably atmospheric watch for me, but it is a ludicrous movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Gothika < Lost in America
Gothika > Life with Father
Gothika > Metropolis (1927)
Gothika > Incredibles 2
Gothika < The Deer Hunter
Gothika > Lazer Team
Gothika < South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Gothika < La Haine
Gothika < Air Force One
Gothika < Tokyo Story
Gothika > First Blood
Gothika < Inland Empire
Final spot: #1720 out of 3150.

Tomboy (2011)

IMDb plot summary: A family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.
Directed by Céline Sciamma. Starring Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson, and Sophie Cattani.

This is such a lovely simple little movie. I love that it doesn't jump all over the place trying to dig into the psyche of or diagnose this child or provide All These Reasons why she did what she did... it just tells the story of the time she told people she was a boy and how that went. Gender expression can be complicated. I really loved the scenes with the little sister who not only accepted but loved Laure/Mickael, whether as her sister or her brother. Really beautifully done.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Tomboy > A Foreign Affair
Tomboy > Gremlins
Tomboy < Broadway Danny Rose
Tomboy > The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
Tomboy > A Streetcar Named Desire
Tomboy < Black Panther
Tomboy > Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Tomboy > I've Loved You so Long
Tomboy > Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Tomboy < High School Musical
Tomboy < Now, Voyager
Tomboy < In the Loop
Final spot: #448 out of 3149.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)

IMDb plot summary: An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles León, and María Barranco.

(Spoilers ahead.)

Oooooof. So from what I've been reading about Almodovar's take on this movie, I THINK I'm supposed to end the movie sympathizing with the kidnapper and rooting for their relationship in some dark quirky way, and I just... can't. He's just so clearly going to murder her the first time they have any disagreements. I can kind of make it work if I assume that her tears at the end are a Graduate-style "what have I done" response, but reviews and synopses are telling me those are tears of happiness. It's apparently suppposed to be half romantic comedy and half horror but it's just full horror for me, and far too realistic in how he treats her for me to even lean into the "But, Hannah, you like Beauty and the Beast!" vibe.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < The Good Dinosaur
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! > Life with Father
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < The Little Princess (1939)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < The Dinner Game
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < Sorry, Wrong Number
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < The Love Witch
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < Without a Clue
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! > Blue Velvet
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! < Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut
Final spot: #2357 out of 3148.

Live Flesh (1997)

IMDb plot summary: After leaving jail, Víctor is still in love with Elena, but she's married to the former cop -now basketball player- who became paralysed by a shot from Víctor's gun...
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Javier Bardem, Francesca Nero, Liberto Rabal, and Ángela Molina. 

(Mild spoilers.)

Several reviews call this out as one of Almodovar's more restrained films, which perhaps allows this to work a little better for me than most of his others have. I was really struck by the characterization in this. While I couldn't for the life of me figure out who I was actually supposed to be rooting for (Clara maybe? Victor by the end?) it actually improved my opinion of the movie because it felt here like a result of nuanced characters rather than a muddled worldview. And every dramatic twist seemed to be genuinely tied to their characters, rather than a curveball thrown in my fate, allowing me to follow the characters' arcs. I admit the political angle is lost on me here -- I can't figure out how the title card detailing loss of civil rights in 1970s Spain connects to the rest of the story -- but at least the strictly narrative pieces here felt less inscrutable than my previous Almodovar's. I'm making progress!

How it entered my Flickchart:
Live Flesh > The Stalking Moon
Live Flesh < Gremlins
Live Flesh < Wonder Man
Live Flesh > Phantom Thread
Live Flesh < Ice Age
Live Flesh > Limitless
Live Flesh < Notes on a Scandal
Live Flesh > The Master
Live Flesh < You Can Count on Me
Live Flesh < My Favorite Year
Live Flesh < Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)
Live Flesh > Alice (1990)
Final spot: #1313 out of 3147.

Bad Education (2004)

IMDb plot summary: An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, and Lluís Homar.

Pedro Almodovar really likes to toss just, like, every plot device in his movies, huh? I've now seen two back to back (with more to go, as I'm watching a bunch of his movies for a movie group I'm in) and they both leave me with a similar feeling, of being just... too busy and too all-over-the-place. I can't settle into what I'm supposed to be getting out of this, either experientially or intellectually. That being said, as a "just buckle in and enjoy the ride" with some good scenes, including one that really only hit me hindsight. But this director hasn't snapped into place for me yet.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Bad Education > The Stalking Moon
Bad Education < Gremlins
Bad Education < Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Bad Education < I Saw the Devil
Bad Education > Star Trek: Nemesis
Bad Education < Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Bad Education > Les Miserables (2012)
Bad Education > Camp
Bad Education > Ratatouille
Bad Education > My Week With Marilyn
Bad Education > The Seventh Seal
Bad Education < The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (1990)
Final spot: #1427 out of 3146.

In the Year of the Pig (1968)

IMDb plot summary: A documentary chronicling the background to, and history of, the Vietnam War.
Directed by Emile de Antonio.

While this is fascinating as a documentary in that it is *so* close in time to the Vietnam War, it's also a war documentary, which is just not my genre at all. I'm a little embarrassed to admit just how little I know about our time in Vietnam, and watching this documentary happening right in the thick of it speaks to an audience with a greater shared understanding of the conflict as current events than I have as someone born 20 years after it ended. It could very well be one for me to come back to sometime with a stronger grasp on the details of the conflict, but for now I'm interested in it more as a piece of history documentation than as an engaging watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:
In the Year of the Pig < Cake
In the Year of the Pig > Shrek 2
In the Year of the Pig < The 400 Blows
In the Year of the Pig > Where to Invade Next
In the Year of the Pig > When Strangers Click
In the Year of the Pig > The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
In the Year of the Pig < Pat and Mike
In the Year of the Pig > Sliding Doors
In the Year of the Pig > Despicable Me
In the Year of the Pig > Vantage Point
In the Year of the Pig > Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Final spot: #1992 out of 3145.

Broken Embraces (2009)

IMDb plot summary: Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, and José Luis Gómez.

Oh goodness, all the drama in this one. It's a very soap opera-esque plot, full of hidden secrets and dramatic reveals, and I had trouble really connecting with it deeply because I was all a little too aware of the farfetchedness of so many plot points. I did enjoy the ending, and I liked some of the visuals. A lot of reviews I read pointed specifically to the use of primary colors throughout, which was definitely distinct, though it wasn't quite enough to wow me when the plot didn't.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Broken Embraces > Dumbo
Broken Embraces < Forgiving Dr. Mengele
Broken Embraces < Once Upon a Mattress (2005)
Broken Embraces < White Nights
Broken Embraces < The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Broken Embraces > Dunkirk
Broken Embraces > Smokin' Aces
Broken Embraces < Closer
Broken Embraces < Poulenc: Dialoguess des Carmelites
Broken Embraces < The Vanishing
Broken Embraces < The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe (1988)
Broken Embraces < Cinema Paradiso
Final spot: #1498 out of 3144.