Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013)

IMDb plot summary: Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.

Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. Starring Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, and Aurélien Recoing.

This film REALLY likes to zoom in on its characters' bodies -- uncomfortably close. I feel like fully half of the movie is seeing snot and saliva and other bodily fluids so close up it's like I'm touching them, and it's an aesthetic that I find deeply off-putting. And it's just deeply uncomfortable to see so many extended sex scenes in the early parts of the movie where Adele is still underage. On top of that, I don't find the story all that engaging. Adele herself, yes, but her relationship with Emma is told in exceptionally slow little anecdotes with huge gaps in between that don't ever really come together to create a fully fleshed-out story for me.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Blue Is the Warmest Color < The Chalk Garden

Blue Is the Warmest Color > The Birthday Party

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Sarah, Plain and Tall

Blue Is the Warmest Color > After the Thin Man

Blue Is the Warmest Color > Hide and Seek

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Genius

Blue Is the Warmest Color > Cinderella (2015)

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Less Than Zero

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Miller's Crossing

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Cellular

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Little Women (1933)

Blue Is the Warmest Color < Carol

Final spot: #2128 out of 3283, or 35%.

Orgazmo (1997)

IMDb plot summary: Naive young Mormon Joe Young is recruited to act in porn movies.

Directed by Trey Parker. Starring Trey Parker, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne Raab, and Michael Dean Jacobs.

You can definitely see the seeds of what would later become The Book of Mormon musical in this goofy comedy, especially in early scenes where he and his mission partner are going door-to-door. My reaction to this was ALL over the place -- there are several moments that are laugh-out-loud hilarious, but there are also a lot of moments that reinforce the harmful ways media portrays sex overall, including homophobia, fatphobia, and a whole montage of comedically-portrayed sexual assault, none of which work well at all. Most of these jokes are over pretty quickly, but they definitely drag down what is otherwise a pretty funny absurdist look at the industry from a complete outsider's perspective. For those whose style of humor aligns pretty closely with Parker and Stone, it's probably worth a watch for the good moments.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Orgazmo > Dogtooth

Orgazmo < Chronicle

Orgazmo > Hoosiers

Orgazmo < The Emperor Waltz

Orgazmo > An Education

Orgazmo > 2012

Orgazmo > Prometheus

Orgazmo < Andhadhun

Orgazmo > Mr. Deeds Goes To Town

Orgazmo > The Theory of Everything

Orgazmo < The Absent-Minded Professor

Final spot: #1040 out of 3281, or 68%.

Hoop Dreams (1994)

IMDb plot summary: A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.

Directed by Steve James.

This documentary follows its young subjects from eighth grade up through high school graduation, and it's captivating throughout. We see the boys wrestle with grades, school tuition costs, losing parents, becoming parents, losing friends, recovering from injuries, and more, all while trying to play their way into a basketball scholarship at a good school. It's impossible not to root for these kids as you see all the expectations placed on them not only by themselves but by their family members, many of whom had dreams of basketball fame themselves and now hope to see those dreams lived out through someone else. And it definitely gives us a glance into the system that keeps young people feeling trapped -- for both these kids, a basketball scholarship feels like the only chance they have of "getting out" and getting a life they want. It's a powerful and thoughtful film.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Hoop Dreams > Dog Tooth

Hoop Dreams < My Name Is Joe

Hoop Dreams > A Doll's House

Hoop Dreams > The Happening

Hoop Dreams > The Last Metro

Hoop Dreams > Re-Animator

Hoop Dreams > Hawking

Hoop Dreams > Crocodile Dundee

Hoop Dreams > Barton Fink

Hoop Dreams > Whip It

Hoop Dreams > The Black Cat

Hoop Dreams < Chronicle

Final spot: #822 out of 3280, or 75%.

Swimming With Sharks (1994)

IMDb plot summary: A young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.

Directed by George Huang. Starring Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, Michelle Forbes, and Benicio Del Toro.

This all hinges on Frank Whaley and Kevin Spacey's performances, and they are both great. Spacey has always excelled at playing cold, cruel people, and this is no exception. And Whaley's ruthless ambition shines through even in the early scenes before we wonder if he's starting to be corrupted by his boss' view of power. The third lead is a female character and her treatment in the movie... well, leaves more than a little to be desired. While that definitely is meant to speak to the obvious misogyny of Spacey's character and how he sees her, the film doesn't do a GREAT job of fleshing her out as an individual, and I think that was a missed opportunity. However, it's still largely a smart, interesting film and I did still have a good time watching it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Swimming With Sharks > Pitch Perfect 2

Swimming With Sharks < Chronicle

Swimming With Sharks < A Doll's House

Swimming With Sharks < You Can Count on Me

Swimming With Sharks > Hamlet (2009)

Swimming With Sharks > Bonnie and Clyde

Swimming With Sharks > Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Swimming With Sharks < Bridge of Spies

Swimming With Sharks > Cast Away

Swimming With Sharks > Pather Panchali

Swimming With Sharks > A Star Is Born (1954)

Final spot: #1448 out of 3277, or 56%, which seems far too low but the chart doesn't lie!

The Hill (1965)

IMDb plot summary: In a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, and Alfred Lynch.

This is a genre I usually can't get into at all, but this is crafted so well it does push past those negative genre biases. It's especially interesting how the film shows things that already push characters to the margins of society -- such as weight, race, and sexual orientation -- being used as fuel to further humiliate and dehumanize these prisoners. It also does a really wonderful job of growing the tension of injustice. As the prisoners try more and more avenues to achieve human treatment, and the higher-ups close more doors in their faces, you can REALLY feel the rising panic of "There's nothing we can do about this," even as the circumstances continue to worsen. The scenes on the hill itself are shot really well and convey a really visceral sense of physical punishment. Definitely a movie to check out.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Hill > Pitch Perfect 2

The Hill < My Name Is Joe

The Hill > A Doll's House

The Hill > The Polka King

The Hill > The Last Metro

The Hill < Re-Animator

The Hill > Auntie Mame

The Hill > Gone Baby Gone

The Hill > The Color Purple

The Hill > Unbreakable

The Hill > Wonder Boys

The Hill > Billy Liar

Final spot: #871 out of 3276, or 73%.

Cargo (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A young female astronaut, who joins a reclusive astronaut aboard a spaceship, struggles with her job as she interacts with mysterious Cargos that appear on the ship.

Directed by Arati Kadav. Starring Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Nandu Madhav, and Konkona Sen Sharma.

These are likable characters, and it's fun to watch how they interact with each other and with their cargo. The plot itself is a very light one and is much more focused on the idea of exploring this world, and that is definitely the most engaging part of the story. The tedious bureaucracy of this life-and-death cycle, the casual existence of otherworldly creatures dubbed "demons," the supernatural powers everyone has, the extended lifespans you don't realize are a thing until nearly the end of the movie... It's a fascinating little future to be dropped in the middle of. And as a quiet exploration of a possible future, it's very successful. It might be striving for more, some lessons about lives worth lived or something along those lines, and it's much less successful there, but still worth a watch as a creative universe to set a story in.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Cargo > Broken Embraces

Cargo < My Name Is Joe

Cargo > Phone Booth

Cargo > Under the Skin

Cargo < The Last Metro

Cargo < Peggy Sue Got Married

Cargo > The Artist

Cargo < Seven Chances

Cargo < We're No Angels

Cargo < A Snoodle's Tale

Cargo < The Mummy (1932)

Cargo > L'atalante

Final spot: #996 out of 3275, or 70%.

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

IMDb plot summary: In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.

Directed by François Truffaut. Starring Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack, and Anton Diffring.

This is a book that has lingered in the public consciousness for a long time and is still an atmospheric dystopian world, but aside from the beautiful and moving final scene, I'm not sure the film does the book any favors. The decision to cast Julie Christie in two parts was especially ineffective, as she gives essentially the same portrayal of both of them, and the script makes Montag's change of heart feel rather abrupt and unjustified. The final third or so is definitely the strongest, and as I said I truly adored the final scene, but overall it feels like a rather cold adaptation of a story about the power of art.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Fahrenheit 451 > Broken Embraces

Fahrenheit 451 < My Name Is Joe

Fahrenheit 451 < A Doll's House

Fahrenheit 451 < You Can Count on Me

Fahrenheit 451 < Hamlet (2009)

Fahrenheit 451 < Duel

Fahrenheit 451 > Hellboy

Fahrenheit 451 > The Misfits

Fahrenheit 451 < Sunday in the Park with George

Fahrenheit 451 < Monsters

Fahrenheit 451 < Dark and Stormy Night

Fahrenheit 451 < Frank

Final spot: #1598 out of 3274, or 51%.

Joker (2019)

IMDb plot summary: In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

Directed by Todd Phillips. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy.

Gotham is certainly not a far cry from any US city in how unforgiving it is for those in need, and it's clear that the film is trying to make something of a statement about modern-day treatment of mental health issues. It's a compelling watch, and Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerizing, so overall I think it is a pretty good movie... However, it does still fall at least somewhat into the trap that made me want to not see the movie in the first place, in that Joker is so beloved and compelling a character that this film inevitably glamorizes him and his message of "Those who have wronged me get what they deserve and I cannot be blamed for wreaking vengeance on them." I wish this story had been told without invoking this character. Nothing in the narrative demands a comic book back story. And I think I would have liked it much better had it not come with the baggage Joker carries with him.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Joker > Letters from Iwo Jima

Joker < My Name Is Joe

Joker > Phone Booth

Joker < The Polka King

Joker < Inherit the Wind

Joker < The Impossible

Joker > Poltergeist

Joker < The Thin Man

Joker > Starship Troopers

Joker > Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

Joker > Battle Royale

Joker > Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

Final spot: #1189 out of 3273, or 64%.

My Dinner With Andre (1981)

IMDb plot summary: Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.

Directed by Louis Malle. Starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn.

This is a slow, talky, philosophical movie, which sometimes is EXACTLY the kind of thing I love. This one... definitely falls a little flat. I think I attribute that to Andre Gregory's demeanor more than anything. As he shares, he frequently comes across as one of those smug people who is sure they have all the answers and looks down with pity on the poor plebes who don't get it yet. Combine that with the fact that his journey to find himself dances REAL close to the "poverty tourism" line, and we just get a character I loathe. You can absolutely do talky philosophy movies -- Waking Life and Before Sunrise, both by Richard Linklater, excel at this. But you have to want to be around those characters and listen to them talk and find their ideas captivating, and I found Gregory so off-putting that it was a constant mental effort to focus away from him as a person and listen to his ideas at all. A mismatch for me.

How it entered my Flickchart:

My Dinner With Andre < Broken Embraces

My Dinner With Andre < The Best Years of Our Lives

My Dinner With Andre > Special

My Dinner With Andre > Rancho Notorious

My Dinner With Andre > Bedtime Story

My Dinner With Andre > Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

My Dinner With Andre < Lilo & Stitch

My Dinner With Andre > Little Manhattan

My Dinner With Andre > Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

My Dinner With Andre > Kelly's Heroes

My Dinner With Andre < It's Always Fair Weather

Final spot: #2482 out of 3272, or 24%.

Christmas on the Square (2020)

IMDb plot summary: An embittered "Scrooge" of a woman plans to sell her small town, regardless of the consequences to the people who live there.

Directed by Debbie Allen. Starring Christine Baranski, Dolly Parton, Jenifer Lewis, and Josh Segarra.'

This is apparently based on a stage play, and it absolutely has a "filmed community theater holiday production" vibe to it, with a lot of the primary actors turning in just the hammiest and most bizarre performances I've ever seen. The story itself also makes zero sense, the songs are most definitely NOT Parton's best work, themes are emphasized only to be abruptly dropped. There are some just outright baffling decisions, like the eight-year-old child apparently left to tend bar in her father's establishment while he's off at a protest meeting at the church (where an entire song gleefully suggests physically assaulting Baranski) -- and then Baranski and the child sing a cynical duet about how awful life is while nursing their respective cocktails. Like... whose idea was that? Who greenlit it? It's a baffling and hilarious movie that's worth a watch with a snarky movie companion.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Christmas on the Square < Broken Embraces

Christmas on the Square > Secondhand Lions

Christmas on the Square < Anchors Aweigh

Christmas on the Square < Sideways

Christmas on the Square < The Black Stallion

Christmas on the Square > Elizabethtown

Christmas on the Square > Love in the Afternoon

Christmas on the Square < Give My Regards to Broad Street

Christmas on the Square < Heidi (1937)

Christmas on the Square < Ivan the Terrible, Part One

Christmas on the Square > How to Deal

Christmas on the Square < My Favorite Wife

Final spot: #2374 out of 3271, or 27%.

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

IMDb plot summary: Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.

Directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, and Nia Long.

This was based heavily on writer-director John Singleton's experiences, and it carries that aura of authenticity. These characters are rich and real, these neighborhoods feel lived in, these dilemmas feel weighty. I was most drawn to Ice Cube's debut performance as Doughboy, the main character's childhood best friend who has just been released from prison in the latter half of the film. It's a tremendous performance with so much subtext, and it's especially powerful as this kind of character is often written as a flat stereotype in films about inner-city crime. And that's the best part -- NONE of these characters are stereotypes, which makes it so, so easy to get drawn into their stories. Part of the film's message is that either nobody knows or nobody cares what's happening in these parts of the country, and art like this is a powerful tool for amplifying those voices and getting people to care. Great film.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Boyz n the Hood > Broken Embraces

Boyz n the Hood > Chronicle

Boyz n the Hood > Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Boyz n the Hood < Arrival

Boyz n the Hood < The Florida Project

Boyz n the Hood < Inglourious Basterds

Boyz n the Hood > Naughty Marietta

Boyz n the Hood < The Kindergarten Teacher

Boyz n the Hood > Romancing the Stone

Boyz n the Hood < Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Boyz n the Hood > Perfect Blue

Final spot: #373 out of 3270, or 89%.

Billy Liar (1963)

IMDb plot summary: A lazy, irresponsible young clerk (Sir Tom Courtenay) in provincial Northern England lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family.

Directed by John Schlesinger. Starring by Tom Courtenay, Wilfred Pickles, Mona Washbourne, and Ethel Griffies.

This film is a sort of strange cross between The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and A Clockwork Orange. Its title comes from the fact that Billy just constantly lies, to everyone, about everything, and when caught in a lie he spins another to try to right it. But despite doing and thinking terrible things, there's a tragedy about Billy as well -- he fabricates stories about getting away from this town and starting an exciting new life elsewhere, but when it comes down to it he's too scared to take the necessary steps, because if he actually tries, he might fail. The film gives him more empathy than he deserves, frankly, but it does show just how thoroughly he's stuck in the persona he's created for himself, and it's a compelling and well-done character study.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Billy Liar > Letters from Iwo Jima

Billy Liar < Chronicle

Billy Liar > Kill Bill Vol. 1

Billy Liar > Under the Skin

Billy Liar > The Last Metro

Billy Liar < Center Stage

Billy Liar > Auntie Mame

Billy Liar > Gone Baby Gone

Billy Liar > The Color Purple

Billy Liar > Unbreakable

Billy Liar > Wonder Boys

Billy Liar < Re-Animator

Final spot: #870 out of 3269, or 73%.

The Babysitter (2017)

IMDb plot summary: The events of one evening take an unexpected turn for the worst for a young boy trying to spy on his babysitter.

Directed by McG. Starring Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell, and Hana Mae Lee.

This movie has an incredibly silly premise and is everything I hoped it would be -- campy and cheesy and over-the-top and made me laugh a lot. Every so often its metacommentary on high school tropes would dance right on the edge of being annoying but then would find its balance again. This is one of those movies that can go so right or so wrong based almost solely on its execution, so seeing it executed well was a real treat. I especially love the strange dynamic between the main character and the evil cult jock, who tries to encourage the kid to stand up for himself to the local bully (before then trying to murder him). It is a wild, goofy ride that completely entertained me and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Babysitter > Letters from Iwo Jima

The Babysitter > Chronicle

The Babysitter < Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

The Babysitter > The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Babysitter < Dawn of the Dead (2004)

The Babysitter > Loving Vincent

The Babysitter < Jesus People: The Movie

The Babysitter > Moonrise Kingdom

The Babysitter < Jojo Rabbit

The Babysitter < 22 Jump Street

The Babysitter > Scream

The Babysitter > Red Eye

Final spot: #545 out of 3268, or 83%.

13th (2016)

IMDb plot summary: An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Directed by Ava DuVernay.

The title of this film is a reference to the 13th amendment, which abolishes slavery except in the case of those convicted of crimes, and then looks at how this current legal slavery affects black communities. It's a sobering bit of education, tracing the system's history all the way from just after the Civil War through the civil rights movement, the war on drugs, the war on crime, and Black Lives Matter. While I'd learned a lot of this from various sources through the years, it's intense to see it laid out so clearly this way, with archival footage alongside historians and activists and politicians commenting on the effect these policies have had on minority communities. The film came out several years ago now but definitely carries further weight after the June 2020 protests, especially looking at the many examples of law enforcement escalating peaceful protests with violent tactics. This is definitely an important and concise look at something our country needs to take seriously.

How it entered my Flickchart:

13th > Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

13th < Chronicle

13th > American Outlaws

13th > Mary Poppins Returns

13th > Dangerous Liaisons

13th < Re-Animator

13th < Nerve

13th > Husbands and Wives

13th > Forgetting Sarah Marshall

13th < Morgan

13th > Manhattan Murder Mystery

Final spot: #897 out of 3267, or 73%.

The Last Metro (1980)

IMDb plot summary: In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.

Directed by François Truffaut. Starring Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poirot, and Andréa Ferréol.

This film is very effective in showing the small ways in which Nazi Germany chipped away at human rights and how that affected people who before this point might not have considered themselves political at all. We are watching a series of resistances here, both small and large, for all kinds of personal and political reasons. There's also a bit of a love story, but the movie isn't ABOUT that, and that love story resolution makes it even clearer that it is secondary to the broader story of resistance. The film's resolution, by the way, is an interesting choice, and without spoiling anything I just want to say I think it is a perfect little thematic wrap-up and works very well. François Truffaut has been hit-or-miss for me, but I appreciate this one a lot -- it is definitely a hit.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Last Metro > Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

The Last Metro < Chronicle

The Last Metro > American Outlaws

The Last Metro > Mary Poppins Returns

The Last Metro > Dangerous Liaisons

The Last Metro < Center Stage

The Last Metro < Auntie Mame

The Last Metro < What the Deaf Man Heard

The Last Metro < Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

The Last Metro < An American Werewolf in London

The Last Metro < Kursk

The Last Metro > Children of Men

Final spot: #917 out of 3266, or 72%.

Popcorn (1991)

IMDb plot summary: A master of disguise deranged killer begins killing off the college students who are organizing a horror-movie marathon in an abandoned theater.

Directed by Mark Herrier. Starring Jill Schoelen, Tom Villard, Dee Wallace, and Derek Rydall.

Popcorn tells the story of a group of film students who decide to put on a horror movie festival. As they prepare, they find a creepy film that was the precursor to a murder several years ago, and then... someone connected to that film and those murders comes back to make the film festival horrific as well. It's hard to succinctly describe the plot because so much of it circles around just a vague *sense* that something is wrong for about half the movie. One girl is having weird dreams, there's a weird old movie, Mom is getting creepy phone calls... It doesn't really gel until much later in the film, and even then whether it makes any sense is questionable. The most enjoyable piece of this actually is the series of films-within-a-film that is the group's horrorthon. We see short segments of delightfully tropey B-movies made up for the film, all of which purportedly came with a theatrical gimmick like pumping bad smells into the theater or vibrating the seats, and as the film group attempts to recreate those gimmicks, it does feel like a really enjoyable nostalgia trip. The actual story outside these mini-films is far less engaging (and often just kinda gross) but there are some fun moments here.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Popcorn < Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

Popcorn > Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Popcorn > Grace of Monaco

Popcorn < The Deer Hunter

Popcorn > Withnail & I

Popcorn > Event Horizon

Popcorn < Interstate 60

Popcorn > Wedding Crashers

Popcorn > Peter Pan Live!

Popcorn < Camp Rock

Popcorn < The Commitments

Popcorn > Horror of Dracula

Final spot: #1867 out of 3265, or 43%.

3 Generations (2015)

IMDb plot summary: After Ray decides to transition from female to male, Ray's mother, Maggie, must come to terms with the decision while tracking down Ray's biological father to get his legal consent.

Directed by Gaby Dellal. Starring Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon, and Tate Donovan.

This film garnered some controversy for casting Elle Fanning as the trans main character, rather than a trans actor or at least a cismale one to match the character's known gender, but frankly, the movie isn't good enough for that to be the deciding factor in its quality either way. This is very soap opera-style writing, with characters constantly emoting at a level 10 out of 10 for no known reason, and several moments of comedic relief not landing even a little bit. It makes the few moments that do ring genuine stand out and make me wish they were part of a better movie. Susan Sarandon as the lesbian grandmother is a truly obnoxious character that simultaneously pushes her family away and also attempts to worm her way into their business and I think it's supposed to be charming? It isn't, and neither is the movie overall.

How it entered my Flickchart:

3 Generations < Letters from Iwo Jima

3 Generations > Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

3 Generations > Grace of Monaco

3 Generations < King Kong (2005)

3 Generations > Withnail & I

3 Generations < Harry and the Henderson

3 Generations > Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

3 Generations > No Country for Old Men

3 Generations > Blow Out

3 Generations > Manhattan

3 Generations < My Sassy Girl

Final spot: #1889 out of 3262, or 42%.