Fly Away Home (1996)

IMDb plot summary: A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.

Directed by Carroll Ballard. Starring Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, and Dana Delany.

I had it in my head that this was just "a cheesy animal movie," which meant I'd probably not like it, but it definitely has more layers than that. Watching the father and daughter connecting over her unusual hobby is really charming, and the plot points of environmental issues with the birds' habitat hit harder when we know Paquin's deep emotional connection to the birds. The final third is a straight-up delightful family adventure with perfect pacing and a really lovely ending. Our two lead actors both nail their characters as well, playing subtle but instantly recognizable characters who are easy to root for. It's a gentle movie but well-done and accomplishes everything it's trying to do.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Fly Away Home > Sunday in the Park with George

Fly Away Home < My Name Is Joe

Fly Away Home < Fantasia 2000

Fly Away Home > Real Life

Fly Away Home < Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe

Fly Away Home < Imitation of Life (1959)

Fly Away Home < You Can Count on Me

Fly Away Home > Sleepy Hollow

Fly Away Home < Girl Shy

Fly Away Home > The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Fly Away Home > Happy-Go-Lucky

Fly Away Home > Muppet Treasure Island

Final spot: #1505 out of 3486, or 57%.

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

I've never been a fan of this show, largely because I'm wholly unmoved by Pasek & Paul's score, and the movie doesn't really help, with Ben Platt being far too old for this role and not being able to garner the necessary sympathy for his character's foolish teenage impulses when he's clearly a mid-twenties adult man. I can see glimpses of what people love about it though -- I'd say two or three times throughout the movie, there's a line or a look or a gesture and I suddenly feel deeply seen. It all fades away a moment later and becomes a muddled mess again, but there are these tiny bits of brilliance, and I can see people latching onto them. Sadly, they're very much drowned out by uncomfortable casting, lackluster songs, bad editing, and a plot that ultimate doesn't say as much as it thinks it does.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Dear Evan Hansen < Sunday in the Park with George

Dear Evan Hansen > Our Idiot Brother

Dear Evan Hansen < Batman: Under the Red Hood

Dear Evan Hansen < Kiki's Delivery Service

Dear Evan Hansen > Kill List

Dear Evan Hansen > The Amazing Spider-Man

Dear Evan Hansen < Marvin's Room

Dear Evan Hansen > Captain America: Civil War

Dear Evan Hansen < SpaceCamp

Dear Evan Hansen < The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach

Dear Evan Hansen > 12 Days of Terror

Dear Evan Hansen < Luther

Final spot: #2437 out of 3490, or 30%.

The King of Comedy (1982)

IMDb plot summary: Rupert Pupkin is a passionate yet unsuccessful comic who craves nothing more than to be in the spotlight and to achieve this, he stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, and Sandra Bernhard.

2019's Joker got a lot of comparisons to this film, and, well, it's obvious why. Joker is basically a King of Comedy remake crossed with Batman fan fiction. De Niro is incredibly compelling here -- the scenes where he practices his interviews with his hero, trying out different laughs on his jokes, are both tragic and chilling. Even when he ultimately crosses the line to fully disturbing, his sense of "I'm a good guy, I had no choice but to do this, surely they'll understand" is very unsettling to behold. The film somehow manages to combine the taut pacing of a thriller with the unhurried character development of many of Scorsese's dramas, and it's a marvelous combination. This is definitely one I see rising to the upper echelons of my Scorsese chart.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The King of Comedy > Sunday in the Park with George

The King of Comedy > My Name Is Joe

The King of Comedy < The Disaster Artist

The King of Comedy > Muppets Most Wanted

The King of Comedy < Mad Max: Fury Road

The King of Comedy > Shoplifters

The King of Comedy < The Babysitter

The King of Comedy > Yojimbo

The King of Comedy < The Fallen Idol

The King of Comedy > The Player

The King of Comedy < Thermae Romae

Final spot: #578 out of 3473, or 83%.

Mixed Nuts (1994)

IMDb plot summary: The events focus around a crisis hotline business on one crazy night during the Christmas holidays.

Directed by Nora Ephron. Starring Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, and Rita Wilson.

This movie is a LOT, and that kind of chaos has its hit or miss moments. For me, most of it hits. Even some of the moments that don't really work well on their own seem tamped down by everything else happening in the movie. There were several genuine laughs and I really love the final sentiment that emotions just get turned up to 11 during the holidays, so if it's miserable, waiting it out is a pretty solid idea. And despite its dark jokes, there's a sweetness to the movie. Every character here is seen as someone worthy and deserving of love and happiness, they just may be unsure how to best go about it or what to do with their trauma. It's definitely not a perfect movie but I find it hard not to embrace its messiness and enjoy it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Mixed Nuts > Sunday in the Park with George

Mixed Nuts > My Name Is Joe

Mixed Nuts < Soapdish

Mixed Nuts < Clue

Mixed Nuts < Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Mixed Nuts > Mr. Brooks

Mixed Nuts < Role Models

Mixed Nuts < Nebraska

Mixed Nuts < Oxygen

Mixed Nuts > The Paper

Mixed Nuts < The African Queen

Final spot: #813 out of 3488, or 77%.

Cyrano (2021)

IMDb plot summary: Too self-conscious to woo Roxanne himself, wordsmith Cyrano de Bergerac helps young Christian nab her heart through love letters.

Directed by Joe Wright. Starring Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Ben Mendelsohn, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Cyrano is the latest film take on Edmond Rostand's classic play Cyrano de Bergerac. This version is directed by Joe Wright, stars Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett, and includes songs by members of the band The National. For anyone who doesn't know the story, Cyrano is an extraordinarily witty but classically unattractive man (in the play he has an absurdly long nose; this version leans into Dinklage's height as his obstacle) who ends up working with an attractive but dull-witted man in his regiment to help him win over the beautiful woman they're both in love with. It's a complicated plot but one of my very favorite plays, and this story gets most of it right. The leads have really beautiful chemistry, and Dinklage is a stunning Cyrano, encompassing all at once the humor, the tragedy, and the arrogance of the character. Where it falls flat is the music. I've long held the opinion that the many attempted musical adaptations of Cyrano fall short because the original Rostand poetry is so stunning that your lyrics had BETTER measure up, and they usually don't, and that's the case here. Cyrano is far less eloquent in song than he is in prose, and the last thing you want is for your emotional stakes to go DOWN when the music starts. It'd be a great adaptation without the songs, it's still a pretty decent one with.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Cyrano > Hustle & Flow

Cyrano > Chronicle

Cyrano < Crimes and Misdemeanors

Cyrano < Clue

Cyrano < Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Cyrano > Dust

Cyrano < Role Models

Cyrano > The Beauty Inside

Cyrano > Detroit

Cyrano > The Impostors

Cyrano > Twins

Cyrano > The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Final spot: #790 out of 3484, or 77%.

Buffalo Soldiers (2001)

IMDb plot summary: A criminal subculture operates among U.S. soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall.

Directed by Gregor Jordan. Starring Joaquin Phonenix, Anna Paquin, Ed Harris, and Scott Glenn.

I was a little startled when I started adding this to my movie sites and learned it's billed as a comedy. I think it must be leaning on Phoenix's roguish disregard of the rules for its humor, but I honestly got none of that, probably because of how strongly I disliked Phoenix but probably also because it works decently well as a straight drama. Or at least enough that I generally enjoyed it as I watched it. Looking back on it now, a few days later, the details have not stuck with me at all, let alone any emotions about them. Not all movies are wonderfully great or horribly bad, a lot of them sit in the forgettable middle, and this is one of those.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Buffalo Soldiers < The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

Buffalo Soldiers > A Prairie Home Companion

Buffalo Soldiers < Flypaper

Buffalo Soldiers > Kiki's Delivery Service

Buffalo Soldiers > Dracula (1931)

Buffalo Soldiers > Mr. Pip

Buffalo Soldiers > Three Days of the Condor

Buffalo Soldiers < Coraline

Buffalo Soldiers < Run Lola Run

Buffalo Soldiers > Nowhere Boy

Buffalo Soldiers > The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Buffalo Soldiers < Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Final spot: #2197 out of 3480, or 37%.

The Shadow (1994)

IMDb plot summary: In 1930s New York City, The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan (John Lone), who is building an atomic bomb.

Directed by Russell Mulcahy. Starring Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, and Peter Boyle.

The movie this reminded me of most was Dick Tracy, another extremely stylized 1990s adaptation of a 1930s character. While this one is not quite as overtly cartoonish as Dick Tracy was, it’s definitely making some deliberate atmospheric choices out of realism and into a sort of aesthetic ideal of noir superhero. Those aesthetic choices are captivating, and they are unfortunately the only truly redeeming quality this film has. None of the performances are very interesting, the plot is very much relying on tired tropes of Asian mysticism, and the romance is forgettable. The film’s visuals may be enough to captivate viewers, but it’s a flawed film on the whole.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Shadow < Hustle & Flow

The Shadow > The Shaggy Dog (1959)

The Shadow < Ghost Ship

The Shadow < X-Men

The Shadow > Sex Tape

The Shadow < My Big Fat Greek Wedding

The Shadow > Baby Boom

The Shadow < Biloxi Blues

The Shadow > Vice

The Shadow < Where Eagles Dare

The Shadow < Charly

The Shadow < A Girl of the Limberlost

Final spot: #2452 out of 3460, or 29%.

Knocked Up (2007)

IMDb plot summary: For fun-loving party animal Ben Stone, the last thing he ever expected was for his one-night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she's pregnant with his child.

Directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, and Paul Rudd.

This movie is heavily about the characters and the dynamics of the two of them dealing with having a baby, and I really, really don't like either of these characters. I don't relate to them, I don't enjoy their company, and I don't really care how things go for them. That being said... there a lot of decent moments that work for me if I forget all the character set up I've been given. Take out all their character development and make this a series of sketches where two oddly matched people trying to navigate a pregnancy, and it's pretty enjoyable. So it ends up with a middle-of-the-road ranking for creating a good series of scenes centered on two people I can't stand.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Knocked Up > Hustle & Flow

Knocked Up < Jack Goes Boating

Knocked Up < About Elly

Knocked Up < Reality Bites

Knocked Up > The Forbidden Kingdom

Knocked Up > Gunpowder Milkshake

Knocked Up > The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Knocked Up < Censor

Knocked Up > Tangled

Knocked Up < The Italian Job (1969)

Knocked Up > Les Miserables (1935)

Final spot: #1536 out of 3469, or 56%.

Malignant (2021)

IMDb plot summary: Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

Directed by James Wan. Starring Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, and Michole Briana White.

This movie lets you know right away the tone that it wants, when the opening scene features a mysterious institutionalize patient escapes his room and causes the lights to flicker, to which a doctor says in an awestruck voice, "It's like he's... drinking the electricity!" And neither the dialogue nor the plot ever get less ridiculous. I have no idea how much of the film's big twist is revealed in marketing for the movie, so I won't spoil it just in case, but just know that the big reveal made me laugh out loud and yell, "WHAT AM I WATCHIING?!" It does yield some fight scene gimmicks which are genuine kind of cool, but as a whole it's more silly and ridiculous than anything. If you're in the movie for some goofy, gory horror, this will probably hit the spot.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Malignant < Hustle & Flow

Malignant > The Shaggy Dog (1959)

Malignant > V/H/S

Malignant > The 'Burbs

Malignant > The Lady from Shanghai

Malignant > After the Wedding

Malignant < The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

Malignant > Meet John Doe

Malignant < To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Malignant > My Girl

Malignant < High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Final spot: #1762 out of 3453, or 49%.

The Guilty (2021)

IMDb plot summary: A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough, Peter Sarsgaard, and Christina Vidal.

Sometimes there are those movies that just grab you, from minute one, and don't let go. This was one of those for me. Gyllenhaal is almost the only face we ever see in this film, and he carries it beautifully, keeping the tension up even while most of the time we're just watching his face. It feels like a play in the best way, in that it's so easy to get caught up with what's happening in front of you that don't even *notice* how narrow the focus is. The cinematography finds ways to keep things energetic, the dialogue is smart and well-written and does so much to show us Gyllenhaal's character and how his personal life and work life are converging. It reminded me of what I wanted Halle Berry's The Call to be, except this one actually sticks the landing. Powerful and intense and wonderfully crafted.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Guilty > Hustle & Flow

The Guilty > Chronicle

The Guilty > Crimes and Misdemeanors

The Guilty < The Orphanage

The Guilty > Nosferatu

The Guilty < The Apartment

The Guilty > The Usual Suspects

The Guilty < Saving Mr. Banks

The Guilty < Sister Act

The Guilty > Pitch Perfect

The Guilty > Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

The Guilty < Eighth Grade

Final spot: #293 out of 3485, or 92%.

A Month by the Lake (1995)

IMDb plot summary: At a Lake Como resort, Miss Bentley, an attractive older guest, meets a handsome, well-to-do bachelor. But when he's more interested in a beautiful young flirt, the mischievous Miss Bentley goes to outrageous lengths to reel in her catch.

Directed by John Irvin. Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, Uma Thurman, and Alida Valli.

The biggest problem this movie faces is that while it’s tremendously easy to root for Redgrave, it’s nearly impossible to root for Fox. He comes across as petulant, entitled, misogynistic, and perpetually in need of having his ego soothed. Watching Redgrave run circles around herself trying to salvage his pride is deeply painful and greatly detracts from the “summer by the sea” charm the movie is clearly trying to evoke. The landscape does look beautiful and relaxing, and it’d be so easy to settle into it if the movie kicked Fox’s character out entirely and focused on Redgrave enjoying her time there. But for now, I’d recommend A Room with a View or Enchanted April in a heartbeat over this muddled romance.

How it entered my Flickchart:

A Month by the Lake < Hustle & Flow

A Month by the Lake > The Shaggy Dog (1959)

A Month by the Lake < Ghost Ship

A Month by the Lake < Independence Day

A Month by the Lake > Sex Tape

A Month by the Lake < Monster

A Month by the Lake < Baby Boom

A Month by the Lake > The Da Vinci Code

A Month by the Lake < The 5th Wave

A Month by the Lake < Red River

A Month by the Lake > Side Effects

A Month by the Lake > The Devil's Brigade

Final spot: #2472 out of 3463, or 29%.

Q&A (1990)

IMDb plot summary: Dirty cop, Mike Brennan thinks he got away with murder. But during a routine Q&A, the righteous assistant DA finds a clue that sets them both on a collision course.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, Armand Assante, and Patrick O'Neal.

Sidney Lumet is no stranger to stories about corruption in law enforcement, having tackled it in other films like Serpico and Prince of the City. This time around he draws some interesting connections between it and rampant racism, looking at how the racial tensions in the city feed into the violence of it. Like most of Lumet's crime movies, I found myself thinking at the beginning, "All right, this is the one where it's going to feel like your typical crime film," only for it to capture my interest partway through. There's a scene toward the end where one of our antagonists is following our protagonists without their knowledge, and I found myself genuinely tensing up as the scene played out. It ends on a less hopeful note than some of his earlier films, but it's still interesting to watch Lumet tell and re-tell the same story through slightly different lenses.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Q & A < The Cutting Edge

Q & A > A Prairie Home Companion

Q & A > Flypaper

Q & A > Thank You for Smoking

Q & A > Shame (1968)

Q & A > Pitch Perfect 2

Q & A > Elle

Q & A < Malcolm X

Q & A < Nine Queens

Q & A > Hellboy

Q & A < The Last Castle

Final spot: #1762 out of 3477, or 49%.

With Honors (1994)

IMDb plot summary: Convinced his thesis will have him graduate with honors from Harvard University, a stuffy student finds himself at the mercy of a homeless man's demands when he holds the papers hostage.

Directed by Alek Keshishian. Starring Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly, and Patrick Dempsey.

This movie leans heavily into Pesci’s fast-talking high-energy style – an early scene of him defending himself in a courtroom is clearly shooting for a My Cousin Vinny comparison – and it works fairly well here with Fraser as a foil for him. I’m not as charmed by any of this as they want me to be, though, and find myself classifying it all mostly as “harmless” rather than “good.” I do appreciate though how the film avoids painting Pesci’s character as an all-knowing sage sent to teach arrogant kids a lesson, at least in the latter half of the film. As we get to know him better, it’s clearer he’s just an average person in need of some help, especially as his physical health begins to dwindle. It’s not a stellar film, but it’s sweet, and it works all right.

How it entered my Flickchart:

With Honors > The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

With Honors < Woman in the Dunes

With Honors < Being John Malkovich

With Honors > Little Women (2019)

With Honors < Rachel, Rachel

With Honors < The Tourist

With Honors > Serenity

With Honors < Captain America: The First Avenger

With Honors > Battle of the Sexes

With Honors < Palmer

With Honors < Sweet Charity

With Honors > Liberal Arts

Final spot: #1473 out of 3448, or 57%.

Censor (2021)

IMDb plot summary: After viewing a strangely familiar video nasty, Enid, a film censor, sets out to solve the past mystery of her sister's disappearance, embarking on a quest that dissolves the line between fiction and reality.

Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond. Starring Niamh Algar, Michael Smiley, Nicholas Burns, and Vincent Franklin.

This film is deeply atmospheric -- at times more atmosphere than narrative, which I find interesting to think about after watching the movie but sometimes irritating while watching it. So much of it is told through the lead's hazy memories, dreams, and loosening grip on reality, and I often found myself antsy to know whether anything I'd been watching had actually happened. When it does work, though, it works GREAT. The final scene is utterly chilling and made up for a lot of my frustration for the rest of the film, and lead actress Niamh Algar pretty effectively captures all the various facets of her struggling character. There are people who will appreciate this more than I did, but it's probably worth checking out if you're a fan of horror.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Censor > Hustle & Flow

Censor < Jack Goes Boating

Censor < About Elly

Censor < Ice Age

Censor > The Forbidden Kingdom

Censor > Gunpowder Milkshake

Censor > The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Censor < Blow Dry

Censor > Tangled

Censor > The Italian Job (1969)

Censor > Malcolm & Marie

Final spot: #1531 out of 3465, or 56%.

Vivo (2021)

IMDb plot summary: Vivo follows a one-of-kind kinkajou who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively square with his beloved owner Andrés. But when tragedy strikes shortly after Andrés receives a letter from the famous Marta Sandoval, inviting her old partner to her farewell concert with the hope of reconnecting, it's up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could.

Directed by Kirk DeMicco. Starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ynairaly Simo, Zoe Saldana, and Juan de Marcos González.

I watched this for Miranda's music, and it delivers pretty well on that level. It's got his trademark mix of showtunes, Latino rhythms, and hip-hop, and the tunes are pretty great. The story, however, is told in that classic DreamWorks style of having too many quirky side characters that don't actually add much to the movie or have much personality, and it ends up being more awkwardly chaotic than anything else. I like the central characters and would easily recommend the soundtrack, and younger kids will probably not be as annoyed by the shallow filler bits as I was, but this isn't something I feel inspired to watch again any time soon.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Vivo < Sunday in the Park with George

Vivo > A Prairie Home Companion

Vivo > Batman: Under the Red Hood

Vivo > Venom

Vivo > Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam

Vivo < Broken Embraces

Vivo < The Lighthouse

Vivo > Dunkirk

Vivo > Molly's Game

Vivo < The Piano

Vivo > Jack Strong

Final spot: #1826 out of 3481, or 48%.

Margaret (2011)

IMDb plot summary: A young woman witnesses a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives.

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan. Starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, and J. Smith-Cameron.

I have appreciated and moderately enjoyed other Kenneth Lonergan films… so… what happened here? What Lonergan has always excelled at is naturalistic and believable dialogue and direction, so why does this feel like dialogue right out of a Rifftrax special? Characters reiterate the same five points over and over again to each other and react to things they already know with shock and disgust. It’s not just bad, it’s laughably bad, like it’s been translated through Google Translate one too many times, and I genuinely can’t comprehend how it happened. The concept behind the story is a good one, and Allison Janney absolutely steals the one scene she’s in as the only one who can make these words sound reasonable, but the rest of it is such a bizarre, stilted mess that I’m left in just complete confusion as to what went wrong.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Margaret < The Cutting Edge

Margaret > A Prairie Home Companion

Margaret < The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Margaret < Saludos Amigos

Margaret < The Pajama Game

Margaret > Destry Rides Again

Margaret > Loving Annabelle

Margaret > City Slickers

Margaret > American Sniper

Margaret < Ocean's Twelve

Margaret < State of the Union

Margaret < VeggieTales: Are You My Neighbor?

Final spot: #2507 out of 3478, or 28%.

Night Falls On Manhattan (1997)

IMDb plot summary: A newly elected District Attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Andy Garcia, Richard Dreyfuss, Lena Olin, and Ian Holm.

I think I am finally coming to my end of the Sidney Lumet police corruption stories, because this one just flew in one ear and out the other. It does tackle the story with one or two unique angles, particularly the relationship between father and son, which adds an extra layer of wondering how far to take a corruption case. But the characters don't get much time to develop, so it all feels a little bland, and I found myself really struggling to remember anything about it even just moments after having finished it. As a result, I'm having a tough time even rounding up enough to say about it. It's just one of those films that makes no impression.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Night Falls On Manhattan < Sunday in the Park with George

Night Falls On Manhattan > The Merchant of Venice (2004)

Night Falls On Manhattan < Ghost Ship

Night Falls On Manhattan > Independence Day

Night Falls On Manhattan > The Howling

Night Falls On Manhattan > Holiday

Night Falls On Manhattan > The Godfather

Night Falls On Manhattan > Nowhere Boy

Night Falls On Manhattan < Coraline

Night Falls On Manhattan > No Sudden Move

Night Falls On Manhattan < National Treasure

Final spot: #2175 out of 3466, or 37%.

Plan B (2021)

IMDb plot summary: Follows a straight-laced high school student and her slacker best friend who, after a regrettable first sexual encounter, have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America's heartland.

Directed by Natalie Morales. Starring Kuhoo Verma, Victoria Moroles, Michael Provost, and Mason Cook.

This is actress Natalie Morales’ directorial debut, and it’s a stellar one. While I enjoyed Booksmart, I LAUGHED at Plan B, and most impressively, it made me laugh at tropes I usually find extremely tedious. This is a smart and funny script with pitch-perfect delivery from the two leads, as well as a tremendous supporting cast. I also appreciate the film’s setting – with many teen movies happening in large cities or occasionally suburban Midwest, it’s nice to see some representation of how women in rural areas do wind up with fewer healthcare options. Overall, definitely a solid watch. Between this, CODA, Moxie, and The Mitchells vs. the Machines, 2021 is turning out to be The Year of great teen girl coming-of-age movies. 

How it entered my Flickchart:

Plan B > Monsters

Plan B > Jack Goes Boating

Plan B < Soapdish

Plan B > Muppets Most Wanted

Plan B > Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Plan B > American Splendor

Plan B < Jean de Florette

Plan B < 56 Up

Plan B > The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Plan B > Boyhood

Plan B > Into the Woods (2014)

Plan B < Christmas in Connecticut

Final spot: #474 out of 3459, or 86%.

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)

IMDb plot summary: Young Fiona lives with her grandparents in a small fishing village where she takes an active role to unravel the mysterious secrets.

Directed by John Sayles. Starring Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan, Mick Lally, and Richard Sheridan.

This is one of those films that just wraps you up cozily in the world it's created for you and it's just so comfortable to stay there. I didn't expect quite as much of a fantasy vibe early on, and while I won't spoil whether the story ends on a note of realism or magical realism, it toys with both for a good chunk of the story, and that's lovely. The cinematography on this is gorgeous, the kind of thing that makes you long to run away to a remote Irish village yourself, and the relationships between the characters is kind and loving despite the things that make their lives difficult. It's a sweet, charming story that I ended up liking much more than I first expected.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Secret of Roan Inish > Sunday in the Park with George

The Secret of Roan Inish < Jack Goes Boating

The Secret of Roan Inish > About Elly

The Secret of Roan Inish > I and You

The Secret of Roan Inish < Top Secret!

The Secret of Roan Inish > Southside with You

The Secret of Roan Inish > The Magnificent Seven (1960)

The Secret of Roan Inish > Gandhi

The Secret of Roan Inish < How to Steal a Million

The Secret of Roan Inish < Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

The Secret of Roan Inish < Frankenweenie

The Secret of Roan Inish > Willy's Wonderland

Final spot: #988 out of 3472, or 72%.

Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

IMDb plot summary: An English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.

Directed by Leo McCarey. Starring Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charles Ruggles, and Zasu Pitts.

I have a special fondness for “fish out of water” comedies, be they body swap movies or time travel movies. Abrupt status changes like this can often scratch that itch as well. This one doesn’t quite, partly because while the movie sets itself up as that kind of story, it’s only that for about 15 minutes before Ruggles acquiesces to his employer’s demands that he loosen up and socialize with the other people of the town. And then it’s about him learning to be his own person, which is kind of sweet but not so much comedic and ends up leaning awkwardly at times into a super pro-American nationalism which touts personal freedom and glosses over how little the brash Americans care about each other’s comfort. It ends as a very different movie than it began, and it’s fine but not quite my style.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Ruggles of Red Gap > Hustle & Flow

Ruggles of Red Gap < Jack Goes Boating

Ruggles of Red Gap < About Elly

Ruggles of Red Gap < Real Life

Ruggles of Red Gap > The Forbidden Kingdom

Ruggles of Red Gap < Cast Away

Ruggles of Red Gap > The Wrestler

Ruggles of Red Gap < 12 Angry Men (1997)

Ruggles of Red Gap > Patsy & Loretta

Ruggles of Red Gap > John Carter

Ruggles of Red Gap > The Forest

Final spot: #1583 out of 3462, or 54%.

Coda (2021)

IMDb plot summary: As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.

Directed by Sian Heder. Starring Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Daniel Durant.

CODA is a coming-of-age story about a high school girl who is the only hearing person in a family of deaf adults. Her brother and father work as fishermen, and she finds herself the default interpreter between them and the hearing world. But when finds she has a shot at attending a music college, she has to figure out whether her family will understand or forgive her abandoning them to go to school. With just a few changes, this is a story we’ve seen a hundred times. Kid grows up, tries to separate themselves from their parents, cue hurt and healing and growth. But those few small changes DO set this movie apart, particularly by moving this story into a setting we seldom see: the deaf community. The film’s title, CODA, stands for “Child of Deaf Adults,” and the film does an incredible job of showing the very specific challenges those students may face in their teenage years. And it does it RIGHT by casting deaf actors as the deaf characters. While I don’t know the community well enough to know how accurate it is, it’s definitely a perspective we see far too infrequently on film, and that in itself is enough to make this movie worth a watch, despite what is otherwise a traditional take on the genre.

How it entered my Flickchart:

CODA > Hustle & Flow

CODA > Jack Goes Boating

CODA < The Disaster Artist

CODA < All's Faire in Love

CODA > We're Not Married!

CODA < Back to the Future Part III

CODA < 21 Jump Street

CODA > Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

CODA > The Hunger Games

CODA > Il Postino: The Postman

CODA > Roxanne

CODA < Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Final spot: #730 out of 3454, or 79%.

Airheads (1994)

This very easily could have been a terrible movie, but for the most part, it works. All the different personalities in the station interact and intersect in fun ways, and while it is a wild story, it seldom seems implausible or over-the-top, and that makes the more ridiculous moments even funnier set against this plausible backdrop. There are, of course, plenty of good tunes in here too, as the band essentially turns their hostage situation into a mega rock concert with their favorite songs as crowds of interested citizens gather outside the station to tune in and see what's happening. There are about 10 mini-plots running at any given time throughout this movie, so there are certainly some that work better than others -- I never got much out of Michael Richards crawling around in the vents or random people laughing at Chris Farley for being a fat police officer -- but the core of this movie works and is a pretty good time.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Airheads > The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

Airheads < Jack Goes Boating

Airheads > Charlie St. Cloud

Airheads > A Serious Man

Airheads < Top Secret!

Airheads > Last Year at Marienbad

Airheads < The Crow

Airheads > Nick of Time

Airheads > It (2017)

Airheads > Fresh

Airheads > 1917

Airheads > The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Final spot: #1005 out of 3475 so far, or 71%.

Island of Lost Souls (1932)

IMDb plot summary: A mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.

Directed by Erle C. Kenton. Starring Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, and Leila Hyams.

While there are certainly dated elements to this film, I was pleased with how well it held up for me overall. Laughton does a lot of the heavy lifting here, coming across as the perfect mad scientist, so convinced in his own rightness that it’s hard to imagine anyone moving him out of the way. I find it very satisfying that the titular “lost souls,” the animals that have been speed-evolved into something more human, gain their moments of agency at the end, even if the film is still a little wobbly on whether or not they should TRULY count as human. This is a movie of its time but an intriguing one.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Island of Lost Souls > Monsters

Island of Lost Souls < Jack Goes Boating

Island of Lost Souls < Fantasia 2000

Island of Lost Souls > Real Life

Island of Lost Souls > Ant-Man

Island of Lost Souls > Ben-Hur (1959)

Island of Lost Souls < Moonlight

Island of Lost Souls > Hugo

Island of Lost Souls < I, Tonya

Island of Lost Souls < Sleeping Beauty

Island of Lost Souls < Velvet Buzzsaw

Island of Lost Souls < Spanglish

Final spot: #1336 out of 3457, or 61%.

The River Wild (1994)

I've never had any interest in going whitewater rafting, but this movie certainly brings out the adventure, the joy, and the excitement of it, and the landscape shots of the forests, the hills, and of course the river itself are really lovely. When it kicks into high gear as a thriller about halfway through the movie, it does a good job keeping tension high, with the protagonists exhausting every idea they have for how to escape their captors, so we're never left wondering, "But why didn't they just...?" I've said before that I rarely like Streep when she's playing a normal every day human and find her best performances in more extreme characters, but she is good here, coming across as both human and flawed but also intelligent and competent. Had she wanted to, I bet she could have continued doing thrillers, because she's a great leading lady here. The side cast here is also great and their dynamics pretty well fleshed out, and overall it was a solid watch, if not spectacular.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The River Wild > The Cutting Edge

The River Wild < Jack Goes Boating

The River Wild < Being John Malkovich

The River Wild > Little Women (2019)

The River Wild > Rachel, Rachel

The River Wild > The Big Chill

The River Wild > The Hunt (2020)

The River Wild > The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The River Wild < Poltergeist

The River Wild > All About My Mother

The River Wild > Lifeforce

Final spot: #1311 out of 3476, or 62%.