A Face in the Crowd (1957)

IMDb plot summary: A female radio reporter turns a folk-singing drifter into a powerful media star.

Directed by Elia Kazan. Starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Anthony Franciosa.

A Face in the Crowd stars Patricia Neal as a young radio journalist and Andy Griffith as the homeless drunk man she finds in jail and turns into a radio star. Together the two of them navigate the path of fame as he gains more and more of a platform. This is a pretty incredible movie, all the more so for being so prescient about "influencer" and "media personality" culture all the way back in the 1950s. Neal and Griffith also turn in some incredible performances here. Griffith's louder-than-life personality as Lonesome Rhodes always teeters on the edge right between charming and threatening, and Neal's confident but compassionate producer is an excellent counterpart. The ending doesn't land exactly where I thought it would and ended up really impressing me -- I'm going to remember that for awhile. An extremely accessible older film with a lot to say about fame and celebrity.

How it entered my Flickchart:

A Face in the Crowd > Julie & Julia

A Face in the Crowd > The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

A Face in the Crowd < Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

A Face in the Crowd > Nope

A Face in the Crowd > The Cat Returns

A Face in the Crowd > The Last Unicorn

A Face in the Crowd > Breaking Away

A Face in the Crowd > Grease

A Face in the Crowd < The Map of Tiny Perfect Things

A Face in the Crowd > Anatomy of a Murder

A Face in the Crowd > Kramer vs. Kramer

Final spot: #495 out of 3889, or 87%.

Leo (2023)

IMDb plot summary: A 74-year-old lizard named Leo and his turtle friend decide to escape from the terrarium of a Florida school classroom where they have been living for decades.

Directed by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim. Starring Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, and Cecily Strong.

Leo is a children's animated film about a class pet, Leo the lizard, who learns he's near the end of his lifespan and starts talking to the children in the class to help solve their problems and give his life meaning at the end. I am not usually a fan of Adam Sandler at all and was all prepared to hate this movie... but it's kind of delightful. There are a good amount of legitimately funny jokes, but on top of that it's a children's movie that really is ABOUT kids, which a lot of modern animated films aren't. All the different fifth graders are written like real kids, with real kids' problems (well, mostly, there is a subplot featuring a babysitter drone that's a lot sillier), and they feel relatable, so it's fun to see them grow and gain confidence in themselves. The songs are unspectacular but not annoying -- the opener in particular mostly works. A surprising hit in the family animation genre.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Leo > Julie & Julia

Leo > Dark Passage

Leo > The Impossible

Leo < Waking Ned Devine

Leo > Moonstruck

Leo > The Song of Lunch

Leo > Decision to Leave

Leo > Whisky Galore!

Leo < Monte Carlo

Leo < The Unholy Three

Leo < The Little Mermaid (2023)

Leo > Ghost World

Final spot: #1229 out of 3888, or 68%.

The Iron Claw (2023)

IMDb plot summary: The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

Directed by Sean Durkin. Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson.

The Iron Claw is a biopic about the Von Erich brothers, a family of wrestlers who undergo a series of tragedies trying to make their way to the top. This was an interesting take on the biopic because it didn't necessarily follow the same tropes of "little guy makes it big, starts doing drugs, spirals, etc" that so many of these follow. The brothers stay close and try to support each other, and so many of the things that go wrong are freak accidents. This makes it all the more tragic, because you get the sense that they could have found a way to navigate their own unhealthy relationship with their father if the additional traumas weren't exacerbating everything. Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White are both especially great in this, portraying deeply relatable characters who are just doing what they can and finding it all to be too overwhelming. It's a difficult movie, and it's hard to know if there's anything really to take away from it, but it does paint a powerful picture of brotherhood. (Efron's final scene with his children and White's final scene with his brothers were both beautifully done.) More interesting than your typical biopic.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Iron Claw > Selma

The Iron Claw < Dark Passage

The Iron Claw > Hustle

The Iron Claw < Waking Ned Devine

The Iron Claw < Moonstruck

The Iron Claw < Into the Wild

The Iron Claw > Bottle Rocket

The Iron Claw > The United States vs. Billie Holiday

The Iron Claw < The Killing of a Sacred Deer

The Iron Claw < Flora and Son

The Iron Claw < Lady Bird

The Iron Claw > Ping Pong Playa

Final spot: #1411 out of 3887, or 64%.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

IMDb plot summary: A woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.

Directed by Justine Triet. Starring Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, and Milo Machado-Graner.

Anatomy of a Fall is about the mystery surrounding a man's death after he seemingly falls out of his attic window. The story follows the court case investigating whether he fell, jumped, or was murdered by his wife. I had high hopes for this one, and they might have been TOO high, because ultimately I just liked this film okay. It's an interesting enough story, and it is intriguing to see all the different possibilities brought to line. The son's plotline was by far the most compelling, as he tries to work through his memories of the day and the new things he learns about his parents' relationship. Every time it recentered on the main woman, I just found my interest flagging -- at the heart of it, I didn't really care whether she killed her husband or not except for how it would affect her son. It's a good movie and worth watching, but I wasn't blown away by it the way I hoped I would be.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Anatomy of a Fall > Selma

Anatomy of a Fall < Dark Passage

Anatomy of a Fall < The Impossible

Anatomy of a Fall > My Date With Drew

Anatomy of a Fall < The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

Anatomy of a Fall > The Recruit

Anatomy of a Fall > Radio Days

Anatomy of a Fall > VeggieTales: Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen

Anatomy of a Fall > Brick

Anatomy of a Fall < Mother Night

Anatomy of a Fall > Spider-Man 2

Final spot: #1583 out of 3886, or 59%.

American Fiction (2023)

IMDb plot summary: A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.

Directed by Cord Jefferson. Starring Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, and John Ortiz.

American Fiction follows an African-American writer and professor who is frustrated that nobody wants his new book because it isn't "Black" enough. On a whim, he churns out a novel poking fun at all of the tropes he sees that white audiences want out of their Black books, and, to his chagrin, it's a massive success. This film for me strikes the absolute perfect balance between comedy and drama, being both laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely heartbreaking. And Jeffrey Wright is, of course, so good in this, bringing out the frustration of his character and how it relates to his work and his family and his romantic relationships. While I'm still mulling over how all the narrative pieces fit together, I had a great time watching the film. It escalates both the serious and not-so-serious stakes at just the right pace to keep me hooked the whole way through. Definitely a good watch and I look forward to revisiting it again sometime.

How it entered my Flickchart:

American Fiction > Captain Phillips

American Fiction > The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

American Fiction > The White Tiger

American Fiction < Dead Ringers

American Fiction > The Gods Must Be Crazy

American Fiction < Petite Maman

American Fiction < It Follows

American Fiction < Nosferatu

American Fiction < The Producers (2005)

American Fiction > Adaptation

American Fiction < Nativity!

American Fiction < Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

Final spot: #359 out of 3885, or 91%.

Time Bandits (1981)

IMDb plot summary: A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.

Directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, and John Cleese.

Time Bandits is a Terry Gilliam film about a young boy who suddenly finds himself traveling through time with a group of dwarves who have stolen the "time map." The film jumps between the boy's adventures meeting various historical figures and the overarching plot in which two powerful beings are wrestling for control of the time map. This sits in a really *fun* place between comedy and adventure, and it means that the whole film is just a blast to watch, and not just as an adult -- I'm sure I'd have had just as much fun with it, even more, if I'd watched it as a kid. I love the creativity of the different scenarios and the quick pace that moves us from adventure to adventure with no time to ever get bored with it. Terry Gilliam has directed a few of my favorite movies, and his slightly quirky take on the world is definitely on display here in the best way. The only quibble I have with it is the ending, which is a startling shift away from what the rest of the film seemed like, but I bet it will sit differently on a second viewing.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Time Bandits > Captain Phillips

Time Bandits < Dark Passage

Time Bandits > Hustle

Time Bandits < Waking Ned Devine

Time Bandits > Moonstruck

Time Bandits > The Song of Lunch

Time Bandits > Decision to Leave

Time Bandits > Whisky Galore!

Time Bandits > Monte Carlo

Time Bandits > Memories of Murder

Time Bandits < Batman Returns

Final spot: #1217 out of 3884, or 69%.

The Killer (2023)

IMDb plot summary: After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.

Directed by David Fincher. Starring Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, and Charles Parnell.

The Killer is David Fincher's newest film, starring Michael Fassbender as a hired assassin who botches a job and is hunted down for it. But when his lover is nearly killed in an attempt to get to him, he then turns around to hunt down the people trying to find him. Fassbender to me is a complete nonentity -- I can't remember his face, I can't remember his voice, I don't recognize him when he shows up in movies. He is the perfect actor to be playing an anonymous assassin trying to always be forgettable. But unfortunately the whole movie is kind of like that for me. I've always enjoyed Fincher's visual style and ability to make even dark grungy films like Fight Club and Se7en eem visually arresting, but here it is flattened out in a sea of beige and brown, with nothing to really catch my eye. The story itself seems very in line with the tropes of the genre, never moving beyond them in any notable way. Really a disappointment from a talented director.

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Killer < Captain Phillips

The Killer < Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Killer > Mission to Mars

The Killer > The World Is Not Enough

The Killer < The Number 23

The Killer > The Expendables

The Killer < Mother (2009)

The Killer < Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The Killer > Little Manhattan

The Killer > Copying Beethoven

The Killer > Morocco

The Killer > Hand Rolled Cigarette

Final spot: #3080 out of 3883, or 21%.