The Lady Vanishes (1938)

This is a cute romance almost as much as it is a mystery, and it's completely delightful. The main characters are likable and even when the thriller part of it gets going, there's a strong sense that most of the characters aren't in any real danger. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy figuring the mystery out with them. A much lighter tone than a lot of later Hitchcocks, but thoroughly enjoyable. 3.5 stars.

Flickchart: #511, below Night of the Living Dead and above Dark Shadows.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

I was all ready to be uninterested in this movie. Yesterday's was a noir that didn't climb its way past my biases, and today was a western. However, this one turned out to be amazing. The story is thoroughly compelling, making me pay close attention the whole way through. The characters are charming and well-written. It framed the story of this western town in a way that really looked at some interesting questions about character, and I loved it. I think this is one of James Stewart's very best roles, and John Wayne doesn't do too bad a job either. This goes onto that rare list of westerns that I enjoyed. 4 stars.

Flickchart: #291, below The Neverending Story and above In the Bedroom.

Out of the Past (1947)

Detective story noir is always a struggle to sit through for me, and this was no exception. I was uninterested in the characters, found the story highly predictable, and just overall not something I'm going to ever want to watch again. One of these days I'd like to get over this bias, but today is clearly not that day. 1 star.

Flickchart: #1631, below A Walk to Remember and above I Am Sam.

Days of Heaven (1978)

I am clearly missing something with Malick, because this is his third movie I've seen and I just don't get him. I'm usually very connected to visual... anything in movies, and for some reason this one is just not connecting with me on any level at all. I was bored stiff by the movie and even now, as I write this review, I'm having trouble remembering exactly what happened in it. Highly disappointing. 1.5 stars.

Flickchart: #1254, below Show Boat and above Bewitched.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

I am usually uninterested in silent dramas - I find the early film acting styles to be completely off-putting when trying to create a legitimate dramatic situation - but this one is extremely sweet. It's an unusual love story, in that it starts off as being not really a love story at all, and then becomes a very moving tale of a husband and wife rediscovering their love. Really very, very nice. 4 stars.

Flickchart: #502 out of 1842.

Badlands (1973)

I don't get Terrence Malick's style of visuals at all. I know the world regards him as a "visual poet," but while I am usually very struck by visuals, I am left pretty cold by him, both in this and in Tree of Life. The story itself is fairly interesting, but it's Martin Sheen as Kit that is the best, most fascinating part of the movie. He doesn't play him like your average psychopath. The character is fascinating and I find myself wanting to figure him out just as much as Holly does. His performance is what makes this movie worth a watch. 2.5 stars.

Flickchart: #666, below I Heart Huckabees and above An Affair to Remember.

The Red Shoes (1948)

This is the first movie in my 28 Days of Romance movie challenge, where through the month of February, I will be watching the top 28 unseen-by-me romance movies on Flickchart. As of this writing, The Red Shoes is at #96 on the global Flickchart rankings.

IMDb plot summary: A young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Starring Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook and Marius Goring.

The story in this movie is all right, the romance is sweet but pretty forced... the one thing that elevates this film into something lovely is the beautiful dancing. It integrates the dancing into the story marvelously, letting the two influence and validate each other. Take out the extended ballet sequences and there's nothing that special about this movie, but with it, it becomes something very unique and interesting and sad. 3.5 stars.

Flickchart: #580, below sex, lies, and videotape and above Hard Candy.