The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

IMDb plot summary: In 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted...and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Starring Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders and Edna Best.

(Major spoilers for the final 10-15 minutes of movie.)

This is really a very lovely movie. Mrs. Muir is a great character -- strong and independent without being harsh or unkind -- and her relationship with the ghost in her house is fascinating to watch unfold. It also ultimately went in a very different direction than I was expecting, following the character all the way through her life and only resolving the quasi-love story after she dies, making it a sweet story of her whole life instead of the romance-centered melodrama I was expecting. The cinematography is also so, so gorgeous (it was nominated for an Oscar). I'm glad I managed to catch this one before it disappeared off Netflix Instant.

4 stars.

Flickchart: #517 out of 2264, below They Live and above Goodfellas.

The Black Camel (1931)

IMDb plot summary: The unsolved murder of a Hollywood actor several years earlier and an enigmatic psychic are the keys to help Charlie solve the Honolulu stabbing death of a beautiful actress.
Directed by Hamilton MacFadden. Starring Warner Oland, Sally Eilers, Bela Lugosi, and Dorothy Revier.

I have... almost no opinion of this movie. Despite being only a little over an hour, it was still very slow, and there were so many characters who weren't really fleshed out that when they actually announced who the murderer was, I had no memory of that character being in the movie at all up until that point. It's just not a very interesting story or movie.

1 star.

Flickchart: #2008 out of 2263, below The Passion of Joan of Arc and above The Rules of the Game. That is unfairly low, as I didn't HATE it, it was just boring.

22 Jump Street (2014)

IMDb plot summary: After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Peter Stormare, and Wyatt Russell.

I typically am not a fan of sequels, but I liked the first movie a lot and kept hearing that the sequel was even better. That was definitely correct. The first one is fun, but this one was frequently laugh-out-loud funny. The two leads once again have great chemistry and a wonderful sense of comic delivery. The script, however, is where this movie really shines. With its frequent self-aware meta jokes about parodies (my favorite line: "Next year, we'll probably be back across the street but right next door"), it works almost as a parody of the first one, as well as making fun of audience-pandering franchises that never seem to end. For the most part, the jokes are beautifully smart and subtle for a dumb comedy, and the visual jokes come across great. The movie chugs along at a nice pace, and the action sequences have enough laughs that I even enjoyed them. The ending credits are hilarious as well. I'm glad I watched this one -- I can totally get behind a sequel that makes fun of its sequelness.

4 stars.

Flickchart: #465 out of 2262, below Megamind and above Solaris (2002).

King of the Zombies (1941)

IMDb plot summary: On a spooky island, three stranded travelers find an evil doctor working with foreign spies and in control of zombies.
Directed by Jean Yarbrough. Starring Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, and Henry Victor.

This movie is absolutely a silly B-movie, but it's only an hour long and it's decently entertaining. The butler provides some good silly comedic moments while everybody else is wandering around seriously trying to solve the mystery. The mystery itself is pretty boring, with an ending that doesn't make any sense, but it moves along quickly enough and with enough fun in-between bits that it doesn't drag too badly. Just don't expect anything important or brilliant out of this.

2.5 stars.

Flickchart: #1462 out of 2261, below The Secret of My Success and above Arlington Road.

Sex Tape (2014)

IMDb plot summary: A married couple wake up to discover that the sex tape they made the evening before has gone missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts.
Directed by Jake Kasdan. Starring Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Rob Corddry, and Ellie Kemper.

I still think Jason Segel is one of the most likable actors out there. He just always seems so friendly and charismatic. On the flip side, I think Cameron Diaz is a very UNlikable actress, so their chemistry here is a little weird for me, even when their characters are written as sweet and committed and very in love. That being said, this is a moderately funny little movie. The jokes land on the absurd and farcical more often than they land on gross and awkward, which is nice, and the supporting cast is a lot of fun. So it was moderately enjoyable for a one-time viewing, but I wouldn't rewatch it or necessarily recommend it to each other.

2.5 stars.

Flickchart: #1047 out of 2260, below The Color Purple and above Office Space.

Obvious Child (2014)

IMDb plot summary: A twenty-something comedienne's unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront the realities of independent womanhood for the first time.
Directed by Gillian Robespierre. Starring Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, and Gabe Liedman.

I find Jenny Slate somewhat grating, and that's true here as well, but it's an interesting premise for a movie, and there are some beautiful moments that feel really genuine. I don't know how to feel about the movie as a whole, because I am mostly pro-life, so although I understand and care about her story, there's also a sadness I feel about it that is at odds with the tone of the movie. I'm sure that was a deliberate tone choice, but because of that and because I don't connect with Jenny Slate, it didn't quite work for me, though I really wanted it to.

2 stars.

Flickchart: #1297 out of 2259, below New York, New York and above Hush.

Neighbors (2014)

IMDb plot summary: After they are forced to live next to a fraternity house, a couple with a newborn baby do whatever they can to take them down.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller. Starring Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, and Dave Franco.

This was pretty much exactly what I expected from this movie: a fairly likable cast, dumb but sometimes funny shenanigans, and the occasional serious musing on growing up. Rose Byrne is far more interesting in this than in just about anything else I've seen her in, and Seth Rogen and Zac Efron play their silly characters with a decent amount of heart underneath. The fight scene at the end is the highlight, with plenty of good sight gags and silly jokes to make it worth it. Overall, it's interesting and funny enough. Worth a shot, especially if you're a fan of any of the actors.

3.5 stars.

Flickchart: #728 out of 2258, below The Country Girl and above Forbidden Planet.