I almost went against my vow of Saturday being the last day of Week 383 for the current Art Infliction era, but I needed a day to amass all of the content for this entry, along with needing to process the fact that I once again revised my plan of getting to 1,400 completed Flickuum evaluations this coming December 6. And while it’s just now starting to sink in that “Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets” is the 1,360th enshrined Flickuum movie, I feel recharged enough to put forth this 202nd Flickasbord entry.
Let’s begin.
First up, the stock of Emerald Fennell skyrocketed last week via the trailer of “Wuthering Heights” and this coming nearly a year after another movie of hers in “Saltburn” became an overall guaranteed Flickuum movie. So, given her skyrocketing stock, I have decided to give her another one of her directorial efforts in “Promising Young Woman” an eventual look to see if she can record a potential Flickuum hat-trick. And given that I will see the former of the three movies during my 2026 theatrical tour, I’ll assess the latter of the three movies around the time that that theatrical outing will occur, thus no need for me to assess it immediately.
Being a longtime fan of both Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman, I wondered if we would ever get a movie of them together or not and that wonderment occurred all the way back in 1999. And luckily, that wonderment turned into a reality 14 years after that, as the two of them appeared together in the movie “Last Vegas”. Of course, that movie comes on the heels of the third (and final) installment of “The Hangover”, thus Wolf Pack bias deterred me from assessing the former for so long. But now that I want to see the two veteran actors in a movie together, I’ve decided to add the 2013 movie to the roster.
I keep saying over and over that pardons will cease and I thought that would be the case via the prior Flickasbord entry. But “Morgan” having an aspect that’s similar to one in “Ex Machina” has prompted me to pardon the former, especially since the latter was exempted from Tier 13 two weeks ago. Plus, given that I like “Lucy” slightly more than the aforementioned former and I did a second re-assessment of “Narc” a few hours before its (Morgan’s) first re-assessment, those two movies have also been pardoned. But those three movies will truly be the last ever pardons and to ensure that statement, I will watch “Green Lantern” to remind myself to never renege again.
A movie that has kind of slipped through the cracks for me yet not really, due to my then struggles of physically copy obtainment, was “Christmas In Mississippi”. But of course, I’ve since developed resourcefulness in getting hard copy confirmations in whatever movie that I want for The Project. So, couple that with Jana Kramer having staying power in my mind and you get another movie of hers for the assessment/re-assessment roster. Now let’s see if that addition will be worth it or not.
Emily Bronte is having a bit of a ripple effect in this entry, as four paragraphs ago, I alluded to the fourth film adaptation of her book “Wuthering Heights”. And now you can add the Emma Mackey-led biopic about the writer, entitled “Emily”, which details her creative process in writing that book, to the roster. And given the aesthetics of that movie, which I gravitate towards, I have a feeling that it will make The Project.
Annie Gonzalez is on her way to having two overall guaranteed Flickuum movies, with “Drive-Away Dolls” being in Tier 5 and “Flamin’ Hot” next in line at having its HCC (Hard Copy Confirmation) designation removed. But had I not eased up on my initial thoughts about them, well “The Bad Shepherd” would have been assessed much earlier than this. Of course, the possibility of that movie being her best immediate (and possibly only) shot at Flickuum lore is a moot point, thus it’s a possible quality depth piece instead of it being in a Flickuum or bust scenario. Now let’s see if she can get that third Flickuum movie or not.
During the amassment of movies in 2006, following my evaluation of “Empire”, I added the movie “Stealth” to my list of movies to assess for The Project, only to have it slip through the cracks and almost completely forget about it. However, the operative word here is “almost”, due to the 2005 managing to have staying power in my mind all these years later. So, with that being said, the 20-year-old movie goes from slipping through the cracks to having an opportunity at cracking its way into a group of movies that was last joined by “Message From The King”.
Matt LeBlanc remains the only member of the six main “Friends” cast members without a Flickuum movie, as “Lovesick” was both a totally pointless pardon and totally pointless re-assessment. But luckily, there are still more opportunities for Joey Tribianni at achieving Flickuum lore, as “Lost In Space” is currently on the roster. However, that might not be enough in ensuring that achievement for him, so I’ve also added the movie “Ed” to the roster to improve those odds. Stay tuned.
Blaxploitation movies rarely have sequels, as the only one that comes to mind is “Shaft”. Or so I thought, as I discovered that the late Ron O’Neal appeared in a sequel to the 1970s hit “Super Fly”, entitled “Super Fly T.N.T.”. And given the possibility of it giving its aforementioned predecessor a complete feel, I’ve gone ahead and added that one to the roster.
It’s been a while since I’ve added a bonkers fun movie to the roster, as I’ve struggled to find one to assess/re-assess. But after remember the fact that I was exposed to the zaniness of “Monkeybone” via Nostalgic Critic’s review of that movie, that struggle has come to an end, thus the 2001 movie has been added to the roster. Now let’s see if that movie can reward my faith or not.
During my two attempted evaluations of “I Feel Pretty”, I barely noticed Nikki Glaser and she was one of my favorite people in that roast of Tom Brady on Netflix. So, in an attempt to notice her even more, I’ve added the movies “Punching The Clown”, “Punching Henry” and the upcoming third “Angry Birds” movies to triple my chances, whether in live-action form or voice form. Stay tuned.
Back in late-July 2022, I made an attempt at trying to secure an Austin St. John movie for The Project, with that one being “Monsters At Large”, only for Mischa Barton to completely ruin it. But the OG Red Ranger is way too cool to not have a Flickuum movie, thus I have added “A Walk With Grace”, “Expose (ek-spow-zay)” and “Surge Of Power: Revenge Of The Sequel” to give him an at least one-in-three chance of him achieving that feat. And before the latter of those three movies can be assessed, “Surge Of Power: The Stuff Of Heroes” has to be assessed first since that aforementioned latter third is a sequel. May that particular round of scheduling gymnastics begin.
And finally, the fact that John Travolta is making a movie with Melissa Barrera almost entirely erases the memory of me re-assessing the 2018 movie “Gotti” from my memory bank. And as to why I say almost, well what would really help erase that memory is me assessing the much better “Gotti” movie, starring Armand Assante. And given how desperately that I want that to happen, I could assess the 1996 movie as soon as possible. Stay tuned.
Well, not much has materialized in assessments/re-assessments other than the failed pair of “Lovesick” and “Take Care”, which occurred after “Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets” plummeted in The Flickuum rankings range book. But with a steady dose of Natalie Martinez, a pair of Jennifer Lopez movies, and the rising re-assessment stock of “A Day In The Life” all set to occur between now and the momentous November 2 occasion of “Can You Keep A Secret?” being the 200th Flickuum evaluation of 2025, renewed energy will be breathed into The Project.
Until the next time.