**Note: The following content has adult wording in it. Discretion is advised
With mathematical decisions (not wanting to blog about half an increment of 100 completed evaluations) comes tons of adaptability to The Flickuum Project, such as exempting new/upcoming movies from the selection process for the final 100 Flickuum movies. Let’s begin.
First up, I’ve become resigned to the possibility that there won’t be hard copy confirmation for “Your Monster” until sometime in 2025. So, given both that and my constant high anticipation of it, I’ve decided to make New Year’s Day 2026 as the new cut-off date for movies that will be eligible to compete March Madness style. Besides, the time between now and New Year’s Day 2026 is a totally feasible one in getting 2,300 of the 2,400 overall guaranteed Flickuum spots filled.
The decisions to re-assess both “Hackers” and “I Do…Until I Don’t” ended up being good decisions, as A] The former ended up being a lousy movie that I mindlessly kept within the 2,100, and did so even when it was an inadequate replacement for “Alex & The List” back in November 2019, and B] The latter was one of those movies that I mindlessly wasted a fully guaranteed Flickuum spot on back in March 2021, and initially wondered why, thus they are both now on the Movie-Ocrity/Dishonorable Mention page. And while that’s the totally worst outcome for both of those movies, it’s also what both “American Heist” and “Good Luck Chuck” exactly needed, as they were two of the Tier 7 movies expected to be a part of the 2,201 through 2,300 selection protocol. But of course, thanks to the logjam of Tiers 8 and 10 loosening up a bit yet again, the latter two movies avoid that next arduous selection protocol.
Exactly 19 new/upcoming movies await assessment, including “Your Monster”. However, this paragraph isn’t about the Melissa Barrera-led movie. Instead, it’s about “Civil War”, the movie that I just assessed. And not only did I just assess it because in addition, it has a hard copy pre-order listing on Amazon already and that’s surprising, due to it being an A24 movie. Furthermore, the Alex Garland-directed movie passed its assessment, thus it has joined “The Beekeeper”, “Lisa Frankenstein”, “Bob Marley: One Love”, “Drive-Away Dolls”, “Kung Fu Panda 4”, “Love Lies Bleeding”, “Arthur The King”, “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” and “Monkey Man” as the 2024 movies that have successfully made The Project.
As it stands right now, 48 movies are in the selection protocol for overall guaranteed Flickuum spots 2,101 through 2,200, although that number is unofficially 49, due to the Jake McLaughlin-led movie “Home” not getting hard copy confirmation as of yet. Furthermore, it comes to show how quickly opportunities open up for the likes of “American Heist” and “Good Luck Chuck”. But of course, Tier 7 has a small group of stragglers, whether in the form of movies with rising stocks, a possibly ousted movie with a celebrity (Camila Mendes) being on stand-by, a movie finally having the “grow on” effect or the first installment of a franchise remaining in Flickuum contention via the second installment of that same franchise featuring The Flickuum Queen a.k.a. Nadine Velazquez. And yes, those three exact scenarios do indeed exist, as A] Sergio has had its stock rise, due to both it potentially giving Wagner Moura another Flickuum movie and having the presence of Ana de Armas, B] Empire Of Light has had its stock rise, due to both Michael Ward having a substantial role and its trailer playing before my theatrical assessment of “The Menu”, C] Upgraded remains on stand-by, in the event that “Musica” fails its assessment, D] The Sea Beast remains in Flickuum contention, due to it being the “grow on” effect movie and E] House Of The Dead remains in Flickuum contention, due to it needing to be in The Project with The Flickuum Queen’s movie, in the form of “House Of The Dead 2”, should her movie pass its assessment. Yes, I broke up the first scenario into three separate points because it would have been too much of a long-winded cluster fuck if I didn’t. And while each of those six movies can make the 2,101 through 2,200 selection protocol, one of them will definitely need another Tier 8 movie, two Tier 9 movies or one of the two (Road House ’24, Beckett) other Tier 10 movies to fail assessment/re-assessment. Here’s looking at you, Julie & Julia.
There’s a strong possibility that two pre-2023 movies will be building blocks in the 2,201 through 2,300 selection protocol, as both “Airheads” and “The Biscuit Eater” will be added to the current assessment/re-assessment roster, as the former could be a movie that follows a pleasant surprise type movie like “Spies In Disguise” or “Birds Of Prey And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn”, while the latter could be “So Dear To My Heart” 2.0 for The Project, along with the fact that it could give the late Godfrey Cambridge a movie in The Project. But of course, both movies could very well be optioned for the 2,201 through 2,300 selection protocol, in both the interest of time and the likelihood that they won’t beat any of the other Tier 8 movies, except maybe “Sling Blade”. Actually, now that I think of it, the Billy Bob Thornton movie will also be among the movies optioned for the 2,201 through 2,300 selection protocol, as I much rather keep my eBay orders to just one over the next month. Plus, I’m in no hurry to re-assess that movie.
In an extension of the 2,201 through 2,300 selection protocol, I began making mental notes of what some of the other movies will be since it’s a protocol open to all movies, regardless of release year. And of course, with that being said, I amassed four true building blocks for the next wave of the current assessment/re-assessment roster, with them being 1) Blame It On Rio because I want to see a 1980s movie that has a young Demi Moore, 2) The Cher movie “Mask” because the lady who cut my hair recently recommended it to me, 3) Waiting For Guffman because that was also recommended to me by her and 4) Ghost because I didn’t see the entirety of that movie. And given the expectations that I have for each of them, this next selection protocol will have a very promising build right out of the gate.
Late 2024 movies and a handful of 2025 movies also come out on top in the latest (and last) expansion, as they all have the potential to be too good to be a part of that arduous selection process for the final 100 Flickuum spots. And not only does that expansion benefit those movies because in addition, it benefits five movies that will be released during the summer of 2024. And of course, with that being said, I’ll reveal the beneficiaries and why expansion is the right move for them via the chart format:
| Movie | Why expansion is the right move |
| Sonic The Hedgehog 3 | Given that it’s going to be a Paramount movie, it probably would have had a pre-order listing before 2025 anyways. However, that would have been unknown before expansion, as this third installment is going to be released five days before Christmas. Luckily, expansion makes the unknown a moot point, as it will likely get hard copy confirmation during the first quarter of 2025. Besides, I don’t want the cliffhanger ending of the second installment to hang over my head for an indefinite amount of time. |
| Mufasa: The Lion King | Unlike Paramount and now A24 apparently, Disney doesn’t immediately list movies available for pre-order, and has been even more notorious about that since its obsession with streaming. So, given that, the utilization of Google Alerts when it comes to the hard copy release of this movie will really come in handy, as it did with “Wish”. Plus, the success of the 2019 live-action version of “The Lion King” gives this a movie a built-in advantage at making The Project. |
| Nosferatu | This movie will be released by Universal, a company that I’ve mentioned as one that is among the fastest at listing movies available for pre-order. The only issue for me I guess was would I be able to see it before New Year’s Day 2025 since the two movies above in this chart make the last 12 days of 2024 a little too back-loaded, in terms of theatrical releases. But given the creative way that I can potentially schedule my last three theatrical outings of the year, this movie might have been able to beat the previous deadline any way. As a matter of fact, I might put this one as a fallback option for “Challengers”, as that movie is one of the 19 new/upcoming movies that is awaiting assessment. |
| Paddington In Peru | Out of all confirmed 2025 movies, this one was going to be the first one that was going to be victimized by the pre-expansion to 2,400 era, as it comes out in January. And while there is no need for a third Paddington movie competing March Madness style, a third installment is just way too cute to be a part of an indefinite waiting process. |
| Elio | Like the movie above this one, there’s no need for it to compete March Madness style. But since it will most likely make Pixar a perfect 29-for-29, along with it most likely getting a hard copy release in fall 2025, it’s a movie that will be in the right place at the right time. Besides, a computer-animated movie about aliens needs to compete March Madness style again. |
| M3GAN 2.0 | Just like Elio, this movie will experience the success of being in the right place at the right time. And even though this movie won’t be needed to compete March Madness style, it’s most likely going to be way too entertaining to be a part of an indefinite waiting process. |
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 2 | I don’t want to wait an indefinite amount of time for the resolution of the seventh installment’s cliffhanger. |
| A Simple Favor 2 | There are some movies that just leave their viewers wanting more, which is exactly what Anna Kendrick’s second-best Flickuum movie did. And of course, their viewers will get the “more” via this sequel, which will add a fun international twist to it. This movie is slated for a 2025 release and could be the front-runner for The Flickuum’s best 2025 movie. Plus, it’d be totally fun for an Anna Kendrick-Blake Lively collaboration to battle “The Bounce Back”, “In The Heights”, “John Wick” and both “Saved By The Bell” movies with a fully guaranteed Flickuum spot at stake. |
| Ballerina | The void of Ana de Armas movie competing March Madness style will likely be filled by “Sergio”. But this movie could be her best one and the thought of her possibly best one battling the likes of Nadine Velazquez, Melissa Barrera, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Eiza Gonzalez and Aimee Carrero is a very intriguing one. |
| The Bikeriders | The thought of 1960s era motorcycle movies battling “The Bounce Back” March Madness style is an intriguing one. |
| Kinds Of Kindness | The 1980s song “Sweet Dreams” playing in the trailer gives it a “Love Lies Bleeding” vibe, thus it could be a good March Madness style opponent for the Rose Glass-directed movie. Plus, an Emma Stone movie needs to battle movies that have Nadine Velazquez, Melissa Barrera, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Anna Camp, Anna Kendrick, Eiza Gonzalez and Aimee Carrero March Madness style. |
| Deadpool & Wolverine | Given all the fourth-wall in-jokes that “Deadpool 2” has, this movie could overcome that same paradox. Plus, a March Madness style match-up of this movie versus “Free Guy” needs to happen. |
| Harold And The Purple Crayon | I’ll be waiting for this movie as a digital rental because I don’t see myself going to a theater to see it. And while there’s no need for it to compete March Madness style, it has the vibe of something that I’d watch before my next for fun viewing of “GoldenEye”, assuming that Zachary Levi’s newest movie passes its assessment. |
| The Smurfs Movie | Once upon a time, “The Bounce Back” was a blatant afterthought once “Smurfs: The Lost Village” was assessed. But now the likely number one Flickuum movie can avenge that slight via battling this millennium’s fourth Smurfs movie. |
| Moana 2 | Nadine Velazquez and her “Snitch” castmate Dwayne Johnson both had movies come out in late-2016, with hers being “The Bounce Back” and his being the first “Moana” movie. So, given that, a battle between the likely number one Flickuum movie and a sequel to the 2016 Disney computer-animated movie needs to happen. |
| Trap | Hayley Mills paved the way for Mark-Paul Gosselaar & Company, as Bayside’s Magnificent 7 is on pace for 24 Flickuum movies, whereas the child actress turned former sitcom star is on pace for none. But luckily for her, this movie could change that “none” into a “one” since it’s her best chance at that feat. Plus, a March Madness style match-up of a Hayley Mills movie against one of the two “Saved By The Bell” movies needs to happen. |
| Transformers One | This movie was originally supposed to be the one with the first crack at spot 2,201. But of course, expansion to 2,400 has made that a moot point, so its best way at being in The Project is to have a successful assessment, in order to make the 2,201 through 2,300 selection protocol. Plus, it’d be a perfect second round opponent for “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts” in Conference 31. |
And finally, there are two more Tier 7 stragglers that I forgot to mention four paragraphs ago, with the first one being “At Eternity’s Gate”, as it has a “nowhere but The Flickuum” vibe about it, along with it having the potential to work well with “The Beekeeper” in an evaluation line-up. And as for the second straggler, well that one is “Law Abiding Citizen” because A] Gerard Butler’s character “Clyde Shelton” is a tech savvy version of Chef Slowik, and B] Jamie Foxx’s character “Nick Rice” is someone who slowly yet surely learns the error of his ways.
Well, this fortieth Flickasbord entry might be the most robust yet, as every paragraph gives a preview of what’s to come both March Madness style and in The Flickuum Project. And all of this at a time when things have finally stabilized within the 2,100 overall guaranteed movies. I guess I can call it the best of both worlds.
Until the next time.