I'm making the most definitive list of favorite movies ever.

For every year, I'm listing every movie I've seen and compare them all to each other asking one question; Which movie do I like more. Movies that score in the 80th percentile or higher, advance to the next round: Favorite of the Decade. After each Decade is done, an All Time list will be formed.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 2011



I was kinda hoping that this list, would be topped by a fitting farewell to Harry Potter.  Harry Potter on my lists has been, sort of a Neville Longbottom.  Not to any fault of the series, but to an abundance of nerdy, geeky, blockbustery cinematic goodness.  I wouldn't call Potter's decade a golden age for genre movies; during the interim after the Archon Masquerade, but before the awards, music was playing, movie music, the genre's greatest hits.  The golden age was from Jaws to Jedi.  This is also why Prometheus has such a special anticipation.  Ridley Scott hasn't done a Sci-Fi movie since the Golden Age, and both of his contributions to Sci-Fi back then, are still just as watchable, no, even more watchable today, if only because the average home theater today is really delivering a better experience than most of the few screen, dimly projected, an old lady's hair in your way, my arm is stuck to the seat,would someone close the door the sun is shining on the screen (Did NOT make that up!!!!) theaters we got to view Empire, and Khan in.

I haven't seen most of the movies that are topping the "critical" lists yet.  Most of those lists though are made out of buzz, and fashion.  Almost no one ever says what they like anymore.  Well, I apparently liked X-Men: First Class quite a bit.  I almost can't imagine how much I'd love this movie it it'd been about Jean, Scott, Warren and Hank.  But, had they been in this movie, it wouldn't have been about Erik and Charles.  That's the beauty of the X-Men comics, the good characters' powers and code names are completely irrelevant.  Cyclops the guy who can shoot beams out of his eyes isn't important.  Scott, the guy Jean chooses over Warren, and later Logan, is.  Sounds a bit like Twilight... I'll gag later.  But I don't think Bella ever becomes a God powered, nearly immortal entity that is wanted dead by galactic superpowers, nor has a clone who will make a demonic pact unleashing Hell on earth, or that their child will come back from the future to be a cybernetic bad-ass!  On to the list!

Oh, at #14:  That's this...

An animated anthology starring Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan.  NOT a Ryan Reynolds stripped naked except for underwear to fight the potty monster who can be defeated by what every rookie lantern is taught in basic training.  Mad at me for spoiling it?  No.  Because you deserve a better Green Lantern movie than that.  Oh, and If I hate the live action one so much, why is it at #37?  Ahead of much better movies?  I LOVE Green Lantern.  I love the idea of it being a live action movie just that much.  There were some... a few good, and enjoyable things of that movie.  Pirates 4 is a fine movie, just disappointing to it's pedigree.  And, Game of Shadows... I'll revisit it at some point.  Good friends with good taste love this movie.  But, for right now, Sherlock Neo and the Sundance Kid in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen just doesn't do it for me.

  1. X-Men: First Class
  2. Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows: Part II
  3. Captain America: The First Avenger
  4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
  5. Thor
  6. The Muppets
  7. Paul
  8. Conan the Barbarian
  9. Too Big to Fail
  10. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
  11. All-Star Superman
  12. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
  13. Fright Night
  14. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
  15. Source Code
  16. Batman: Year One
  17. Paranormal Activity 3
  18. The Adventures of Tintin
  19. Kung Fu Panda 2
  20. The Adjustment Bureau
  21. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
  22. Larry Crowne
  23. Cowboys & Aliens
  24. Bad Teacher
  25. Rango
  26. Thor: Tales of Asgard
  27. Your Highness
  28. The Three Musketeers
  29. Fast Five
  30. Arthur
  31. Midnight in Paris
  32. Sucker Punch
  33. Super 8
  34. No Strings Attached
  35. Red Riding Hood
  36. Final Destination 5
  37. Green Lantern
  38. Drive Angry
  39. The Lincoln Lawyer
  40. Mars Needs Moms!
  41. Season of the Witch
  42. The Green Hornet
  43. Red State
  44. The Smurfs
  45. Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides
  46. Atlas Shrugged: Part 1
  47. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
  48. Bridesmaids
  49. Immortals
  50. The Tree of Life
  51. Just Go with It
  52. Margin Call
  53. The Help
  54. Cars 2
  55. Battle: Los Angeles
  56. The Eagle
  57. Gnomeo and Juliet
  58. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1
  59. Rio
  60. Priest
  61. Limitless
  62. The Sunset Limited
  63. I Am Number Four
  64. Sanctum
  65. Almighty Thor
  66. Hall Pass

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1983


This is the first list for comparisons against a member of the OT.  Maybe the second place movie should get its poster shown here...



There.  The Meaning of Life.  Philosophers spent centuries trying to figure it out, proving that they weren't nearly as brilliant or as funny as Monty Python.  Seriously, Meaning of Life isn't a satisfying post topper... Jedi though is year overkill.  It's looking at a top 5 ever seat by the end of this.

Return of the Jedi dominated the entire year, especially if you were 8 years old.  Last day of 2nd grade, we got to watch a movie, and the teachers said that they wanted to get Return of the Jedi, but it wasn't available, so we got to watch Star Wars.  Best day of 2nd grade.



  1. Return of the Jedi
  2. Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
  3. Nate and Hayes
  4. Never Say Never Again
  5. WarGames
  6. Octopussy
  7. Twilight Zone: The Movie
  8. Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
  9. Sudden Impact
  10. Blue Thunder
  11. The Right Stuff
  12. Fire and Ice
  13. The Keep
  14. National Lampoon's Vacation
  15. Bill Cosby: Himself
  16. Trading Places
  17. Brainstorm
  18. Superman III
  19. The Big Chill
  20. Rock and Rule
  21. The Dead Zone
  22. Risky Business
  23. To Be or Not to Be
  24. Hercules
  25. Project A
  26. Terms of Endearment
  27. Mr. Mom
  28. The Star Chamber
  29. Strange Invaders
  30. The Outsiders
  31. Flashdance
  32. Lone Wolf McQuade
  33. Valley Girl
  34. Silkwood
  35. Videodrome
  36. Spacehunter
  37. All the Right Moves
  38. Eddie and the Cruisers
  39. Christine
  40. The Man with Two Brains
  41. Max Dugan Returns
  42. Yor Hunter From The Future
  43. D.C. Cab
  44. Psycho II
  45. Easy Money
  46. Scarface
  47. Staying Alive
  48. A Christmas Story
  49. Jaws 3-D



Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1984




Wow, what a year.  When you want to say; 'they don't make them like that anymore!' Point here, 1984.  You will hate parts of this list.  You'll disagree with big segments of it.  You'll cry fowl, question my sanity... but you too will have a handful or two of all time favorites, or movies you just plain love from this year.  I won't go into the winner, as the highest echelon of my favorite movies ever will each get a spotlight essay, and Dune practically has a reserved seat, spoiler, I also hate this movie, and think it has many many flaws.  Either way; 27 years ago today, it came to theaters, and now wins it's year 100%!

Happy anniversary Dune!


  1. Dune
  2. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
  3. 2010
  4. Ghostbusters
  5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  6. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  7. The Terminator
  8. The NeverEnding Story
  9. Gremlins
  10. Beverly Hills Cop
  11. The Natural
  12. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
  13. Night of the Comet
  14. Starman
  15. The Karate Kid
  16. The Last Starfighter
  17. Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
  18. Amadeus
  19. Police Academy
  20. The Bounty
  21. Top Secret!
  22. Dreamscape
  23. The Muppets Take Manhattan
  24. Splash
  25. Romancing the Stone
  26. Runaway
  27. A Nightmare on Elm Street
  28. The Return of Godzilla (also known as "Godzilla 1985")
  29. Cloak & Dagger
  30. The Killing Fields
  31. The Woman in Red
  32. The Dungeonmaster
  33. Tightrope
  34. Footloose
  35. The Warrior and the Sorceress
  36. Sword of the Valiant
  37. Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
  38. Tank
  39. Supergirl
  40. City Heat
  41. 1984
  42. All of Me
  43. The Philadelphia Experiment
  44. Red Dawn
  45. Cannonball Run II
  46. This Is Spinal Tap
  47. Firestarter
  48. Moscow on the Hudson
  49. Swing Shift
  50. Micki + Maude
  51. The River
  52. Revenge of the Nerds
  53. C.H.U.D.
  54. Missing in Action
  55. Sixteen Candles
  56. The Cotton Club
  57. Against All Odds
  58. A Passage to India
  59. Bolero
  60. Bachelor Party
  61. The Naked Face
  62. Purple Rain
  63. Making the Grade
  64. The Brother from Another Planet
  65. Just the Way You Are
  66. Rhinestone
  67. Children of the Corn

Monday, December 05, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1985


There's something unsatisfying about this.  Yay, the popular movie won... Back to the Future isn't a geeky movie or a nerdy movie.  It's the geek movie that your parents liked too.  I was kinda rooting for Starchaser, but then things like honesty creep into the equation.  As much as I do enjoy Starchaser, it's far from Back to the Future, and that can be said for pretty much every movie except Explorers in 1985.  I'd do a gag about the perfect 1985 movie, but you're looking at it.  A teen involved in some screwy science stuff, nearly a dozen on just my list.

The real shocker is second place, A View to a Kill.  This is far from my favorite Bond movie, and I was shocked, even almost ashamed when I saw that it scored so high. But, there is a remnant of remembering the ad for it in the newspaper, wanting to see it in the theater, and not getting to. My first theatrical Bond would be The Living Daylights.  A shock, a surprise, and somehow it fits. It's aged better than many movies on this list, plus, I really dig The Saint and John Steed running around for a bit.

Even though so many titles from these year seem almost scared because of the age we were, or the memories they're attached to, when they have to compete with each other, most of these movies become mortal.  The Breakfast Club is a legendary movie, and seminal to our generation, but St. Elmo's fire wants that spot too.


  1. Back to the Future
  2. A View to a Kill
  3. Explorers
  4. Vampire Hunter D
  5. Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
  6. Brazil
  7. Enemy Mine
  8. Silverado
  9. Ran
  10. Legend
  11. Pale Rider
  12. Clue
  13. Young Sherlock Holmes
  14. Return to Oz
  15. Commando
  16. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
  17. The Breakfast Club
  18. The Black Cauldron
  19. The Goonies
  20. Cocoon
  21. Weird Science
  22. The Quiet Earth
  23. Red Sonja
  24. St. Elmo's Fire
  25. Ladyhawke
  26. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
  27. The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission
  28. King Solomon's Mines
  29. Fletch
  30. My Science Project
  31. Pee-wee's Big Adventure
  32. Real Genius
  33. Transylvania 6-5000
  34. Here Come the Littles
  35. Fright Night
  36. Jagged Edge
  37. Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
  38. Rocky IV
  39. Teen Wolf
  40. Rambo: First Blood Part II
  41. The Jewel of the Nile
  42. Silver Bullet
  43. Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird
  44. European Vacation
  45. Witness
  46. Desperately Seeking Susan
  47. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
  48. The Care Bears Movie
  49. Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
  50. Prizzi's Honor
  51. Murphy's Romance
  52. Out of Africa
  53. Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer
  54. The Peanut Butter Solution
  55. The Man with One Red Shoe
  56. Mask
  57. El caballero del dragón
  58. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge
  59. Day of the Dead
  60. Once Bitten
  61. Creature
  62. Santa Claus
  63. Girls Just Want to Have Fun
  64. Invasion U.S.A.
  65. Summer Rental
  66. Heaven Help Us
  67. Death Wish 3
  68. Turk 182!
  69. The Falcon and the Snowman

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1986



At the outset of the 1986 pairings, I thought; 'If a good movie gets left behind this is the year they'll get left behind from.'  One of those I know I'll hear arguments about, requires a confession; I just don't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off as much as you.  It's a fun movie, it's good, it's memorable, it's quotable, and it's made for every person who's ever been content with a C+ on a report card, who 'just enough' was acceptable for.  There's nothing wrong with that; it can keep the lights on and beer in the fridge, but I don't drink beer either, or less relevantly eat any ethnic food that I can think of.  But, I analyzed Bueller on his own merits, and ignored that the cast contains Ben Stein, who is human tea tree oil to this lowly ant.   

One of the hardest calls to make in the entire history of making these lists: Star Trek IV vs Project A-Ko.  I couldn't let it go to a tie.  Really the entire lineup of the top 4 were difficult pairings to decide, and I'd looked for poster images for each of them, I almost ruled against Transformers because it was on the blog wallpaper, but because I had no real internal debate that Transformers should top A-Ko, then logically I must like Transformers more than Star Trek IV... but their positions may change in the decade race.  I can see now 1986 will be going with a major contingent into the finals, probably everything from Big Trouble in Little China up.



but not poster composition
Captain EO


For most of the pairings, a movie was on the list and competing that, when near completion, I had to eliminate, Captain EO.  A long time ago, when compiling the titles, Looney Tunes presented a problem of length, and I'd decided not to include them.  I haven't been including Pixar shorts, but EO at 17 minutes is a bit longer than most of these, it's far from long enough to be a "movie".  I've included TV movies, direct to video movies, OVA, I've had the broadest consideration of what is a movie, but I can't go that short.
We can imagine that Captain EO was a glimpse of what we didn't get in 1986; Episode VII or I.  Though a bit of it's look is less sophisticated than even Return of the Jedi, It's kinda doing a Ginger Rogers 'backwards and in heels' trick by looking like a Star Wars movie, in 3D.  On top of that, the sci-fi update on the Thriller zombies were the prototypes of the Borg and their Queen.  If Captain EO had been a feature, it would have been easily top-10 for the year.  Even as it was, a shallow, brief, half music video, it was in the 70th percentile, but EPCOT is still my favorite of the parks.  I wish the crap were taken off spaceship earth, and I wish the... I wish EPCOT would return to its nerdier, closer to original state. 

It's a bit funny the way giving a tie to two movies works out; in last place, The Money Pit had a tie with Armed and DangerousArmed and Dangerous shared a tie vote with Club Paradise, which had a tie with Hoosiers, (Okay, I know what you just thought, but Club Paradise had Peter O'Toole in it!) which had a tie with SpaceCamp, which had a tie with The Great Mouse Detective, which had a tie with The Karate Kid, Part II, which had a tie with Big Trouble in Little China, which had a tie with Labyrinth.


Well here's the list with the most rewatchable top 5 probably of all the lists so far.

  1. The Transformers: The Movie
  2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
  3. Project A-ko
  4. Highlander
  5. Aliens
  6. Labyrinth
  7. Top Gun
  8. Invaders from Mars
  9. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
  10. Big Trouble in Little China
  11. Flight of the Navigator
  12. The Karate Kid, Part II
  13. Howard the Duck
  14. Short Circuit
  15. King Kong Lives
  16. Crocodile Dundee
  17. The Great Mouse Detective
  18. SpaceCamp
  19. Little Shop of Horrors
  20. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  21. Heartbreak Ridge
  22. Iron Eagle
  23. The Fly
  24. Black Moon Rising
  25. An American Tail
  26. The Big Easy
  27. Lucas
  28. The Golden Child
  29. Raw Deal
  30. Platoon
  31. Hoosiers
  32. Manhunter
  33. The Delta Force
  34. Ruthless People
  35. Solarbabies
  36. Gung Ho!
  37. GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
  38. F/X
  39. Castaway
  40. Critters
  41. Pirates
  42. Peggy Sue Got Married
  43. ¡Three Amigos!
  44. Firewalker
  45. Stand by Me
  46. Club Paradise
  47. The Manhattan Project
  48. The Color of Money
  49. 9½ Weeks
  50. Pretty in Pink
  51. Cobra
  52. The Mosquito Coast
  53. Poltergeist II: The Other Side
  54. Troll 2
  55. The Morning After
  56. Jumpin' Jack Flash
  57. House
  58. Armed and Dangerous
  59. Murphhy's Law
  60. Down and Out in Beverly Hills
  61. No Mercy
  62. Shanghai Surprise
  63. The Money Pit



Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1987





This was the type of year that makes these lists so fun to do.  There was no runaway winner, no obvious one at the outset, when the final scores appeared, less than 2% separates The 4th spot from the top spot, but Robo deserves to be there.  This is one of those results that made me actually appreciate the movie more for discovering that it won.  For every argument that The Princess Bride deserves it more, the same might be able to be said for No Way Out.  I feel I cheated a certain movie to the bottom of the list, but there are scarcely few more movies that deserve the confines of Abaddon than Jaws: The Revenge.  It's director Joseph Sergent also directed one of the movies that will appear, probably somewhere close to the top of the All-Time list, Colossus The Forbin Project, as will the original Jaws.  The near perfection found in both of these makes this all the worse.  Would this movie have been any dumber if the shark wore a Hawaiian shirt?

Anyway, I still recall us renting Robocop on VHS for the first time.  Yup, that's how I first saw it.


  1. RoboCop
  2. The Princess Bride
  3. No Way Out
  4. Predator
  5. G.I. Joe: The Movie
  6. Spaceballs
  7. The Living Daylights
  8. Lethal Weapon
  9. The Brave Little Toaster
  10. Beverly Hills Cop II
  11. *batteries not included
  12. Empire of the Sun
  13. The Untouchables
  14. The Last Emperor
  15. Masters of the Universe
  16. Wings of Honneamise
  17. The Monster Squad
  18. Broadcast News
  19. Dirty Dancing
  20. Innerspace
  21. Project A-Ko 2: Daitokuji zaibatsu no inbô
  22. Swimming to Cambodia
  23. Gor
  24. The Fourth Protocol
  25. The Running Man
  26. Evil Dead II
  27. Harry and the Hendersons
  28. Wings of Desire
  29. The Chipmunk Adventure
  30. Mannequin
  31. The Lost Boys
  32. Eddie Murphy Raw
  33. Full Metal Jacket
  34. Wall Street
  35. Project X
  36. The Big Easy
  37. The Puppetoon Movie
  38. 3 Men and a Baby
  39. Adventures in Babysitting
  40. Good Morning, Vietnam
  41. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
  42. The Witches of Eastwick
  43. Time of the Apes
  44. Dragnet
  45. Ishtar
  46. Some Kind of Wonderful
  47. Stakeout
  48. Summer School
  49. Fatal Attraction
  50. Hellraiser
  51. The Secret of My Succe$s
  52. Raising Arizona
  53. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
  54. Benji the Hunted
  55. Blind Date
  56. Outrageous Fortune
  57. Cherry 2000
  58. Overboard
  59. Who's That Girl
  60. Roxanne
  61. Light of Day
  62. Suspect
  63. Leonard Part 6
  64. La Bamba
  65. Teen Wolf Too
  66. Baby Boom
  67. Throw Momma from the Train
  68. Ernest Goes to Camp
  69. Hello Again
  70. Moonstruck
  71. Prince of Darkness
  72. Over the Top
  73. Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
  74. Burglar
  75. Tin Men
  76. Like Father Like Son
  77. The Principal
  78. Jaws: The Revenge




Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1988




So, I was working on this list a few days ago, and looking up a movie I've always enjoyed  The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, to honestly put it, it's been a few years since I've seen it, and I forgot who played the title role.  He was familiar, on the tip of my tongue, and in something else... but I couldn't summon the memory.  Nothing makes the brain more feeble or just plain lazy than Googling something rather than forcing the brain to actually recall the information.  Why think?  Wikipedia is right there in the search bar.  Oh, of course, John Neville was Baron Munchausen!  Well, I just couldn't put the face to name since he was wearing that prosthetic nose, and all that make-up... and now this morning, John Neville has just passed away.  So, to John Neville, the world wasn't tired of you.


  1. Akira
  2. Gandahar (Light Years)
  3. U2: Rattle and Hum
  4. Die Hard
  5. Tucker: The Man and His Dream
  6. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  7. Willow
  8. Beetlejuice
  9. Short Circuit 2
  10. Working Girl
  11. Without a Clue
  12. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
  13. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
  14. They Live
  15. Rain Man
  16. Dangerous Liaisons
  17. My Neighbor Totoro
  18. Grave of the Fireflies
  19. Crocodile Dundee II
  20. Alien Nation
  21. Earth Girls Are Easy
  22. Young Guns
  23. Twins
  24. A Fish Called Wanda
  25. Biloxi Blues
  26. The Land Before Time
  27. The Dead Pool
  28. Red Heat
  29. Feds
  30. Scrooged
  31. The Blob
  32. My Stepmother Is an Alien
  33. Vibes
  34. Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
  35. High Spirits
  36. The Big Blue
  37. Coming to America
  38. Big
  39. Gorillas in the Mist
  40. Caddyshack II
  41. Bull Durham
  42. Taffin
  43. She's Having a Baby
  44. The Presidio
  45. Eight Men Out
  46. The Accidental Tourist
  47. Action Jackson
  48. Stand and Deliver
  49. Oliver & Company
  50. Big Top Pee-wee
  51. Married to the Mob
  52. Young Einstein
  53. D.O.A.
  54. Tequila Sunrise
  55. The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
  56. Child's Play
  57. Iron Eagle II
  58. The Bear
  59. The Last Temptation of Christ
  60. The Great Outdoors
  61. Cocktail
  62. 18 Again!
  63. Midnight Run
  64. Mystic Pizza
  65. Bird
  66. I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
  67. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
  68. License to Drive
  69. Bat*21
  70. Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach
  71. Rambo III
  72. Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw
  73. Bloodsport
  74. Cocoon: The Return
  75. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
  76. Mac and Me
  77. Fright Night Part 2
  78. Funny Farm
  79. Bright Lights, Big City
  80. Big Business
  81. Clean and Sober
  82. Frantic
  83. Mississippi Burning
  84. Buster
  85. Ernest Saves Christmas
  86. Cop
  87. Punchline
  88. Hot to Trot




John Neville 1925 - 2011

Monday, November 14, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1989



 Some years last months, 1989 was almost a decade by itself.  The last few months of Junior High took forever, but ended with our group of friends back then all going to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!  Which is just about the happiest memory I can recount about a group of friends that, hanging out with any of them 1 on 1, was awesome, but social groups larger than 4 with only one gender represented tend to fall apart.  Look at Voltron; 5 guys, forget it.  4 dudes and a chick, okay.  Single gender rock bands with more than four members? There were 5 of us, and 40% of the group was named Mike, and everyone in the country had a Batman shirt.

So let me present the Perfect 1989 movie:


Little Kill & The Dead Dream... V Part II

It'd star Kevin Costner as a Viet Nam vet, unjustly sent to prison where he died.  But now he's back! And partnered with a dog!  And Is going to an underwater research facility where all the excitement will happen!  Oh the quirky researchers in the underwater lab; Dan Aykroyd, and Keanu Reeves.  Tom Hanks voices the Dogs thoughts. 


Which, if you saw most of the movies on this list, is the movie that would form in your brain... as for the real movies of 1989;

  1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  2. Henry V
  3. The Abyss
  4. Back to the Future Part II
  5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  6. Batman
  7. Field of Dreams
  8. Lethal Weapon 2
  9. Fat Man and Little Boy
  10. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
  11. Kiki's Delivery Service
  12. Major League
  13. The Little Mermaid
  14. Godzilla vs. Biollante
  15. Arena
  16. Always
  17. The War of the Roses
  18. UHF
  19. The Fly II
  20. Black Rain
  21. Ghostbusters II
  22. Glory
  23. Road House
  24. Tango & Cash
  25. Babar: The Movie
  26. Licence to Kill
  27. Heathers
  28. When Harry Met Sally...
  29. Weekend at Bernie's
  30. The Karate Kid, Part III
  31. The Experts
  32. Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
  33. Great Balls of Fire!
  34. Dead Poets Society
  35. Chances Are
  36. Hard to Kill
  37. The Dream Team
  38. She's Out of Control
  39. Look Who's Talking
  40. Driving Miss Daisy
  41. Gross Anatomy
  42. Say Anything...
  43. Leviathan
  44. Dream a Little Dream
  45. Lean on Me
  46. Cyborg
  47. Parenthood
  48. Turner & Hooch
  49. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
  50. Skin Deep
  51. Troop Beverly Hills
  52. Blaze
  53. Her Alibi
  54. The 'Burbs
  55. The Fabulous Baker Boys
  56. Dead Calm
  57. Best of the Best
  58. Uncle Buck
  59. How to Get Ahead in Advertising
  60. K-9
  61. Pink Cadillac
  62. The Wizard
  63. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
  64. The Punisher
  65. Do the Right Thing
  66. Sex, lies, and videotape
  67. Steel Magnolias
  68. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
  69. Night Game
  70. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
  71. Pet Sematary
  72. Roger & Me
  73. Worth Winning
  74. All Dogs Go To Heaven
  75. Deepstar Six
  76. Kickboxer
  77. Three Fugitives
  78. Fletch Lives
  79. Red Scorpion
  80. Dead Bang
  81. Lock Up
  82. An Innocent Man
  83. Sea of Love
  84. Born on the Fourth of July
  85. Casualties of War
  86. The January Man

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Favoritest 50 Movies of the '90's!!!


They signed their names.  When I sorted the numbers in Excel, I expected either Jurassic Park, or Phantom Menace, Hunt for Red October, or Galaxy Quest to grab the top spot.  But instead of the dawn of CG's dominance in effects or the return of Star Wars, a goodbye took the top score out of the most like 180 movies of a decade.  Although, from viewing one, I can't think of a bad thought I've ever had about this movie, maybe I'm just whitewashing my memory to justify the result.

  • Jurassic Park... (What, could have had the aviary? please self, you're a whore for Jurassic Park!)  
  • Contact? Yes, The beach and the dad are a letdown to my inner 5 year old who wants to see aliens...
  • The American President... Okay, no complaints there either, although for awhile I think I enjoyed it more in (impending blasphamy... 3, 2, 1...) in Pan & Scan!!  But that just shows how much my father watched the VHS of it [ A: Daily ;) ].  There were some times he'd rewind it, and play it again.
  • Episode I... No!  I won't say one bad thing about Star Wars episode I.  Only because I remember a time when there was more negative speech about that movie on the internet than porn, and The Matrix was the next big thing.  But, I think I found forgiveness on this decade round for The Matrix.


  1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 
  2. Jurassic Park 
  3. Contact 
  4. The American President 
  5. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 
  6. Starship Troopers 
  7. The Lion King 
  8. Titanic 
  9. The Hunt for Red October 
  10. Galaxy Quest 
  11. Aladdin 
  12. Stargate 
  13. Star Trek: First Contact 
  14. Hook 
  15. The Lost World: Jurassic Park 
  16. Mulan 
  17. Army of Darkness 
  18. Beauty and the Beast
  19. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
  20. Independence Day 
  21. The Thomas Crown Affair
  22. Mallrats 
  23. The Fifth Element 
  24. The Rock 
  25. Bicentennial Man 
  26. Office Space 
  27. The Matrix 
  28. Pretty Woman 
  29. Clerks 
  30. The Mummy 
  31. True Lies 
  32. A Few Good Men 
  33. Armageddon 
  34. Shakespeare in Love 
  35. Schindler's List 
  36. Maverick 
  37. Dave 
  38. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
  39. Total Recall
  40. Star Trek Generations 
  41. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 
  42. Pulp Fiction 
  43. Basic Instinct 
  44. Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) 
  45. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 
  46. The Cutting Edge 
  47. Léon 
  48. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 
  49. Princess Mononoke 
  50. Tomorrow Never Dies


And I still don't have a cutoff for the ones that go to the "All Time" Round... although the 80th percentile is looking good.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1990




1990 was around when my mother left.  I don't remember when that was exactly, which seems odd because in the type of movies that take place in the only world the isipid Chelsea Handler can understand, the date of some major family trauma is etched in stone and Charlton Heston comes down from the higher echelon of your psyche with a cheap plastic cup bearing the date of the one, one offending day and a copy of the childhood home game.

Of course, when I watch movies that take plae in the only world palpable to Chelsea, I tend to think they're ridiculous fantasies because of all the concessions, contrivances, conveniences, and coincidences.  I don't remember the date my mother left, but heck it was the second time she did.  The first time being in fourth grade.  I had enough going on with starting High School, which is when she promised she would leave after she had come back the first time back in fourth grade...  



The benefit to my mother's abandonment of my father and I, aside from;



We went two summers in a row... Divorce is screwed up.

The side benefits were all the other overtures of bonding and distraction my father engaged in.  Star Trek Conventions; every one within driving distance.  The local sci-fi convention called Archon, renting movies on a weekly or better basis, going to the movies would become more and more regular until being a weekly habit as well, including going to the movies on Christmas, the first of which was Godfather Part III.  We were looking forward to it for months!  We had a Godfather movie marathon the week prior... (It's number 62, out of 109)

Trivial side note:  Back then, I was saving the ads for movies from Entertainment Weekly.  Full page movie ads were, the movie poster.  Also back then, my father and I kept a list of movies we saw together on the front of the refrigerator, and would rank them at the end of the year.
 
Well, this was the last list of the '90's, 181 movies made it into the fave of the decade round; that's 16,290 matchups, of which this lot in blue below me is responsible for 3087 of, or 19%.  So, I'll get to that...
  1. The Hunt for Red October
  2. Pretty Woman
  3. Dances with Wolves
  4. Back to the Future Part III
  5. Pump Up the Volume
  6. Total Recall
  7. Spaced Invaders
  8. By Dawn's Early Light
  9. Predator 2
  10. Memphis Belle
  11. Frankenstein Unbound
  12. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  13. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
  14. RoboCop 2
  15. DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
  16. Robot Jox
  17. Die Hard 2
  18. Treasure Island
  19. Edward Scissorhands
  20. White Hunter, Black Heart
  21. La Femme Nikita
  22. Dick Tracy
  23. Ghost
  24. Tremors
  25. The Rescuers Down Under
  26. A Dangerous Man: Lawrence after Arabia
  27. Quigley Down Under
  28. Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
  29. Marked for Death
  30. Darkman
  31. Men at Work
  32. Young Guns II
  33. Reversal of Fortune
  34. Navy SEALs
  35. Dreams
  36. Narrow Margin
  37. Hard to Kill
  38. Kindergarten Cop
  39. Vincent & Theo
  40. Bird on a Wire
  41. Jetsons: The Movie
  42. The Bonfire of the Vanities
  43. Hamlet
  44. Quick Change
  45. I Come in Peace
  46. Postcards from the Edge
  47. Days of Thunder
  48. I Love You to Death
  49. Joe Versus the Volcano
  50. The Rookie
  51. Captain America
  52. The Guyver
  53. My Blue Heaven
  54. Air America
  55. Taking Care of Business
  56. Presumed Innocent
  57. Short Time
  58. Nuns on the Run
  59. Repossessed
  60. Blind Fury
  61. Nightbreed
  62. The Godfather Part III
  63. Home Alone
  64. Internal Affairs
  65. Mr. Destiny
  66. Green Card
  67. The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter
  68. Loose Cannons
  69. Pacific Heights
  70. Arachnophobia
  71. Fire Birds
  72. Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
  73. Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
  74. Goodfellas
  75. Rocky V
  76. The Freshman
  77. Ju Dou
  78. Miller's Crossing
  79. The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
  80. The Russia House
  81. Awakenings
  82. Three Men and a Little Lady
  83. Another 48 Hrs.
  84. Look Who's Talking Too
  85. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
  86. Crash and Burn
  87. Misery
  88. Cyrano de Bergerac
  89. Flatliners
  90. Mermaids
  91. Lord of the Flies
  92. Cadillac Man
  93. Child's Play 2
  94. Henry & June
  95. The Two Jakes
  96. Blue Steel
  97. The Krays
  98. Jacob's Ladder
  99. Stanley & Iris
  100. Wild at Heart
  101. Wild Orchid
  102. The Witches
  103. Miami Blues
  104. Revenge
  105. White Palace
  106. Stella
  107. King of New York
  108. Problem Child
  109. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer



Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)
 

Monday, October 10, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1991





It seems natural that the first (working backwards) original cast Trek would win the year, but I actually wanted a specific movie to loose.  I really really wanted it to loose, but it was beat out by two movies that I apparently like even less... more on them at the bottom of the list...

If I'd done this list 20 years ago, 2nd place would probably be different, I don't know where Hook would have placed back then, but I remember having problems with the color temperature of the lighting being too indoor for it's outdoor location.  Star Trek VI was an event saying goodbye to the original cast, Hook wasn't a goodbye in presentation, but I recall an on-set interview before Hook's release with Spielberg; "Maybe Hook is going to be the last big show I put on."1   Hook would be the least 'dark' Spielberg movie for seventeen years... As I'm typing this, my daughter is reading over my shoulder and asks; "What's Hook?" Answer, a movie in need of a beautiful Blu-Ray release.
  1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  2. Hook
  3. Beauty and the Beast
  4. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  5. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  6. The Rocketeer
  7. JFK
  8. Defending Your Life
  9. The Addams Family
  10. Dead Again
  11. Shattered
  12. Once Upon a Time in China
  13. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
  14. City Slickers
  15. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
  16. Until the End of the World
  17. Hot Shots!
  18. Thelma & Louise
  19. The Silence of the Lambs
  20. For The Boys
  21. Father of the Bride
  22. The Doors
  23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
  24. Truth or Dare
  25. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
  26. Point Break
  27. Class Action
  28. The Hard Way
  29. Bugsy
  30. Doc Hollywood
  31. Out for Justice
  32. Return to the Blue Lagoon
  33. Knight Rider 2000
  34. Necessary Roughness
  35. Soapdish
  36. Cape Fear
  37. Flight of the Intruder
  38. Once A Thief
  39. The Last Boy Scout
  40. Backdraft
  41. Billy Bathgate
  42. L.A. Story
  43. What About Bob?
  44. The Fisher King
  45. Grand Canyon
  46. Hudson Hawk
  47. Mobsters
  48. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
  49. True Colors
  50. Suburban Commando
  51. Delirious
  52. Guilty by Suspicion
  53. Other People's Money
  54. White Fang
  55. Regarding Henry
  56. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
  57. King Ralph
  58. Curly Sue
  59. Timebomb
  60. Pure Luck
  61. Fried Green Tomatoes
  62. F/X2
  63. Stone Cold
  64. The Perfect Weapon
  65. Naked Lunch
  66. Eve Of Destruction
  67. The Doctor
  68. Rover Dangerfield
  69. Little Man Tate
  70. Toy Soldiers         
  71. Life Stinks
  72. Sleeping with the Enemy
  73. The Prince of Tides
  74. Oscar
  75. Dying Young
  76. Frankie and Johnny
  77. Rush
  78. The Marrying Man
  79. Nothing But Trouble
  80. Problem Child 2
  81. Highlander II: The Quickening
  82. My Girl
  83. The Super
Highlander II is such a frakking failure of a movie, it even failed to make it to the bottom of the list!  A Completely forgotten, and completely forgettable Joe Pesci movie made it to the bottom.  Way to fail, at EVERYTHING Highlander II, but the bottom of this one is a bit of a cesspool.  Oh, #77 there, that's the movie that gave us Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven.  I'm waiting for someone to compile in a book or blog or somewhere, a collection of songs everyone knows, that came to us via completely forgotten movies.



1] Also quoted in The films of Steven Spielberg  By Douglas Brode

Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1992






The top few movies aside, this year in retrospect was boring.  Boring to look back on.  Most of the scores given were "0.5"; a tie between two movies, since most of these are movies I couldn't care to think about ever again.  There's a lot of "caught it on cable" here.  I can't believe I watched half of these.  Worse still, is that nothing better was on at the time.  Of the top 10, I only saw 5 of them in the theater, and only one of the top 10 was a "caught it on cable", The Player.  That's one of those movies that keeps you having cable, finding one like that... What a line of crap.  If not for cable, I would have rented The Player... Chaplin, that was on cable... should've rented it, no DVR's back then... Speaking of differences Aladdin 3D, make this happen Disney!  Lion King worked pretty well, but this isn't on your list of 3D upgrades?

  1. Aladdin (Tie)
  2. Army of Darkness (Tie)
  3. A Few Good Men
  4. Basic Instinct
  5. The Cutting Edge
  6. Sneakers
  7. A League of Their Own
  8. Glengarry Glen Ross
  9. Baraka
  10. The Player
  11. Hard Boiled
  12. Chaplin
  13. Medicine Man
  14. Peter's Friends
  15. Freejack
  16. Bram Stoker's Dracula
  17. Split Second
  18. Lethal Weapon 3
  19. The Lover
  20. Fifty/Fifty
  21. The Distinguished Gentleman
  22. Memoirs of an Invisible Man
  23. The Crying Game
  24. Unforgiven
  25. Death Becomes Her
  26. Porco Rosso
  27. Batman Returns
  28. Shining Through
  29. Aces: Iron Eagle III
  30. Alien 3
  31. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
  32. Stay Tuned
  33. School Ties
  34. El Mariachi
  35. Universal Soldier
  36. Reservoir Dogs
  37. Patriot Games
  38. The Last of the Mohicans
  39. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
  40. White Sands
  41. Cool World,
  42. The Muppet Christmas Carol
  43. Far and Away
  44. Hoffa
  45. Wayne's World
  46. Under Siege
  47. Scent of a Woman
  48. Innocent Blood
  49. My Cousin Vinny
  50. Rapid Fire
  51. Nemesis
  52. Kuffs
  53. Passenger 57
  54. Sleepwalkers
  55. 1492: Conquest of Paradise
  56. Captain Ron
  57. Rock-a-Doodle
  58. Final Analysis
  59. The Babe
  60. The Lawnmower Man
  61. Forever Young
  62. K2: The Ultimate High
  63. Leap of Faith
  64. The Mighty Ducks
  65. Malcolm X
  66. Thunderheart
  67. The Bodyguard
  68. Toys
  69. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
  70. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
  71. Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives
  72. Newsies
  73. Radio Flyer
  74. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
  75. Unlawful Entry
  76. Beethoven
  77. Sidekicks
  78. Hero
  79. 3 Ninjas
  80. Man Trouble
  81. Mr. Baseball
  82. Consenting Adults
  83. Singles
  84. Single White Female
  85. Sister Act
  86. A River Runs Through It
  87. Jennifer Eight
  88. Of Mice and Men
  89. Love Potion No. 9
  90. The Mambo Kings
  91. The Waterdance
  92. White Men Can't Jump
  93. Article 99
  94. Passion Fish
  95. American Me
  96. Straight Talk
  97. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  98. Boomerang
  99. Orlando
  100. Mr. Saturday Night
  101. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
  102. Class Act
  103. Honeymoon in Vegas
  104. HouseSitter
  105. The Public Eye


Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1993



Oh 1993... What a boring list of movies to compare and contrast.  What were you trying to be, a list of reasons to not watch movies on cable?  There's at least a 100 squandered hours lying at the bottom of this list of movies that would have been better off being unseen mysteries.  More tedious was the fact that I had the Jurassic Park poster ready to go.  I'm trying to discover what my favorite movies are, not look at a pile and pick out the only one I've rewatched in the past decade. (okay that's an overstatement... I've watched Falling Down, Tombstone, Totoro, Dave, and a few minutes of Super Mario Brothers all in the last couple years.)

Not a video, just the only picture found on the web.
But Movies are entertainment.  And in that category, 1993 produced a bigger winner than any of these movies, but first... a loser;  Bigfoot style pizza.  Gaming, and these monsters, especially Elicia''s attempt to emulate Pizza Hut's Bigfoot seen here were an amazing combination.  I don't miss the pizza hut one so much since, well, If I were to list 18 different pizza places, Pizza Hut would come in 7th.  That's not a bad thing but Pizza Hut just isn't the same unless you're walking into a big red hut with that aroma and  table top version of Galaga to beg your parents for a quarter to go play.  But, this list is about 1993, And I've gone off into the wee 80's.  So, really the winner for 1993 should be;


Well, you're not a movie.  I've spent to much money on you.  I've regretted our break-up.  You've killed so many hours, and caused so much fun and pain.

  Oh how I should have listened to that old woman that wandered into my comic shop, Who, like the Soothsayer to Ceaser told me to get Magic.  If only I'd looked it up on the internet. ;) 

  1. Jurassic Park
  2. Schindler's List
  3. The Fugitive
  4. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
  5. Dave
  6. The Firm
  7. My Neighbor Totoro
  8. Tombstone
  9. Robin Hood: Men in Tights
  10. Demolition Man
  11. Falling Down
  12. Much Ado About Nothing
  13. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
  14. Groundhog Day
  15. Hot Shots! Part Deux
  16. The Legend
  17. True Romance
  18. Addams Family Values
  19. In the Line of Fire
  20. Robot Wars: Robot Jox 2
  21. The Three Musketeers
  22. Grumpy Old Men
  23. Coneheads
  24. Three Colors: Blue
  25. Being Human
  26. Last Action Hero
  27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
  28. Mrs. Doubtfire
  29. The Nightmare Before Christmas
  30. Needful Things
  31. Point of No Return
  32. The Joy Luck Club
  33. Rising Sun
  34. Short Cuts
  35. National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
  36. Fire in the Sky
  37. Benny & Joon
  38. Indecent Proposal
  39. Cliffhanger
  40. Fearless
  41. Malice
  42. Crime Story
  43. Farewell My Concubine
  44. Dazed and Confused
  45. Sleepless in Seattle
  46. Fatal Instinct
  47. So I Married an Axe Murderer
  48. Wayne's World 2
  49. Hexed
  50. Hard Target
  51. Striking Distance
  52. We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
  53. What's Eating Gilbert Grape
  54. What's Love Got to Do With It
  55. Sliver
  56. The Crush
  57. Nowhere to Run
  58. Kalifornia
  59. A Perfect World
  60. Free Willy
  61. Little Buddha
  62. The Real McCoy
  63. Faraway, So Close!
  64. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
  65. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
  66. In the Name of the Father
  67. Son in Law
  68. For Love or Money
  69. Robocop 3
  70. Judgment Night
  71. Weekend at Bernie's II
  72. Body of Evidence
  73. Undercover Blues
  74. Life with Mikey
  75. The Temp
  76. Cool Runnings
  77. Mad Dog and Glory
  78. Sniper
  79. Alive
  80. Look Who's Talking Now
  81. Born Yesterday
  82. The Man Without a Face
  83. Dennis the Menace
  84. Mr. Nanny
  85. Carnosaur
  86. Carlito's Way
  87. Sommersby
  88. The Meteor Man
  89. Untamed Heart
  90. Amos & Andrew
  91. Hocus Pocus
  92. My Life
  93. Made in America
  94. Boxing Helena
  95. Jack the Bear
  96. Super Mario Bros.
  97. The Good Son


Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1994



My father and I used to keep a list throughout the year of movies we saw in the theater on the refrigerator with ratings on them.  He'd give me crap about seeing more movies than him.  But, considering that essentially every weekend I was seeing a movie with him (we'd miss a few weekends in this period due to going to a Cardinal game, or a show at the Fox, or the St. Louis Symphony), I'd go to the movies fairly often with my girlfriend at the time, and once a week my friend Verne and I would ditch class to go see a movie at Crestwood Mall.  Until we saw it... A movie that was, to us, just disgustingly unenjoyable.  Our weekly skip to the movies was killed dead by Natural Born Killers.  I was a little surprised to see it placed only third from the bottom on this list.

I was more surprised that Stargate is my favorite 1994 movie.  I really had no idea what would come out on top.  Maybe I haven't been clear about this before, but I've been using (a slightly modified) Condorcet method to rank each year of movies.  But there were so many movies that I saw at the time and since, either on video or cable that I did enjoy; how did Stargate win? When I saw Stargate for the first time, at Keller 8 Cine; 1) I thought it was one of the most predictable movies I've ever seen, but 2) I really wanted to see a sequel.  It was co-opting Erich von Däniken and the rest of the ancient astronaut mini industry of books you'd find in the metaphysical / new-age section of any Waldenbooks, without being tacky.  I really wished for a second movie where they went to Atlantis.  Other gods in addition to the Egyptians would have been nice to see as well.  But, If I had made this list in 1994, not only would it have been a lot shorter.  Stargate wouldn't have passed Forest Gump, Pulp Fiction, or Leon.  It probably would have been just above the middle.    
"Never underestimate your audience. They're generally
sensitive, intelligent people who respond positively
to quality entertainment." - STARGΛTE SG·1

So why so much love now for a truly ridiculous movie?  Ridiculous I say?  The premise is this; If you find an old safe, and have the first 6 numbers of a 7 number combination, how many experts does it take to open it?  But, that's what Alfred Hitchcock would call a "Refrigerator Moment", so it's forgiven.  Now, my wife and her brother dig on Stargate, but that's not enough alone.  Star Trek The Next Generation is my favorite TV series ever, and that probably helped Generations to the second spot (tied with The Lion King).  Heck, Generations isn't even that great, Why didn't Tolian Sorin just get himself a shuttlecraft and one of those thruster suits Spock had in The Motion Picture and fly into the Nexus, save all the people on Veridian 3 the trouble of dying... by the way, if you kill an entire planetary civilization in a movie these days, you don't gewt a pass like Generations or New Hope, we need to see cities crumble and families crushed or engulfed in flame... Go Roland Emmerich on their sorry carbon based bottoms!  Say, aside from 2012, didn't he make... Stargate?  Stargate got to the top of this list with Ten seasons of clawing it's way into my heart.  As much as I loved Richard Dead Anderson, and I still as of the writing of this, I need to watch all of Farscape.  But, Ben Browder and Claudia Black joining the show, made SG·1 some serious family time TV viewing.  It's a conceptual high tide, and I'm probably not the first person to enjoy the original film more, thanks to the series.  So, it's on to the next round for twenty movies from the class of 1994, here's the list of how everyone stacked up in the end.


  1. Stargate
  2. (Tie) Star Trek Generations
  3. (Tie) The Lion King
  4. Interview with the Vampire
  5. Pulp Fiction
  6. Léon
  7. Forrest Gump
  8. Clerks
  9. Maverick
  10. The Crow
  11. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
  12. True Lies
  13. The Shawshank Redemption
  14. Radioland Murders
  15. Street Fighter
  16. Ed Wood
  17. Love Affair
  18. The Flintstones
  19. The Hudsucker Proxy
  20. Timecop
  21. The Next Karate Kid
  22. The Shadow
  23. Speechless
  24. The Paper
  25. Quiz Show
  26. The Mask
  27. Reality Bites
  28. Richie Rich
  29. Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
  30. Major League II
  31. Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
  32. Threesome
  33. Three Colors: Red
  34. Heavenly Creatures
  35. Color of Night
  36. Speed
  37. The Ref
  38. I.Q.
  39. Bad Girls
  40. Highlander III: The Final Dimension
  41. Nobody's Fool
  42. Sirens
  43. The Madness of King George
  44. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
  45. Backbeat
  46. Mixed Nuts
  47. Three Colors: White
  48. Africa: The Serengeti
  49. Lightning Jack
  50. Greedy
  51. Cobb
  52. With Honors
  53. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
  54. Disclosure
  55. Guarding Tess
  56. Police Academy: Mission to Moscow
  57. North
  58. Clear and Present Danger
  59. Legends of the Fall
  60. Nell
  61. Little Women
  62. The Getaway
  63. Blown Away
  64. Dream Lover
  65. The Scout
  66. Four Weddings and a Funeral
  67. No Escape
  68. The Specialist
  69. Shallow Grave
  70. The Return of Jafar
  71. City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
  72. On Deadly Ground
  73. Renaissance Man
  74. Wes Craven's New Nightmare
  75. The Chase
  76. I Love Trouble
  77. Only You
  78. Wyatt Earp
  79. Terminal Velocity
  80. Immortal Beloved
  81. Double Dragon
  82. Gunmen
  83. Wolf
  84. Black Beauty
  85. The Santa Clause
  86. The Cowboy Way
  87. Intersection
  88. Miracle on 34th Street
  89. Exit to Eden
  90. Lassie
  91. The Jungle Book
  92. The Client
  93. Beverly Hills Cop III
  94. Drop Zone
  95. It Could Happen To You
  96. The Puppet Masters
  97. Junior
  98. Muriel's Wedding
  99. The Little Rascals
  100. Angels in the Outfield
  101. When a Man Loves a Woman
  102. The Swan Princess
  103. Baby's Day Out
  104. Serial Mom
  105. A Troll in Central Park
  106. My Girl 2
  107. PCU
  108. Natural Born Killers
  109. Dumb and Dumber
  110. It's Pat
Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)




"This page would look so much cooler if I were at the top" -- Pulp Fiction Movie poster, squatting here in it's own coolness protesting the movies loss.




Friday, February 04, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1995


We see twin movies in almost every year it seems, 1995 had  Kevin Spacey interrogated by cops TWICE on this list, French Kiss, meet Forget Paris, and of course Rob Roy and Braveheart!  But, there are SIX Cyberpunkish movies in this year;  Russell Crowe became real, Keanu had an 80G storage capacity, and Sandra was able to begin boring me with everything she'll ever do in perpetuity, we got to see Angelina Jolie for the first time (no, I saw Cyborg 2!) and did I mention Strange Days?  The only one to get to the next round was the anime.

I was the guy doing the layouts on our college paper that year, and there were two big benefits to that; an all expense paid trip to the collegiate journalists conference in Washington DC and demanding that I got to go to the press screening of Goldeneye.  The sound was a bit screwed up, and when Brosnan fires that grapple gun at the start of the movie, it was physically shocking to everyone in attendance... just way too loud, just a few minutes later the sound was turned down to less than deafening, but I could have cared less.  Bond was back, and back then a six year absence felt near enough to eternal.  

But, the winner of the year.  That movie poster hangs above my living room couch.  It was one of, if not completely, my fathers favorite movie.  We saw it at Ronnies 8 on a screen that we were making fun of for being only slightly larger than our 46" TV at home.  I swear he didn't initially love it, but later he practically wore the VHS copy out.  As for me, I still think Aaron Sorkin is the best dialogue writer in Hollywood; he has every other screenwriter asking each other how to spell erudite.

  1. The American President
  2. GoldenEye
  3. Mallrats
  4. Ghost in the Shell
  5. The Usual Suspects
  6. Ninja Scroll
  7. Babe
  8. Bad Boys
  9. Se7en
  10. Mortal Kombat
  11. Nixon
  12. The Quick and the Dead
  13. Toy Story
  14. Braveheart
  15. Apollo 13
  16. Judge Dredd
  17. Grumpier Old Men
  18. Die Hard with a Vengeance
  19. The City of Lost Children
  20. Desperado
  21. Tank Girl
  22. Batman Forever
  23. Strange Days
  24. Twelve Monkeys
  25. The Brady Bunch Movie
  26. Congo
  27. Rob Roy
  28. A Little Princess
  29. Casper
  30. Species
  31. Assassins
  32. The Indian in the Cupboard
  33. Waterworld
  34. Nine Months
  35. The Prophecy
  36. Sabrina
  37. Outbreak
  38. Circle of Friends
  39. Shanghai Triad
  40. Empire Records
  41. Four Rooms
  42. Clueless
  43. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
  44. Crimson Tide
  45. Hackers
  46. Sense and Sensibility
  47. Johnny Mnemonic
  48. The Last Supper
  49. Police Story 4: First Strike
  50. Powder
  51. First Knight
  52. Jumanji
  53. Nick of Time
  54. Showgirls
  55. Cutthroat Island
  56. Screamers
  57. Dracula: Dead and Loving It
  58. Get Shorty
  59. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
  60. Virtuosity
  61. Lord of Illusions
  62. Othello
  63. Dangerous Minds
  64. Heat
  65. Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
  66. French Kiss
  67. A Goofy Movie
  68. Operation Dumbo Drop
  69. The Bridges of Madison County
  70. The Brothers McMullen
  71. Billy Madison
  72. Fair Game
  73. Father of the Bride Part II
  74. Something to Talk About
  75. Forget Paris
  76. Pocahontas
  77. Sudden Death
  78. Balto
  79. Casino
  80. Iron Eagle IV
  81. Just Cause
  82. While You Were Sleeping
  83. Don Juan DeMarco
  84. Money Train
  85. To Die For
  86. The Net
  87. Murder in the First
  88. Jury Duty
  89. Never Talk to Strangers
  90. Vampire in Brooklyn
  91. The Scarlet Letter
  92. Jade
  93. Tommy Boy
  94. Kids
  95. The Basketball Diaries

Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Favoritest Movies of 1996



What a waste of a year of movies.  Take the bottom 60 titles on this list, I'll never watch any of them ever again.  We will not see a year this bad until 2010, but being fair 1996 is worse.  As I continue this trip back, I hope I don't come across another year that stinks as badly.  BUT, maybe just maybe its the number of movies I saw.  106!  That's the third highest count on my list following 1990 at 109 and 1994 at 112 movies seen.  So... maybe just maybe the more movies one sees the more crap they see.  That's a shame.  I was really hoping the the more you saw, the more likely you are to find hidden nuggets to treasure and enjoy...  Well, maybe there were... where's my optimists hat?  Oh, here it is covered in dust caked on by age.  Well look at you two...



There were two gems that I probably would not have seen at the time If I only saw the popular movies to see.  The Phantom is one of the worst marketed... screw the rhetoric here, the poster says "SLAM EVIL"  I have no idea what that means, but it feels lame to me.  It looks like it's trying to appeal to eight year olds, not real ones, but the tertiary characters on Leave it to Beaver.  I know we're a year before South Park here, but how could you not know that that poster and everything about the movie looks lame to... humans.  Everywhere, everywhen.  But, The Phantom is a good movie.  It's a fun to watch, Indiana Jones movie but the guy is in a purple body suit.  Best of all, on Blu-Ray this movie looks good, really really good.  To me this is the gold standard for how an old catalog title should be treated.  I've read some complaints about the video quality, but lets put things into perspective.  The Phantom is a BD from Lionsgate of a 1996 movie that grossed 17 million dollars.  And it looks almost brand new.  If an old popcorn flick that's life was somewhere between flop and bomb can look this nice; no movie you care about has any excuse.  The other nugget, was the first movie I saw by Peter Jackson.  It's fun too, but Peter Jackson's done better.  On to the list.


  1. Independence Day
  2. Star Trek: First Contact
  3. The Rock
  4. Hamlet
  5. The Phantom
  6. Mars Attacks!
  7. The English Patient
  8. Mission: Impossible
  9. My Fellow Americans
  10. Jerry Maguire
  11. From Dusk Till Dawn
  12. Muppet Treasure Island
  13. Dragonheart
  14. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
  15. The Frighteners
  16. Space Jam
  17. Romeo + Juliet
  18. Scream
  19. The Long Kiss Goodnight
  20. The Truth About Cats & Dogs
  21. Escape from L.A., aka John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.
  22. Ransom
  23. Up Close & Personal
  24. The Arrival
  25. That Thing You Do!
  26. The Ghost and the Darkness
  27. Broken Arrow
  28. Rumble in the Bronx
  29. Swingers
  30. Spy Hard
  31. Tin Cup
  32. Police Story 4: First Strike
  33. Executive Decision
  34. Jingle All the Way
  35. A Time to Kill
  36. Twister
  37. Last Man Standing
  38. The Craft
  39. Bound
  40. The People vs. Larry Flynt
  41. Courage Under Fire
  42. Happy Gilmore
  43. Evita
  44. Eraser
  45. Multiplicity
  46. Beautiful Girls
  47. 101 Dalmatians
  48. The First Wives Club
  49. The Crow: City of Angels
  50. The Nutty Professor
  51. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
  52. Maximum Risk
  53. Looking for Richard
  54. Mulholland Falls
  55. Dear God
  56. Bed of Roses
  57. Barb Wire
  58. Daylight
  59. Flipper
  60. Phenomenon
  61. Chain Reaction
  62. Michael Collins
  63. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  64. One Fine Day
  65. Down Periscope
  66. The Island of Dr. Moreau
  67. Fargo
  68. In Love and War
  69. Michael
  70. Dunston Checks In
  71. Mary Reilly
  72. Alaska
  73. Bulletproof
  74. Striptease
  75. The Mirror Has Two Faces
  76. Larger than Life
  77. Extreme Measures
  78. Ghosts of Mississippi
  79. Sgt. Bilko
  80. City Hall
  81. She's the One
  82. Mother
  83. The Portrait of a Lady
  84. The Adventures of Pinocchio
  85. All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
  86. Sleepers
  87. The Preacher's Wife
  88. The Associate
  89. Diabolique
  90. Jack
  91. Eddie
  92. Mr. Wrong
  93. Heaven's Prisoners
  94. Kingpin
  95. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
  96. Kazaam
  97. The Crucible
  98. The Fan
  99. The Pillow Book
  100. Thinner
  101. The Stupids
  102. Black Sheep
  103. Joe's Apartment
  104. Fear
  105. The Cable Guy
  106. Big Bully


Legend: Onto the next Round! ( >/= .8) In the middle. I do NOT enjoy. (< / = .2)