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.

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)