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

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

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

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