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.

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