47 Movies - The Director's Cut

Picking one favorite movie for every year of my life required a lot of deep soul searching.  Here’s the finalists along with some random silly thoughts about why I chose each particular one.  I ranked each year in descending order.

1970 – Patton
Kelly’s Heroes
MASH

I was born into war!  Or at least born into war movies because all three I considered here are war flicks. I’ve only watched MASH entirely a few time so it didn’t seem to fit the criteria of favorite.  Kelly’s Heroes is a great twist on a war flick done as a heist with a fun cast of kooky characters, but that awesome George C. Scott’s speech in front of a giant American flag tips the balance.

1971 – The French Connection
Dirty Harry
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Two cops and a crazy candy maker in competition here, and Popeye Doyle wins by driving like a maniac down the gritty streets of ‘70s New York.

1972 – The Godfather
The Getaway

Would I really pick anything else?  The Getaway is a classic '70s crime fim, but I only considered it for a hot second before bowing to reality.

1973 – The Exorcist
The Sting
Enter the Dragon

Bruce Lee made a strong case with the sheer force of his martial arts skill and screen presence, but how can you top Newman and Redford conning Robert Shaw during the Great Depression?  Why, only the devil himself could do that!

1974 – The Godfather Part 2
Blazing Saddles
Chinatown

Again, it’s pretty much impossible to go up against the combo of the first two Godfather movies. It’s a testament to how strong Godfather is that both Blazing Saddles and Chinatown could be my #1 pick in a lot of other years.

1975  - Jaws
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Jack Nicholson needed a bigger boat to win this one.

1976 – All the President’s Men
Rocky
The Bad News Bears

As someone who grew up in the ‘70s when parenting and child safety standards were a bit different than today I still get a huge laugh out of Walter Matthau giving beer to foul-mouthed children, and who could root against Rocky Balboa?  Still I slightly prefer the true story of dogged reporters taking down a corrupt president.  Ah, the good ole days…

1977 – Star Wars: A New Hope
Smokey & the Bandit

Star Wars was always going to be my pick, but that Trans Am was pretty cool.

1978 – Halloween
National Lampoon’s Animal House
Dawn of the Dead

Full confession: Animal House would have been the favorite at an earlier point in my life because it’s one of those movies that I could pretty much quote from start to finish thanks to watching it a few thousand times in the ‘80s.  However, the appeal of frat boy behavior has faded.  So instead I’m giving the nod to a deranged mass murderer in the mask instead.  And I still think of zombies whenever I somehow find myself in a mall.

1979 – Apocalypse Now
Alien
The Jerk
North Dallas Forty

This one was tougher than I expected.  I’ve got a huge soft spot for the dingy ‘70s atmosphere that surrounds a cynical and battered Nick Nolte, and if I had a nickel for every time I’ve said, “He hates these cans!” I could retire.   A chest bursting alien is also pretty good, but it still doesn’t smell as good as napalm in the morning.

1980 – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
The Shining
The Blues Brothers
Caddyshack

Yet another time where comedies that I’ve quoted an unhealthy amount of times just can’t overcome superior completion, and Nicholson really could have used a dead Tauntaun when he was in that hedge maze.

1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Stripes
Escape From New York

Two tough dystopian warriors and Bill Murray with a military grade RV still can’t take down one archaeologist with a whip.

1982 – Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan
48 Hrs.
Blade Runner

This was an incredibly tough pick between two of my favorite sci-fi classics and a great buddy action/comedy, but only Wrath of Khan can still make it seem dusty in my living room at the end.

1983 – WarGames
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
The Right Stuff
National Lampoon’s Vacation

Star Wars could have had a three-peat here if not for the Ewoks, and while the Mercury astronauts may have had the right stuff what they didn’t have was a computer that could talk and destroy the world.  The moose should have told the Griswold family that this pick was closed.

1984 – Ghostbusters
The Terminator
Romancing the Stone

If Terminator had come out a year sooner it could have easily taken out geeky Matthew Broderick, but not even a murderous cyborg and the charm of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in their ‘80s prime is enough to overcome a Twinkie this big.

1985 – Fletch
The Breakfast Club
Real Genius

Yes, Real Genius was one I seriously thought about just because I’ve seen it even more than Back to the Future.  Which I like just fine but I don’t have the deep love that some people do so I’ll have to rely on Breakfast Club’s honorable mention to save my ‘80s street cred.  Fletch was the easy choice here.

1986 – Aliens
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Stand By Me

The recent death of Bill Paxton reminded me just how many times in my life I’ve said, “Game over, man!  Game over!”

1987 – Full Metal Jacket
Raising Arizona
Princess Bride
Predator
Robocop
The Untouchables
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Lethal Weapon

1987 was a helluva movie year, and it’s the first one that I really struggled with because of the sheer number and variety of candidates.  How do you compare Full Metal Jacket to The Princess Bride?  Or Predator to Planes, Trains & Automobiles? In the end it came down to my memories of seeing Full Metal Jacket in a packed theater and walking out with a crowd just as stunned and silent as I was.

1988 – Die Hard
Bull Durham

The greatest action movie ever made steamrolled the minor league baseball team even though I still call anyone who is moving too slowly to suit me a lollygagger.

1989 – Major League
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Batman
Glory
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
Say Anything
Lethal Weapon 2

I was fairly shocked that Batman wasn’t #1 with a bullet since I saw that movie four or five times in the theater and wore out a VHS copy of it back in the day.  Yet, I eventually started criticizing it more than enjoying it and hadn’t seen it many years.  A recent viewing didn’t do much to boost it in my eyes either.  I’m even more shocked that I put Major League in first place of the box scores here, and it’s probably one of my few real offbeat choices.  Still, it hits the criteria of being the one I’ve probably seen the most, and I will almost always watch it again if I come across it on TV.

1990 – Miller’s Crossing
Goodfellas
Total Recall

This was an upset that happened after a lot of careful consideration.  Total Recall is goofy fun but never stood a chance with these two heavyweights.  Goodfellas is a fantastic flick that would win almost any other year, but Miller’s Crossing has a special place as my favorite Coen brothers’ movie. I also love the story and setting which were influenced by Hammetts’s Red Harvest.  So after looking in my heart I decided that it had a slight edge.

1991 – The Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The ‘90s are almost nothing but hard choices on here, and it's two of my all-time favorites head-to-head. Hannibal gets the win just because it’s a great adaptation of a book I also love.

1992 – Unforgiven
Reservoir Dogs

Tarantino’s first work against Eastwood’s best?  The crusty veteran takes the prize, but it was close.

1993 – Groundhog Day
The Fugitive
Tombstone

It’s cold out there, campers.  So cold that I gotta cut movies like The Fugitive and Tombstone.

1994 – Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Speed

Another near impossible choice here.  Speed is a distant third even at 50 mph, but there’s no shame in that with this kind of competition.  I just can’t go against Pulp Fiction here, but Shawshank made it tougher than I thought it’d be originally.

1995 – Seven
The Usual Suspects
Heat

This is where I very nearly threw in the towel on my rule about not having any ties.  These are three movies that would probably rank in all-time top twenty so cutting two is particularly cruel.  As with 1987 the tie-breaker came from the stunned audience reaction to Seven in the theater that got it the top spot.

1996 – Fargo
Star Trek: First Contact

Finally, an easy pick from the ‘90s.  First Contact is great, but Jean-Luc Picard has to take a backseat in Marge’s police cruiser.

1997 – LA Confidential
Jackie Brown

Sweet bloody Christmas, but this is another heart breaker.  Two fantastic crime movies based on two fantastic crime novels from a couple of my favorite crime authors?  It’s just not fair.  LA Confidential squeaked ahead because I think it’s just a tiny bit more enjoyable to watch.

1998 – Saving Private Ryan
The Big Lebowski
Out of Sight

Once again it’s three movies that would rank highly among my all-time greats.  I hate to slight an Elmore Leonard adaptation for the second year in a row, but Out of Sight just can’t hang in there with the other two. In almost any other year Lebowski would bowl a strike, but Tom Hanks and his squad once again defeat the Germans.  Sure, they’re just nihilists, not Nazis, but the results are the same.

1999 – Fight Club
The Matrix

This is getting goddamn ridiculous.  But we all know what the first rule of Fight Club is: Don’t tell Neo about Fight Club because he’d just cheat by showing up with a bunch of kung-fu moves he downloaded. And if Neo doesn’t know about it then he can’t beat Tyler Durden.

2000 – Memento
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Way of the Gun

Finally a choice that doesn’t make me break out in a cold sweat.   Way of the Gun is a crime flick that only about thirty people in the world have ever seen, but it’s one I return to again and again.  Ang Lee’s film is gorgeous violent poetry, but the structure of Memento is something that can only be experienced, not explained.

2001 – LotR : The Fellowship of the Rings
The Royal Tenenbaums
Ocean’s 11

There’s no better way of symbolizing the shift from ‘90s crime dramas to 21st century sci-fi spectacle than the first Lord of the Rings movie.

2002 – The Bourne Identity
LotR: The Two Towers
Spider-Man

I loved Spider-Man, but the CG hasn’t aged well and the Green Goblin’s mask is still stupid.  The forgetful spy holds Helm’s Deep against the Orcs.

2003 – X-Men 2
LotR: Return of the King
Kill Bill Vol. 1

And here we have my first comic book movie winning out.  It won’t be the last.

2004 – Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Shaun of the Dead
The Bourne Supremacy
Spider-Man 2

Will Farrell kept his head on a swivel during this fight that escalated quickly.   

2005 - Serenity
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Batman Begins
Brick

Another oddball pick, but if loving a movie based on a short-lived TV show is wrong then I don’t wanna be right.

2006 – Casino Royale
Inside Man

Bond.  James Bond.  

2007 – There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Zodiac

Here we are back again with three amazing movies and a choice that will seem flawed no matter what I do.  If you asked me to do this pick three times I might pick a different one for each round depending on my mood at the moment, but for now Daniel Day-Lewis wins the showdown and drinks my milkshake.

2008 – The Dark Knight
Iron Man

I really should have thought about this no ties policy harder because it’s two great comic book characters going head to head in movies that would set the stage for the next decade. DC gets the pick thanks to Heath Ledger’s amazing performance as the Joker and Christopher Nolan’s top notch film making skills.  However, while Marvel lost this particular battle they’ve been winning the war ever since.

2009 – Star Trek
Up
Zombieland
Inglourious Basterds
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Some really strong choices here, but I simply love this reboot of classic Trek.

2010 – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
True Grit
Inception

Anyone who doesn’t have tragically Canadian sensibilities recognizes that this is the clear pick.

2011- Moneyball
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise hanging off a skyscraper is fun, but not as much fun as watching arguments about compiling baseball stats.  I like this movie so much that I actually root for the A’s over my own Royals while watching it. (But only in this movie.)

2012 – The Avengers
Skyfall
Django Unchained
Moonrise Kingdom

No real contest despite some stiff competition.  It's pretty much how it looked in my head when I’d read Avengers comics as a kid so what more could I ask for?

2013 – Pacific Rim
Snowpiercer
Gravity

This is the pick that I’m the least happy with.  I enjoyed Pacific Rim, but it’s got problems. Same thing with Gravity.  I suspect that Snowpiercer might one day claim this spot, but I need to see if it passes the multiple viewing test first.

2014 –Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Grand Budapest Hotel
John Wick
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Yes, it’s another one based on comic books, but when you combine that with space adventure, great action, a fun cast, a catchy soundtrack, and a heavily armed talking raccoon you get a movie that I think has high potential to remain one of my all-time favorites for many years to come.

2015 – Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Martian

I’m a little surprised that I didn’t go with the return of Star Wars because I did enjoy the hell out of that movie, but there is just something about the look, pace, and action of Fury Road that make me lean in its direction.  Poor Matt Damon will just have to keep eating potatoes by himself. 

2016 – Captain America: Civil War
Deadpool
Dr. Strange
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

More comic books and Stars Wars.  I’m sensing a trend here.  However, I don’t have the same level of enthusiasm for this as the other comic book picks. Plus, there’s still a lot of well-regarded movies from 2016 that I haven’t seen yet so it’s very possible that there will be some shifting around once I do some catching up.