A Life in Movies

Over at the Fandango Grooves Movie Blog, Andy is hosting A Life in Movies Blogathon on May 8th in which he is asking bloggers to list their favourite movies from each year starting with the year they were born. Without further ado here is my "Life in Movies":

1978: Halloween – A horror classic, that still holds up.

1979: Alien - I am sure Apocalypse Now is the choice of many, but Alien is the film I watch more often.

1980: Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back – No contest here.

1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark – Mad Max 2 would be the runner-up here.

1982: Blade Runner – Still my favourite Ridley Scott film.

1983: A Christmas Story – Yes, I chose this over Scarface and King of Comedy! Remember the list is about my personal favourites, not best film overall.

1984: Gremlins – 1984 was easily one of the best years of cinema. Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Romancing the Stone, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Police Academy, The Karate Kid, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Beverly Hills Cop were all released in this year.

1985: The Goonies – This was a tough call. Back to the Future could easily take this spot.

1986: Hannah and her Sisters – One of my favourite Woody Allen films.

1987: Predator – “Get to the Choppa!”

1988: Die Hard – Coming to America, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and Akira are all up there for me though.

1989: Batman – I have fond memories of seeing this film in the theatre.

1990: Goodfellas – “You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little fucked up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you?”

1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Still better than any of the big budget 3D films being released today.

1992: Hard Boiled – One of John Woo’s best.

1993: Jurassic Park – Love this film.

1994: Pulp Fiction – Shallow Grave would be a runner-up here.

1995: The Usual Suspects – Brilliant script, great performances, this film had it all.

1996: Trainspotting – Begbie still gets under my skin every time I watch the film.

1997: Chasing Amy – I never get tired of watching this film.

1998: Zero Effect – Sure there were bigger, and better, films that came out in this year but Zero Effect was the biggest surprise for me in 1998.

1999: Magnolia – 1999 was the best year for cinema of the entire 90’s. Fight Club, Three Kings, Being John Malkovich, Toy Story 2, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, Boys Don't Cry, and The Matrix all came out in this year.

2000: Almost Famous – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream and Wonder Boys all could have been slotted in this spot as well.

2001: In the Bedroom – Saw this film during my first time at TIFF experience.

2002: Better Luck Tomorrow – Dirty Pretty Things gets an honourable mention.

2003: Oldboy – It was a toss-up between this film and Dogville, this film won by a hair.

2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – The Sea Inside just missed the cut.

2005: Brokeback Mountain – The fact that this film lost to Crash at the Oscars is unforgivable.

2006: Casino Royale – In my top 5 for favourite Bond films.

2007: There Will Be Blood – No Country for Old Men is a close second.

2008: The Dark Knight – “Why So Serious?”

2009: Hunger – Some may argue that this is a 2008 film, but it did not get released in Canada until 2009.

2010: Winter’s Bone – Great film that more people need to see.

2011 (so far): Beauty Day - A film that will be shown at Hot Docs this year. Rubber would be a close second.