MY FAVORITE MOVIE FROM EVERY YEAR I HAVE LIVED...PLUS AN EXTRA HERE AND THERE

There has been a challenge circulating on social media in which one in supposed to post their favorite film from each year they have been alive. With my birthday coming up, this seemed like as good a tribute to my too many years as any.

This seemed easy enough, but as I started, the years kind of ran together. As I looked it became difficult to decide on one film. Some years had many of my favorites, while others had a clear winner. I found making this list was taking days to compile. I had so many other things that I should have been doing. But I kept wasting time on this.

So, most of the years have a list of nominees based entirely on how many I felt like nominating. My criteria for picking the winner was influenced by the quality of the film, but mostly I tried to base it on the film I give the most repeat viewings. In many cases the movie I watch and enjoy the most is not by any means the best movie of that year. This is just what I enjoy watching and have enjoyed over time. Even with all that, I have a few ties. 1985 about killed me. So, enjoy and, if you dare, make your own list.



*Movies are organized by the year that they are listed on IMDB. In many cases this is not the year it was actually released in the USA.

1973

• The Exorcist

1974

• Blazing Saddles

1975

• Jaws

1976

Nominees:

• Burnt Offerings
• The Outlaw Josey Wales

 Winner:

• The Outlaw Josey Wales 
  

1977

Nominees;

• Star Wars
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• Smokey and the Bandit
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Winner:

• Star Wars
  

 1978

• Halloween
  

1979

• The Amityville Horror
  

1980

Nominees:

• The Shining
• Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
• The Blues Brothers
• Superman II
• Caddyshack

Winner:

• The Blues Brothers
  

1981

Nominees:

• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
• Escape from New York
• Stripes
• Porky's

Winner:

• Raiders of the Lost Ark (Tie)
• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (Tie)
  

1982

Nominees:

• Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• Poltergeist
• First Blood
• Night Shift
• E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Winner:

•  Fast Times at Ridgemont High
  

1983

Nominees:

• Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
• National Lampoon's Vacation
• The Right Stuff
• Strange Brew

Winner:

•  National Lampoon's Vacation
  

1984

Nominees:

• Sixteen Candles
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Children of the Corn
• Red Dawn
• Revenge of the Nerds

Winner:

•  Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  

1985

Nominees:

• Back to the Future
• The Breakfast Club
• The Goonies
• Spies Like Us
• Teen Wolf
• St. Elmo's Fire
• Better Off Dead...
• Silverado
• Pee-wee's Big Adventure
• House
• Fandango

Winner: 

• Pee-wee's Big Adventure (Tie)
• Better Off Dead... (Tie)

1986

Nominees:

• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Stand by Me
• ¡Three Amigos!
• Crossroads
• The Mosquito Coast

Winner:

•  Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  

1987

Nominees:

• The Princess Bride
• Evil Dead II
• Can't Buy Me Love
• Raising Arizona
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles
• Amazon Women on the Moon

Winner:

•  The Princess Bride
  

1988

 Nominees:

• Die Hard
• Beetlejuice
• Young Guns
• Young Einstein

Winner:

•  Die Hard
  

1989

Nominees:

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Back to the Future Part II
• Road House
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Say Anything...
• Weekend at Bernie's
• Major League
• Harlem Nights
• Lonesome Dove

Winner:

• Lonesome Dove
  

But since Lonesome Dove was a TV Mini-series, I can pick a theatrical release as well.

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  

1990

Nominees:

• Die Hard 2
• Cry-Baby
• Flatliners
• Young Guns II
• Pump Up the Volume

Winner:

• Die Hard 2
  

1991

Nominees:

• The Silence of the Lambs
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Point Break
• Nothing But Trouble
• Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
• The Last Boy Scout
• Career Opportunities

Winner:

• The Last Boy Scout
  

1992

Nominees:

• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• My Cousin Vinny
• Wayne's World
• Army of Darkness
• Scent of a Woman
• Encino Man
• Candyman
• Thunderheart

Winner:

• Candyman
  

1993

Nominees:

• Tombstone
• Dazed and Confused
• True Romance
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape
• The Fugitive
• Falling Down
• Wayne's World 2
• Demolition Man
• So I Married an Axe Murderer
• Kalifornia
• A Perfect World
• Aspen Extreme
• Weekend at Bernie's II

Winner:

• A Perfect World
  

1994

 Nominees:

• The Shawshank Redemption
• Forrest Gump
• True Lies
• Wyatt Earp
• Color of Night
• With Honors
• Don Juan DeMarco

Winner:

• The Shawshank Redemption
  

1995

 Nominees:

• Se7en
• Waterworld
• Empire Records
• Desperado
• Mallrats
• Mr. Holland's Opus

Winner:

• Mr. Holland's Opus
  

1996

Nominees:

• Kingpin
• Sling Blade
• That Thing You Do!
• Sleepers
• Beautiful Girls

Winner:

• That Thing You Do!
  

1997

Nominees:

• L.A. Confidential
• Good Will Hunting
• Boogie Nights
• The Game
• The Postman
• Fools Rush In

Winner:

• The Postman
  

1998

Nominees:

• The Big Lebowski
• The Waterboy
• Saving Private Ryan
• Pleasantville
• Can't Hardly Wait
• Dirty Work
• Smoke Signals
• Fallen
• Deep Impact
• Dancer, Texas Pop. 81
• The Wedding Singer
• Six Days Seven Nights
• American History X

Winner:

• Saving Private Ryan
  

1999

Nominees:

• The Matrix
• Fight Club
• The Sixth Sense
• American Pie
• The Green Mile
• Big Daddy
• Office Space

Winner:

• Fight Club
  

2000

Nominees:

• Unbreakable
• Almost Famous
• Me, Myself & Irene
• The Gift

Winner:

• Almost Famous
  

2001

Nominees:

• Black Hawk Down
• Enemy at the Gates
• American Pie 2
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
• The Others
• The Devil's Backbone
• Bubble Boy
• The Majestic
• Say It Isn't So

Winner:

• The Majestic
  

2002

Nominees:

• The Ring 
• Bubba Ho-Tep
• Panic Room

Winner:

• Bubba Ho-Tep
  

2003

Nominees:

• Big Fish
• Secondhand Lions
• The Missing

Winner:

• Secondand Lions
  

2004

Nominees:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Saw
• The Butterfly Effect
• Alexander

Winner:

• Saw
  

2005

Nominees:

• King Kong
• Batman Begins
• The Descent
• Cinderella Man
• Flightplan
• Saw II
• Red Eye

Winner:

• Batman Begins
  

2006

Nominees:

• The Prestige
• 300
• Pan's Labyrinth
• The Host
• Black Snake Moan

Winner:

• Pan's Labyrinth
  

2007

Nominees:

• Superbad
• Planet Terror
• The Mist
• The Orphanage
• Dead Silence
• The Simpsons Movie

Winner:

• The Mist
  

2008

Nominees:

• The Dark Knight
• Cloverfield
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Gran Torino
• The Strangers
• The Happening
• Let the Right One In

Winner:

• Cloverfield
  

2009

Nominees:

• Zombieland
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• The Road
• Moon

Winner:

• Zombieland
  

2010

Nominees:

• Inception
• Tucker and Dale vs Evil
• Winter's Bone
• Insidious
• The Book of Eli
• Trollhunter
• Super
• I Saw the Devil
• The Wolfman

Winner:

• Insidious
  

2011

Nominees:

• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Take Shelter
• Super 8
• War Horse

Winner:

• Super 8
  

2012

Nominees:

• The Dark Knight Rises
• Life of Pi
• Chronicle
• Mud
• The Woman in Black

Winner:

• Life of Pi
  

2013

Nominees:

• The Conjuring
• Evil Dead
• 42
• Homefront
• Insidious: Chapter 2
• Dark Skies

Winner:

• The Conjuring
  

2014

Nominees:

• The Imitation Game
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
• The Babadook
• Selma
• 3 Days to Kill
• St. Vincent

Winner:

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  

2015

Nominees:

• Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Big Short
• The Revenant
• The Visit
• Bone Tomahawk
• The Gift
• The Walk

Winner:

• Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
  

2016 (So Far)

Nominees:

• Rogue One
• 10 Cloverfield Lane
• The Shallows
• The Conjuring 2
• Arrival
• Lights Out

Winner:

• Rogue One
  

2017 (So far)

Nominees:

• Split
• Get Out

Winner:

• Split
  

In these later years, I may not have seen many of the top pictures out there. For one, they seem to churn them out at a rapid rate, and two, there just isn't as much time as there was in the 80s and 90s. Feel free to offer suggestions and tell me how wrong I am. Tell me how bad or good is my taste.

Clayton