My personal list, yes I know Silence of the lambs is objectively a better movie than Terminator2, and Pulp Fiction is a better movie than Shawshank but these are personal favorites usually due to my love of watching them when I was younger.

1988-- Die Hard
1989-- Uncle Buck
1990--Goodfellas
1991--Terminator 2
1992-- Cousin Vinny
1993--Carlitos Way
1994-- Dumb and Dumber
1995--Heat
1996--Fargo
1997--Good Will Hunting
1998--The Truman Show
1999--Fight Club
2000--American Psycho
2001--Oceans Eleven
2002--Catch Me if you can
2003--Mystic River
2004--Kill Bill Vol 2 A very weak year imo
2005--Batman Begins Another weak year.
2006--The Departed
2007--Zodiac (NCFOM very close but Zodiac just pipped it)
2008--In Bruges
2009--Inglorious Basterds, In what appears a weak year
2010--Inception ( very solid took a while to split 4)
2011--The Girl with the dragon Tattoo
2012--Looper ( I apparently didn't watch a lot of movies from this year)
2013-- Wolf of wall street
2014--Boyhood


I'm going to leave it there as I have significantly reduced the amount of newer movies I watch since 2015+

Looper is fairly underrated. Great genre flick.

I really liked it, but any time travel flick is going to generate a stream of "wait, the couldn't work like that" objections.

Time travel will only make sense to me if Doc Brown diagrams it out on a chalkboard.

Fun idea, saw it mentioned in the movie thread and decided to add mine. Grunching so I'll probably read the thread after and go "oh I wish I thought of that!" a few times. (edit: The Big Lebowski!)

1985 Ran
1986 Ferris Bueller
1987 Princess Bride
1988 Akira
1989 Indiana Jones
1990 Goodfellas
1991 Raise the Red Lantern
1992 Unforgiven (really tough year to choose)
1993 Robin Hood: Men in Tights
1994 Pulp Fiction (another tough year)
1995 Heat
1996 Trainspotting
1997 Donnie Brasco
1998 Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
1999 The Sixth Sense
2000 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
2001 Spirited Away
2002 Spellbound
2003 The Station Agent
2004 Eternal Sunshine
2005 Grizzly Man
2006 Pan's Labyrinth
2007 No Country for Old Men
2008 The Dark Knight
2009 The Secret of Kells (very weak year)
2010 How to Train your Dragon
2011 Drive
2012 Django Unchained
2013 Her
2014 Birdman
2015 Ex Machina
2016 Kubo and the Two Strings

Some great picks here: Spirited Away, Station Agent, Grizzly Man and Her were all flicks I considered.

Thanks. Station agent is probably my favorite film so it was definitely going on the list. That whole stretch of 2000 to 2005 is full of some tough years to choose for me due to nostalgia and just great movies coming in general too.

1980: The Empire Strikes Back
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982: The Thing
1983: Trading Places
1984: Ghostbusters
1985: The Ghoonies
1986: Aliens
1987: Predator
1988: Die Hard
1989: The Burbs
1990: Goodfellas
1991: Terminator 2
1992: Home Alone 2
1993: Tombstone (tough year! could have gone with True Romance)
1994: Shawshank (ugh, Pulp Fiction tho)
1995: Heat
1996: Mission Impossible
1997: Boogie Nights
1998: American History X
1999: Fight Club
2000: The Family Man
2001: TLOTR
2002: The Ring
2003: Mystic River
2004: Man on Fire
2005: Sin City
2006: The Departed
2007: No Country for Old Men
2008: The Dark Knight
2009: Inglorious Basterds
2010: Inception
2011: The Raid
2012: The Avengers
2013: Her
2014: X-Men Days of Future Past
2015: Mad Max Fury Road
2016: The Accountant
2017: Logan

^^^^

I see that I Am Legend is your favorite film of 2007. Are you familiar with the alternative ending that changes the entire narrative about why the Dark Seekers are out to get Neville?



Here's a clip of the other ending:

Wow. This was way more challenging than I had expected. Had to knock off a bunch of really awesome movies (1994 was a hell of a year for movies).

I assume we're going release date of the movie's country of origin. For example, The Downfall was released in Germany in 2004 but America in 2005. I assume we're counting the former and not the latter year, right?

1985 - Brazil
1986 - Platoon
1987 - Full Metal Jacket
1988 - Grave of the Fireflies
1989 - Field of Dreams
1990 - Goodfellas
1991 - Silence of the Lambs
1992 - Reservoir Dogs
1993 - Schindler's List
1994 - Forrest Gump
1995 - The Usual Suspects
1996 - Trainspotting
1997 - Princess Mononoke
1998 - Saving Private Ryan
1999 - The Matrix
2000 - Requiem for a Dream
2001 - Spirited Away
2002 - The Pianist
2003 - Oldboy
2004 - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2005 - V For Vendetta
2006 - The Departed
2007 - There Will Be Blood
2008 - The Dark Knight
2009 - Moon
2010 - Inception
2011 - Moneyball
2012 - Lincoln
2013 - 12 Years A Slave
2014 - Citizenfour
2015 - Inside Out
2016 - Moonlight
2017 - Get Out

Nice lists. I've been meaning to make my own, but it takes time.

I really like the picks of Eternal Sunshine, Princess Mononoke, Pan's Labyrinth. I guess I should check out Drive, Kubo, Moonlight and Get Out.

Really good picks from SuperUber. 1994 had a ton of movies that I enjoyed.

1997 is the same for me and Princess Mononoke is an inspired choice. I recently got to see it again and had forgotten what a really good and really weird movie it is.

I haven't seen Citizenfour -- will look for it.

1994 without question was the hardest pick for me

I almost snap picked Hoop Dreams until I did a bit more digging and remembered like a half dozen other movies that could have gone there.

Drive and Kubo are both great, should definitely check them out, I need to check out Moonlight and Get Out as well. Wish I'd seen this thread when it was first started so I could have commented more on other lists.

1994 was my favorite year for movies and it was my first pick in the best year draft. Really can't be beat.

Love that you have Let the Right One In on here. You reminded me that I need to watch Upstream Color, and I'll add Hunt for the Wilderpeople to my list! Always enjoy your recs too and generally am on your side opinion-wise

Does your list match up well with your all-time list?



I ask because my year-for-year would look something like

1986: Hannah and Her Sisters
1988: Akira
1989: Crimes and Misdemeanors
1991: Homicide
1992: One False Move
1994: Fire Walk with Me
1997: Perfect Blue
1999: The Matrix
2001: Mulholland Drive
2004: Anchorman (or The Life Aquatic)
2005: The New World
2007: No Country for Old Men
2009: Antichrist
2013: The Counselor (or Blue Jasmine)
2014: Maps to the Stars

But a lot of these aren’t in my top 50!

They’re just the ones I’d choose if I had to pick for a given year. The gaps are years I couldn’t find any favorites

I love movies though, and I heartily agree with PhatMack:

Most of my favorites predate every list itt:

They Live By Night, Suspicion, The Awful Truth, Laura, The Blue Dahlia, Shadow of a Doubt, Trouble in Paradise, Red River, Nightmare Alley, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, The Lady from Shanghai, Monsieur Verdoux, My Darling Clementine, The Lady Eve, and I’m forgetting a bunch

If I were born in a more fruitful era, my list, for fun, would be

1950: Born Yesterday (a duplicate with PhatMack’s list)
1952: Limelight
1953: Shane (or Angel Face)
1954: Dial M for Murder (a duplicate with Tom Ames)
1955: The Night of the Hunter
1956: The Searchers
1957: Wild Strawberries
1958: Touch of Evil
1959: North by Northwest
1960: Psycho (or The Bad Sleep Well)
1963: Winter Light
1964: The Killers
1966: Persona
1967: Point Blank
1968: Rosemary’s Baby
1969: The Passion of Anna
1971: Macbeth
1972: The Godfather
1973: Don’t Look Now (or The Exorcist)
1974: Chinatown
1976: The Tenant
1977: House (or Eraserhead)
1978: Days of Heaven
1980: The Shining
1981: Blowout (or Scanners)
1984: The Element of Crime (or Sixteen Candles)
1985: The Purple Rose of Cairo

Some standout years:

1950: Born Yesterday, In a Lonely Place, Sunset Boulevard, Rashomon
1953: Shane, Pickup on South Street, The Naked Night, The Naked Spur
1955: The Night of the Hunter, The Man from Laramie, Smiles of a Summer Night, Rififi
1958: Touch of Evil, Vertigo, The Hidden Fortress
1964: The Killers, Kwaidan, Marnie
1974: Chinatown, The Godfather II, Texas Chainsaw, Hearts and Minds [a lot of mentions for ‘74 itt]
1977: Eraserhead, House, Star Wars

C’mon, Born Yesterday just makes you feel good. But it is close. Judy Holliday’s voice is the tiebreaker.
The tougher decision for me was Born Yesterday vs In a Lonely Place. Bogey’s best performance and many unforgettable lines. The actual nutter Gloria Grahame plays so well off of him. 1950, ’55, and ’74 were amazing years.

Great pick. Haunting movie. I’ve seen it only once and it was a while back, but I can still recall scenes vividly. So brutal.

You'll fit in great around here, Mac...welcome! But you couldn't find a favorite for 1982? Really?

Blade Runner
E.T.
The Thing
48 Hours
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The Verdict
Tootsie
Gandhi
Victor/Victoria
Diner
Sophies Choice
Grease
Fitzacarraldo
Tron
The World According To Garp
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

and so on...

You've got some great movies there, Dom, but Grease isn't one of them. Or more accurately, Grease isn't from 1982, it's from 1978. Its piece of crap sequel, Grease 2, was released in 1982.

lol...yeah, I knew that was wrong when I posted it...

These lists take a little work and we’re bound to make errors. I made a doozy: I listed Sixteen Candles when I meant Pretty in Pink.

Thanks, buddy! You’re probably right about some of those gap years. I should go over those year-to-year lists more thoroughly. And there are a lot of movies I haven’t seen, yet.

My standards for “favorite” were too high. I think a favorite is one I get excited about rewatching.

For ‘82, this rules out a movie like Koyaanisqatsi, which is amazing, but I’m not dying to rewatch it. I omitted the great Fanny and Alexander because I haven’t seen the full cut (I’ve heard I’m missing key parts of the story) and it has an ‘83 US release date. This is serious business.

I don’t like movies that are fun for the whole family, which eliminates Tron, E.T., Poltergeist. I don’t like The Thing or Grease, I don’t remember 48 Hours or Gandhi that well, and I don’t have much interest in seeing Tootsie or Sophie’s Choice or Star Trek II. Fast Times is cool.

Now for the blasphemy: I’m not a big fan of Blade Runner (or Alien). I would never argue they suck, they’re clearly great. They just don’t click with me. I think if you saw those movies in the theater when they first came out, you have an entirely different experience (true for any movie, but for those two in particular). Scott has a huge boner for his sets and his atmosphere, and he lingers a little too long for my taste. The stories seem to take a while to get started. I’m dead to everyone, I know.

There’s one from ‘82 I definitely need to see: The Verdict. Thanks for the rec. Not a big courtroom drama fan, but a massive James Mason fan.

You’re right, I neglected ’82. I’d love to hear any thoughts/opinions on

Tempest
Hammett
Alone in the Dark and Tenebrae
Love and Money

This is the word.

1975 Jaws
1976 Taxi Driver
1977 Suspiria
1978 Dawn of the Dead
1979 Alien
1980 The Long Good Friday
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 The Thing
1983 National Lampoon's Vacation
1984 Ghostbusters
1985 Day of the Dead
1986 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
1987 Angel Heart
1988 Heathers
1989 Tango & Cash
1990 Goodfellas
1991 JFK
1992 Reservoir Dogs
1993 True Romance
1994 Natural Born Killers
1995 Heat
1996 From Dusk Till Dawn
1997 Conair
1998 The Faculty
1999 Fight Club
2000 Snatch
2001 Ichi the Killer
2002 Gangs of New York
2003 Save the Green Planet!
2004 Dawn of the Dead
2005 Lord of War
2006 Running Scared
2007 End of the Line
2008 The Dark Knight
2009 Black Dynamite
2010 I Saw the Devil
2011 The Raid
2012 Maniac
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street
2014 The Raid 2
2015 Tag
2016 The Wailing

Heathers was an inspired choice for 1988. '88 was one of my toughest picking years.

I've never even heard of The Raid films, I'll have to look for them.

If you like genre/action flicks The Raid films are the gold standard of the decade, so far for me, hope you dig 'em