Movies

I have a fundamentalist Christian upbringing. What does that have to do with movies you ask? By the age of sixteen I had maybe seen a few Disney flicks in a theater. My parents didn't approve and that I had been allowed to see a Disney flick in a theater was amazing. You know...separation from worldly things, and Hollywood was about as worldly as you got. By the way, this separation did not extend, amazingly enough, to most television. I avidly watched old classics, TV movies, and edited theactrical releases. Then at sixteen I got a job and a car. I started sneaking off to matinees in the afternoon...lots. I love movies and have a fondness for John Ford, Howard Hawks, John Wayne, Japanese samurai flicks, Akira Kurasawa, John Woo, Sam Peckinpah, and violent action films. I might point out that none of the violent action films I watched turned me into a mass murdering, wife beating, serial killer. or a Hollywood liberal.
A few years back I did start picking my favorite film of the year. Note that the current year is subject to change without notice.
1988: Die Hard, directed by John McTiernan.
1989: Glory, directed by Edward Zwick.
1990: La Femme Nikita, directed by Luc Besson.
1991: Beauty and the Beast, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise.
1992: Last of the Mohicans, directed by Michael Mann.
1993: The Fugitive, directed by Andrew Davis.
1994: Legends of the Fall, directed by Edward Zwick.
1995: Braveheart, directed by Mel Gibson.
1996: Phenomenon, directed by John Turteltaub.
1997: Titanic, directed by James Cameron.
1998: The Negotiator, directed by F. Gary Gray.
1999: The Sixth Sense, directed by N. Night Shyamaian.
2000: The Patriot, directed by Roland Emmerich.
2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson.
2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, directed by Peter Jackson.
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, directed by Peter Jackson.
2004: Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood.
2005: Serenity, directed by Joss Whedon.
2006: V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue.
2007: 300, directed by Zack Snyder.
2008: Gran Torino, directed by Clint Eastwood.
2009: Harry Brown, directed by Daniel Barber.
2010: How To Train Your Dragon, directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois.
2011: Warrior, directed by Gavin O'Connor.
2012: The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon.

The movies I've seen with release dates in 2012 listed in decreasing order of "give a damn".
1. The Avengers
2. John Carter
3. Battleship
4. Safe House
5. Act Of Valor
6. The Cabin in the Woods
7. The Hunger Games
8. Get the Gringo
9. Lockout
10. Haywire
11. One For The Money
12. Underworld: Awakening
13. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance