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 theatrical 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.

1983: Risky Business, directed by Paul Brickman.
1984: The Terminator, directed by James Cameron.
1985: Silverado, directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
1986: Aliens, directed by James Cameron.
1987: The Monster Squad, directed by Fred Dekker.
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: Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper.
2013: Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
2014: American Sniper , directed by Clint Eastwood.
2015: The Age of Adaline directed by Lee Toland Krieger.
2016: Kubo and the Two Strings directed by Travis Knight
2017: The Foreigner directed by Martin Campbell