Fanboys Anonymous

For anyone wondering, the only movie I could have put in a top list for the 1950s backward would have been 12 Angry Men. Great movie that I watched for the first time ever during the Super Bowl instead of, well, the Super Bowl.

As far as the 60s goes, you can see my list is dominated by James Bond films. Surprise surprise, I'm a James Bond fan. Didn't know that from all the content here like the A Review to a Kill series? You're going to see EVERY Bond film pop up on this page. Even the ones I'm not as big of a fan of, like Dr. No and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Shout out to Cool Hand Luke, The Birds and Planet of the Apes for almost making this list.

TOP 25 FAVORITE FILMS OF THE 1970s DECADE
BONUS ROUND

1. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
   
2. The Godfather
   
3. The Godfather Part II
   
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
   
5. The Man with the Golden Gun
   
6. Moonraker
   
7. National Lampoon's Animal House
   
8. Live and Let Die
   
9. The Spy Who Loved Me
10. A Clockwork Orange
11. Jaws
12. Alien
13. Young Frankenstein
14. Diamonds are Forever
15. Blazing Saddles
16. Taxi Driver
17. Rocky
18. Rocky II
19. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
20. Dog Day Afternoon
21. Apocalypse Now
22. Robin Hood
    
23. Superman: The Movie
24. King Kong
25. Carrie
    

The 1970s was harder than I thought it would be, as I expected that I would have far more options to play around with.

Blind Spot Movies = Mean Streets, Deliverance, Network, Serpico, The Deer Hunter, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and The French Connection to name a few.

TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 1987

1. The Living Daylights
   
2. Lethal Weapon
   
3. RoboCop
4. Predator
5. The Running Man
6. Full Metal Jacket
7. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
8. Spaceballs
9. The Princess Bride
   
10. The Untouchables
11. The Brave Little Toaster

While the top 3 movies are fantastic (and The Living Daylights is one of my top 5 favorite James Bond films to begin with), and Predator is a classic, the rest aren't ones that I would necessarily put in my top 10 by any means.

They have positives to them, for sure, and I enjoyed them all when I watched them, but The Running Man is the only one of those six that I've seen more than once. Actually, I used to watch The Brave Little Toaster a lot as a kid, but we're talking young enough that I can barely remember the movie.

Spaceballs is overrated. I know that's blasphemy to some. The boot camp material from Full Metal Jacket is phenomenal, but the rest isn't. If I were judging just that section, it would be right under Predator, for sure.

Update: Now that I watched The Princess Bride, finally, I can immediately at least place it above The Untouchables. I'm sure if I had watched this as a kid, it would be much higher. Fun movie.

Blind Spot Movies = The Lost Boys, Fatal Attraction and Good Morning, Vietnam

TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 1988

1. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
   
2. Beetlejuice
   
3. Die Hard
4. Big
5. Coming to America
   
6. Rain Man
7. Twins
   
8. Scrooged
   
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
10. They Live
    
11. Oliver & Company
    

This is another year where I don't have many options to fill out the bulk of it, and it leads to some movies being ranked severely higher than I ever would have positioned them.

For instance, I liked Rain Man the one time I watched it, btut for that to be my sixth favorite movie on any list is nuts.

Now, Naked Gun is one of my top 5 favorite comedies of all time. It is AMAZING. And that's why you can find it so high on the top list for the whole 80s decade. Beetlejuice was also something I was super fond of as a kid. But there's a big drop off with those two and Die Hard and Big and Coming to America, and then a huuuuuuuuuuge drop off to get to Rain Man and the rest.

With a lame year that has so many horror films on it that were terrible, like Pumpkinhead, I refuse to put them on the list. I guess I just have to watch some more movies this year to replace them.

Blind Spot Movies = Young Guns, Bull Durham, Cocktail, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Fish Called Wanda and more

TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 1989

1. Batman
   
2. Licence to Kill
   
3. Ghostbusters II
   
4. Field of Dreams
5. Lethal Weapon 2
6. The Karate Kid Part III
7. Back to the Future Part II
8. Major League
9. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
10. Dead Poets Society
11. When Harry Met Sally

Finally, a good year for the end of the 80s! In fact, this is a damn good year. Very strong picks here. It was easy to find 10 to fill this part of the list. I like all of them quite a bit, but in particular, Batman is one of my favorite films EVER, along with License to Kill being my second-favorite 007 film. Ghostbusters II has been viewed a thousand times. Lethal Weapon is a great series. Field of Dreams is a great dad movie. The Karate Kid Part III isn't as good as the first or second, but watching that series in 2022 was a fun binge. Big fan of this year's list.

Why can't I put When Harry Met Sally or Weekend at Bernie's or The Little Mermaid or even Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure on 87 or 88 to better fill out those lists?! Rats.

Also, apparently, All Dogs Go to Heaven was the first movie I saw in theaters. I don't remember anything about it, really. I used to like The Punisher as a kid, and I should give a shout out to UHF and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Look Who's Talking for being movies I enjoyed when I was younger, too.

No. I don't like Do the Right Thing. Sorry. I'm sure that will upset some people. I think it is super overrated.

Blind Spot Movies = The Abyss, The Burbs, Driving Miss Daisy, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Steel Magnolias, Uncle Buck and more

TOP 50 FAVORITE FILMS OF 1980s DECADE
BONUS ROUND

1. The Terminator (1984)
2. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Batman (1989)
4. Ghostbusters (1984)
5. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
6. Licence to Kill (1989)
7. The Living Daylights (1987)
8. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
9. Ghostbusters II (1989)
10. Beetlejuice (1988)
11. Stand By Me (1986)
12. The Breakfast Club (1985)
13. Lethal Weapon (1987)
14. A View to a Kill (1985)
15. Octopussy (1983)
16. RoboCop (1987)
17. The Karate Kid (1984)
18. Field of Dreams (1989)
19. Back to the Future (1985)
20. Predator (1987)
21. Die Hard (1988)
22. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
23. The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
24. Aliens (1986)
25. Airplane! (1980)
26. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
    
27. Scarface (1983)
28. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
29. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
30. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
31. Major League (1989)
32. Dead Poets Society (1989)
33. The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
34. Big (1988)
35. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
36. Platoon (1986)
37. Caddyshack (1980)
38. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
39. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
40. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
41. The Little Mermaid (1989)
42. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
43. The Running Man (1987)
44. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
45. Top Gun (1986)
46. Coming to America (1988)
47. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
48. Rain Man (1988)
49. Blade Runner (1982)
50. Rocky IV (1985)
51. The Princess Bride (1987) - possibly?
    
52. Superman II (1980)

See what a difference the decade list makes compared to the top films of each year? Now, you can really see where some favorites knock out some others, and where a movie like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a film I enjoyed the one time I watched it and in the top 10 for that year, but it pales in comparison to something like the real juggernauts in black italics.

What are your favorite movies from every year?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!