My Life in Movies

I saw this on Shredded Cheddar and had to try to do it myself. I'm not as much of a movie buff as I am a books and music buff, but reading her post made me want to see if I could fill all 34 years of my life in movies – 35 if we count this year, even though I'm a December girl ...

1976 

I just remember Carrie freaking me out a LOT. But, aside from Rocky, it's the only movie from my birth year that I've seen. And I remember this mre than I remember Rocky. So, it must have made a bigger impact.

1977

Sure, I could have chosen Star Wars, but I don't remember that one as well. My sisters and I watched a LOT of Pete's Dragon, and it's still a nostalgic favorite of mine!

1978

What's to say? The second I saw this listed as the top movie of 1978, I knew it was The One. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen it – it's more than I can count! Of course, what girl growing up in the '80s didn't love Grease? None that I knew!

1979

The Black Stallion was a huge favorite. What girl doesn't love movies about horses? Of course, I remember it breaking my heart. Still, I remember it as a favorite. I don't remember it took well anymore, except the emotional response just hearing – or reading – the title triggers.

1980

There are lots of other movies I could pick, but Popeye was another huge favorite with my sisters and me. Yes, I know, it was the year of The Empire Strikes Back, Herbie Goes Bananas, and many others – many of which were bigger. But, well, I have fond memories of this one. Bonus: This movie was released on my fourth birthday!

1981

My least favorite of the Indiana Jones movies (too many snakes), Raiders of the Lost Ark is still one of my favorite movies of all time.

1982

Oh, man, is this a hard year to choose. I could have gone with The Dark Crystal, The Secret of Nimh, ET, Poltergeist, or Annie. I almost chose The Secret of Nimh. I LOVE that movie. But The Last Unicorn wins. I still love unicorns. I still wish they really did exist. Still wish I could have one. And I still love this movie – a tiny bit more than I love The Secret of Nimh.

1983

This was an easy one. Return of the Jedi is the first movie I have clear memories of seeing in the theater – well, first movie with positive memories. (ET gave me nasty nightmares.) I know I saw it in the theater a few times. And I loved it. This is really the only one of the first three Star Wars movies that was a huge part of my childhood.

1984

There's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, All of Me, Irreconcilable Differences, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Supergirl ... what to choose. What to choose ... I have to go with Romancing the Stone. I have seen this countless times, and have lots of fond memories of watching this with friends.

1985

Something tells me that for the next 10 years or so, this is gonna be HARD. Favorites released in 1985 include The Care Bears Movie, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Cat's Eye, Cocoon, Back to the Future, The Black Cauldron, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Weird Science, Better Off Dead ..., Teen Wolf, The Jewel of the Nile. Ugh! It's gotta be The Goonies. We (my sisters and I) rented that so much that my parents banned it from our house for a while! LOL

1986

So many choices. Pretty in Pink; Care Bears Movie II; Lucas; Short Circuit; Top Gun; Ferris Beuller's Day Off; The Karate Kid, Part II; Labyrinth; Flight of the Navigator; Crocodile Dundee; Peggy Sue Got Married; The Color of Money; An American Tail; Little Shop of Horrors. Double ugh! What a great list of mid-'80s movies. Lots of cheese, lots of fun, lots of great memories. I have to go with Labyrinth. Just have to. 

1987

Again, I'm having a hard time choosing! LOL A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Project X, Ernest Goes to Camp, Spaceballs, Innerspace, Adventures in Babysitting, Dirty Dancing, Fatal Attraction, The Princess Bride, 3 Men and a Baby, *batteries not included, Overboard, Good Morning Vietnam. There were sooo many good movies. While The Princess Bride will always be one of my all-time favorites, I gotta go with Can't Buy Me Love. For one, it's where I discovered Patrick Dempsey – long before his Grey's Anatomy days!

1988

Another year full of tons of movies. (I didn't realize how many movies I'd watched while growing up!) Choices, choices. Satisfaction, Hairspray, Beetle Juice, Willow, Crocodile Dundee II, Big, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Short Circuit 2, Cocktail, Oliver & Company, The Land Before Time, and Beaches – to name a few.  My choice is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I was a huge Steve Martin fan, and this movie is still hilarious!

1989

The contenders: The 'burbs, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Dream Team, Say Anything ..., Field of Dreams, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Dead Poets' Society, Batman, Parenthood, Look Who's Talking, Steel Magnolias, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Back to the Future Part II, The War of the Roses, and Glory. This is another super-hard choice, but I gotta pick The Little Mermaid. I remember seeing this at the theater, and just dying laughing. I still love it – as do my kids.

1990

Not quite as many this year, but still a lot. Pretty Woman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Back to the Future Part III, Days of Thunder, Men at Work, Dances with Wolves, Edward Scissorhands, Look Who's Talking Too, and Kindergarten Cop. My choice, though, has to be Ghost. I was 13 when that movie came out. Need I say more?

1991

This is a small list of the ones I remember (quite well) from this time: Return to the Blue Lagoon, White Fang, Sleeping with the Enemy, The Silence of the Lambs, Toy Soldiers, Backdraft, Regarding Henry, Point Break, Dead Again, Beauty and the Beast, My Girl, and Father of the Bride. My choice, however, is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was my absolute favorite for a long time. I still have – and frequently listen to – the soundtrack/score from the movie. Some of the best movie music, so far as I'm concerned.

1992

Let's see ... Wayne's World, The Cutting Edge, Ferngully, Encino Man, Far and Away, Sister Act, A League of Their Own, Singles, Aladdin, Love Potion No. 9, Dracula, The Bodyguard,  and A Few Good Men. The top of this year would have to be The Last of the Mohicans. I loved, loved, loved it. And its music. Again, I still listen the the music from this one. Any movie with such an awesome score can win me over!

1993

This is getting painful – and taking all day! LOL The contenders: Indian Summer, Indecent Proposal, Benny & Joon, Much Ado About Nothing, What's Love Got to Do With It, Sleepless in Seattle, The Firm, Poetic Justice, The Fugitive, The Joy Luck Club, Schindler's List, Philadelphia, and Grumpy Old Men. While Sleepless in Seattle was the first movie my hubby and I saw together when we first started dating, I actually have to pick Jurassic Park.

1994

As with previous years, there are several I could choose. But, I'll go with The Lion King. It's still one of my favorite Disney films ever.

1995

The year I graduated high school and headed to college. Without question Braveheart is my favorite from that year. Excellent movie, and it has an excellent score, too. Can't beat that! ;-)

1996

Hamlet was released while I was working toward my degree in English. I had just read it, and heard that this movie adaptation was unabridged. ALL of Shakespeare's text was used. It is a long – very long – movie. I even remember an intermission halfway through. But I loved it – well, except for Kate Winslet's portrayal of Ophelia.

1997

I remember when Titanic was released. I remember the emotion, the tragedy, and learning as much as I could about it after the fact. Another excellent score, too.

1998

I loved Sliding Doors. It's compelling and such a neat concept. And it was put together very well.

1999

This one's easy. Fight Club. Wow.

2000

The easiest one yet. Gladiator is easily still one of my favorite movies ever. And the score is my favorite ever.

2001

And now we get to some tough choices. Again. There's Memento, A Knight's Tale, Shrek, The Princess Diaries, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Ocean's Eleven, Black Hawk Down. My pick, though, has to be The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It (along with the other two in the LOTR franchise) is one of my favorite films ever. And one of my favorite scores, too. AWESOME music!

2002

Another difficult one: The Bourne Identity, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, or Catch Me If You Can? Ugh! The middle two were both my least favorites in their respective series. So that makes it easy. The Bourne Identity wins! Loved that movie.

2003

This is an easy year because our first child was born in June. We didn't see very many films that year. LOL And, looking over the list, we apparently didn't feel the need to see them later, either. I still think Lord of the Rings: Return of the King wouldn't have had any competition!

2004

Not many movies were seen this year. The Bourne Supremacy was my favorite.

2005

My son, our second child, was born at the end of this year. We saw more movies than I thought, but the choice is easy: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

2006

Slim pickings. I haven't seen most of the movies from this year. But, my favorite of the ones I have seen is Eragon. And it's why I want to read the books. It's unfortunate that it didn't do as well as the studios had hoped, as I was hoping for another movie.

2007

The year my youngest was born, I don't think I saw much. Heck, unless it's for kids, I hardly see any new movies, anway! LOL Well, this was a tougher choice than expected, but I Am Legend is my choice. It was very good, and I hope to get to read the book soon.

2008

I think Valkyrie is my favorite for 2008. I didn't see much from that year, but this one is very good.

2009

I absolutely loved He's Just Not That Into You when I rented it last year. It was a lot of fun, and very sweet. It's easily one of my favorites ever.

2010

And now it gets a bit more difficult to choose again. Alice in Wonderland, How to Train Your Dragon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, and Tangled.This is a really, really tough choice for so many reasons. I'm gonna go with How to Train Your Dragon. My kids and I love it. It's nice having something we can all watch together as a family.

2011

Well, honestly, so far this year I haven't seen any of the new movies. It's hard to get out with these three kiddos hanging around. There are a few movies I'm hoping to see this year, but only two I know for sure I'll see in the theater: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II and Breaking Dawn (the first part, of course). I'm pretty confident in saying that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II will be my favorite this year.

And that is it. This was fun, but literally took all day (off and on, of course) to do! Yikes! LOL