"Cutthroat Island" released 1995

Okay, I know it wasn't a milestone in movie-making, but it certainly is nowhere near the worst movie I've ever seen.  I really enjoyed Cutthroat Island, released December 22, 1995 with Geena Davis, Matthew Modine and Frank Langella.  It was exciting and fun.  And I'm not just saying that because I like pirate movies, but not all pirate movies are as entertaining as this one was.

Still, it was one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time.  Problems making the movie were rampant and it sounds as it if was a miracle the film was even completed. 

But I love it!

"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" released 2009

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the third installment of the Ice Age series, premiered July 1, 2009.  This movie featured the gang of Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, Crash and Eddie as they try to save Sid from being eaten by a dinosaur.  After hatching three T-Rex eggs, Sid finds himself up against Mama T-Rex in an underground prehistoric land.

This is my favorite of this series.

"Godzilla" released 2014

When I first saw the trailers for Godzilla, I got excited.  From the clips, it looked like it would be an epic film and I was not disappointed.  It captured the essence of the old Godzilla movies, where the G-Man battles giant monsters and knocks down big buildings.  It was fantastic!

This is one of the few recent movies that I actually saw in theatres, and with those 3-D glasses, and I cheered when Godzilla finally used his radioactive breath.  It's one of those things that makes this movie so much better than the Matthew Broderick version.

It received mostly favorable reviews and was considered a box office success, so much so that two sequels were ordered just days after its release.

Many people complained that Godzilla didn't show up until about an hour into the movie, but this is typical of Godzilla films.  The threat to Earth (or Tokyo) is set up and then Godzilla comes in to save the day.

"Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" premieres 1964

One of the best movies ever, and not just from the psycho-biddy or hagsploitation genre, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland and Agnes Moorehead opened December 24, 1964.  A good wholesome movie for the holiday!

We all know about the feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford which led to de Havilland being brought in to replace Crawford after she was fired. 

The best performance in this movie was by Agnes Moorehead, who won a Golden Globe for her role and was nominated for an Academy Award.  She was the only member of the cast to be nominated for an award.

My favorite movies 1980-1995

1980: The Empire Strikes Back



1980 (Runner-up): Airplane!



1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark



1982: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn



1982 (Runner-up): E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial



1983: Return of the Jedi



1984 (Tie): Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom



1984 (Tie): Amadeus



1984 (Honorable Mention): Star Trek III: The Search for Spock



1985: Real Genius



1986 (Tie): Aliens



1986 (Tie): Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home



1987: Predator



1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?



1988 (Guilty Pleasure): Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood



1989 (Tie): Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade



1989 (Tie): Steel Magnolias



1990: Home Alone



1990 (Guilty Pleasure): Tremors



1991 (Tie): Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country



19991 (Tie):  Beauty and the Beast



1992: Aladdin



1993: Jurassic Park



1994 (Tie): Star Trek VII: Generations



1994 (Tie): Ed Wood



1995 (Tie): Toy Story



1995 (Tie): Apollo 13



1995 (Guilty Pleasure): Cutthroat Island

My favorite movies 1979

My favorite movies from 1979, another year with some great films, too many to choose just one so I picked several favorites and one guilty pleasure.

Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright.  It was the first horror movie that I sat through and enjoyed.  It created a monster (no pun intended) as now I enjoy horror films.



Star Trek: The Motion Picture starring everybody from the original series.  We had waited so long for a movie version of our favorite television show and finally got this.  Not bad but it wasn't good.  I often suspect they got someone who didn't like Star Trek to write the script.



1941 starring everybody.  I love this movie even though it's generally considered to be not funny.  And it's the only non-science fiction movie on this list!  Wow!



Walt Disney's The Black Hole starring Maximillian Schell, Yvette Mimieux, Tony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine.  I think Disney tried to capitalize on the whole Star Wars trend, and this was the result.  However, I like the non-Roddenberry, non-Lucas approach to space travel/exploration.



Guilty pleasure: Meteor starring Sean Connery and Natalie Wood.  I know it was a huge star-studded flop but I'm a sucker for disaster movies.  Now it's campy fun!

My favorite movies - 1974

1974 is another year that I cannot pick one favorite out of so many good ones, so I chose my top 4 plus an "honorable mention".  In just these five films, I think everybody in Hollywood made it onto the screen.  Each one has a stellar cast, whether comedy, drama or action.  How many actors and actresses can we name that did NOT appear in one of these!

Blazing Saddles starring Mel Brooks, Cleavon Little, Madeline Kahn, Gene Wilder and everybody else.



Young Frankenstein starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and everybody else.




The Towering Inferno starring Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway and everybody else.



Earthquake starring Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Ava Gardner and everybody else.



Murder on the Orient Express (honorable mention) starring Michael York, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall and everybody else.

My favorite movies: 1968-1973

My favorite moview from 1968-1973.  I got to 1974 and it's going to be another year where there are so many movies it is going to be hard to choose.

1968: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes





1969: Hello, Dolly! starring Barbara Streisand and Walter Matthau



1970: Airport starring Dean Martin, Helen Hayes, George Kennedy and everybody else.




1971: Bedknobs and Broomsticks starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson



1972: The Poseidon Adventure starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons and everybody else.



1972 (runner-up): What's Up, Doc? starring Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal.



1973: The Three Musketeers starring Michael York, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston and everybody else.



1973 (runner-up): Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee and John Saxon.