Out of boredom one day, I started to put together what my favorite films were each year since I was born in 1987. Some years were harder than others, and some years have films that I feel in my bones (Jurassic Park obviously). So, below you will find the now 38 films year by year. Some have explanations now, some don’t. I might also edit this as time moves on. Who knows?

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1987 – Spaceballs – With apologies to my Dad who holds The Untouchables to high level, it is my favorite Mel Brooks film that takes the top spot for this first year on the list. Another strong contender is Planes. Trains, and Automobiles.

1988 – Beetlejuice – Now is probably as good of a time as ever to say, unlike most millennials, I was not a kid who got into The Land Before Time series. By the time I started really watching movies (probably 1990) I already had half of the Disney Renaissance to catch up on. More on that a little later. There is a film from this year though that is a Halloween staple for me, and that is Beetlejuice. Was I bummed when that won the Tim Burton Tournament last year? Not in the slightest.

1989 – Major League – 89 had the first Batman, the first (and only great) Major League, and the last good Indiana Jones. As you will see later on the list, I like another Batman film more. My natural hatred of the Cleveland Indians is not enough for me to not watch that Major League a hundred times.

1990 – Goodfellas

1991 – Terminator 2: Judgement Day

1992 – Aladdin – My favorite of the Disney Renaissance movies. I know this movie by heart.

1993 – Jurassic Park – If this shocks you, you must be new here. JP is, and will most likely always be, my favorite movie, and I live in fear whenever a new sequel comes out. 1993 was a loaded year. Other contenders here (that never had a real chance) are Schindler’s List, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Philadelphia.

1994 – The Mask – The cool kids argue about Forrest Gump winning the Oscar over Pulp Fiction. The Mask is still my favorite Jim Carrey movie. I’ll go with the one I’ve seen more. This is a good example to show this list isn’t “best movie, but the “favorite movie”. Yes, I know Pulp Fiction is the best this year.

1995 – Se7en – This year had the original Toy Story, Goldeneye, Batman Forever, and I am going with the depressing, moody crime thriller. Andy’s gang will show up later on in the list.

1996 – Twister – It’s still a little crazy this made so much money.

1997 – Dante’s Peak – Another tough year. It was down to Face/Off, Men in Black, or Dante’s Peak. I do love a disaster movie.

1998 – The Truman Show – Still quote this movie all the time.

1999 – Galaxy Quest

2000 – The Perfect Storm

2001 – Shrek – What might shock you is no Lord of the Rings in either of these next three years. The closest one got was here in 2001 with Fellowship, but Shrek is iconic, and I have watched that way too many times, so it got the edge there. I originally had it as a tie, but it looked weird. Ignore the hypocrisy when I say Fellowship is my all-time Top 10.

2002 – Catch Me If You Can

2003 – X2: X-Men United

2004 – Spider-Man 2 – This was my favorite comic book movie until Dark Knight was released, and Doc Ock is still the best Spidey villain. Seeing him back in No Way Home was really cool.

2005 – Batman Begins

2006 – Thank You For Smoking –

2007 – Zodiac – If I was in a different mood while putting this together, I could have found a way probably found a way to include Fincher everywhere. Dude doesn’t miss. Instead, he shows up here with this tense mystery thriller with and awesome turn from Downey Jr, and Se7en 12 years earlier.

2008 – The Dark Knight – Heath Ledger is the gold standard for comic movie villains. The marketing push for this was brilliant, and something so many other marketing campaigns try to replicate, but never can.

2009 – Fantastic Mr. Fox – This was my favorite book when I was a kid, so for Wes Anderson to make such a perfect adaptation, it made me so, so happy.

2010 – Toy Story 3 – My brother and I took our little cousin to see this, and she thought it was weird a lot of the adults were tearing up towards the end of the movie (you know what scenes I’m taking about).

2011 – Moneyball

2012 – Lincoln

2013 – The Wolf of Wall Street

2014 – Interstellar

2015 – Inside Out

2016 – La La Land

2017 – Blade Runner 2049

2018 – The Avengers: Infinity War – I wish I could go back and experience what it was like in the theater when the snap was happening. The reactions from the crowd were fun.

2019 – Knives Out –

2020 – Vivarium – Here is a weird one you should seek out.

2021 – Encanto

2022 – The Northman

2023 – Oppenheimer

2024 – Dune: Part Two