Let There Be Movies

Group List

Everyone comes into their love of movies at different ages. For many of us it is in the late childhood or early teen years. We recall our childhood movies with fond memories. At some point we venture back to see what the film world was like before we became attached to it. Some we love, some we hate, some we wonder how it ever gained the status of ‘classic’.

One fun thing to do is go straight to the year of your birth and see what was coming out at the time. That’s what we decided to do with this group list. Here are some of our favorite movies from the year we were each born…

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Gene (1982)

Born in 1982, I was surprised at how few movies from that year I had seen. I must have been a pretty self-involved newborn. There are a handful of films from that year which remain pretty well-known: Blade Runner, E.T., Tron and Tootsie to name a few (only two of which I’ve seen). But if I were to pick just one as my favorite from the year I was born, I’d have to go with Rocky III. The movie travels an emotional gauntlet for Rocky. He’s at the top of the mountain one moment, the next he has lost his title, loses his mentor, and eventually loses the support of his wife. Even though former champion Appollo Creed takes him under his wing, he’s lost the will to fight under all this weight. Getting back that desire to pound someone’s face in, surprisingly, is dependant on knowing his wife is on board. In what I think is the best moment in Rocky and Adrian’s marriage throughout all the Rocky movies, Adrian gives Rocky words of inspiration, power, respect and adoration. A wonderful picture of how great an influence a wife can have on her husband. For more on that check out Ephesian 5:21-33. For more on this movie, check out this…

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Logan (1992)

There were some pretty good films released in 1992.  None quite as good in my book as Aladdin.  One of my favorite animated flicks of all time, Aladdin tells the story of a young “street rat” finding a lamp with a genie and transforming himself into a prince so that he can have a chance at marrying Princess Jasmine.  There are a lot of cool things about the film, including Robin Williams as the genie, a slew of comical antics between Aladdin, his monkey Abu, and of course the magic carpet, not to mention Jafar as one of animation’s best villains of all time.  However, the coolest thing to me is the message.  Aladdin thought he had no choice but to be a prince, but when the truth comes out, Jasmine asks “Why didn’t you just tell me?”  In other words, deception is not the answer.  The film says “Be yourself,” but it also says that when you are deceptive, people get hurt.  As we should remember from the book of Proverbs, one of the sins that God especially hates is a deceitful tongue.

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Elliott (1985)

Despite having classics like Back to the Future, The Goonies, Explorers, The Breakfast Club, and Brewster’s Millions, I’d have to say my favorite movie from 1985 is Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. I started watching Star Wars from a very young age and although this isn’t technically a Star Wars movie, it does take place in the same universe. The story follows Cindel a young girl, whose family has crashed on the forest moon of Endor. With the help of Wicket, Teek and Noa, she is able to rescue a group of Ewoks and fight off the evil marauders. Growing up we rented this a bunch of times and although it may be super cheesy, it brings back great memories from my childhood.

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Tres (1971)

In 1971 the bizarre imagination of Roald Dahl first appeared on the big screen with Gene Wlder’s Willy Wonka. If you are a fan of Dahl’s books like I am, you know the movie does take artistic liberties. [Truly, Depp’s version, though I do not prefer it, is much closer to the book.]  This movie has been a lifetime favorite of mine. So much so I annoy my family by singing along with it and speaking the dialogue throughout the movie.

When you look at the message of the movie it’s almost too clear the Christian message. Charlie Bucket is a poor young man with an earnest heart. Though he lets Grandpa Joe convince him to take drinks when he shouldn’t, he stays true to himself throughout the movie and is pretty much appalled at the behavior of the other children. Mr Wonka has promised his new Everlasting Gobstopper to each child who finishes the tour. Charlie and the other children are promised earthly treasures if they get one of these candies and return it to the evil Slugworth. Charlie makes it to the end and gets the candy; he doesn’t cave in though. He does what’s right and gives it back to Wonka… It was a test. In return… He gets the keys to the kingdom… Well, the glass elevator at least.

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As you can see we span a decent range in our birth years. So let’s hear from you! When were you born and what is your favorite film from that year???