The Year in Movies: 1995

 1995

Number of Movies I've Seen: 40

Number of Movies from my original top 365:  7

Oscar Winner:
Braveheart - I probably need to watch this one again. As it stands, it was pretty forgettable outside of the "speech".

Box Office Winner:
Batman Forever - I remember really liking this one at 14. I thought Val Kilmer was quite an upgrade from Michael Keaton. What can I say? I love Batman, but there has never been a great live-action adaptation.

My Top Ten:
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2. Mallrats - (Pictured Above) I've spent quite a bit of time with this movie between rewatches, Kevin Smith podcasts/standups, and commentaries. It is imperfect, but so much fun. Jason Lee really saves the movie from itself by perfectly capturing the genius, underachieving loser that we all know and sometimes love. 

3. Friday - This movie birthed modern meme culture. Change my mind...

4. Kids - Larry Clark is a creep. Still, his is a creep that makes darn near perfect movies that capture teenage life on the extremes of society. This movie is tough to watch, but essential viewing.

5. Toy Story - This one gets a bit too much love in my opinion. It doesn't crack my top 5 Pixar movies, but it is essential because it birthed the studio that would come to dominate animation, storytelling, and great films for at least two decades.

6. The City of Lost Children - I wish this movie was easier to find. I would love to watch it with Abby. Jean-Pierre Jeunet has always been one of my favorite directors, and this film found him in early "let's tell a weird modern fairy-tale" mode.

7. Welcome to the Dollhouse - Easily Todd Solonz's most accessible film. Dollhouse tells the story of a bullied junior high student who copes with her life in peculiar ways. This is another I would love to rewatch, but isn't available anywhere at present.

8. Apollo 13 - A perfectly crafted real-life space thriller from Ron Howard that steps back and let's Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon reenact one of the most dramatic moments in US history. The story doesn't require much because it is so downright interesting and truimphant.

9. Whisper of the Heart - Brian would be upset if I didn't include his favorite movie of all time on my blog. Japanese students fall in love through their love of reading. Yup, sounds about right.

10. Empire Records - I'll be honest. This one has always felt great to me, but I really don't remember much about it.