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01
Toy Story
The movie that taught us our toys come to life when we're not looking and also introduced us to a cowboy having an existential crisis. It still holds up insanely well.
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02
Babe
A pig wants to be a sheepdog and somehow it's more emotional, profound, and generally better than most Oscar dramas. Yes, I cried over a pig. No, I'm not ashamed.
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03
Sense and Sensibility
It's like Bridgerton but with more corsets, better writing, and zero Duke abs. Peak Emma Thompson, peak Hugh Grant stammering, peak tea-sipping drama.
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04
Apollo 13
"Houston, we have a problem" became the most quoted tech support line of the late 90s. A space movie where no one dies and yet it's somehow more intense than most horror films.
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05
Ghost in the Shell
Anime for people who liked The Matrix before it was cool. Robots, philosophy, identity crises... and a confusing plot that made me feel both smarter and dumber at the same time.
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06
Leaving Las Vegas
Nic Cage drinks himself to death and wins an Oscar. It's tragic, raw, uncomfortable... and also peak "Cage doing the absolute most" era.
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07
The Bridges of Madison County
Romance for grownups who cry into their wine. Clint Eastwood gets sensitive, Meryl Streep speaks in a Midwest accent, and hearts are shattered across generations. My parents couldn't shut up about this movie.
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08
12 Monkeys
Brad Pitt acts completely unhinged and we love him for it. Time travel, pandemics, mental institutions - and still one of my favorite mind-bending sci-fi films ever.
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09
The Usual Suspects
Before the twist endings became cliché, this movie pulled the rug so hard it gave me whiplash. I still don't trust anyone with a limp.
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10
Seven
A gritty detective story that makes you never want to open a cardboard box again. Also: what a time for Kevin Spacey to be everywhere.
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11
Heat
Al Pacino vs. Robert De Niro in the most intense coffee shop chat ever filmed. Crime, existential dread, and more gunfire than a fireworks factory.
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12
Clueless
A perfect movie. Fashion, slang, Paul Rudd before he started not aging - this is Shakespeare in a plaid mini skirt and it still holds up better than most 'serious' dramas.
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13
While You Were Sleeping
Sandra Bullock lies her way into a coma patient's family and somehow it's adorable? Peak 90s romcom logic and she glows in every scene.
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14
Rumble in the Bronx
Jackie Chan jumps off buildings, kicks ten guys at once, and does his own stunts with a broken ankle. Plot? Who cares. This was pure VHS gold.
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15
GoldenEye
Bond finally made it to the Nintendo 64!. Oh, Also a pretty solid movie with exploding pens and post-Cold War drama - but mostly: multiplayer mode.
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16
Casino
It's Goodfellas in Vegas with extra glitter and De Niro in sunglasses. Sharon Stone steals the movie and then burns it to the ground.
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17
Braveheart
Historically inaccurate but who cares when you've got war paint, speeches about freedom, and Mel Gibson before... well, you know.
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18
Friday
The movie that made "Bye Felicia" iconic. Just two guys sitting on a porch, getting high, and delivering some of the best comedy lines of the decade.
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19
Desperado
Antonio Banderas, a guitar case full of guns, and Salma Hayek being unreal. It's sexy, stylish, and probably made me want to wear a long coat in summer. Did I mention Salma Hayek?
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20
Strange Days
Cyberpunk fever dream where you record other people's memories on mini-discs. It's messy, it's wild, and it predicted 2020 vibes way too well. Fun fact: This is where Fatboy Slim sampled the iconic "Right Here, Right Now" line
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21
A Goofy Movie
One of Disney's most underrated gems. A dad-and-son road trip with powerline concerts and emotional damage. Goofy made us cry, and that's not a sentence I ever expected to type.
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22
Die Hard with a Vengeance
Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson running around New York solving riddles. Basically a buddy comedy where the riddles are bombs. This is the second best Die Hard movie. fight me.
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23
Pocahontas
Just a solid Disney movie based on a true story where all the true parts were stripped away.
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24
Mallrats
Before nerds were cool, they were loitering at the mall and quoting Star Wars. Kevin Smith's love letter to slackers and food court debates. Also: Stan Lee Cameo!
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25
Jumanji
The board game that almost killed us all. Robin Williams running from jungle creatures in suburban America. 90s kids' fever dream fuel. BTW the hunter is his father in case you missed it.
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26
Tank Girl
I was a HUGE fan of the comics, so this chaotic, punk rock, water-wars-in-the-desert mess was my jam. It made no sense and I loved every second.
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27
Bad Boys
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence trading wisecracks and blowing stuff up. Michael Bay's baby steps into full-blown action chaos.
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28
Tommy Boy
Chris Farley and David Spade being the perfect odd couple. It's dumb, it's loud, it's perfect - and I still quote "fat guy in a little coat."
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29
Billy Madison
Before Adam Sandler started trying to win Oscars, he made this masterpiece of idiotic genius. Nothing makes sense and I still laughed hysterically.
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30
Hackers
The greatest bad movie ever made. Everyone looks like rave-dwelling cyber models and no one actually knows how computers work or how real people speak. I love it unironically.
30 Movies From 1995 That Are Somehow Turning 30 This Year and Making Us Feel Ancient
1995 was one of those years that hit different. I was just old enough to sneak into R-rated movies, just young enough to still watch Disney cartoons without irony, and just exactly the right age to believe Hackers was a plausible vision of the internet. These 30 movies came out in a single, glorious year that gave us gritty crime thrillers, emotional gut-punches, iconic rom-coms, cult classics, and a talking pig. It was the year of Clueless and Seven - how is that even allowed?
I remember seeing almost all of these in theaters or, let's be honest, on VHS rented from the local video store with a Be Kind, Rewind sticker. And now they're turning 30? No. I reject that reality. But while I work through this cinematic midlife crisis, here's a nostalgic walk through the movies that made 1995 one of the best movie years of all time.
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