Teen Vogue's 10 Favorite Movies of 2015
Mary Cybulski/Universal Pictures/Everett Collection1/12It seems like you just got the glitter off your scalp from last year’s New Year’s Eve party but alas, 2015 has almost come to an end. Before you start singing “Auld Lang Syne” and vowing to learn guitar for the fourth year in a row, take a minute to look back on all this year has taught you. You vaguely remember some helpful life tips from your mom (what did she mention about taxes and April?) and your best friend taught you more than you needed to know about being “on fleek,” but you learned the most from watching this year’s best movies. These 10 movies offered lessons about love, loss, life, and even about what’s appropriate to say at a baby shower (I’m lookin’ at you, Amy Schumer).
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Everett Collection2/12Inside Out
Amy Poehler? Check. Pixar? Check. All the feels? Triple check. Inside Out hit theaters in June and featured the vocal stylings of some of your favorite comedians, including Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, and Lewis Black. Hilarious enough for adults and playful enough for kids, Pixar’s latest production takes place entirely inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley. When Riley’s family is forced to move away from the Midwest and settles down in San Francisco, our spunky protagonist has a ton of emotions surface. Joy and Sadness, two of the film’s main characters, must find a way to strike a balance in Riley’s new life, while Anger, Fear, and Disgust try to figure out their place in the scheme of things.
Mary Cybulski/Universal Pictures/Everett Collection3/12Trainwreck
You’ve seen enough episodes of Inside Amy Schumer to know that you need to refrain from drinking soda while watching your girl Amy get her joke on (you wouldn’t want to spray cola out your nose again). In this way, Trainwreck is similar. Not only did Amy Schumer star in the movie, but she wrote the screenplay as well. The comedienne’s signature style is ever present throughout the film, from up close and personal sex scenes to hilariously inappropriate baby shower jokes. The plot is rom-com-rific (Schumer thinks monogamy is silly, she meets someone who changes her mind, she grapples with her feelings) but the writing is fresh, funny, and unforgettable.
Atsushi Nishijima/Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection4/12Selma
Selma is a work of historical fiction that focuses on the Civil Rights Movement and the people who were its driving force back in 1965. Martin Luther King Jr. led the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in March of that year. This series of marches brought peaceful protestors to the Alabama capitol, after covering 54 miles in 5 days, and hundreds of people came together to campaign for black voting rights. Selma centers on not just MLK, but the men and women behind the movement who believed in the greater good, and weren’t afraid to let it be known.
A24/Everett Collection5/12Ex Machina
We live in a world of voice-activated smart phones and search engines that suggest queries before they’ve fully formed in our heads—so it’s not difficult to imagine technology programmed with artificial intelligence existing soon. In Ex Machina, a gifted programmer, Caleb, who works at the world’s largest technology company, is given the chance to fly halfway across the world and meet with the company’s elusive CEO, Nathan. The two chat about business, but Caleb soon realizes he’s there to do more than network. Nathan reveals an extremely complicated work of artificial intelligence, and tasks Caleb with interacting with the A.I. to evaluate whether it could pass as “human.” Unfortunately, the artificial intelligence has been placed inside a robot that looks like a beautiful woman, Ava. Caleb and Ava form a strong bond, and when she informs Caleb that they’re both in danger as long as Nathan’s around, things start to go haywire.
Richard Cartwright/Universal Pictures/Everett Collection6/12Pitch Perfect 2
You haven’t been able to master Anna Kendrick’s cups routine since the original Pitch Perfect aired in 2012, but at least you were able to soak up some more Rebel Wilson realness this year. Pitch Perfect 2 is a rare sequel that lives up to its predecessor. Due to Fat Amy causing a serious scandal on live television (#muffgate2015, never forget!) the Barden Bellas are forced to either win the 2015 World Championship of A Capella or retire from singing at school. With the help of newcomer Emily Junk (Hailee Steinfeld) and a whole lot of harmonizing, your favorite pitches are back with a melodic vengeance.
Giles Keyte/20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection7/12The Martian
Floating in space sounds fun, floating in space and being unsure of how you’ll return to earth does not. Matt Damon stars as Mark Watney in The Martian, the fictional film about an American astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars. Resourceful, optimistic, and hardworking, Watney attempts to stay in contact with NASA operators back on earth and doesn’t give up hope when it comes to returning home. If you liked Tom Hanks’ bleary eyed delirium in Castaway, you’ll love Matt Damon’s out of this world performance in The Martian.
Sony Pictures Classics/Everett Collection8/12Foxcatcher
Although I wish I could say Magic Mike XXL was the best Channing Tatum movie of the year, many folks think Foxcatcher one-upped it by a landslide. The film is based on the tragic true story of eccentric philanthropist/heir John du Pont and his fixation on the men’s U.S. Olympic Wrestling team. Brothers Mark (Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) move to du Pont’s estate, also known as the Foxcatcher farm, to train for the Olympics. Although he’s a less accomplished athlete, Mark quickly becomes the apple of du Pont’s eye. While the Schultz brothers push themselves to perform, John du Pont falls further into insanity, which ultimately manifests as aggression (and violence) toward both brothers.
Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures/Everett Collection9/12Mad Max: Fury Road
A reimagining of the 1979 Mad Max, this movie received crazy good reviews from viewers (and inspired some of the dopest Halloween costumes of 2015). In a post-apocalyptic world, Max Rockatansky is learning to cope with the deaths of his wife and child, and does so by teaming up with Furiosa (amazingly played by Charlize Theron). The two seek out Furiosa’s homeland, and hunt for salvation amidst chaos while crossing the dangerous desert they’re forced to now call “home.”
Murray Close/Lionsgate/Everett Collection10/12The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2
We’ve grown up with Katniss’ archery antics and cool confidence, which means crowds were eager and emotional to watch the final chapter of The Hunger Games in theaters. Mockingjay, Part 2 follows Katniss, Gale, and Peeta as they leave District 13 in an attempt to liberate Panem. Death, tears, and triumphs drive this dystopian thriller as our favorite fictional characters learn whether or not they have what it takes to make a difference and lead a revolution.
Sam Emerson/Sony Pictures Classics/Everett Collection11/12The Diary of a Teenage Girl
You might not have heard much about The Diary of a Teenage Girl, but if you loved The Virgin Suicides and Juno, get thee to a theater and watch this flick immediately! Our plucky protagonist, Minnie, lives in 1976 San Francisco. The Diary of a Teenage Girl centers on Minnie finding her sexuality, through uncomfortable and relatable romantic antics that will have you nudging your girlfriends and shielding your eyes. Alexander Skarsgård and Kristen Wiig light up the silver screen in roles like you’ve never seen them before.
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