Game Changers
by stephanieericsson | created - 25 Aug 2013 | updated - 05 Mar 2018 | PublicFilms that change you. Ones with contagious attitudes of courage. All of them deal with the vast landscape of loss.
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1. Holes in My Shoes (2006)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
94-year-old New Yorker, Jack Beers, has broken the age barrier full force. He can do what most young men can, and his diverse lifetime achievements would take many to accomplish. The film ... See full summary »
Director: David Wachs | Stars: Jack Beers, Arthur Hiller, Katherine Oliver, Lydia Ruth
Votes: 127
2. The Intouchables (2011)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
Votes: 929,713 | Gross: $13.18M
Totally delightful. One of my all-time favorite movies.
3. Warrior (2011)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Drama, Sport
The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison
Votes: 497,993 | Gross: $13.66M
Some of the best acting I've ever seen. Nolte at his best. But there is a scene between the two brothers on the beach where Joel Edgerton is electrifying with a single twitch of his lip. Hardy's signature under-playing of his character is genius.
4. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 102,744 | Gross: $95.00M
5. The Power of One (1992)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Sport
An English boy, living in Africa during World War II, through his boxing prowess, becomes a symbol of hope, in a time of war.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman, Nomadlozi Kubheka
Votes: 10,698 | Gross: $2.83M
6. Shadows in the Sun (2005)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An aspiring young writer (Jackson) tracks a literary titan (Keitel) suffering from writers block to his refuge in rural Italy and learns about life and love from the irascible genius and his daughters.
Director: Brad Mirman | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Claire Forlani, Giancarlo Giannini, Joshua Jackson
Votes: 4,679
7. Mary and Martha (2013 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 95 min | Drama
Two mothers lose their sons to malaria.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Hilary Swank, Brenda Blethyn, Sam Claflin, Frank Grillo
Votes: 3,616
Giving succor heals grief.
8. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,115 | Gross: $96.90M
9. Beyond Belief (2007)
Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary
Susan Retik and Patti Quigley are two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on... See full summary »
Director: Beth Murphy | Stars: Susan Retik, Patti Quigley, Tom Fleming, Clementina Cantoni
Votes: 166
If you think that nothing can be done to stop war, watch this.
10. My Life as a Dog (1985)
Unrated | 101 min | Drama, Comedy
In the late '50s, young Ingemar learns a lot about life and himself when he is sent away from his sick mother to live with his aunt and uncle in a town full of eccentrics.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén, Melinda Kinnaman
Votes: 22,538 | Gross: $8.35M
11. Babette's Feast (1987)
G | 103 min | Drama
During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.
Director: Gabriel Axel | Stars: Stéphane Audran, Bodil Kjer, Birgitte Federspiel, Jarl Kulle
Votes: 22,042 | Gross: $4.40M
Sharing one's passion is the greatest joy of all.
12. Ladies in Lavender (2004)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Two sisters befriend a mysterious foreigner who washes up on the beach of their 1930s Cornish seaside village.
Director: Charles Dance | Stars: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Daniel Brühl, Freddie Jones
Votes: 12,692 | Gross: $6.76M
13. The Children of Huang Shi (2008)
R | 125 min | Drama, War
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh
Votes: 9,984 | Gross: $1.03M
14. Young@Heart (2007)
PG | 107 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary on a chorus of senior citizens from Massachusetts who cover songs by Jimi Hendrix, Coldplay, Sonic Youth, and other unexpected musicians.
Directors: Stephen Walker, Sally George | Stars: Joe Benoit, Helen Boston, Louise Canady, Elaine Fligman
Votes: 4,069 | Gross: $3.96M
You'll come away with a big smile.
15. Rebirth (II) (2011)
PG | 105 min | Documentary
Filmed over the ensuing years after the attack on New York's World Trade Center, this documentary takes a look a the physical and emotional healing process involved in the aftermath of such a tragedy.
Director: Jim Whitaker | Stars: Tim Brown, Nicholas Chirls, Brian Lyons, Tanya Villanueva Tepper
Votes: 199
16. Perlasca: Un eroe italiano (2002 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 104 min | Biography, Drama, History
The real story of Giorgio Perlasca (Luca Zingaretti). During the 1920s he was an Italian Fascist supporter, fighting in Africa and in the Spanish Civil War where he received safe conduct ... See full summary »
Director: Alberto Negrin | Stars: Luca Zingaretti, Jérôme Anger, Amanda Sandrelli, Franco Castellano
Votes: 546
17. The Mission (1986)
PG | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn
Votes: 65,701 | Gross: $17.22M
Redemption. One of De Niro's best.
18. Titanic (1997)
PG-13 | 194 min | Drama, Romance
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Votes: 1,280,740 | Gross: $659.33M
Definite schmaltz but great anyway.
19. The First Grader (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau veteran who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo, Tony Kgoroge, Alfred Munyua
Votes: 4,894 | Gross: $0.33M
You're never too old...
20. American History X (1998)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama
Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Votes: 1,186,494 | Gross: $6.72M
Warning: quite violent.
21. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 912,504 | Gross: $32.57M
22. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor
Votes: 877,931 | Gross: $141.32M
23. 1900 (1976)
Unrated | 317 min | Drama, History
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth-century Italy as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Francesca Bertini
Votes: 27,287
Warning: violent
24. Australia (2008)
PG-13 | 165 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Shea Adams, Eddie Baroo
Votes: 129,763 | Gross: $49.55M
Definite schmaltz but great anyway.
25. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 99,492 | Gross: $46.41M
Aging can be adorable. All star cast.
26. The Best of Men (2012 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 90 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1943, a refugee doctor from Nazi Germany uses new methods to rehabilitate those with spinal injuries in Great Britain. Based on actual events.
Director: Tim Whitby | Stars: George MacKay, Bebe Sanders, Leigh Quinn, Eddie Marsan
Votes: 1,705
27. The Horse Whisperer (1998)
PG-13 | 169 min | Drama, Romance, Western
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 43,542 | Gross: $75.38M
28. Buck (2011)
PG | 88 min | Documentary
An examination of the life of acclaimed 'horse whisperer' Buck Brannaman, who recovered from years of child abuse to become a well-known expert in the interactions between horses and people.
Director: Cindy Meehl | Stars: Buck Brannaman, Gary Myers, Bibb Frazier, Betty Staley
Votes: 3,432 | Gross: $4.02M
The real horse whisperer portrayed by Redford in his film by the same name.
29. Temple Grandin (2010 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 107 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Claire Danes, Julia Ormond, David Strathairn, Catherine O'Hara
Votes: 32,581
Autism
30. StreetDance 3D (2010)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, Music, Romance
In order to win the Street Dance Championships, a dance crew is forced to work with ballet dancers from the Royal Dance School in exchange for rehearsal space.
Directors: Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini | Stars: Nichola Burley, Richard Winsor, Ukweli Roach, Frank Harper
Votes: 11,662
31. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sport
A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddie.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Bruce McGill
Votes: 59,470 | Gross: $30.70M
32. Monster (2003)
R | 109 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
Director: Patty Jenkins | Stars: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen
Votes: 161,850 | Gross: $34.47M
33. The Man Who Cried (2000)
R | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young refugee traveling from Russia to America in search of her lost father falls for a gypsy horseman.
Director: Sally Potter | Stars: Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Oleg Yankovskiy, Claudia Lander-Duke
Votes: 16,461 | Gross: $0.74M
34. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,513
35. What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama
A young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen
Votes: 254,130 | Gross: $9.17M
36. Les Misérables (1998)
PG-13 | 134 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Valjean, a former criminal, has atoned for his past and now finds himself in the midst of the French Revolution, avoiding a law-obsessed policeman hell-bent on capturing him.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Christopher Adamson
Votes: 43,187 | Gross: $14.10M
37. Benny & Joon (1993)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik | Stars: Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn, Julianne Moore
Votes: 62,092 | Gross: $23.20M
38. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney
Votes: 531,571 | Gross: $59.70M
39. The Reader (2008)
R | 124 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Jeanette Hain
Votes: 259,921 | Gross: $34.19M
40. Harold and Maude (1971)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 81,859
41. The Horse Boy (2009)
Unrated | 93 min | Documentary
A writer documents the journey his family takes to Mongolia to consult with nomadic shamans on the healing of their autistic son.
Director: Michel Orion Scott | Stars: Rupert Isaacson, Kristin Neff, Rowan Isaacson, Kendal Stewart
Votes: 720 | Gross: $0.16M
Autism
42. De-Lovely (2004)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Inspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.
Director: Irwin Winkler | Stars: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Kevin McNally
Votes: 11,845 | Gross: $13.34M
43. As It Is in Heaven (2004)
Not Rated | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A famous international conductor returns to his small childhood town in Sweden for early retirement. He's asked to help with the church choir. He affects the lives of all in the choir.
Director: Kay Pollak | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Frida Hallgren, Helen Sjöholm, Lennart Jähkel
Votes: 18,273 | Gross: $0.01M
44. Saint Ralph (2004)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Saint Ralph is the unlikely story of Ralph Walker, a ninth-grader who outran everyone's expectations except his own in his bold quest to win the 1954 Boston Marathon.
Director: Michael McGowan | Stars: Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Tilly, Michael Kanevsky
Votes: 6,338 | Gross: $0.80M
45. What Dreams May Come (1998)
PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Chris Nielsen dies in an accident, and enters Heaven. But when he discovers that his beloved wife Annie has killed herself out of grief over the loss, he embarks on an afterlife adventure to reunite with her.
Director: Vincent Ward | Stars: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow
Votes: 114,429 | Gross: $55.49M
46. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney
Votes: 156,990 | Gross: $20.16M
47. Saving Grace (2000)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Crime
A small-town English widow, facing financial troubles after her husband's suicide, turns to agriculture of an illegal kind.
Director: Nigel Cole | Stars: Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes, Tchéky Karyo
Votes: 19,330 | Gross: $12.12M
48. AmericanEast (2008)
R | 110 min | Drama
A family man (Badreya) opens an authentic Middle Eastern restaurant with his best friend, who's Jewish.
Director: Hesham Issawi | Stars: Sayed Badreya, Erick Avari, Anthony Azizi, Amanda Detmer
Votes: 350
49. Hope and Glory (1987)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bill, a young boy living on the outskirts of London experiences the exhilaration of World War II. During this period, Bill learns about sex, death, love, hypocrisy, and the faults of adults as he prowls the ruins of bombed houses.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Sarah Miles, David Hayman, Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Geraldine Muir
Votes: 14,601 | Gross: $10.02M
50. Billy Elliot (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven
Votes: 142,830 | Gross: $22.00M
Stereotypes be damned.
51. Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A woman dealing with inconsolable grief over the death of her partner gets another chance when he returns to earth as a ghost.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Jenny Howe, Carolyn Choa
Votes: 10,010 | Gross: $1.55M
Added by Pamela King
52. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A delusional young man strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, R.D. Reid
Votes: 155,427 | Gross: $5.97M
Added by Pamela King ... Genius of a movie.
53. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,145 | Gross: $64.43M
Added by Pamela King
54. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
PG-13 | 132 min | Drama, Sport
Frankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel
Votes: 721,891 | Gross: $100.49M
Added by Pamela King
55. Amreeka (2009)
PG-13 | 96 min | Drama
A drama centered on the trials and tribulations of a proud Palestinian Christian immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Indiana.
Director: Cherien Dabis | Stars: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat
Votes: 3,686 | Gross: $0.62M
Added by Katherine Werner
56. Beginners (2010)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer and that he has a young male lover.
Director: Mike Mills | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic
Votes: 94,823 | Gross: $5.79M
Added by Pamela King
57. The Way (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 123 min | Comedy, Drama
A father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the "El camino de Santiago," and decides to take the pilgrimage himself.
Director: Emilio Estevez | Stars: Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Deborah Kara Unger, Yorick van Wageningen
Votes: 35,350 | Gross: $4.43M
Wonderful portrayal of how grief humbles and brings people together.
58.
Screen One (1985–2002)
Episode:
Wide-Eyed and Legless
(1993)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
The movie chronicles the struggles of Deric and Diana Longden, a happily married couple who try to cope with Diana's inexplicable degenerative disease which causes occasional paralysis of ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Loncraine | Stars: Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Thora Hird, Sian Thomas
Votes: 230 | Gross: $0.21M
(Also known as The Wedding Gift) This movie is about love to the end. Not sentimental or melodramatic love, but compassionate, enduring love of selflessness which would never think to be resentful. (It's tough to find but occasionally pops up on Amazon or Netflix)
59. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)
G | 93 min | Biography, Drama, Family
Professor Wilson discovers a lost Akita puppy on his way home. Despite objections from his wife, Hachi endears himself to the family and grows to be Parker's loyal companion. As their bond grows deeper, a beautiful relationship unfolds.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Sarah Roemer
Votes: 311,435
Box of Kleenex needed.
60. Honor Flight (2012)
PG | 82 min | Documentary, History, War
Honor Flight chronicles a community coming together to honor World War II veterans. The film follows a team of Midwest volunteers as they race against the clock to send every local WWII veterans to see the memorials built in their honor.
Director: Dan Hayes | Stars: Bert Brach, Earl Bruss, Joe Dean, Joe Demler
Votes: 153
Every American should watch this movie.
61. Cloudburst (2011)
Unrated | 93 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A lesbian couple escape from their nursing home and head up to Canada to get married. Along the way, they pick up a young, male hitchhiker.
Director: Thom Fitzgerald | Stars: Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker, Kristin Booth, Michael McPhee
Votes: 2,479
62. Mr. Pip (2012)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, War
As a war rages on in the province of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, a young girl becomes transfixed by the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, which is being read at school by the only white man in the village.
Director: Andrew Adamson | Stars: Hugh Laurie, Xzannjah Matsi, Healesville Joel, Eka Darville
Votes: 4,395
63. Virunga (2014)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, War
A team of brave individuals risk their lives to protect the last mountain gorillas.
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel | Stars: André Bauma, Emmanuel de Merode, Mélanie Gouby, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo
Votes: 12,261
64. The Railway Man (2013)
R | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A former British Army officer, who was tortured as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky | Stars: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine
Votes: 42,658 | Gross: $4.44M
The power of forgiveness exceeds the most brutal darkness.
65. The Descendants (2011)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause
Votes: 251,841 | Gross: $82.58M
This movie forces you into the slow pace of real life and the process both of accepting death and waking up to what's really important in life. I did not like it the 1st time I watched it, but the 2nd watch, I let its slow, thoughtful pacing lead me into its message. One of Clooney's best performances.
66. A Little Chaos (2014)
R | 117 min | Drama, Romance
Two talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
Director: Alan Rickman | Stars: Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Matthias Schoenaerts
Votes: 25,394 | Gross: $0.55M
Admittedly, I am a Kate Wislet fan, not only for her spectacular talent in portraying endless nuances of vulnerability, but also because she chooses such wonderful films to be in.
67. Interstellar (2014)
PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy
Votes: 2,100,855 | Gross: $188.02M
With a stellar cast, (excuse the pun), this is, without a doubt Matthew McConaughey's vehicle of brilliant acting. The premise challenges how we traditionally think of time.
68. Will (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
An orphan journeys across Europe to the 2005 Champions League Final in Istanbul.
Director: Ellen Perry | Stars: Damian Lewis, Bob Hoskins, Rebekah Staton, Kieran Wallbanks
Votes: 3,481
How a little boy deals with the death of his father. You'll laugh and cry.
69. Still Alice (2014)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama
A linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.
Directors: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland | Stars: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth
Votes: 143,509 | Gross: $18.75M
This was a hard one to watch, but Julianne Moore personifies this dreaded disease with great depth and tenderness.
70. Ever Again (2006)
Not Rated | 73 min | Documentary, History, War
Ever Again examines the sweeping resurgence of antisemitism in 21st century Europe and its connection to global terrorism.
Director: Richard Trank | Stars: Kevin Costner, Dyab Abou Jahjah, Milo Adoner, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
Votes: 72
See my review.
71. Ricki and the Flash (2015)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A musician who gave up everything for her dream of rock-and-roll stardom returns home, looking to make things right with her family.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Sebastian Stan
Votes: 24,822 | Gross: $26.82M
72. Monster's Ball (2001)
R | 111 min | Drama, Romance
After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard re-examines his attitudes while falling in love with the African-American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Taylor Simpson, Gabrielle Witcher
Votes: 94,083 | Gross: $31.27M
73. 99 Homes (2014)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
A recently unemployed single father struggles to get back his foreclosed home by working for the real estate broker who is the source of his frustration.
Director: Ramin Bahrani | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Clancy Brown
Votes: 38,259 | Gross: $1.41M
74. Concussion (2015)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
Director: Peter Landesman | Stars: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, David Morse
Votes: 100,613 | Gross: $34.54M
David and Goliath.
75. Spotlight (I) (2015)
R | 129 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Director: Tom McCarthy | Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 502,243 | Gross: $45.06M
Really important film that pulls no punches about exposing the sins of the Catholic Church in covering up pedophilia.
76. Trumbo (2015)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K.
Votes: 84,791 | Gross: $7.86M
Lest you think that government surveillance of private citizens or scapegoating is new, Trumbo will enlighten you.
77. The Normal Heart (2014 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 132 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the early 1980s, the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York led to an emergence of homosexual activists. With support from the medical community, they try to raise awareness about the disease.
Director: Ryan Murphy | Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Groff, Frank De Julio, William DeMeritt
Votes: 37,795
Another important history of the AIDs epidemic. Another film, "We Were Here" (2011) covers the West Coast AIDs movement. Both are inspiring.
78. The Big Short (2015)
R | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Votes: 484,739 | Gross: $70.26M
Finally, a film that shows some awareness of the 2008 housing collapse.
79. Calvary (2014)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After he is threatened during a confession, a good-natured priest must battle the dark forces closing in around him.
Director: John Michael McDonagh | Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen
Votes: 64,353 | Gross: $3.59M
A priest with the right perspective.
80. Night Will Fall (2014)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary, History, War
Researchers discover film footage from World War II that turns out to be a lost documentary shot by Alfred Hitchcock and Sidney Bernstein in 1945 about German concentration camps.
Director: André Singer | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Jasper Britton, Leonard Berney, George Leonard
Votes: 3,451
So powerful, it should be shown to every person in the world.
81. Truth (I) (2015)
R | 125 min | Biography, Drama, History
Newsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS "60 Minutes" report investigating then-President George W. Bush's military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.
Director: James Vanderbilt | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss
Votes: 21,239 | Gross: $2.54M
An important portrayal of how truth becomes the casualty when power and politics infect journalism. Blanchett & Redford are superb.
82. Sometimes in April (2005 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 140 min | Drama, History, War
When the Hutu nationalists raised arms against their Tutsi countrymen in Rwanda in April 1994, the violent uprising marked the beginning of one of the darkest times in African history which resulted in the deaths of almost 800,000 people.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Idris Elba, Carole Karemera, Pamela Nomvete, Oris Erhuero
Votes: 6,045
Idris Elba portrays a man caught in a horrific situation. Elba is brilliant in his understated external emotions made even more powerful by subtle nuance. Beautifully written & directed by Raul Peck. Warning: this is not an easy watch.
83. We Were Here (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.
Directors: David Weissman, Bill Weber | Stars: Ed Wolf, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark, Eileen Glutzer
Votes: 2,280
Inspirational. How the San Francisco gay community transformed itself in the AIDs epidemic.
84. The Promise (2011)
356 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A young British girl travels to Palestine, retracing the steps of her grandfather - a British soldier stationed there in the 1940s.
Stars: Claire Foy, Christian Cooke, Itay Tiran, Katharina Schüttler
Votes: 2,173
Does not simply the complex issues of 1948 or today but instead tackles the right and wrong of both sides while telling the story of this amazing young woman.
85. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Votes: 25,787 | Gross: $5.25M
86. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands
Votes: 59,213 | Gross: $34.70M
87. Cry Freedom (1987)
PG | 157 min | Biography, Drama, History
South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the Black anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Josette Simon, Wabei Siyolwe
Votes: 14,467 | Gross: $5.90M
88. Seven Pounds (2008)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy
Votes: 315,247 | Gross: $69.95M
Will Smith is one of the most under-rated actors in film. Truly a remarkable movie about redemption and grief and genuine decency--all difficult things to portray without straying into sentimentality or self-indulgence. And he is brilliant at it. Hats off too to Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson too.
89. Finding Neverland (2004)
PG | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell
Votes: 212,058 | Gross: $51.68M
90. Me Before You (2016)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Romance
A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-paralyzed man she's taking care of.
Director: Thea Sharrock | Stars: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance
Votes: 287,263 | Gross: $56.25M
The unconquerable spirit.
91. Fugitive Pieces (2007)
R | 104 min | Drama
A child escapes from Poland during World War II and first heads to Greece before coming of age in Canada.
Director: Jeremy Podeswa | Stars: Stephen Dillane, Rade Serbedzija, Rosamund Pike, Ayelet Zurer
Votes: 2,701 | Gross: $0.63M
A homage to life.
92. The Sea of Trees (2015)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Naomi Watts, Ken Watanabe, Ryoko Seta
Votes: 17,811 | Gross: $0.02M
93. Shine (1996)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd
Votes: 56,707 | Gross: $35.81M
94. Japanese Story (2003)
R | 106 min | Drama, Romance
Against the background of an Australian desert, Sandy, a geologist, and Hiromitsu, a Japanese businessman, play out a story of human inconsequence in the face of the blistering universe. ... See full summary »
Director: Sue Brooks | Stars: Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Lynette Curran, Matthew Dyktynski
Votes: 6,762 | Gross: $0.65M
95. Wind River (2017)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A wildlife officer, who is haunted by a tragedy that happened because of him, teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation and hopes to get redemption from his past regrets.
Director: Taylor Sheridan | Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Graham Greene, Kelsey Asbille
Votes: 280,654 | Gross: $33.80M
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