Most Captivating Films
by patterson_josiah | created - 06 Apr 2014 | updated - 06 Apr 2014 | PublicMovies with plots that engross the viewer. When you get into these movies, you'll never want them to end.
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1. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,686 | Gross: $0.01M
Harshly realistic but beautiful film inspired by true events from the Rape of Nanking
2. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
R | 127 min | Drama
Depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Maia Morgenstern, Christo Jivkov
Votes: 250,882 | Gross: $370.78M
This movie ain't no joke. It is a depiction of the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Very true-to-Bible portrayal that will make you feel loved.
3. Unconditional (IV) (2012)
PG-13 | 92 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A woman's idyllic life is shattered when her husband is killed in a senseless act of violence. As she prepares to take matters into her own hands, two unexpected encounters begin to change everything.
Director: Brent McCorkle | Stars: Lynn Collins, Michael Ealy, Bruce McGill, Kwesi Boakye
Votes: 4,969 | Gross: $1.01M
Outrageously inspiring and uplifting story of hope
4. The Book Thief (2013)
PG-13 | 131 min | Drama, War
While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. In the basement of her home, a Jewish refugee is being protected by her adoptive parents.
Director: Brian Percival | Stars: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer
Votes: 142,228 | Gross: $21.49M
Magnificent, beautiful, artistic!
5. 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: 497,504 | Gross: $13.66M
Awesome
6. The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
R | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani
Votes: 65,918 | Gross: $38.62M
Exciting & thrilling... based on a true story
7. The Jacket (2005)
R | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a doctor's experiments, and his life is completely affected by them.
Director: John Maybury | Stars: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Daniel Craig, Kris Kristofferson
Votes: 119,217 | Gross: $6.30M
Amazing, attention-holding storyline! Great ending! One of my favorites.
8. God's Not Dead (2014)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
College philosophy professor Mr. Radisson's curriculum is challenged by his new student, Josh, who believes God exists.
Director: Harold Cronk | Stars: Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo, David A.R. White, Dean Cain
Votes: 44,912 | Gross: $60.76M
You will feel like you know all the characters. Great cinematography. Very well made film!
9. Faith Like Potatoes (2006)
PG | 116 min | Drama
Frank Rautenbach leads a strong cast as Angus Buchan, a African farmer on steroids of Scottish heritage, who leaves his farm to his loyal subjects in the midst of political unrest and ... See full summary »
Director: Regardt van den Bergh | Stars: Frank Rautenbach, Jeanne Neilson, Hamilton Dlamini, Candice D'Arcy
Votes: 3,509
Like inspirational tear jerkers? This one's for you!
10. Secondhand Lions (2003)
PG | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Fourteen-year-old Walter Caldwell's irresponsible mother Mae sends him to live with his bachelor uncles, Hub and Garth, so that she can go on yet another husband-hunting trip.
Director: Tim McCanlies | Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Kyra Sedgwick
Votes: 61,677 | Gross: $41.41M
Hilarious and fun!
11. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt
Votes: 740,699 | Gross: $56.67M
Most depictions are true to the captivating history of Solomon Northup. Great film.
12. Like Dandelion Dust (2009)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama
A young boy is torn away from his adoptive parents by his alcoholic, abusive birth parents.
Director: Jon Gunn | Stars: Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Cole Hauser, Kate Levering
Votes: 3,094 | Gross: $0.35M
Amazing gem!
13. War Horse (2011)
PG-13 | 146 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young farm boy enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. His hopeful journey takes him out of England and onto the front lines as the war rages on.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch
Votes: 165,502 | Gross: $79.88M
Beautiful film
14. October Baby (2011)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Family, Mystery
A college freshman's world is rocked when she learns she is the adopted survivor of a failed abortion.
Directors: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin | Stars: Rachel Hendrix, Jason Burkey, John Schneider, Jasmine Guy
Votes: 7,853 | Gross: $5.36M
Conveys a message of love
15. Inception (2010)
PG-13 | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe
Votes: 2,547,528 | Gross: $292.58M
Mind-boggling and requires thought
16. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
PG | 143 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
While playing, Lucy and her siblings find a wardrobe that lands them in a mystical place called Narnia. Here they realize that it was fated and they must now unite with Aslan to defeat an evil queen.
Director: Andrew Adamson | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes
Votes: 427,660 | Gross: $291.71M
Creative and exquisite depiction of the series "The Chronicles of Narnia" by Clive Staples Lewis
17. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
PG | 150 min | Action, Adventure, Family
The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.
Director: Andrew Adamson | Stars: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley
Votes: 225,288 | Gross: $141.62M
Creative and exquisite depiction of the series "The Chronicles of Narnia" by Clive Staples Lewis
18. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Will Poulter
Votes: 166,260 | Gross: $104.39M
Creative and exquisite depiction of the series "The Chronicles of Narnia" by Clive Staples Lewis
19. The Hunger Games (2012)
PG-13 | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 1,002,742 | Gross: $408.01M
Based on The Hunger Games series, this movie will take you to another world, and you will be engrossed. Very artistic and fantastic character development!
20. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
PG-13 | 146 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 720,577 | Gross: $424.67M
#2 of the Hunger Games movies. Based on The Hunger Games series, this movie will take you to another world, and you will be engrossed. Very artistic and fantastic character development!
21. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama, War
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
Director: Mark Herman | Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O'Brien
Votes: 246,036 | Gross: $9.03M
Amazing storyline with an unexpected ending
22. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
PG | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
When both he and a colleague are about to lose their job, Walter takes action by embarking on an adventure more extraordinary than anything he ever imagined.
Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jon Daly, Kathryn Hahn
Votes: 340,574 | Gross: $58.24M
Hilarious
23. Captain Phillips (2013)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Catherine Keener
Votes: 492,144 | Gross: $107.10M
Thrilling and interesting. Based on a true story.
24. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell
Votes: 169,954 | Gross: $83.30M
Fun
25. Philomena (2013)
PG-13 | 98 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham
Votes: 103,752 | Gross: $37.71M
Fun, sad, and happy all at the same time!
26. Courageous (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 129 min | Drama
When a tragedy strikes close to home, four police officers struggle with their faith and their roles as husbands and fathers. Together they make a decision that will change all of their lives.
Director: Alex Kendrick | Stars: Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes, Renee Jewell
Votes: 21,576 | Gross: $34.52M
You will cry and laugh.
27. The Help (2011)
PG-13 | 146 min | Drama
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Director: Tate Taylor | Stars: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 492,146 | Gross: $169.71M
Enthralling and fun
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