- United 93 (2006 - R)Re-creating the harrowing events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 in real time, documentary filmmaker Paul Greengrass presents the unforgettable drama of Sept. 11, 2001, as experienced by those on board and by those watching in horror on the ground. This compact yet powerful story earned Greengrass an Oscar nod and follows a disparate group of strangers that bands together for a common purpose, risking their lives so that others might live.
Feeling down? You've probably heard that watching a funny movie will cheer you up, but studies have shown watching depressing movies has a better chance of uplifting one's spirits.
Try These and Recommend More...
- Million Dollar Baby (2004 - PG13)
- Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood, who also directs) isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort (Morgan Freeman) to help her.
- Who Will Love My Children (Throwback 1983)
- Based on a true story of Iowa farm wife Lucile Fray, Ann-Margret plays a dying mother of ten who's last wish is to find loving families for her children.
- Blood Diamond (2006 - R)
- In war-ravaged Sierra Leone, diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) learns that a local fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) has stumbled upon a gigantic gem, and he offers to reunite the man with his family in exchange for the diamond. When Archer befriends a journalist (Jennifer Connelly) tracing "blood diamonds" that finance terrorist groups, he's faced with a choice between riches and humanity.
- The Butterfly Effect (2004 - R)
- If you could go back in time and undo a horrible childhood, would you? This 2004 thriller poses that complex question when college student Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher), who's besieged by tragic memories, discovers a way to alter his past. But if he does, will it make a difference?
- The Pianist
- Famed Polish concert pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody, in an Oscar-winning role) struggles to survive the onslaught of Nazi tyranny during World War II in this Roman Polanski-directed drama based on Szpilman's memoirs. In spite of his well-known musical talents, Szpilman spends several years holed up in Warsaw, barely alive and subsisting on scraps, until grace comes in the form of a second chance at music, at freedom and at life.
- The Elephant Man (1980 - PG)
- In this Oscar-nominated drama based on a true story, physically abnormal John Merrick (John Hurt) endures ostracizing, taunting behavior as a sideshow attraction in mid-19th century England. Despite his horribly disfigured face and body and barely perceptible speech, concerned doctor Frederick Treves (Sir Anthony Hopkins) recognizes Merrick to be highly intelligent and works to save the Elephant Man's dignity.
- Romulus, My Father
- Based on the critically acclaimed memoir of the same name, this heart-wrenching drama follows Romulus (Eric Bana), a flawed yet deeply committed father who struggles to raise his son in the face of his wife's mental illness and neglectful ways. Set in rural Australia, the film is an ode not only to a father who overcomes insurmountable odds, but also to a nation and its breathtaking landscapes.
- Steel Magnolias (1989 - PG)
- Sally Field and Oscar nominee Julia Roberts star as mother-daughter duo M'Lynn and Shelby, part of a tight-knit circle of Louisiana women whose lives intersect at Truvy's (Dolly Parton) beauty salon, in this character-driven drama rife with both laughter and tears.
- Crash (2005 - R)
- Tensions erupt when the tangled lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple converge over a 36-hour period in the diverse metropolis of post-9/11 Los Angeles.
- Beaches (1988 - PG13)
- Tensions erupt when the tangled lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple converge over a 36-hour period in the diverse metropolis of post-9/11 Los Angeles.
- City of Angels (1998 - PG13)
- When guardian angel Seth (Nicolas Cage) who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles becomes captivated by Maggie (Meg Ryan), a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth in this fantasy film.
- The Stoning of Soraya M. (2005 - R) Very difficult to watch.
- Set in 1986 Iran at the start of Khomeini's reign, director Cyrus Nowrasteh's drama tells the true story of Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), whose husband plots to have her falsely accused of adultery so he can divorce her and marry a young girl. French journalist Freidoune (Jim Caviezel) is pulled into Soraya's tragic story when he meets a desperate woman named Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo).
- Seven Pounds (2008 - PG13)
- Distraught over his wife's death -- and convinced that his own actions had something to do with it -- a depressed IRS agent (Will Smith) begins plotting his suicide, vowing to improve the lives of seven strangers in the process. But a chance meeting with a woman who has a life-threatening heart defect (Rosario Dawson) makes him think twice when their budding relationship suddenly feels a lot like love.
- P.S. I Love You (2007 - PG13)
- When she loses her beloved husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) to a brain tumor, grieving widow Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) is surprised to learn that he left a series of letters behind to help her cope with the pain of being without him. As the months drag on, Holly finds messages from Gerry that encourage her to go on living. But will the letters mire her deeper into the past, or will they give her the strength she needs to face the future?
- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008 - PG13)
- When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno (Asa Butterfield) befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy who lives on the other side of the fence, where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
- Big Fish (2003 - PG13)
- In this Tim Burton fantasy based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, William Bloom (Billy Crudup) tries to learn more about his dying father, Edward, by piecing together disparate facts from a lifetime of fantastical tales and legends of epic proportions. Ewan McGregor co-stars as the young Edward, a traveling salesman, with Albert Finney playing him as an older man.
