The feeling that no film could possibly help is usually wrong. These usually help.
After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.
Reliable in a way that matters. Even when nothing sounds good, this one tends to hold.
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
It doesn't ask you to be in the right mood for it. It adjusts.
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.
Reliable in a way that matters. Even when nothing sounds good, this one tends to hold.
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Reliable in a way that matters. Even when nothing sounds good, this one tends to hold.
In late 19th century Hong Kong, the British may rule the land, but the pirates rule the waters. Coast Guard officer Dragon Ma is determined that his beloved Coast Guard will not be made a fool of.
It doesn't ask you to be in the right mood for it. It adjusts.
The best films for when nothing feels right have a quality of steadiness. They don't demand anything of your mood.
Hard to stay disengaged from. Gets you out of your head.
French secret service agent Josselin Beaumont is dispatched to take down African warlord N'Jala. But when his assignment is canceled, he's shocked to learn that his government is surrendering him to local authorities. He is given a mock trial and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. But Beaumont escapes from prison and vows not only to avenge himself against his betrayers but also to finish his original assignment.
Reliable in a way that matters. Even when nothing sounds good, this one tends to hold.
After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on a relatively green but highly recommended Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter to the USS Alabama, which may be the only ship able to stop a possible Armageddon. When Ramsey insists that the Alabama must act aggressively, Hunter, fearing they will start rather than stop a disaster, leads a potential mutiny to stop him.
It doesn't ask you to be in the right mood for it. It adjusts.
Mr. Money is holding another World Martial Arts Tournament and Mr. Satan invites everyone in the world to join in. Little does he know that Bojack, an ancient villain who has escaped his prison, is competing. Since Goku is currently dead, it is up to Gohan, Vegeta, and Trunks to defeat Bojack and his henchman.
Reliable in a way that matters. Even when nothing sounds good, this one tends to hold.
In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.
It doesn't ask you to be in the right mood for it. It adjusts.
Tensions run high when a crazed bomber rigs a Los Angeles bus with a device that will kill everyone on board if the vehicle's speed dips below fifty miles per hour.
Reliable in a way that matters. Even when nothing sounds good, this one tends to hold.
These films work because they match where you actually are, not where you think you should be.