Watch something that makes you feel like you're not working hard enough. In a good way.
A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
Lynn, a brilliant student, after helping her friends to get the grades they need, develops the idea of starting a much bigger exam-cheating business.
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
After being deported back to Mexico, a man has no choice but to join the vicious drug cartel that has corrupted his hometown in order to survive.
This one ends and you immediately think about something you've been putting off.
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
A boy, bruised by life, finds his salvation through the love of his dogs.
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
The films that inspire action are usually not the ones trying to. They just show someone doing something hard really well.
The discipline and commitment in these films reads as ambition, however misapplied.
Something to watch when sleep won't cooperate.
The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned - including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.
This one ends and you immediately think about something you've been putting off.
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
This one ends and you immediately think about something you've been putting off.
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place - whoever finds K first will decide his fate - the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.
It shows what sustained effort looks like without making it feel impossible. That sticks.
Some films earn their effect. These do.