For me, most movies I watch just feel like a waste of time while others I feel as though I got a little entertainment value from.
But there are some that really make you think about yourself, your life and the path you are currently on. These are the movies that somehow changes the way you think about things and make you really want to take control of your life.
Even if it is a temporary feeling or a life changing one, movies that have the power to move us in such a way should be an inspiration to us all.
We've all encountered movies like these, but here is a list of 10 movies that that have either inspired or motivated me, even if for a short while.
Keep in mind that these are more current movies (I haven't really seen some of the older movies) and that most of these are more mainstream movies. Here they are in no particular order:
1) The Pursuit Of Happyness
This is your classic rags to riches story and one of the reasons this one stands out is that it is based on a true story. It's a story of how someone with so little manages to stay true to himself and how he made it from living on the streets with his son, to multi-millionaire.As you watch this movie, you sometimes had to ask yourself "How much worse can this guy's life get" and as you watch him struggle on a day to day basis, you just have to admire his determination, his dreams, and his aspirations.
Despite having to work as an unpaid intern with no guarantee of a job afterwards and despite having to compete with some of the elite from various business school, Chris Gardner (whose life the movie is based on) never gave up.
Chris Gardner's story leaves you thinking that if he can do it, so can I.
2) Forrest Gump
Here is a story of a simple minded child that we watch grow up into a man and the sheer number of things he is able to accomplish it astounding. Despite having the IQ of a child, we see Forrest Gump accomplish more things than what most people can ever dream of.It also gets you thinking - if you were to view life through a child's eye (as was the case with Forrest Gump) with no limiting beliefs, you can really go far.
Had this been based on a real story, Forrest Gump would have been an inspiration to us all!
3) The Family Man
This is a more modern re-make of the classic "It's A Wonderful Life".Here we find very successful man that can have anything he wants - drives an expensive car, has all the women he wants, and can buy whatever he pleases.
Then one day he finds himself waking up to a family he could have had with an old flame had he made different decisions in life. Even though he seems to struggle living this middle class life, in the end, he learns to love it.
This movie just reminds us of the opportunities that exist for all of us and that we have the power to change our lives significantly depending on which opportunities we choose to follow.
4) The Secret
This is a movie I watched not too long ago and was a real eye opener.Not really a movie and not really a documentary, it consists of several interviews with well respected people from around the world and is mainly about having a success-intended mind and explains why is it that people who constantly find themselves in bad situations never seem to get out and how one can turn it around.
It explain such things as the law of attraction and the power of the mind and after watching this movie, you are bound to feel and think differently on your approach to love, life, wealth, and success.
5) The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy
Okay - you might be wondering what this trilogy is doing here, but if you take a look at the story, it truly is inspiring.First, take a look at some of the main characters: hobbits - who are a type of people that live in underground dwellings in close knit communities and rarely venture outside their own lands. They live a simple life and could care less of the dealing of outsiders.
They are somewhat ignorant as to what lay outside their lands and most of their knowledge comes by way of rumors or extravagant stories.
But here you have two hobbits who travel far and wide and encounter countless obstacles, beasts and enemies to save the entire land.
With so many other powerful creatures that roam the land, how is it that these two small people, with no special skills or experience, can accomplish so much. No matter how dire their situation was, they were determined and never gave up - something we can all learn from.
6) Glory
If you haven't seen this multi-academy award winning movie, I'll give you a brief description.Based on a true story, this all-star cast (Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick) delivers a truly amazing performance about the 54th Massachusetts infantry - an all volunteer, all black regiment - one of the first during the Civil War.
In a fight to abolish slavery, this regiment was in essence fighting for their freedom and despite the lack of equipment and experience, and despite resentment from other white regiments and the Union army, they prevailed.
Eventually they fought and suffered major casualties but were proud to lead the charge at Fort Wagner - a strategic military target. Their success led to the raising of other all black regiments, which helped the Union eventually win the Civil War.
It was truly an inspiring movie about those who were willing to fight to the death in something they believed in.
7) Saving Private Ryan
Amidst all the horror of World War II, we find a small band of men whose sole purpose is to find one man (Private Ryan) deep in enemy territory to tell him he can go home (because 3 of his brothers were killed in action).Eventually, most of these men will lose their lives just to save this one person. At the time, Private Ryan refuses to go back and seems somewhat ungrateful for what this small group of men had to go through.
It is only when Private Ryan is old and gray does he realize what that small group of men did for him and as we see Private Ryan with his family and grandchildren do we really see what their sacrifice meant.
8) Star Wars (Episodes I - VI)
Well what can I say? Star Wars in and of itself was not so much inspiring, but it was the philosophies of the Jedi which seemed so universal that it could have applied to life in general.Really listen and take heed of what the Jedi were trying to teach to it's disciples - focus, discipline, emotional management, and social conduct were among the recurring themes and even though the Jedi had powers that were superior to mere mortals, their philosophies can ring true in your life.
9) The Matrix
The thing I like about the Matrix is that it has you thinking outside the box. You think about the main character and how he had to release and let go of all his limiting beliefs and how he had to realize that he was ultimately in control.It was also interesting to see Neo (the main character) taking his first steps in learning about the truth and how Morpheus guides him to change his thinking. By making Neo believe he was faster, and making him believe he could do it, and making him break his limiting beliefs, he was able to achieve things that he thought were impossible.
"Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve" were the famous words written by Napoleon Hill and in The Matrix, we really see it in action.
In one scene, Morpheus tells Neo "Don't think you are faster - know you are faster" - a line that blew me away when I recently re-watched the movie because it is this kind of thinking that the Law of Attraction and success gurus always preach.
10) Minority Report
Alright - some of you may not have seen this one, so I'll give a brief overview (there may be some spoilers below so don't read it if you really want to watch the movie).Minority Report takes place in the not too distant future where they have created a machine that can look into the future. People can sort of see fuzzy images and actions that will occur in the near future and thus a new crime division is setup to stop crimes before they actually happen.
We see these "pre-crime" cops arrest individuals for crimes they have yet to commit.
Problems arise when this machine shows evidence of a crime that will be committed by one of their own.
What makes this movie inspirational is that despite all the evidence and everything that was seen about the imminent future, the main character is able to make a decision that ultimately alters what is about to happen.
Even though the main character and everyone else really believes that the crime will be committed by him, he breaks his limiting beliefs by truly believing that he has the power to control his destiny (despite all the evidence otherwise).
So there you have it - 10 movies that make you want to take control of your life. If you have any suggestions, please leave them via comments and I'll be sure to try to watch them and I may post a part 2 of this list!
