1962 | 2 hours 9 minutes | Directed by Robert Mulligan
 
Starring Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton
 
It might have been difficult for the film to measure up to the moving novel, which served as its inspiration. Yet, this masterwork by Robert Mulligan gracefully met the challenge and did it faithfully. Racial injustice, gender norms, compassion, and the loss of innocence are all prevalent themes in this courtroom drama/coming-of-age narrative hybrid. As attorney Atticus Finch defends a Black man, Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in 1930s Alabama, Gregory Peck, who plays Atticus, sensitively captures the conflict between the man's moral principles and his Southern origins. His portrayal and the movie as a whole provide a touching example of what it means to be a good lawyer, a good parent, and an honorable person.

1940 | 2 hours 9 minutes | Directed by John Ford
 
Starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
 
Henry Fonda plays Tom Joad, a flawed but stubborn man trying to better his family's lives after losing their farm to the Great Depression. Their arduous, enlightening journey to what they hope would be a better life in the West is the subject of this John Ford movie, which is based on the famous novel by John Steinbeck. Joad and his family are continually discouraged by what they see and encounter while traveling. And because there is so much negative foreshadowing throughout the movie, the spectator can hardly expect a joyful ending for the family. Nonetheless, the Joads battle against it with tenacity, fortitude, and optimism. The aesthetically pleasing black-and-white film powerfully illustrates one of life's eternal truths: the never-ceasing hope to fulfill our dreams.

1946 | 2 hours 10 minutes | Directed by Frank Capra
 
Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
 
Jimmy Stewart portrays George Bailey, a stressed-out family man who is angry about all the possibilities and goals that have eluded him over the years. He feels hopeless and gloomy about his existence. However, at his lowest, a guardian angel shows him how miserable life would be for the people he loves and his beautiful town if he had never lived. As Bailey realizes that everyone he encountered benefited greatly from his presence, his attitude toward gratitude changes dramatically, reminding us that sometimes, knowing that we are cherished is all we need.

1992 | 2 hours 8 minutes | Directed by Penny Marshall
 
Starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty
 
After appearing in Thelma & Louise, Geena Davis acted in this female-focused sports drama, A League of Their Own. Predominantly set during World War II, it follows a female baseball team coached by Tom Hanks and led by Davis. The bittersweet struggle between conventional expectations of women (marriage, family, and helping a husband) and the realities of their true potential (independence, ambition, athletic talent) sets it apart from previous sports movies. It serves as a reminder that women sometimes make surprising (or, more so, not conforming to society's norms) decisions and that having the freedom to make them is essential.

1993 | 1 hour 38 minutes | Directed by Jon Turteltaub
 
Starring John Candy, Leon, Doug E. Doug
 
In Cool Runnings, a professional sprinter sets his eyes on the Winter Olympics after just missing the cut for the 1988 Summer Olympic qualifications. Despite having no experience with snow, ice, or anything even vaguely relevant to the sport, he assembles a mismatched group of men into an impromptu bobsled team. Their only chance comes when they convince a hesitant former bobsled medalist (John Candy) to train them. Jon Turteltaub's picture, loosely based on an actual account, is light, entertaining, and corny—yet in the best way possible. Just remember that there is a Jamaican bobsled team when things seem impossible.

1994 | 2 hours 22 minutes | Directed by Robert Zemeckis
 
Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
 
Forrest Gump is arguably one of the most natural selections for this list. Although the town's citizens pitifully mock him for his low IQ, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has never thought of himself as lacking in any sort. With a good heart and an almost painfully naive innocence, he leads an extraordinary life. No grass grows under Forrest's feet, and he doesn't complain since he quickly realizes it is pointless. His life is full of adventures, both in and out of the spotlight, but he never lets his shyness or demeanor get the better of him. He gets knocked around by the winds of time, yet he always stands up. He is the epitome of an optimist.

1952 | 1 hour 25 minutes | Directed by Fred Zinnemann
 
Starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell
 
In the Western drama High Noon, a brave and tough-minded former marshal played by Gary Cooper deals with bullies, murderers, and the inherently complex idea of responsibility to society. When preparing to leave his tiny New Mexico town in the dust, the man of the law chooses to hold his position when a criminal he caught years before gets freed from prison and seeks revenge. Marshal Will Kane epitomizes the American idea of a hero: a man who defends the right even when no one else does and even when there is a tremendous temptation to bury one's head in the sand. Director Fred Zinnemann masterfully weaves a high-strung drama with a character coming to grips with his principles to tell a simple yet masterfully presented story.

1991 | 2 hours 10 minutes | Directed by Ridley Scott
 
Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel
 
We are most definitely not expected to praise Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon's nefarious personas they play. However, we are fervently encouraged to admire them. In Ridley Scott's quirky road trip film, Davis and Sarandon portray pals who flee into the desert after being involved in an elaborate crime. The pair, sought by law enforcement, must deal with interesting characters (such as a genuinely rakish Brad Pitt), sexist prejudices, and their own approaching deaths. It's a sympathetic, bittersweet tale of friendship, self-discovery, and love—for one another and oneself. It's simultaneously saucily humorous and sensitively heartbreaking.

1976 | 2 hours | Directed by John G. Avildsen
 
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
 
The 1976 movie is a classic David-and-Goliath story in which a small-time Philadelphia boxer with huge goals, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), squares up against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the heavyweight world champion. With its iconic training montages, fight scenes and beautiful moments of romance and sportsmanship, Rocky is ageless for its ferocity and heart. It's also full of confidence crises; we watch Rocky struggle with the highs and lows of his self-image as he learns to believe in his own knack. Rocky is ultimately about a guy who learns to trust in himself, exceeds past typical expectations, and makes the most out of his efforts.

1985 | 2 hours 34 minutes | Directed by Steven Spielberg
 
Starring Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey
 
A film adaption of Alice Walker's iconic novel follows Celie, a Southern Black woman, for 40 years through her tough life. She silently and courageously endures mistreatment, bias, and unjust treatment at every stage of her life. Although it may have seemed an odd pick to direct for Steven Spielberg, who was then best known for the action-adventure movies Jaws, E.T., and Indiana Jones, he nonetheless adapted a heartbreaking subject with competence, elegance, and fidelity. Yet Whoopi Goldberg, in her breakthrough performance as Celie, steals the show as the movie's true star. She moves viewers with her sensitive yet victorious portrayal of a woman's firm perseverance through her hardships.

2000 | 2 hours 11 minutes | Directed by Steven Soderbergh
 
Starring Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, David Brisbin
 
Julia Roberts is a delight to watch in every role, and her portrayal of Erin Brockovich is no exception. She plays the titular role, a single mother without a job who implores Ed Masry (Albert Finney), the lawyer she had been working with after a car accident, to recruit her as a legal assistant. Erin, who has no demonstrable skills but a strong drive and a stubborn demeanor, manages to wriggle her way into a job working as a file clerk for her former attorney. She finds a potential story and persuades Ed to allow her to look into it, which leads her to, almost single-handedly, discover a vast criminal cover-up involving a power company and a mysterious illness in the neighborhood. The scrabble she put up is truly inspiring.

2001 | 1 hour 36 minutes | Directed by Robert Luketic
 
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair
 
It's dubious that anyone could have predicted the film's enormous popularity when it first came out. This frequently quoted flick follows pink-clad sorority girl Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) as she applies and gets accepted to Harvard Law School. However, Elle doesn't want to become a lawyer; instead, she wants to show her ex-boyfriend (Matthew Davis) that she is intelligent and ambitious after he dumped her because she wasn't "serious" enough. However, her enthusiasm for law grows throughout the movie. The cliché "Don't judge a book by its cover" is the film's clear message. Still, Witherspoon and the rest of the cast tell it in such an endearing way that it's super fun and inspiring to follow.

1993 | 1 hour 54 minutes | Directed by David Anspaugh
 
Starring Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty
 
Sean Astin's character, Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger Jr., aspires to play football at Notre Dame. However, he doesn't have the grades for an academic or sports scholarship, and his family cannot cover the tuition fee. Every spectator can relate to some aspect of Rudy in some manner, which makes it nearly difficult to find a dry eye in the room by the film's climactic ending. Even though it is sentimental and a little predictable, it's still a good story about chasing a dream and a fair commentary on the fact that the "American Dream" is not just something that happens; it is something to be worked on and pursued.

2002 | 1 hour 41 minutes | Directed by Niki Caro
 
Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton
 
One of the most beautiful movies of the early 2000s, both aesthetically and theme-wise, was Whale Rider. The story of Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a young girl who wants to prove that she can do anything and everything the boys can, is set in New Zealand's North Island, providing a glimpse into the Māori community. Pai was raised by her traditional grandparents and is the next in line to become chief of her Māori village. However, her grandfather is adamantly opposed to her taking the reins. He regularly reminds her that she is "just" a girl. She spends the whole movie yearning for his favor and trying to disprove him. It's heartfelt, exquisitely shot, and inspirational without being in the slightest bit clichéd or cheesy.

2006 | 1 hour 41 minutes | Directed by Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
 
Starring Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear
 
In Little Miss Sunshine, nine-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) travels with her somewhat dysfunctional family on a cross-country road trip to participate in a beauty contest. Every scene in this character-driven movie has a reason for being there, and no moment is wasted. There's nothing light about it either; characters are treated with utter brutality, and below the bittersweet laughter and tears, the viewer may find play-by-play on anything from how twisted our pop culture can be to how our desire to be "#1" can make us forget about all the things that actually matter. Ultimately, it's really inspiring. Despite the disappointment and pretty much everything going wrong, this family lives by the statement, "So what; we'll find another way."

1999 | 1 hour 48 minutes | Directed by Joe Johnston
 
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern
 
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Homer Hickam, a young man who thinks that building homemade rockets in his backyard is his preferred destiny rather than following in his father's footsteps and becoming a miner. His father (Chris Cooper) naturally disapproves of his son's goals, but his schoolteacher (Laura Dern) fosters his enthusiasm. The impressive engineering exploits of Homer and his attempts to defy the expectations of his town are Joe Johnston's critical points of emphasis. Still, the most compelling conflict of the film is the boy's effort to earn his father's respect by demonstrating that he is becoming the person his father would be proud of.

2002 | 1 hour 52 minutes | Directed by Gurinder Chadha
 
Starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
 
Keira Knightley was propelled to cinematic stardom in this coming-of-age soccer film, but Bend It Like Beckham's cultural viewpoint and criticism really set it apart. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), a teenage girl madly in love with soccer (and David Beckham, obviously), is the subject of the narrative. Jess secretly joins a soccer team because she feels ensnared by her strict Indian parents and their expectation that she will one day become a homemaker and loving wife. She must then balance tending to both her family and coach (Jonathan Rhys Myers). Everyone who has experienced the pressure of trying to be someone they are not around loved ones will resonate with the film. The ultimate product is a beautiful and delightful sports movie about gender, culture, sexuality, diversity, and love.

2008 | 2 hours 8 minutes | Directed by Gus Van Sant
 
Starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch
 
The movie is based on the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to hold public office in the 1970s. At 40 years old, Milk, a closeted researcher at a securities firm played by Sean Penn, decides to travel to San Francisco with his partner to seek happiness. As a result of his distress and rage at the institutionalized bigotry against the LGBT community, Milk becomes a pillar of the city's gay rights movement. Before a catastrophic series of circumstances changes everything, he campaigns, makes a speech, and ultimately wins election to a position on the Board of Supervisors. Moving and inspiring, Milk’s influence on the LGBTQIA+ community cannot be exaggerated. He is a reminder of the impact that even the smallest of actions can have.

2011 | 1 hour 52 minutes | Directed by Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano
 
Starring François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny
 
Whether or not you've seen its buzzy successor, The Upside from 2017, The Intouchables served as its model, and both films are highly worth seeing. Omar Sy plays Driss, a paroled felon who lands a position as paralyzed Philippe's (François Cluzet) carer. The contrast between the two men could not be greater as they both come from very different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Their perspectives, beliefs, and objectives are wholly at odds—until they aren't. The movie's plot has no purpose but to show how a simple, accidental job may lead to a beautiful and inspiring friendship. It's a heartwarming tale about camaraderie with whatever marks this lovely virtue.