Every year's end brings a new one's beginning, and with it comes the annual parade of resolutions, those well-intentioned to-dos of spending less, reading more, eating healthier and the like. But no matter how earnest those New Year's goals, we all could use a little extra boost of inspiration to keep those plans going well past January 2026 — that's where these motivational movies come in.
From swoon-worthy romances to uplifting sports dramas, these five inspiring movies each make for a galvanizing watch, whether you're looking to become more physically active, emotionally open yourself up to love, professionally change your station in life, or, in the case of one famed football flick, lead your team to greatness.
'Remember the Titans'
Based on real events, this Boaz Yakin-directed gridiron drama tells the remarkably true story of Herman Boon (Denzel Washington), a newly appointed African-American football coach who faces fierce racial tensions and professional clashes as he tries to integrate the T. C. Williams High School's team in 1970s Virginia.
Under Boon's tough tutelage, the players — portrayed by Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, Ethan Suplee and a young Ryan Gosling, among others — learn to forgo their biases and find brotherhood in the run-up to the championship game.
"An inspirational crowd-pleaser with a healthy dose of social commentary, 'Remember the Titans' may be predictable, but it's also well-crafted and features terrific performances," reads the critical consensus over on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch "Remember the Titans" on Disney+ now
'Amélie'
Whimsical and wondrous, the 2001 French film "Amélie" follows Audrey Tatou's Amélie Poulain, a shy Parisian waitress who spends her days enjoying simple, albeit lonely, pleasures like going to the cinema solo and cracking crème brûlée.
After discovering the childhood treasure box of a long-lost neighbor, however, Amélie dedicates herself to orchestrating small acts of kindness for those around her, from acting as a matchmaker for her café co-worker to narrating neighborhood happenings to a local blind man. But an encounter with an equally quirky man (Mathieu Kassovitz) leaves Amélie questioning whether she can conjure up that same kind of happiness for herself.
Directed and co-written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the sumptuous rom-com received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Foreign Language Film and kudos for its screenplay, art direction, sound and gorgeous cinematography.
Rent/buy "Amélie" on Prime Video now
'The Pursuit of Happyness'
Based on the 2006 memoir of the same name by Chris Gardner and Quincy Troupe, this moving biographical drama recounts Gardner's real-life struggles with homelessness while raising his young son.
Portrayed in a heartfelt, Oscar-nominated performance by Will Smith, Chris Gardner is a struggling San Francisco salesman in the early 1980s whose marriage is crumbling and whose business — selling portable bone-density scanners to doctors and those in the medical field — is not bringing in enough money to support the family. Chris is soon left single and evicted, navigating shelters and hardships with his son Christopher Jr. (played by Smith's IRL son Jaden Smith) in tow, but gets a luck-changing break when he lands an internship at a prestigious brokerage firm.
Watch "The Pursuit of Happyness" on Pluto TV now
'Brittany Runs a Marathon'
Many New Year's resolutions revolve around physical fitness, and it's a goal that Brittany Forgler — the titular lead of Paul Downs Colaizzo's 2019 glow-up comedy "Brittany Runs a Marathon," played by "Workaholics" star Jillian Bell — can certainly relate to. After being told by her doctor that she needs to get healthy, the hard-partying, 28-year-old New Yorker sets the ambitious goal of completing the New York City Marathon, despite very much not being a runner.
That daunting pursuit kicks off a relatably funny journey of self-improvement, from Brittany's professional life to her romantic prospects, the latter of which are focused on an intriguing pet sitter named Jern (Utkarsh Ambudkar). With a solid 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics praised the flick as "an earnest and hilarious dramedy that finally gives Jillian Bell a role worthy of her gifts."
Watch "Brittany Runs a Marathon" on Prime Video now
'Good Will Hunting'
Heartening both onscreen and off — twentysomething stars-slash-writers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck each took home their first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 1997 drama and gave one of the Oscars' most rousing acceptance speeches in the process — Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting" tells the story of lowly Boston janitor Will Hunting (Damon), whose untapped mathematical genius is discovered by a professor at MIT (Stellan Skarsgård).
Soon, the troubled, headstrong young man is connected with compassionate psychologist Sean Maguire (an Oscar-winning Robin Williams) and charming Harvard grad Skylar (Minnie Driver), who both change the course of Will's life.
With a near-perfect 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics have praised the modern-day classic for its "entertaining, emotionally rich drama" and powerful performances from Damon, Williams and co.
Watch "Good Will Hunting" on Pluto TV now
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