5. Paul Conroy - Buried
Why He's Awesome: Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is just a regular Joe, a trucker working in Iraq who considers himself to be a non-participant in the war, and merely a guy taking a job because he needs it. From phone calls with his family, we get the impression that he's an all-around good chap, and certainly not deserving of the fate that befalls him in this movie.
How He Got Shafted: After being fussed around for 90 minutes by the authorities who seem to only dubiously be attempting to rescue him, it finally seems like they're getting somewhere...but the rescuers turn up at the wrong location, instead unearthing the corpse of a guy they told Paul they had rescued some time earlier. As dirt begins to fill the coffin and seal Conroy's fate, all he can do is lie back and hope that the gravel crushes him to death before he suffocates. So, so grim.