10 Movies It's Impossible To Finish Without Crying

2. Fruitvale Station

The upsettingly-true story of the murder of Oscar Grant in 2009 by police officers in 2009 is expertly brought to life by writer-director Ryan Coogler. Coogler re-teamed with his Fruitvale Station star, Michael B. Jordan, for this year's well-received Rocky spinoff - Creed - and there are no surprises as to why. The pair work extremely well together, with Coogler drawing a grounded, sympathetic performance out of Jordan, in the role of Grant. They paint the man as having flaws, like every other person on the planet, but is essentially a good man who is trying to turn his life around and provide for his girlfriend and daughter.

The young director ratchets up the tension as the film goes on, being that viewers know from the off that Oscar Grant gets shot. The film opens with mobile phone footage of the shooting, and it builds a looming sense of dread for the rest of the film as these characters rocket toward their destination in the third act, unknowingly unable to avoid the incident. By the time we get to Grant's ill-fated return journey from his New Year's Eve festivities, the pit in the bottom of viewers' stomachs only deepens as helplessness sets in. The tears come from the senseless nature of the shooting (which could easily have been avoided at multiple junctions), and the abject sorrow we feel for Grant's young daughter Tatiana as she is glimpsed in real life at the anniversary of her father's death some years later. Tragic and heartbreaking.