Best movies like Hard Choices
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A teenaged boy goes for a ride with his brother and the brother's friends, who proceed to rob a store and murder the clerk. They are caught and, despite the young boy's protestations, he is convicted of murder and sent to prison. A female social worker assigned to the boy's case not only believes him, but begins to fall in love with him, and determines to either help him prove his innocence or escape.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 142
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Hard Choices (1984):
Similar in 76%
Trans (1998)
Plot Summary:
Ryan Kazinski, 16, is in juvenile detention in Fort Myers, Florida. He gets away one day, and the world is all before him: where should he go, what should he do? Should he try to find his mom? Should he head for Colorado, where he's daydreamed about life in the woods. He has a younger brother, so under cover of night, Ryan visits him. At night, Ryan is on the streets where there are other youth at loose ends, including one who wants Ryan to help with a burglary. The police are looking for him as well. Where might a 16-year-old of limited experience, with no money, imagine he could be safe?.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 429
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: independent film, atmospheric, serious, realistic, experimental
Similar in 81%
Wild Youth (1960)
Plot Summary:
A teenage escapee from a correctional facility falls in with a drug dealer operating near the Mexican border.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 137
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, exciting, rough, sexy, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Murder 1, Dancer 0 (1983)
Plot Summary:
Private eye Joe Dancer finds himself framed for manslaughter while trying to uncover a Hollywood scandal that could ruin a studio and destroy a top star's career.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 61
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 83%
Rhapsody (2001)
Plot Summary:
The life of a beautiful rising female recording star is placed in jeopardy when she witnesses the drive-by shooting of a rival rap-star in Las Vegas. Wanted by both the killers and the corrupt police, the young woman must go into hiding while three of her kick-ass friends root-out the truth to the situation.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 84
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 90%
Water & Power (2013)
Plot Summary:
Twin brothers nicknamed "Water" and "Power" from the hard scrabble Eastside streets of Los Angeles rise like prince's through the city's political and police ranks to become players in a complex and dangerous web of the powerful and corrupt of Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 78%
A New York Heartbeat (2013)
Plot Summary:
Spider, a young gang leader, gets in over his head when he robs a notorious gangster. On the run, he's taken in by a sheltered young woman and her reclusive uncle, a legendary mobster gunned down by the same gangster now pursuing Spider.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 311
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, emotional, suspenseful, realistic, independent film, neo noir
Similar in 84%
Brass (1985)
Plot Summary:
The Chief of Detectives of the New York Police Department, is a tough cop who has worked his way up the ladder from being on a beat.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 85%
American Born (1990)
Plot Summary:
A teenager who is obsessed with gangster movies believes himself to be a real gangster after his father is murdered.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 71
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Dance with the One (2010)
Plot Summary:
Nate's little brother and hippie dad depend on him for literally everything, but the well-meaning, small time pot dealer Nate wants nothing more than to run away with Nikki, the love of his life, and get out of Texas.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 24
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, suspense, exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 87%
Weapons (2007)
Plot Summary:
Weapons presents a series of brutal, seemingly random youth-related killings over the course of a weekend in a typical small town in America, and tragically reveals how they are all interrelated.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 648
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, hood, crime drama, bleak, realistic, non-linear
Similar in 89%
Hazard (2005)
Plot Summary:
Shin is a Japanese university student living a boring and meaningless life. One day, he spots a book titled Dangerous Ways to Walk the World, in which he finds a page written about hazards in New-York. Eager to get out, he jets off to New-York to find this inspiration.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 823
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 77%
Kansas (1988)
Plot Summary:
A drifter becomes both a bank robber and a hero in this crime thriller. Andrew McCarthy stars as Wade Corey, who hitches a ride on a freight train already occupied by Doyle Kennedy (Matt Dillon), a charming ex-con who convinces Wade to accompany him to his hometown. Once there, Wade realizes too late that Doyle is intent on robbing the local bank. After they are separated following the crime, Wade hides the money. Happening upon a drowning in progress, he saves a young girl who just happens to be the daughter of the state governor, and he becomes an unlikely hero. Finding work at a nearby farm, the meandering Wade becomes a hired hand, falls for the beautiful daughter (Leslie Hope) of his boss, and dreads the return of Doyle, who is sure to come looking for his money.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Cold Around the Heart (1997)
Plot Summary:
A jewel thief moves towards a reunion of revenge with his lover, who pushed him out of their speeding getaway car.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, cynical
Similar in 79%
Ready 2 Die (2014)
Plot Summary:
After a violent bank robbery, the trio of hoods make their way across East L.A. carrying a blood-soaked bag of money. When word gets out, they must fend off gangs and crooked cops alike as they strive to keep the loot and stay alive.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 851
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 89%
Like a Puppet Out of Strings (2006)
Plot Summary:
Two Brothers; Tom and Felipe, have moved up the ranks of the street gangs because they have no greater devotion than the protection of each other. Luis, former gang member, is now a cop, his life having been turned around by Angelica, a female cop. When Tom is blamed for the shooting death of Angelica, a crime his brother Felipe committed, Felipe is forced to agree to Luis' terms in order to save Tom. Luis decides to convert Felipe just like he had been converted 10 years earlier. Eventually the brothers must face each other on the opposite sides of the law and chose between right and wrong, thier past and their future.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 14
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
Women's Prison (1988)
Plot Summary:
A young woman about to get married discovers all too late that her spouse has mafia connections, when violence breaks out during her wedding. Caught up in the crossfire Lynn gets arrested and thrown into a women's prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 98
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Normal Life (1996)
Plot Summary:
Chris Anderson and his wife Pam live a fairly normal life until Chris loses his job on the police force and secretly turns to robbing banks to make his wife's dreams come true. Upon discovering his secret, she joins his deadly crime wave and together they terrorize an unsuspecting suburban town.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, erotic, exciting, sexy, enigmatic, unusual plot structure
Similar in 85%
Accused at 17 (2009)
Plot Summary:
A teenager is accused of murdering a classmate and claims that she was framed by her best friend. Her mother must try to find the truth.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious
Similar in 85%
Wild Seven (2006)
Plot Summary:
In this darkly karmic vision of Arizona, a man who breathes nothing but ill will begins a noxious domino effect as quickly as an uncontrollable virus kills. As he exits Arizona State Penn after twenty-one long years, Wilson has only one thing on the brain, leveling the score with career criminal, Mackey Willis.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, captivating, suspense, realistic
Similar in 83%
Jesse Stone: No Remorse (2010)
Plot Summary:
Police Chief Jesse Stone, who was suspended by the Paradise, Mass. Town Council, begins moonlighting for his friend, State Homicide Commander Healy, by investigating a series of murders in Boston, leaving Rose and Suitcase to handle a crime spree in Paradise on their own. Jesse pours his energy into his work in an effort to push away his twin demons: booze and women. When his investigation leads to notorious mob boss Gino Fish, Jesse's pursuit becomes hazardous.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic
Similar in 87%
Love Is the Drug (2006)
Plot Summary:
Jonah Brand (John Patrick Amedori) isn't necessarily the type of guy who would interest ultra-hot Sara Weller (Lizzy Caplan). But when she and her friends find out he works at a pharmacy, they charm him into their circle and gain his trust with manipulative fawning. Jonah knows he's playing with danger, but it's tough to resist the game. Daryl Hannah and D.J. Cotrona co-star in this grizzly tale of addiction and obsession.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 794
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, independent film, suspense, suspenseful, dark, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Breaking Point (1976)
Plot Summary:
The Mafia tries to take revenge against a man who testified against them in court.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Wisdom (1986)
Plot Summary:
Unable to find work after a past felony, graduate John Wisdom and his girlfriend embark on a cross-country bank-robbing spree in order to aid American farmers.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: political, independent film, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, road movie, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 85%
Bonnie & Clyde: The Real Story (1992)
Plot Summary:
Bonnie Parker is estranged from her husband while still only just barely eighteen. Clyde Barrow, a handsome charmer who is in love with Bonnie, is a small-time thief, 'borrowing' cars to teach Bonnie to drive. He falls in with WD Jones, and their crime levels quickly rise. Soon Bonnie is dragged in with them, due to her love for Clyde, and within a short space of time, everyone is baying for the blood of Bonnie and Clyde.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, disturbing, saga, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Too Young to Die? (1990)
Plot Summary:
An abused 15 year old is charged with a murder that carries the death penalty in this fact-based story.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: emotional, retro, neo noir, sad, cult classic, teen, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
El padrino (2004)
Plot Summary:
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 762
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 76%
Laws of Gravity (1992)
Plot Summary:
Jimmy and Jon are a couple of Brooklyn guys who somehow never found their way into workaday society; they never found their way into big-time crime, either.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: neo noir, independent film, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neorealism, cult film
Similar in 89%
Outlaw Country (2012)
Plot Summary:
A crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty where music, love, hope and tragedy collide. Created as a pilot for a TV Series which was not taken up, this has now been aired as a TV Movie.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 715
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, captivating, tense, independent film, rough
Similar in 81%
Gang Tapes (2001)
Plot Summary:
When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, hood, tense, suspense, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 89%
New Jersey Drive (1995)
Plot Summary:
New Jersey Drive is a 1995 film about black youths in Newark, New Jersey, the unofficial "car theft capital of the world". Their favorite pastime is that of everybody in their neighborhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts when they steal a police car and the cops launch a violent offensive that involves beating and even shooting suspects.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: realistic, hood, brutal, melancholic, rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, cult classic, independent film