Best movies like Return to Paradise
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Lewis, Sheriff and Tony are three friends vacationing in Malaysia. Sheriff and Tony eventually leave to pursue careers in New York, but Lewis stays behind to work with orangutans. Two years later, Sheriff and Tony learn that, because of their past actions, Lewis has been arrested for drug possession. With Lewis facing a death sentence, the friends are left with a difficult decision: return to Malaysia and split Lewis' sentence, or let him die.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, sad, weeping, sincere, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating
Best tv shows and movies like Return to Paradise (1998):
Similar in 86%
Beautiful City (2004)
Plot Summary:
Akbar has just turned eighteen. He has been held in a rehabilitation centre for committing murder at the age of sixteen when he was condemned to death. Legally speaking, he had to reach the age of eighteen so that the conviction could be carried out. Now, Akbar is transferred to prison to await the day of his execution. A'la, a friend of Akbar, who himself has undergone imprisonment for burglary, soon after his release tries desperately to gain the consent of Akbar's plaintiff so as to stop the execution.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Iran
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: emotional, psychological, thought provoking, serious, realistic, sad, islamic, contemplative
Similar in 82%
Allegiance (2012)
Plot Summary:
After being granted a questionable transfer that will keep him stateside as his National Guard unit deploys for Iraq, Lieutenant Danny Sefton becomes embroiled in a last minute AWOL attempt by one of his soldiers — forcing him to choose between his loyalties to the fleeing soldier, his unit and his fiancé.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 634
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 81%
The Break (1997)
Plot Summary:
Dowd, an IRA prisoner in the H-blocks, is gloomily facing his sentence, until he joins a comrade in a risky escape. Dowd begins a new life in New York, but he might as well be in prison again - until he strikes up a friendship with co-worker Tulio and gets to know his close group of Guatemalan exiles.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 394
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Japan
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, independent film
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Similar in 88%
Return to Sender (2004)
Plot Summary:
While fighting for a woman who sits on death row, a lawyer happens upon new information which brings into question the motives of a man associated with her client.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Denmark, USA, UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, sincere, suspense, serious, realistic
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Similar in 88%
It's All About Love (2003)
Plot Summary:
The story of two lovers and their attempts to save their relationship in a near-future world on the brink of cosmic collapse. John, and world-famous ice skating star, Elena, are about to sign divorce papers when they realise that, in spite of everything happening around them, their love is worth fighting for. It's All About Love is a fresh take on modern love and future life as two lovers struggle in a conspiracy of epic proportions.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Denmark, France, Canada, Spain, USA, Japan, Sweden, UK, Italy, Germany, Netherlands
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: philosophical, psychological, enigmatic, suspenseful, stylized, touching, realistic, apocalyptic, tech noir, atmospheric
Similar in 81%
Brokedown Palace (1999)
Plot Summary:
Best friends Alice and Darlene take a trip to Thailand after graduating high school. In Thailand, they meet a captivating Australian man, who calls himself Nick Parks. Darlene is particularly smitten with Nick and convinces Alice to take Nick up on his offer to treat the two of them to what amounts to a day trip to Hong Kong. In the airport, the girls are seized by the police and shocked to discover that one of their bags contains heroin.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, intense, thought provoking, serious, captivating, emotional, political thriller, touching, depressing
Similar in 85%
Blind Injustice (2005)
Plot Summary:
A blind woman finds herself the target of an attacker again after the person originally convicted of her rape is found to be innocent of the crime.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 236
Genere: Thriller, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 78%
Lockdown (2000)
Plot Summary:
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, serious, realistic, hood, crime drama, bleak, independent film
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Similar in 85%
Perfect Witness (1989)
Plot Summary:
A witness to a mob killing has second thoughts about testifying when he realizes his family might become a target.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 479
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 85%
Last Dance (1996)
Plot Summary:
Upon taking a new job, young lawyer Rick Hayes is assigned to the clemency case of Cindy Liggett, a woman convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. As Hayes investigates the background for her case, the two begin to form a deep friendship, while all the while the date for her execution draws nearer.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, intense, tense, serious, suspenseful, suspense, erotic, detective, black and white
Similar in 82%
Witness (1985)
Plot Summary:
A sheltered Amish child is the sole witness of a brutal murder in a restroom at a Philadelphia train station, and he must be protected. The assignment falls to a taciturn detective who goes undercover in a Pennsylvania Dutch community. On the farm, he slowly assimilates despite his urban grit and forges a romantic bond with the child's beautiful mother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 103000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, sexy, captivating, suspense, intense, serious, realistic, exciting, romantic
Similar in 87%
Civil Brand (2002)
Plot Summary:
Forced to work under slave-like conditions in a "prison for profit" program, the inmates of a mostly-African-American female prison, Whitehead Correctional, try to take over the institution. At the core of the story is Frances, who finds herself in prison after being falsely convicted of murder, and who is told that her baby has been murdered, sparking her to lead her fellow inmates in the protest.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 790
Genere: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, bleak, disturbing, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, hood, independent film
Similar in 76%
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)
Plot Summary:
Carl Panzram is sent to Leavenworth Prison for burglary. While there, he is brutally beaten by a guard. Neophyte guard Henry Lesser feels sympathy for Panzram, befriends him, and gets him to write his life story. Lesser learns that Panzram's past is much more violent than he thought, but also that he's capable of being a much better person than the rest of the prison staff believes - or so Lesser thinks.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, psychological, unusual plot structure, bloody
Similar in 87%
Hamlet (2000)
Plot Summary:
Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: meditative, intense, psychological, cynical, serious, atmospheric, clever, fairy tale, spiritual, sweet
Similar in 78%
A Dry White Season (1989)
Plot Summary:
Taking place during the 1976 Soweto uprising, the story follows a white school teacher whose life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: talky, emotional, disturbing, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, political, retro, thinking
Similar in 76%
What Doesn't Kill You (2008)
Plot Summary:
Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, rough, captivating, realistic, cerebral, sincere
Similar in 80%
The Yards (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, neo noir, emotional, talky, intense, rough, realistic, atmospheric, psychological
Similar in 78%
The Confession (1999)
Plot Summary:
After his young son dies from the negligience of medical professionals at a hospital, Harry Fertig (Kinglsey) takes matters into his own hands and kills the negligent doctors responsible. Slick lawyer Roy Bleakie (Baldwin), looking only to win a case and not caring of the matters involved, is assigned Fertig's case. Shocked to hear that his client wants to plead guilty, the case causes Bleakie to question his own morals by defending an honorable man.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, captivating, suspense, inspirational, independent film
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Similar in 87%
True Crime (1999)
Plot Summary:
Boozer, skirt chaser, careless father. You could create your own list of reporter Steve Everett's faults but there's no time. A San Quentin Death Row prisoner is slated to die at midnight – a man Everett has suddenly realized is innocent.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, psychological, suspense, serious, tense, clever, thought provoking, mysterious, action thriller, crime thriller
Similar in 78%
Murder in the First (1995)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by a true story. A petty criminal sent to Alcatraz in the 1930s is caught attempting to make an escape. As punishment he is put in solitary confinement. The maximum stay is supposed to be 19 days, but Henri spends years alone, cold and in complete darkness, only to emerge a madman and soon to be a murderer. The story follows a rookie lawyer attempting to prove that Alcatraz was to blame.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspense, dramatic, emotional, depressing, sincere, dark, period piece, crime drama, historical drama, suspense thriller
Similar in 78%
The Chamber (1996)
Plot Summary:
Having survived the hatred and bigotry that was his Klansman grandfather's only legacy, young attorney Adam Hall seeks at the last minute to appeal the old man's death sentence for the murder of two small Jewish boys 30 years before. Only four weeks before Sam Cayhall is to be executed, Adam meets his grandfather for the first time in the Mississippi prison which has held him since the crime. The meeting is predictably tense when the educated, young Mr. "Hall" confronts his venom-spewing elder, Mr. "Cayhall," about the murders. The next day, headlines run proclaiming Adam the grandson who has come to the state to save his grandfather, the infamous Ku Klux Klan bomber. While the old man's life lies in the balance, Adam's motivation in fighting this battle becomes clear as the story unfolds. Not only does he fight for his grandfather, but perhaps for himself as well. He has come to heal the wounds of his own father's suicide.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: emotional, suspense, thought provoking, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, talky, anamorphic, contemplative
Similar in 76%
The Human Stain (2003)
Plot Summary:
Coleman Silk is a worldly and admired professor who loses his job after unwittingly making a racial slur. To clear his name, Silk writes a book about the events with his friend and colleague Nathan Zuckerman, who in the process discovers a dark secret Silk has hidden his whole life. All the while, Silk engages in an affair with Faunia Farley, a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, erotic, sexy, melancholic, talky, intellectual, sincere, serious, clever
Similar in 78%
Class Action (1991)
Plot Summary:
Liberal activist lawyer Jedediah alienated daughter Maggie years ago when she discovered his many affairs. Now a conservative corporate lawyer, Maggie agrees to go up against her father in court. To gain promotion, she must defend an auto manufacturer against charges that their explosion-prone station wagons are unsafe. As her mother begs for peace, Maggie takes on her dad in a trial that turns increasingly personal and nasty.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: suspense, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic, talky, emotional, clever, contemplative, exciting
Similar in 85%
Changing Lanes (2002)
Plot Summary:
A rush-hour fender-bender on New York City's crowded FDR Drive, under most circumstances, wouldn't set off a chain reaction that could decimate two people's lives. But on this day, at this time, a minor collision will turn two complete strangers into vicious adversaries. Their means of destroying each other might be different, but their goals, ultimately, will be the same: Each will systematically try to dismantle the other's life in a reckless effort to reclaim something he has lost.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 74000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, harsh, realistic, psychological thriller, tense, clever, suspense, intense, bleak, serious
Similar in 77%
Red Corner (1997)
Plot Summary:
An American attorney on business in China, ends up wrongfully on trial for murder and his only key to innocence is a female defense lawyer from the country.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, suspense, political, intense, psychological, thought provoking, serious, disturbing, rough, talky
Similar in 89%
Absence of Malice (1981)
Plot Summary:
A prosecutor leaks a false story that liquor warehouse owner Michael Gallagher is involved in the murder of a union head, and as newspaper reporter Megan Carter picks up the story and attempts to find the real truth, Gallagher's life begins to unravel.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: suspense, talky, serious, realistic, tense, thought provoking, clever, neo noir, entertaining, sincere
Similar in 82%
...and justice for all. (1979)
Plot Summary:
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is asked to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial. But if he doesn't do it, the judge will have him disbarred.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, realistic, disturbing, clever, offbeat, humorous, witty, cynical, captivating, inspirational
Similar in 78%
The Verdict (1982)
Plot Summary:
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his luck lawyer, reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing. Former associate Mickey Morrissey reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit that he himself served to Galvin on a silver platter: all parties willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, he suddenly realizes that perhaps after all the case should go to court; to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients, and to restore his standing as a lawyer.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, atmospheric, intense, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, suspenseful, clever
Similar in 80%
The Life of David Gale (2003)
Plot Summary:
A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 125000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Germany, Spain, USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, thought provoking, suspense, twist ending, serious, psychological, emotional, disturbing, rough, philosophical
Similar in 90%
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Plot Summary:
A justice drama based on a true story about a man on death row who in his last days forms a strong relationship with a nun who teaches him forgiveness and gives him spirituality as she accompanies him to his execution.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, thought provoking, sad, emotional, atmospheric, suspense, depressing, serious, realistic