to watch/ read

It's 1994 in Long Beach, California. Idealistic

1998. Ron Clark, still relatively early in his career, leaves his stable life teaching at an elementary school in his suburban North Carolina hometown, the school where he is appreciated by both his fellow teachers and his students for his innovative teaching methods which results in raising test scores. Instead, he decides to look for a teaching job at a tough New York inner city school where he feels he can be more useful. He eventually finds a job at Inner Harlem Elementary School, where the students are segregated according to their potential. As Clark is white and "nice" looking, Principal Turner wants to assign him to the honors class, especially as Turner's job security depends on good test scores. Clark, however, wants to take the most disadvantaged class. He quickly learns that it will be a battle of wills between himself and his disruptive students to see who can outlast the other. But he also learns that he has to understand them, both individually and collectively, on their level to be able to get through to them before he can teach them the standardized materials. But even the best laid plans can be turned askew by unforeseen events, such as illness and the behavior of others outside of his control. And he has to overcome the self-fulfilling prophecy of failure to instill a sense of worth within the students. Through it all, he is supported by Marissa Vega, the beautiful waitress at the restaurant where he works part-time.

The story of immigration attorney Judy Wood, and how she initiated the change in U.S. law of asylum to save women's lives.

In 2005, the only thing hurting Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez more than his face from a recent bike accident was his pressing need for story ideas. That is when he discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a mentally ill, homeless street musician who possesses extraordinary talent, even through his half-broken instruments. Inspired by his story, Lopez writes an acclaimed series of articles about Ayers and attempts to do more to help both him and the rest of the underclass of LA have a better life. However, Lopez's good intentions run headlong in the hard realities of the strength of Ayers' personal demons and the larger social injustices facing the homeless. Regardless, Lopez and Ayers must find a way to conquer their deepest anxieties and frustrations to hope for a brighter future for both of them.

The life story of legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel.

The autobiography of a Somalian nomad circumcised at 3, sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation (FGM).

An inspiring look at JK Rowling's rise to become one of the most influential writers-from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and awkward teenager to the loss of her mother and the genesis of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Based on the true story of the enduring but troubled love between Lois Wilson, co-founder of Al-Anon, and her alcoholic husband Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Janet Gregory, a single mother with a haunting past, is a paralegal struggling to overcome doubts about Calvin Willis, an African-American husband and father wrongfully accused of raping a neighborhood girl. Eventually convinced of his innocence, Janet takes Calvin's pro bono case and wages a dramatic and stormy 22-year battle with the justice system that ultimately redeems an unjustly accused man and cements a life-long friendship.

Dr.

In this poignant true story set in Montgomery, Alabama, a Klansman's grandson must choose which side of history to be on during the Civil Rights Movement. Defying his family and white Southern norms, he fought against social injustice, repression and violence to change the world around him. SON OF THE SOUTH is from executive producer Spike Lee and based on Bob Zellner's autobiography, "The Wrong Side of Murder Creek."

Alfred Blalock (1899-1964), a cardiologist (therefore, self-confident to the point of arrogance), leaves Vanderbilt for Johns Hopkins taking with him his lab technician, Vivien Thomas (1910-1985). Thomas, an African-American without a college degree, is a gifted mechanic and tool-maker with hands splendidly adept at surgery. In 1941, Blalock and Thomas take on the challenge of blue babies and invent bypass surgery. After trials on dogs, their first patient is baby Eileen, sure to die without the surgery. In defiance of custom and Jim Crow, Blalock brings Thomas into the surgery to advise him, but when Life Magazine and kudos come, Thomas is excluded. Will he receive his due?

Bill Porter, a man afflicted with cerebral palsy, is desperate to find a job despite his condition. He uses his sense of humor, determination, and winning spirit to convince a manager to hire him as a door-to-door salesman for Watkins, a supplier of household items and baking products. Porter walks several miles every day on his sales route, eventually working his way into the hearts of his customers.

Biopic of

Until about the age of seven, Lorenzo Odone was a normal child. After then, strange things began to happen to him: he would have blackouts, memory lapses, and other strange mental phemonenons. He is eventually diagnosed as suffering from ALD (adrenoleukodystrophy): an extremely rare incurable degenerative brain disorder. Frustrated at the failings of doctors and medicine in this area, the Odones begin to educate themselves in the hope of discovering something which can halt the progress of the disease.

Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.

When a gunman killed five Amish children and injured five others in a Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania schoolhouse shooting in October of 2006, the world media attention rapidly turned from the tragic events to the extraordinary forgiveness demonstrated by the Amish community. Through the eyes of a grieving mother, Ida Graber, and other devastated families, this movie explores the Amish's astonishing reaction to the horrific shootings - of forgiveness and compassion.

Biography of Ben Carson who grew up to be Dr. Ben Carson, a world famous neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins.