Whether you Netflix or matinee, movies provide a cheap, albeit fleeting, diversion fromyour monetary woes. The following movies offer valuable lessons that are gleaned from avariety of sources, ranging from single mothers to stockbrokers to soulless salesmen. Asnecessity is the mother of invention, there’s no better time than the present to learn a fewlessons from the silver screen.

The Oscars mean a lot of things for different people. For some, it’s a two to three hour ceremony that crowns the best and brightest cinematic achievements of the year. For others, it’s a chance to watch Hollywood’s hottest and “nottest” strut across the red carpet. And for a final select group, specifically those actors and actresses nominated for a 24-karat golden statuette, it’s a potential launching pad for the rest of their career. After all, winning an Oscar is one thing, but using it for more than just bragging rights or a paperweight is a whole other ballgame.

Sports movies are usually not supposed be too realistic. We watch them for their sheer entertainment value - the motivational speeches, the buzzer beating shots, the underdog stories that defy all odds. And while some movies, such as Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, about a down and out wrestler (Mickey Rourke) in search of one last comeback, handle sports with far greater nuance, they are definitely the exception to the rule.