Browse Movies : 2006 : Drama

Set in 1938 Colonial India, against Mahatma Gandhi's rise to power, "Water" begins when 8-year-old Chuyia is widowed and sent to a home where Hindu widows must live in penitence. Chuyia's feisty presence deeply affects the lives of the other residents, including a young widow, who falls for a Gandhian idealist.

A suburban town is full of perfect parents who are fully devoted to rearing their children for Harvard futures and keeping them safe from predators. The adults escape the excruciatingly bore-fests their lives have become via Internet porn and extramarital affairs. A stay-at-home mom has an affair with an ex-jock stay-at-home dad who rebels against his wife's wishes that he become a big-bucks lawyer.

A doctor (Sandra Bullock) and an architect (Keanu Reeves) living in the same house two years apart develop a letter-based romance using a mailbox that serves as a time portal.

"All the King's Men" is a story of human nature, power, corruption, idealism, romance and betrayal. A uniquely American story, it is steeped in the atmosphere of the South during the 1940s and 50s, but its message is still timely and relevant today. "All the King's Men" uses politics as a framework to delve into the more profound dilemmas of human existence—sin, guilt and redemption. In its exploration of the corrupting aspects of power, the story focuses on a once just man who has lost his moral center and will use any means possible to achieve his goals.

The Battle of Iwo Jima, which took place in the winter of 1945, was a turning point in the Pacific Theater. In one month, 22,000 Japanese and 26,000 Americans died, and the battle produced one of World War II's most enduring images: a photograph of U.S. servicemen raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, the island's commanding high point.

The cocaine cowboys of the '80s are gone, but Miami's Casablanca allure, the undercover cops and the attitudes of Michael Mann's culturally influential television series have been enhanced by time in the feature film version of Miami Vice.

Ricardo Tubbs (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx of "Ray", "Jarhead") is urbane and dead smart. He lives with Bronx-born intel analyst Trudy, played by British actress Naomie Harris ("28 Days Later"), as they work undercover transporting drug loads into South Florida to identify a group responsible for three murders.

Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell of "S.W.A.T.", "The New World") ]to the untrained eye, his presentation may seem unorthodox, but procedurally he is sound] is charismatic and flirtatious until-while undercover working with the supplier of the South Florida group-he gets romantically entangled with Isabella, the Chinese-Cuban wife of an arms and drugs trafficker. Isabella is played by the Chinese actress Gong Li ("Raise the Red Lantern, Memoirs of a Geisha").

The best undercover identity is oneself with the volume turned up and restraint unplugged. The intensity of this case pushes Crockett and Tubbs out onto the edge where identity and fabrication become blurred, where cop and player become one- especially for Crockett in his romance with Isabella and for Tubbs in the provocation of an assault on those he loves.

"Miami Vice", as a large-scale feature film, liberates what is adult, dangerous and alluring about working deeply undercover...especially when Crockett and Tubbs go to where their badges don't count...

The movie is a celebrity version of Garrison Keillor's radio show. It adds a slight story of the radio show ending as a new owner (Tommy Lee Jones) has bought the Fitzgerald theater that the show broadcasts from and is going to tear it down. Another fantasy element is thrown in as an angel (Virginia Madsen) stalks the theater to take one of the performers. Keillor plays the lead character, coincidentally called GK. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep play the singing Johnson Sisters, with Lindsay Lohan as a suicide-obsessed daughter of Streep. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are hilarious as the slightly off-color singing cowboy duo, Dusty & Lefty. Kevin Kline is a security guard who tells the story. Maya Rudolph also appears as a pregnant stage coordinator. Contains some mild sexually-oriented jokes.

"Casino Royale" introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to '00' status. Bond's first 007 mission takes him to Uganda where he is to spy on a terrorist, Mollaka. Not everything goes to plan and Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. Following a lead to the Bahamas, he encounters Dimitrios and his girlfriend, Solange. He learns that Dimitrios is involved with Le Chiffre, banker to the world's terrorist organizations. Secret Service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to play against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization. 'M' places Bond under the watchful eye of the beguiling Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together and even torture at the hands of Le Chiffre. In Montenegro, Bond allies himself with Mathis MI6's local field agent, and Felix Leiter who is representing the interests of the CIA. The marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

"Find Me Guilty" is based on the true story of Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio (Vin Diesel). After years of federal investigation, 20 members of the New Jersey Lucchese crime family are brought to court on 76 charges of various crimes. Already in the midst of serving a 30-year sentence, Jackie is offered an opportunity to shorten his time by testifying against many of his closest friends. But Jackie refuses to betray his "family," and goes so far as to defend himself in what will ultimately become the longest criminal trial of its time.

At first daunted by the complicated politics of the courtroom, Jackie comfortably takes over the spotlight, insisting "I'm no gangster... I'm a gagster." With his sheer determination and unconditional loyalty, Jackie never fails to surprise even those most skeptical of his intentions.

After 21 months, the Lucchese trial became the longest in U.S. criminal history, and has continued to stand out over the years as a unique moment in courtroom history, featuring 20 defendants, 20 defense attorneys, and unusually extensive summations; one defense lawyer's closing statement ran for 5 days alone. At times hilarious and at times deeply serious, the trial and Jackie's subsequent experiences at this crucial moment in the history of criminal prosecution culminated in one of the most shocking and remarkable verdicts in American judicial history.

"Gridiron Gang" tells the uplifting story of detention camp probation officer, Sean Porter ("The Rock"), who creates a high-school-level football team from a ragtag group of dangerous teenage inmates as a means to teach them self-respect and social responsibility. He is joined in this experiment by co-worker, Malcolm Moore (Xzibit). But Porter must first overcome almost universal resistance from the powers that be — his skeptical bosses and coaches at rival high schools who don't want their players mixing it up with convicted criminals on the football field.

Deco and Naldinho have been buddies since childhood. Now they own a motorboat, which they use for their illicit dealings and their career as petty criminals. One day, they meet the stripper Karinna, and, of course, both fall in love with her.

"The Departed" is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy—and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

An urban action thriller with a sexy 21st-century Bonnie and Clyde. Ex-con O2 (Tyrese Gibson) is suddenly plunged into a life-or-death situation; trying to go straight for the sake of his young son Junior, O2 is forced to go back outside the law when Junior is kidnapped in a carjacking. His son is now in the hands of a vicious criminal leader, Meat (hip-hop superstar The Game). O2's shady cousin Wanna Be (Larenz Tate) is caught between loyalties, and so the only person who can or will help O2 now is wily street-smart hustler Coco (Meagan Good). With the clock ticking down, the heat between them rises as they become a lawbreaking couple, on an action-packed tear through town to save Junior and outwit the underworld.

The classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern (Dakota Fanning) is one of only two living beings who sees that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, he begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures—a spider named Charlotte—and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur's days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte—who sees miracles in the ordinary—spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is "some pig" and worth saving.

The story centers on the two-year period of Mary and Joseph's life, culminating in their leaving Nazareth and journeying 100 miles to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. Key characters and events such as King Herod, John the Baptist's parents (Zachariah and Elizabeth), the shepherds who were witness to Jesus' birth; and the arrival of the three kings from the Orient will be fleshed out.

Based on the life of Chris Gardner, a self-made millionaire, this untitled project will star Will Smith as a man who finds himself jobless and homeless at age 30, living in a San Francisco train station with his infant son. Determined to beat the odds, he finds work as a trainee at a brokerage and climbs the corporate ladder, eventually becoming partner and owner of his own Chicago-based firm.

"The Wicker Man" follows the story of Sheriff Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) as he investigates the disappearance of a young girl on a remote island off the coast of Maine. Things and people are not as they seem on the island and when Sheriff Malus discovers evidence of pagan rituals his hope of unraveling the girl's disappearance become increasingly uncertain.

Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as "V." Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself—and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

From Academy Award winning filmmaker Mel Gibson, comes "Apocalypto" a heart stopping mythic action-adventure set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization. When his idyllic existence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, a man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

"Bobby" revisits the night Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. Story is about how the lives of those at the hotel that evening intersected. Movie will take place against the backdrop of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class differences.