Browse Movies : 2009 : Drama (Page #5)

Romain Duris plays a dancer who is home-ridden when he suffers from heart disease. Instead of dancing, he watches as the city and its dwellers entertain him.

"Peter and Vandy" is a love story told out of order. Set in Manhattan, the story shifts back and forth in time, juxtaposing Peter and Vandy's romantic beginnings with the twisted, manipulative, regular couple they become. The film explores the question most couples ask themselves... 'How the hell did we get here?' The answer is found in the little moments. Peter and Vandy communicate through truthful, every day dialogue. They begin with the hope of new love on the horizon, adoring the little quirks about each other. As they continue, the way they bicker while trying to order takeout and begin to criticize the smallest of gestures reveals more about them than "couples therapy" ever could. Through these iconic moments, we see just who they are... and it's familiar. By going back and forth in time, we are able to pinpoint the subtle causes that lead to the larger effects within their relationship.

With sheer audacity and utter authenticity, director Lee Daniels tackles "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire" and creates an unforgettable film that sets a new standard for cinema of its kind. Precious Jones (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe) is a high-school girl with nothing working in her favor. She is pregnant with her father's child - for the second time. She can't read or write, and her schoolmates tease her for being fat. Her home life is a horror, ruled by a mother (Mo'Nique) who keeps her imprisoned both emotionally and physically. Precious's instincts tell her one thing: if she's ever going to break from the chains of ignorance, she will have to dig deeply into her own resources. Don't be misled - "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire" is not a film wallowing in the stillness of depression; instead, it vibrates with the kind of energy derived only from anger and hope. The entire cast are amazing; they carry out a firestorm of raw emotion. Daniels has drawn from them inimitable performances that will rivet you to your seat and leave you too shocked to breathe. If you passed Precious on the street, you probably wouldn't notice her. But when her story is revealed, as Daniels does in this courageous film, you are left with an indelible image of a young woman who - with creativity, humor, and ferocity - finds the strength to turn her life around.

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minister Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever.

Sandra Laing is a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her up as their ‘white’ little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out of white society. The film follows Sandra’s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world - and triumphs against all odds.

'Sugar' follows the story of Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro De Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life’s ambition. Blending the genres of sports drama, immigrant journey, and coming-of-age story, 'Sugar' is a unique film about self-discovery.

Three kids must sell all their childhood valuables to ensure their dead mother’s wishes are granted.

The new film from Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee. A 1969-set true story about a man, Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the famed happening it was. Working as an interior designer in Greenwich Village during culturally and politically exciting times, Mr. Tiber felt empowered by the gay rights movement. But he was also still staked to the family business – a Catskills motel. Upon hearing that a planned concert had lost its permit from the neighboring town of Wallkill, NY, Mr. Tiber called producer Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) at Woodstock Ventures to offer his motel. Soon the Woodstock staff was moving into the El Monaco; half a million people were on their way to Mr. Tiber’s neighbor’s Max Yasgur’s (Eugene Levy) farm in White Lake, NY; and Mr. Tiber found himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life, and American culture, forever.

Mariah Carey will play waitress who teams with her two brothers to search for their estranged father in an effort to help the youngest brother, who has leukemia.

An aging Tennessee farmer returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm.

"The Hurt Locker" is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military's unrecognized heroes: the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives doing one of the world's most dangerous jobs. Three members of the Army's elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and one another as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad—in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear—protect and save—but it's anything but easy, as the margin of error when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This thrilling and heart-pounding look at the psychology of bomb technicians and the effects of risk and danger on the human psyche is a fictional tale inspired by real events by journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. In Iraq, it is soldier vernacular to speak of explosions as sending you to "the hurt locker."

The film revolves around a British sargeant stationed in Palestine after World War II and his relationship with an 11-year-old, who wants the British to leave his land.

A NYPD detective attempts to avenge the death of her father, but unwittingly becomes involved with one of his killers.

In this heartwarming comedy, minor leaguer Carlton Garrett (Justin Timberlake) takes an unexpected road trip to track down his estranged father, legendary baseball player Kyle Garrett (Jeff Bridges) when Carlton’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) becomes sick. Knowing his charming yet painfully immature dad’s likelihood to disappoint, Carlton enlists his on-again-off-again girlfriend Lucy (Kate Mara) for emotional support. Once reunited, Carlton struggles to deal with the series of misadventures caused by his father’s antics, including missed flights, car trouble and bathroom brawls. Years of miscommunication, frustration and comically awkward attempts at bonding come to a head as the mismatched trio make their way from Ohio back home to Houston to reunite the family.

"The Other Man" tells the story of Peter (Liam Neeson) who discovers that his wife Lisa (Laura Linney) has been receiving emails and mobile messages from Ralph (Antonio Banderas), a man he never knew existed. Peter's obsession with this unknown rival escalates and, against the advice of his daughter Abigail (Romola Garai), a hurt and vengeful Peter flies to Milan to seek out the mysterious Ralph and the truth about his relationship with Lisa.

An adventurous trip through Pippa Lee's past and present, as a methamphetamine-addicted mother whose husband leaves her for a younger woman. Pippa indulges in an array of erotic adventures while heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.

In "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there's one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape?

In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after one another when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father.

A reporter covering the Challenger Space Shuttle launch becomes mixed up in the lives of some local students.

"Yonkers Joe" is an exciting, high-stakes con film and moving family drama written and directed by Robert Celestino, and starring Academy Award-nominee Chazz Palminteri, Academy Award-winner Christine Lahti, Tom Guiry ("The Black Donnellys"), Golden Globe-nominee Linus Roache, and Academy Award-nominee Michael Lerner. An ode to old time gamblers, now outdated in an age of powerful upscale casinos, "Yonkers Joe" tells the story of a dice hustler (Palminteri) whose determination to make one last grab for a big score in Vegas is complicated by the reappearance of his estranged, mentally challenged son into his life.