Browse Movies : 2006 : Drama

A chubby, brainiac 18-year-old schoolgirl forms an unexpected bond with a thirtysomething pizza deliveryman/political activist with a history of failed relationships.

The film is about a man who believes that he left behind his family's ties to organized crime, only to find that easier said than done upon returning to Philadelphia. It was inspired by the real life experiences of Joseph Pistone, the FBI agent otherwise known as Donnie Brasco.

In "Lady in the Water", a story originally conceived by Shyamalan for his children, a modest building manager named Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) rescues a mysterious young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) from danger and discovers she is actually a narf, a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the treacherous journey from our world back to hers. Cleveland and his fellow tenants start to realize that they are also characters in this bedtime story. As Cleveland falls deeper and deeper in love with the woman, he works together with the tenants to protect his new fragile friend from the deadly creatures that reside in this fable and are determined to prevent her from returning home.

Ray Keene (Cusack), a father who wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his son, is trying to bring Cordell (Freeman), a world-class assassin to justice. All the while, he must protect his son and evade the assassin's team who are methodically hunting them down in the wilderness.

"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.

"A Good Woman" is a scandalous yet comic story set in New York and the Italian Riviera during the 1930s. Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is an audacious and well-known woman of a certain age with a reputation for entertaining wealthy, married men. Leaving her problems and unpaid bills in New York, she sets sail for Italy to pursue Meg (Scarlett Johansson) and Robert Windermere (Mark Umbers), one of the most high profile couples in 1930s society. Once in Europe, she becomes embroiled in a family scandal which becomes an intriguing story of seduction, betrayal and, ultimately, surprising loyalty.

A heart-warming, triumph-over adversity drama, "Akeelah and the Bee" centers on a precocious eleven-year-old girl, Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), from south Los Angeles, who is discovered to have a talent for words. In spite of the objections of her mother Wanda (Angela Bassett), Akeelah enters a spelling contest. Her gift takes her to compete in the National Spelling Bee, the most famous competition of its kind in the world. On the way, she is helped by a forthright, mysterious teacher, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) and a cast of colorful characters from the community. Her journey evokes pride in the neighborhood, bringing them together and, in the end, all witness the courage and inspiration of one amazing little girl.

Set in 1930s Los Angeles, the story follows Arturo Bandini (Colin Farrell), a first generation Italian hoping to become a writer, and Camilla (Eva Mendes), a Mexican woman who hopes to marry an American.

Denzel Washington stars as New York police detective Keith Miller, a tough, street-smart cop fighting for a promotion while trying to live down accusations of misconduct connected to his last case. When he and his partner are dispatched to the scene of an in-progress bank robbery and hostage crisis, Miller must face off against a well-educated criminal (Owen) masterminding a concisely plotted operation. As negotiations grow more strained, a powerful lawyer with mysterious ties (Foster) becomes involved in the crisis... and Miller slowly begins to realize that in this ultimate game of cat and mouse, rules are arbitrary, all roles are up for grabs and the black-and-white of right an wrong has blurred to a shadowy landscape of gray.

Set in the turbulent late 1960s and early '70s, "Dreamgirls" follows the rise of a trio of women)—Effie (Jennifer Hudson), Deena (Beyonce Knowles) and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose)—who have formed a promising girl group called The Dreamettes. At a talent competition, they are discovered by an ambitious manager named Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx), who offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to become the back-up singers for headliner James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). Curtis gradually takes control of the girls' look and sound, eventually giving them their own shot in the spotlight as The Dreams. That spotlight, however, begins to narrow in on Deena, finally pushing the less attractive Effie out altogether. Though the Dreams become a cross-over phenomenon, they soon realize that the cost of fame and fortune may be higher than they ever imagined.

Inspired by a true story, Eight Below is an exciting action-adventure about loyalty and the bonds of friendship set in the extreme wilderness of Antarctica. The film tells the story of three members of a scientific expedition: Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker), his best friend, Cooper (Jason Biggs), and a rugged American geologist (Bruce Greenwood), who are forced to leave behind their team of beloved sled dogs due to a sudden accident and perilous weather conditions in Antarctica. During the harsh, Antarctic winter, the dogs must struggle for survival alone in the intense frozen wilderness for over 6 months.

"Firewall" stars Harrison Ford as bank security expert Jack Stanfield, whose specialty is designing infallible theft-proof financial computer systems. But there's a hidden vulnerability in the system he didn't account for—himself. When a ruthless criminal mastermind (Paul Bettany) kidnaps his family, Jack is forced to find a flaw in his system and steal $100 million. With the lives of his wife and children at stake and under constant surveillance, he has only hours to find a loophole in the thief's own impenetrable system of subterfuge and false identities to beat him at his own game.

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.

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.

Based on the novel by Peter Mayle, the film is about failed London banker Max Skinner (Crowe) who moves to Provence to tend a vineyard he inherited from his uncle, played by Albert Finney. There he encounters Cotillard's character, a beautiful California woman who says she is a long-lost cousin and lays claim to the property.

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.

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 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.

In "Edison", a young journalist (Justin Timberlake) uncovers an elite unit of corrupt cops. Realizing that he's over his head, he makes an uneasy alliance with a burnt-out reporter (Morgan Freeman) and the DA's ace investigator (Kevin Spacey).