Browse Movies : 2005 : Gangster

John Travolta is back as Chili Palmer in "Be Cool", a sequel to the comedy smash "Get Shorty". This time, Chili becomes a different kind of "hit" man—he abandons the movie industry to bring his wiseguy skills and negotiation tactics to the music business. When a friend is offed while they're at lunch, Chili takes the opportunity to visit the guy's wife, Edie (Uma Thurman), and pitch himself as her new business partner at an independent record label. With a promising young pop-star-in-training as his protégé (Christina Milian), Chili has to juggle her faux-urban manager (Vince Vaughn), his gay, wannabe-actor bodyguard (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), Russian mobsters, and an eloquent gangsta music producer (Cedric the Entertainer,) to save the label and land a hit—and keep from getting popped himself.

Jason Statham returns in his signature role: ex-Special Forces operative Frank Martin, aka "The Transporter." Now retired in Miami, Martin makes a living driving for a wealthy family, including twin brothers with whom he has unexpectedly bonded. But when the boys are abducted, Martin must use all his skills to bring them to safety and discover the kidnapper's master plan.

Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is living a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife (Maria Bello) and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana, but one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner.

Sensing danger, he takes action and saves his customers and friends in the self-defense killings of two-sought-after criminals.

Heralded as a hero, Tom's life is changed overnight, attracting a national media circus, which forces him into the spotlight.

Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to the normalcy of his ordinary life only to be confronted by a mysterious and threatening man (Ed Harris) who arrives in town believing Tom is the man who's wronged him in the past.

As Tom and his family fight back against this case of mistaken identity and struggle to cope with their changed reality, they are forced to confront their relationships and the divisive issues which surface as a result.

A Brentwood housewife and her DA husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. A black television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Two car-jackers. A rookie cop. A middle-aged Korean couple... They all live in Los Angeles. And in the next 36 hours, they will all collide... A provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial conflict in America, "Crash" is that rare cinematic event—film that challenges audiences to question their own prejudices. Diving headlong into the diverse melting pot of post-9/11 Los Angeles, this compelling urban drama tracks the volatile intersections of a multi-ethnic cast, examining fear and bigotry from multiple perspectives as characters careen in and out of one another's lives. No one is safe in the battle zones of intolerance. And no one is immune to the simmering rage that sparks violence—and changes lives...

Tommy Lee Jones stars as a veteran FBI agent assigned to watch over a group of cheerleaders in the action/comedy "Man of the House". The collegiate cheeleaders witnessed a murder after a competition. The agent must investigate the murder, learn to deal with the energetic, yet dysfunctional bunch, while protecting them from the killers. Brian Van Holt plays an FBI agent, and Shea Whigham another Texas Ranger. Paget Brewster has been cast as Binky, the enthusiastic cheerleading coach.

Set in Washington D.C., a man is recruited by the National Security Agency to become a XXX agent. The XXX name refers to a three-strikes rule the NSA employs to give criminals the option of joining the crime-fighting force or going to prison.

To survive the night, cops and criminals alike will have to unite and fight. A classic head-to-head showdown ignites in an all-new update of the 1976 action thriller of the same name. With only a few hours left in the calendar year, Precinct 13, one of Detroit's oldest precinct houses, is closing. Amid heavy snowfall and unsafe road conditions, only a few lawmen remain on duty for New Year's Eve. They are headed by Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), a good cop wrestling with bad memories of a fatal undercover op from the previous spring. Roenick and Precinct 13 have both seen better days. Early on December 31st, deep in the city, formidable crime lord Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), is cornered by an undercover cop. Their ensuing struggle leaves the cop dead - and Bishop captured, by the Organized Crime and Racketeering squad that Marcus Duvall (Gabriel Byrne) runs. Bishop is handcuffed and herded onto a prison bus with several criminals: junkie Beck (John Leguizamo), hustler Smiley (Ja Rule), and gang member Anna (Aisha Hinds). But the battering snowstorm stops the bus well short of its high-security destination and strands it at the remote Precinct 13 - where, as night falls, the prisoners are temporarily incarcerated. This influx of prisoners irks Roenick, almost as much as visiting police psychologist Alex Sabian (Maria Bello) does. But Precinct 13's provocative secretary Iris Ferri (Drea de Matteo) and salty veteran cop Jasper "Old School" O'Shea (Brian Dennehy) won't let the increasing workload deter them from celebrating...until two masked gunmen break in and attack the guards from the bus. The gunmen are just barely beaten back, and everyone inside Precinct 13 realizes that more will come - to extract crime lord Bishop, but also armed and ready to shoot anyone and everyone else. The cops, looking to the reluctant Roenick for leadership, and the cons, looking to the steely Bishop for an angle, must join forces to live. Fortifying themselves with minimal weaponry and maximum courage, they will not go gently into the bad night. As they fight to the death, the thin lines between good and bad bleed together.

From acclaimed "In America" director Jim Sheridan comes the first film starring mega-hit rapper 50 Cent. This tale follows an inner city drug dealer who turns away from a life of dangerous crime to pursue his true passion, rap music. The road to change isn't easy however.

Based upon JJ Connelly's London crime novel, "Layer Cake" is about a successful cocaine dealer (Daniel Craig) who has earned a respected place among England's Mafia elite and plans an early retirement from the business. However, big boss Jimmy Price hands down a tough assignment: find Charlotte Ryder, the missing rich princess daughter of Jimmy's old pal Edward, a powerful construction business player and gossip papers socialite. Complicating matters are two million pounds' worth of Grade A ecstasy, a brutal neo-Nazi sect and a whole series of double crossings. The title "Layer Cake" refers to the layers or levels the dealer has to go through as he painstakingly plots his own escape. What is revealed is a modern underworld where the rules have changed. There are no 'codes', or 'families' and respect lasts as long as a line. Not knowing who he can trust, he has to use all his 'savvy', 'telling' and skills which make him one of the best, to escape his own. The ultimate last job, a love interest called Tammy and an international drugs ring, threaten to draw him back into the 'cake mix'. But, time is running out and the penalty will endure a lifetime.

Master explorer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) takes on the adventure of his life when he embarks on a treasure hunt through some of the most dangerous regions of West Africa. Searching for what locals call "The Ship of Death", a long lost Civil War battleship which protects a secret cargo, Pitt and his wisecracking sidekick (Steve Zahn) use their wits and clever heroics to help Doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) when they realize the ship may be linked to mysterious deaths in the very same area.

After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store holdup, the Mercer brothers - hotheaded Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), hard-edged Angel (Tyrese Gibson), family man and businessman Jeremiah, and hard rocking Jack (Garrett Hedlund) - reunite to take the matter of her death into their own hands. As they track down the killer, they quickly realize that their old ways of doing business have new consequences. The four brothers come together to discover that they are bound by ties thicker than blood.

Bruce Willis stars as an LAPD hostage negotiator, who withdraws to the countryside to become chief of a two-man police department after a bloody standoff. Instead of achieving a sense of peace in the small town, he finds himself embroiled in negotiations to save his wife and daughter. Messner will play an FBI operative who comes onto the crime scene to work with Willis' character and retrieve computer disks.

Anthony Anderson stars as Malcolm King, a wealthy and arrogant businessman whose ex-wife to be has plans to take him for everything he's worth in their divorce settlement. Determined to avoid losing his fortune to her, Malcolm plans his own kidnapping with the help of his dim-witted mistress and her ex-con brother. Unfortunately for Malcolm, he is not the only one with a kidnapping plot.

The film explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect, and an array of high-tech tools to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.

Snoop Dogg stars as Corde, a young charismatic player who sees a better way of life and financial success in the street game. His mentor is Orange Juice, a veteran man of leisure, with all the street credibility to back it up. OJ teaches Corde the rules of the game and raises him up as his young prot.

"Lord of War" is an action adventure story set in the world of international arms dealing. The film, based on fact, follows the globetrotting exploits of arms dealer Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage). Through some of the deadliest war zones, Yuri struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke), his business rivals, even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, Yuri must also face his own conscience.

"Sin City" stars Bruce Willis as Hartigan, a cop with a bum ticker and a vow to protect stripper Nancy (Jessica Alba); Mickey Rourke as Marv, the outcast misanthrope on a mission to avenge the death of his one true love, Goldie (Jaime King), and Clive Owen as Dwight, the clandestine love of Shelley (Brittany Murphy), who spends his nights defending Gail (Rosario Dawson) and her Old Towne girls (Devon Aoki and Alexis Bledel) from Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro), a dirty cop with a penchant for violence.

"State Property 2: Philly Streets II" is the tale of three notorious gangsters, and their bloody battle for supremacy in the City of Brotherly Love. Beans, the imprisoned kingpin and hometown druglord, struggles to keep his renegade ABM Crime Syndicate on the map. He is driven and consumed by a festering hatred for his longtime rival... Dame, the Harlem-born hustler, is also the top dog in town. His Umbrella network is unmatched in cash-flow and manpower. With a long list of enemies seeking territory and revenge, the self-proclaimed "cake-aholic" is forced into a vicious war. Loco, the flashy Miami playboy, is about to be released from prison. His deep pockets and stellar reputation prove to be valuable tools in Loco's plot to takeover the streets of Philly... but he must first overcome the ghosts from a turbulent past. Alliances are formed and shattered, and lifelong friendships are put to the test as the various crews deal and duel to the death. Somewhere, buried deep within the ranks of one of these gangs, a ruthless criminal mastermind is conspiring to take them all down. The backstabbing, thievery and deception simmers, boils and ultimately spills into a gruesome finale—an old-fashioned shootout on the cold, unforgiving Philly streets.