Drama Movies 2005 List

With Jake Gyllenhaal • Jamie Foxx • Laz Alonso • Peter Sarsgaard • Sam Mendes • Lucy Fisher • Brian Geraghty • Chris Cooper • Dennis Haysbert • Evan Jones • Doug Wick • Lucas Black • Jacob Vargas • William Broyles • Anthony Swofford

"Jarhead" (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows "Swoff" (Gyllenhaal), a third-generation enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound ruck on his back through Middle East deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully fathom.

Foxx portrays Sergeant Sykes, a Marine lifer who heads up Swofford's scout/sniper platoon, while Sarsgaard is Swoff's friend and mentor, Troy, a die-hard member of STA—their elite Marine Unit.

With Lucas Black • Niki J. Crawford • W. Earl Brown • Clyde Edgerton • Rosemary Garris • Tricia Brock

A musician who is supposed to mend his ways ends up changing the habits of a group of fellow inmates. Wesley Benfield is a guitar player with a habit of walking on the wrong side of the law. One night, Benfield gets into a fistfight in a Missouri honky-tonk, and when police discover the car he drove to the club is stolen, it's not long before he finds himself standing before a judge. Benfield is ordered to move into a half-way house near a small Baptist college, and as part of his therapy he joins in a small gospel combo made up of the house's residents. However, Benfield is a lot more interested in playing the blues. With a bit of persuading, he convinces his bandmates to pursue a new musical direction, and they start sneaking out at night to play shows at a local nightspot.

With Jack Nicholson • Maria Schneider • Carlo Ponti • Jenny Runacre • Ian Hendry • Steven Berkoff • Michelangelo Antonioni • Mark Peploe • Peter Wollen

A melancholy, depressed and jaded television reporter assumes the identity of a dead man while at a hotel in a north African country, not knowing that the man was a renowned arms smuggler. The newsman sees this switch as a last desperate chance to escape his old life and start anew. However, as he begins to take on the characteristics of his new persona and understand his shady involvements, the decision becomes a risky one, which leads to an inevitable showdown.

With Jason Lee • Vince Vaughn • Christina Ricci • Giovanni Ribisi • Joshua Jackson • Jared Harris • Judy Greer • Adam Goldberg • Nicky Katt • Haylie Duff • Lake Bell • Franka Potente • Marisa Coughlan • Elvis Costello • Shalom Harlow • Dan Bucatinsky • Adrian Butchart

In this dark psychological drama, as movie star Gray Evans (Ribisi) finds his marriage (Potente plays his actress wife) falling apart, and his mental condition wearing thin, he becomes obsessed with a young film student who reminds him of what his life was like before he became famous.

With Viola Davis • Terrence Howard • 50 Cent • Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje • Omar Benson Miller • Tory Kittles • Chris Lighty • David Gale • Daniel Lupi • Paul Rosenberg • Joy Bryant • Bill Duke • Ashley Walters • Jim Sheridan • Heather Parry • Jimmy Lovine • Van Toffler • Arthur Lappin • Terence Winter • Stuart Parr • Gene Kirkwood

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.

With Zhang Ziyi • Ken Watanabe • Rob Marshall • Lucy Fisher • Ted Levine • Douglas Wick • Bonnie Curtis • Ian Bryce • Koji Yakusho • Youki Kudoh • Akiva Goldsman • Michelle Yeoh • Karl Yune • Robin Swicord • Ron Bass

Based on the best-selling novel by Arthur Golden, "Memoirs of a Geisha" is the epic drama of a young girl sold into the slavery of a geisha house and her rise through the ranks as she becomes one of Japan's most famous geishas.

With Anne Hathaway • Jake Gyllenhaal • Anna Faris • Michelle Williams • Larry McMurtry • David Harbour • Ang Lee • Heath Ledger • James Schamus • Scott Ferguson • Diana Ossana • E. Annie Proulx • Scott Michael Campbell • Michael Hausman • William Pohlad

Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the film tells the story of two young men—a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy—who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys, and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love. Early one morning in Signal, Wyoming, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) meet while lining up for employment with local rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). The world which Ennis and Jack have been born into is at once changing rapidly and yet scarcely evolving. Both young men seem certain of their set places in the heartland—obtaining steady work, marrying, and raising a family—and yet hunger for something beyond what they can articulate. When Aguirre dispatches them to work as sheepherders up on the majestic Brokeback Mountain, they gravitate towards camaraderie and then a deeper intimacy.

At summer's end, the two must come down from Brokeback and part ways. Remaining in Wyoming, Ennis weds his sweetheart Alma (Michelle Williams), with whom he will have two daughters as he ekes out a living. Jack, in Texas, catches the eye of rodeo queen Lureen Newsome (Anne Hathaway). Their courtship and marriage result in a son, as well as jobs in her father's business. Four years pass. One day, Alma brings Ennis a postcard from Jack, who is en route to visit Wyoming. Ennis waits expectantly for his friend, and when Jack at last arrives, in just one moment it is clear that the passage of time has only strengthened the men's attachment. In the years that follow, Ennis and Jack struggle to keep their secret bond alive. They meet up several times annually. Even when they are apart, they face the eternal questions of fidelity, commitment, and trust. Ultimately, the one constant in their lives is a force of nature—love.

With Liam Neeson • Cillian Murphy • Ruth Negga • Stephen Rea • Brendan Gleeson • Neil Jordan • Laurence Kinlan • Stephen Woolley • Alan Moloney

Set in the 1960s and 1970s, "Breakfast on Pluto" follows Patrick "Kitten" Brady (Cillian Murphy), a kid who escapes from his foster home in Ireland and becomes a transvestite and performer in London.

With Jennifer Aniston • Vincent Cassel • RZA • David Oyelowo • Clive Owen • Brandon DeShazer • Stuart Beattie • Lorenzo di Bonaventura • Melissa George • Joshua Brail • Mikael Hafstrom • James Siegel

Charles Schine is a New York businessman who meets a sexy woman on a train and ends up in a seedy hotel room with her. While there, he's beaten and she is raped by a man who also robs them. The robber then begins to blackmail Schine so that his wife and family don't find out about his infidelity with the woman. This drives Schine from his humdrum life into a world of fraud, betrayal, and murder.

With Robert De Niro • Rosario Dawson • Taye Diggs • Idina Menzel • Mark Radcliffe • Anthony Rapp • Jane Rosenthal • Stephen Chbosky • Jesse L. Martin • Tracie Thoms • Wilson Jermaine Heredia • Adam Pascal • Chris Columbus • Michael Barnathan • Julie Larson • Lata Ryan • Allan S. Gordon • Jeffrey Seller • Kevin McCollum

Based on Jonathan Larson's award-winning Broadway musical, "Rent" chronicles a group of New York village artists struggling with identity and artistic integrity in an HIV-positive world. Roommates Roger and Mark, a songwriter-recovering addict and a guerrilla filmmaker, respectively, must find a way to pay their former roommate-turned-landlord when he decides to reneg on his promise to provide them rent-free living.

With Richard Gere • Max Minghella • Kate Bosworth • Ron Yerxa • Juliette Binoche • Flora Cross • Scott McGehee • Albert Berger • Adam Robinson • Dana J. Reid • David Siegel (II)

Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross) has no reason to believe she is anything but ordinary. Her father Saul (Richard Gere), a beloved university professor, dotes on her talented elder brother Aaron (Max Minghella). Her scientist mother, Miriam (Juliette Binoche), seems consumed by her career. When a spelling bee threatens to reaffirm her mediocrity, Eliza amazes everyone: she wins. Her newfound gift garners an invitation not only to the national competition, but an entrée into the world of words and Jewish mysticism that have so long captivated her father's imagination. But Eliza's unexpected success hurls the Naumann family dynamic into a tailspin, long-held secrets emerge and she is forced to depend upon her own divination to hold the family together.

With Reese Witherspoon • Joaquin Phoenix • Robert Patrick • Lucas Till • James Mangold • Dallas Roberts • James Keach • Cathy Konrad • Ginnifer Goodwin • Tyler Hilton • Shelby Lynne • Dan Beene • Larry Bagby • Ridge Canipe • Hailey Anne Nelson • Johnathan Rice • Brittany Shaw • Shooter Jennings • Waylon Payne • Katie Lindsey • Gill Dennis

This biopic about Johnny Cash will star Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary country icon and focus on the singer's early career in Memphis, including his struggles with drug addiction. Reese Witherspoon is set to star as his wife and bandmate, June Carter Cash.

With Matt Damon • Michelle Monaghan • George Clooney • Steven Soderbergh • Max Minghella • Stephen Gaghan • Amanda Peet • Chris McDonald • Michael Nozik

Based on Robert Baer's memoir "See No Evil: The True Story of a Foot Soldier in the CIA's War on Terror." A drama showing how the CIA lost funding and let its guard down in the Middle East after the end of the Cold War.

With Ralph Fiennes • Hiroyuki Sanada • Natasha Richardson • John Wood • James Ivory • Madeleine Potter • Andre Morgan • Lynn Redgrave • Vanessa Redgrave • Ismail Merchant • Kazuo Ishiguro

Set in Shanghai in the late 1930s, it is the story of the relationship between a disillusioned former US diplomat and a refugee Russian countess reduced to a sordid life in the city's bars.

Todd Jackson (Ralph Feinnes), once an American diplomat filled with idealism, has become bitterly disillusioned by realpolitik and the seemingly unavoidable nature of war and conflict. Moreover, he is deeply bereaved by the deaths of his wife and children, who were victims of violent political events in 1930s China that also robbed Jackson of his sight.

Jackson is trying to retreat into a smaller, more controllable world by creating here, in one of the world's most licentious, glittering and sordid ports, the perfect bar. After countless hours spent critically examining dive after dive in the city's pleasure districts, Jackson has become a connoisseur of decadence. One day, after a chance meeting with Matsuda - a mysterious Japanese man who appears to share his refined eye for the beauty of low-life establishments - Jackson gambles his savings on a horse, wins, and sets about realizing his masterpiece: a bar that will achieve the exquisite balance of romance, tragedy, and political tension.

Matsuda is a decidedly shadowy figure, but that fails to worry Jackson, and they partner to create the perfect bar. When rumors circulate that Matsuda has come to Shanghai to oversee a Japanese invasion of the city, Jackson still willfully refuses to listen.

Sofia (Natasha Richardson) is a White Russian countess in her thirties who fled the Bolshevik Revolution as a child. Her immediate family have perished, and she now lives in a Shanghai slum with members of her late husband's aristocratic family and her ten-year-old daughter, Katya. The household's sole breadwinner, Sofia works as a taxi-dancer in dingy night spots, resorting to prostitution when times are hard. The rest of the household show their gratitude by endlessly ostracizing her for bringing disgrace to the family.

Jackson encounters Sofia one night working at her taxi-dance hall, decides she is the perfect blend of tragedy and sensuality and asks her to become the centerpiece of his perfect bar. Thus begins a relationship that will see Jackson - despite his best efforts - slowly coaxed out of his enclosed world. He gradually comes to concede that Sofia may be more than a beautiful picture, becomes drawn to the spirited young Katya, and ultimately, into the intrigues within the family to separate Sofia from her child.

The story ends as the Japanese invade Shanghai, with the entire world on the brink of World War II. Ironically, it is at this point that Jackson, in acknowledging his love for Sofia and her daughter, finds reawakened his own idealism for a world free from war.

With Kevin Hart • Emmanuelle Chriqui • Chazz Palminteri • Robert Davi • Matt Gerald • Chanel Capra • Michael Paseronek • Usher Raymond • Anthony Fazio • Isis Faust • Ron Underwood • John Sacchi • Holly Davis-Carter • John Dellaverson

When New York's hottest nightclub deejay Darrell (Usher) saves a mob boss's life (Chazz Palminteri), he is rewarded for his bravery with the responsibilty of watching over the don's beautiful daughter Dolly (Emmanuelle Chriqui). The sparks soon begin to fly between this attractive couple from very different worlds, against her formidable father's wishes. Meanwhile, the don has other things on his mind—quashing a potential war with an arch-rival and controlling a young, ruthless challenger to his throne. In the end, all's fair in love and gangster warfare in this hip, romantic comedy, "In the Mix".

With Johnny Depp • Rosamund Pike • John Malkovich • Kelly Reilly • Laurence Dunmore • Samantha Morton • Claire Higgins • Jack Davenport • Richard Coyle • Johnny Vegas • Francesca Annis • Russell Smith • Lianne Halfon • Stephen Jeffreys

The story of "The Libertine" focuses on 17th-century womanizing poet John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), the Earl of Rochester, who befriended King Charles II (John Malkovich) and died at the young age of 33 after falling in love with aspiring actress Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton).

With Eric Bana • Ciaran Hinds • Daniel Craig • Steven Spielberg • Barry Mendel • Mathieu Kassovitz • Geoffrey Rush • Kathleen Kennedy • Tony Kushner • Eric Roth • Hanns Zischler

The film recounts the dramatic story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre—and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who led it. Eric Bana stars as the Mossad agent charged with leading the band of specialists brought together for this operation.

Inspired by actual events, the narrative is based on a number of sources, including the recollections of some who participated in the events themselves.

With Daniel Auteuil • Juliette Binoche • Maurice Bénichou • Annie Girardot • Lester Makedonsky • Michael Haneke • Veit Heiduschka

Georges, a television talk show host, and his wife Anne, are living the perfect life of modern comfort and security. One day, their idyll is disrupted in the form of a mysterious videotape that appears on their doorstep. On it they are being filmed by a hidden camera from across the street with no clues as to who shot it, or why. As more tapes arrive containing images that are disturbingly intimate and increasingly personal, Georges launches into an investigation of his own as to who is behind this. As he does so, secrets from his past are revealed, and the walls of security he and Anne have built around themselves begin to crumble.

With Mark Webber • Allison Janney • Aaron Stanford • Anthony LaPaglia • Josh Sternfeld

In this suburban drama, a widower (played by Anthony LaPaglia) confronts his older son's (played by Aaron Stanford) decision to leave home and his younger son's self-destructive behavior.

With Scarlett Johansson • Woody Allen • Matthew Goode • James Nesbitt • Brian Cox • Colin Salmon • Lucy Darwin • Eddie Marsan • Emily Mortimer • Steve Pemberton • Jonathan Rhys-Meyers • Morne Botes • Rose Keegan • Zoe Telford • Letty Aronson • Gareth Wiley

"Match Point" represents a departure for native New Yorker Woody Allen, the majority of whose films lovingly depict New York and—not always so lovingly—New Yorkers. Crossing the Atlantic for the first time in his film career, Allen set "Match Point" in London, where it was also filmed. The film is described as a melodrama about many things -- ambition, the seduction of wealth, love, sexual passion and, most importantly, the huge part luck plays in events as opposed to the comforting misconception that more of life is under our control than it really is.

With Christian Bale • Colin Farrell • Ben Mendelsohn • Trish Hofmann • David Thewlis • Christopher Plummer • Wes Studi • Raoul Trujillo • Noah Taylor • Will Wallace • Terrence Malick • Bill Mechanic • Eddie Marsan • Q'Orianka Kilcher • Jeremy Wade • Jason Aaron Baca • Jamie Harris • Yorick van Wageningen • Roger Rees • Joe Inscoe • Sarah Green • Rolf Mittweg • Mark Ordesky

"The New World" is an epic adventure set amid the encounter of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607. Inspired by the legend of John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Pocahontas, acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick transforms this classic story into a sweeping exploration of love, loss and discovery, both a celebration and an elegy of the America that was…and the America that was yet to come. Against a historically accurate Virginia backdrop, Malick has set a dramatized tale of two strong-willed characters-a passionate and noble young native woman and an ambitious soldier of fortune-torn between the undeniable requirements of their civic duty and the inescapable demands of the human heart.

With Sienna Miller • Charlie Cox • Natalie Dormer • Oliver Platt • Jeremy Irons • Lena Olin • Lauren Cohan • Lasse Hallstrom • Mark Gordon • Heath Ledger • Christopher Egan • Ben Moor • Andrea Osvart • Betsy Beers • Tommy Korberg • Stephen Greif • Paola Pessot • Adelmo Togliani • Michael Cristofer • Leslie Holleran • Jeffrey Hatcher • Gary Levinsohn

Heath Ledger plays the fabled romantic as a man who, after failing to win the affection of a particular Venetian woman, strives to discover the real meaning of love.

With Charlize Theron • Sophie Okonedo • Frances McDormand • Michael Finch • Phil Hay • Jonny Lee Miller • Karyn Kusama • Gary Lucchesi • Gale Anne Hurd • Matt Manfredi • Marton Csokas • Amelia Warner • Caroline Chikezie • Jonathan Hensleigh • Gregory Goodman • Peter Chung

Based on the MTV animated series by Peter Chung, "Aeon Flux" is set 400 years in the future, when disease has wiped out the majority of the earth's population except for one walled, protected city-state, Bregna, ruled by a congress of scientists. The story centers on Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), the top operative in the underground ‘Monican' rebellion – led by The Handler (Frances McDormand). When Aeon is sent on a mission to kill a government leader, she uncovers a world of secrets.

With Felicity Huffman • Graham Greene • Fionnula Flanagan • Kevin Zegers • Burt Young • Elizabeth Pena • Duncan Tucker • Stephen Kazmierski • Linda Moran • Rene Bastian • Sebastian Dungan

Bree is a perfectly adjusted conservative transsexual woman. Born Stanely, a genetic male, she's about to take the final step to becoming the woman Stanley always wanted to be - until she finds out that she is the parent of a long-lost 17 year-old son. Afraid to tell the rebellious teenager the truth, Bree embarks on a journey with him that will challenge and change both their lives and bring them closer to the truth of their connection.

With Uma Thurman • Will Ferrell • Matthew Broderick • Nathan Lane • Roger Bart • Riley G. Matthews Jr • Andrea Martin • Jon Lovitz • Debra Monk • Gary Beach • John Barrowman • Gary Franco • Mark Ledbetter • Dolores McDougal • Jimmy Smagula • Jennifer Lee Crowl • Stewart Summers • Mel Brooks • Susan Stroman • Thomas Meehan

Two-time Tony Award winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick return to their celebrated roles as Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, a scheming theatrical producer and his mousy CPA who hit upon the perfect plan to embezzle a fortune: raise far more money than you need to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop and then (since no one will expect anything back), Max and Leo can pocket the difference. To do this, they need the ultimate bad play, which they find in the musical "Springtime for Hitler". Their plans come to naught and the duo are taken completely by surprise when their new production is hailed as a toast-of-the-town hit. Uma Thurman stars as Ulla, the Swedish secretary/slash/receptionist and would-be showgirl, and Will Ferrell brings his spot-on comic talents to the role of Franz Liebkind, the neo-Nazi playwright (and pigeon fancier) responsible for penning the "worst play ever written."

With Akshay Kumar • Bobby Deol • Suneel Darshan • Robin Bhatt

They had nothing in common. Karan was wealthy and a mansion was his habitat. Raj had empty pockets and the sky was his roof. Karan's jet ensured that he could fly if he wanted. Raj could only depend on his two feet. Karan had a family and yet craved love. Raj had loved to share, but craved a family. Karan was the eternal Casanova. Raj was the proverbial one-woman man. Karan had it all and yet felt empty. Raj had nothing but his heart was full. They were two people as different as can be. Yet they found a common ground. One that led to the glorious road of friendship! Their bond was unshakable. If Karan gave Raj a home and all the material comforts, Raj gave Karan a shoulder and all the emotional security. If Karan supported Raj at every step, Raj covered up for all of Karan's misdoings. They laughed together, lied together, loved together and fought the odds together all in the name of friendship. Their blind faith in each other attracted the envy of the world. But it was this very world that never let them forget that theirs was not a relationship of equals. And how long could an unequal relationship sustain? Karan and Raj defied conventions proving that true friendship was above all such trivialities… But like a bolt out of the blue came a raging storm that threatened to sink the ship that housed the sentiments of the two friends.