Drama Movies 2009 List

With Nikita Mikhalkov • Vladimir Moiseyenko • Aleksandr Novototsky

One juror on a murder trial manages to convince his fellow colleagues that the case is not as clear cut as it might have seemed in the courtroom.

With Patrick Wilson • Zack Snyder • Jeffrey Dean Morgan • Malin Akerman • Jackie Earle Haley • Matthew Goode • Billy Crudup • Lloyd Levin • Sarah Schechter • Thomas Tull • Larry Gordon • Alex Tse • Jessica Goodman • Tyler Bates • Larry Fong

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion—a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers—Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?

With Joon-Ho Bong • Masa Sawada • Michel Gondry • Leos Carax • Anne Pernod-Sawada • Michiko Yoshitake

A cinematic anthology of three Tokyo-based stories.

With Roselyn Sanchez • Jeremy Alter • Anton Pardoe

A tortured man returns to the city he swore he would never return to, in order to save the woman he has always loved yet can never have.

With Tony Stone

Two Norsemen are stranded and left for dead when their expedition is attacked in the New World.

With Cillian Murphy • Keira Knightley • Sienna Miller • Matthew Rhys • John Maybury • Sharman Macdonald

Two feisty, free-spirited women are connected by a brilliant, charismatic poet who loves them both.

The passion and pathos of legendary poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) is told through the lives of two extraordinary women. Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley) and Dylan were each other's first loves who feel the thunderbolt once more when they unexpectedly meet in London ten years later. Caitlin (Sienna Miller) is his adventurous wife, wily at using her beauty and always up for a bit of fun.

Despite their love-rival status, the women form a surprising friendship - and though bombs rain down on London, the trio indulge in the glory of being young, and alive. When Vera meets and marries handsome Officer William Killick (Cillian Murphy), Dylan resents his trio becoming a foursome - and Caitlin notes it.

The collapse of their group is avoided when William gets sent away to war - and the others move back to rural Wales. With Vera now heavily pregnant and missing a husband who never writes back, the battle between her heart and head becomes more intense. William’s return instigates a confrontation that has long been brewing - but the savagery of his attack on Dylan finally forces Vera to choose between the men in her life and the friend that she loves.

Desire and guilt are complicated by love and friendship in this real-life tale set in beautiful London and the majestic Welsh countryside.

With Nicolas Cage • Rose Byrne • Ben Mendelsohn • Liam Hemsworth • Aaron Kaplan • Terry Camilleri • Steve Tisch • Adrienne Pickering • Todd Black • Stiles White • Simon Duggan • Alex Proyas • Jason Blumenthal • Juliet Snowden • Stuart Hazeldine • Sean Perone • Chandler Canterbury • Nadia Townsend

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl's cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Myles. But it is Caleb's father, professor Ted Myles (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document's secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events-the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son.

When Ted's attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.

This gripping supernatural thriller charts one man's faltering steps towards belief in the ultimate order of the universe even as he finds himself surrounded by mounting chaos. With the reluctant help of Diana Whelan (Rose Byrne) and Abby, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies, Ted's increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster-and the ultimate sacrifice.

With Julia Roberts • Billy Bob Thornton • Paul Giamatti • Clive Owen • Tom Wilkinson • Tony Gilroy • Jennifer Fox • Laura Bickford

Oscar® winner Julia Roberts and Clive Owen reunite for "Duplicity," from writer/director Tony Gilroy (seven-time Oscar®-nominated "Michael Clayton"). In the film, they star as spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair. When they find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes espionage game, they discover the toughest part of the job is deciding how much to trust the one you love.

CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and MI6 agent Ray Koval (Owen) have left the world of government intelligence to cash in on the highly profitable cold war raging between two rival multinational corporations. Their mission? Secure the formula for a product that will bring a fortune to the company that patents it first.

For their employers—industry titan Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) and buccaneer CEO Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti)— nothing is out of bounds. But as the stakes rise, the mystery deepens and the tactics get dirtier, the trickiest secret for Claire and Ray is their growing attraction. And as they each try to stay one double-cross ahead, two career loners find their schemes endangered by the only thing they can't cheat their way out of: love.

With Emily Blunt • Tom Hanks • Colin Hanks • John Malkovich • Kevin Kline • Sean McGinly • Marina Grasic • Steven Shareshian • Gary Goetzman • Sidney Kimmel • Andreas Schmid • Andreas Grosch • Jan Korbelin • Marvin Acuna

Once upon a time, Buck Howard spent his days in the limelight. His mind-boggling feats as a mentalist extraordinaire - not to be confused with those of a mere magician - earned him a marquee act in Vegas and 61 appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. In his own humble opinion, his talents go far beyond simple sleight of hand - he can read minds and hypnotize not just a single soul but an entire room of people! But nowadays, it's clear to everyone but Buck that his act has lost its luster; he performs in faded community centers and hasn't sold out a theater in years. Yet, with a hearty handshake and a trademark "I love this town!" Buck Howard perseveres, confident in his own celebrity, convinced his comeback is imminent. He just needs a new road manager and personal assistant. As it turns out, recent law school drop-out and unemployed, would-be writer Troy Gable needs a job and a purpose. Working for the pompous, has-been mentalist fills the former requirement, but how it satisfies the latter is questionable, especially to his father, who still assumes Troy is in law school. Nonetheless, with the aid of a fiery publicist and a bold stroke of fate, Buck surprisingly lands back into the American consciousness, taking Troy along for the ride of his life. As the coveted spotlight again shines on the great Buck Howard, Buck becomes the unlikeliest of teachers as Troy learns a few tricks he couldn't possibly have picked up in law school.

With Cary Joji Fukunaga • Paulina Gaitan • Edgar Flores • Karl Braun • Diana García • Tenoch Huerta Mejía

"Sin Nombre" is an epic dramatic thriller written and directed by Student Academy Award winner Cary Joji Fukunaga in his feature debut. The filmmaker’s firsthand experiences with Central American immigrants seeking the promise of the U.S. form the basis of the Spanish-language movie.

"Sin Nombre" tells the story of Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a teenager living in Honduras, and hungering for a brighter future. A reunion with her long-estranged father gives Sayra her only real option – emigrating with her father and her uncle into Mexico and then the United States, where her father now has a new family.

Meanwhile, Casper, a.k.a. Willy (Edgar Flores), is a teenager living in Tapachula, Mexico, and facing an uncertain future. A member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang brotherhood, he has just brought to the Mara a new recruit, 12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer), who undergoes a rough initiation.

While Smiley quickly takes to gang life, Casper tries to protect his relationship with girlfriend Martha Marlene (Diana García), keeping their love a secret from the Mara. But when Martha encounters Tapachula’s Mara leader Lil’ Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), she is brutally taken from Casper forever.

Sayra and her relatives manage to cross over into Mexico. There, they join other immigrants waiting at the Tapachula train yards. When a States-bound freight train arrives one night, they successfully rush to board – riding atop it, rather than in the cars – as does Lil’ Mago, who has commandeered Casper and Smiley along to rob immigrants.

When day breaks, Lil’ Mago makes his move and Casper in turn makes a fateful decision. Casper must now navigate the psychological gauntlet of his violent existence and the physical one of the unforgiving Mara, but Sayra bravely allies herself with him as the train journeys through the Mexican countryside towards the hope of new lives.

With Ricardo de Montreuil

Following his father's suicide, Santiago decides to escape the crude Lima winter to take refuge in Mancora, a beach to the north of Peru where it is always summer.

With Steve McQueen • Michael Fassbender • Enda Walsh • Stuart Graham

Maze Prison in Northern Ireland, 1981. The infamous H-Blocks is where Irish republican prisoners are on the Blanket and No-Wash protest. It is a living hell for both prisoner and prison officer as the H-Block leader, Bobby Sands, pursues various tactics to help his fellow republicans re-establish their political status. In order to create real change, Bobby leads a Hunger Strike to protest for special category status for republican prisoners.

With Beau Bridges • Mykelti Williamson • Sarah Jessica Parker • Norman Twain • Rebecca Gilman • Wayne Thompson • Mark Brokaw • Lou Pitt • Ryan Howe • Mark Davis • Roger Howe • Sven Reckovag

In the story, when clearly racist, but anonymous, letters start appearing on the door of one of the college's few African American students, Sarah, the liberal dean of students, is forced to question and explore modern feelings about, and approaches to, racism and political correctness.

With Fred Durst • Jesse Eisenberg • Jason Ritter • Chris Marquette • Michael Corrente • Marisa Polvino • Peter Elkoff

A Vassar College student gets an unannounced visit from the scariest kid from his old New York neighborhood.