Drama Movies 2009 List

With Clint Eastwood • Brian Howe • Jenette Kahn • Nick Schenk • Cory Hardrict • Billy Gerber • Rob Lorenz • Adam Richman • Dave Johannson • Brian Haley • Dreama Walker • Christopher Carley

Clint Eastwood stars in the drama "Gran Torino," marking his first film role since his Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby." Eastwood also directs the film in which he plays Walt Kowalski, an iron-willed veteran living in a changing world, who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices. .

With Michael Bay • Gary Oldman • Carla Gugino • Cam Gigandet • Meagan Good • David S. Goyer • Jane Alexander • Andrew Form • Odette Yustman • James Remar • Bradley Fuller

Casey Bell (Odette Yustman) hated her mother for leaving her as a child. But when inexplicable things start to happen, Casey begins to understand why she left. Plagued by merciless dreams and a tortured ghost that haunts her waking hours, she must turn to the only spiritual advisor, Sendak (Gary Oldman), who can make it stop.

With Sendak's help, Casey uncovers the source of a family curse dating back to Nazi Germany—a creature with the ability to inhabit anyone or anything that is getting stronger with each possession. With the curse unleashed, her only chance at survival is to shut a doorway from beyond our world that has been pried open by someone who was never born.

With Kevin Hart • Morris Chestnut • Wood Harris • Bill Duke • Maeve Quinlan • Cannon Jay • Clint Culpepper • T.D. Jakes • Aaron Norris • Curtis Wallace • Brian Bird

The faith-themed drama revolves around a couple whose strength and faith are tested after the wife is injured in a car crash and the husband becomes attracted to another woman.

With Mickey Rourke • Darren Aronofsky • Evan Rachel Wood • Robert Siegel • Marisa Tomei • Ernest Miller • Todd Barry

Back in the late ‘80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life -- trying to reconnect with his daughter, and striking up a blossoming romance with an exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei) who is ready to start a new life. Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy “The Ram” back into his world of wrestling. Director Darren Aronofsky presents a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home – inside the ring.

With Viggo Mortensen • Mark Strong • Jason Isaacs • John Wrathall • Miriam Segal • John Palermo • Vicente Amorim

The story about one man's journey during the Nazi regime set against his chaotic private life.

With Ryan Gosling • Benicio Del Toro • Javier Bardem • Steven Soderbergh • Terrence Malick • Benjamin Bratt • Julia Ormond • Franka Potente

Based on the life of revolutionary Che Guevara (played by Benicio Del Toro), this film follows the Argentinian from his beginnings as a doctor to his involvement in Cuban politics and his eventual murder in Bolivia.

With Chazz Palminteri • Christine Lahti • Trent Othick • Robert Celestino

"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.

With Angela Bassett • Anthony Mackie • George Tillman, Jr. • Derek Luke • Jamal Woolard • Antonique Smith • Naturi Naughton • Dennis White • Julia Pace Mitchell • Voletta Wallace • Wayne Barrow • Mark Pitts • Cheo Hodari Coker

"Notorious" is about the life of rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. In just a few short years, The Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation.

With Daniel Craig • Jamie Bell • Edward Zwick • Liev Schrieber • Alexa Davalos • Allan Corduner • Pieter Jan Brugge • Clayton Frohman • Sam Spruell

Based on an extraordinary true story, "Defiance" is an epic tale of family, honor, vengeance and salvation in World War II. The year is 1941 and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being massacred by the thousands. Managing to escape certain death, three brothers take refuge in the dense surrounding woods they have known since childhood. There they begin their desperate battle against the Nazis. Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell star as brothers who turn a primitive struggle to survive into something far more consequential -- a way to avenge the deaths of their loved ones by saving thousands of others.

With Emma Thompson • Dustin Hoffman • James Brolin • Jawal Nga • Kathy Baker • Tim Perell • Richard Schiff • Eileen Atkins • Joel Hopkins • Nicola Usborne • Liane Balaban

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson reunite in "Last Chance Harvey", a hopeful romance that celebrates new beginnings—at any age. The film is directed and written by Joel Hopkins.

New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss (Richard Schiff) that he has just one more chance to deliver, Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter’s (Liane Balaban) wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting—or else. Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle instead of him. Doing his best to hide his devastation, he leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses his plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, he is fired on the spot. Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate (Emma Thompson), a slightly prickly, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins), is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion.

The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another’s lives.

With Brendan Fraser • Andy Serkis • Jim Broadbent • Paul Bettany • Helen Mirren • Mark Ordesky • Rafi Gavron • Eliza Hope Bennett • Iain Softley • Toby Emmerich • Diana Pokorny • Cornelia Funke • David Lindsay-Abaire • Ileen Maisel

"Inkheart" is a thrilling adventure that stars Brendan Fraser as Mo Folchart, a father who possesses a secret ability to bring characters from books to life when he reads them aloud. But when Mo accidentally brings a power-hungry villain from a rare children's fable to life, the villain kidnaps Mo's daughter and demands Mo bring other evil fictional characters to life. In an attempt to rescue his daughter, Mo assembles a disparate group of friends - both real and magic - and embarks on a journey to save her and set things right.

With Leonardo DiCaprio • Kate Winslet • David Harbour • Sam Mendes • Kathy Bates • Michael Shannon • Scott Rudin • Justin Haythe • Zoe Kazan • Bobby Cohen • John N. Hart

Set in the 1950's, a happy suburban couple with two children find themselves caught between their true desires and the pressure to conform -- with explosive consequences.

With Liam Neeson • Maggie Grace • Luc Besson • Katie Cassidy • India Osborne • Famke Janssen • Robert Mark Kamen • Pierre Morel • Pierre-Ange Le Pogam

"Taken" stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, an ex-government operative who has less than four days to find his kidnapped daughter, who has been taken on her first day of vacation in Paris.

With Pierre Milon • Laurent Cantet • François Bégaudeau • Robin Campillo • Caroline Benjo • Carole Scotta • Nassim Amrabt • Laura Baquela • Cherif Bounaïdja Rachedi • Juliette Demaille

"The Class" is based on an autobiographical novel by Francois Begaudeau, a drama that follows the year in the life of a French schoolteacher working at a high-school in a tough neighborhood of Paris. Ethnicities, cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom. As amusing and inspiring as the teenage students can be, their difficult behavior can still jeopardize any teacher's enthusiasm for the low-paying job. Francois insists on an atmosphere of respect and diligence. Neither stuffy nor severe, his extravagant frankness often takes the students by surprise. But his classroom ethics are put to the test when his students begin to challenge his methods.