Drama Movies 2009 List

With Christian Petzold

A remake of The Postman always Rings Twice.

With Götz Spielmann

At once a gripping thriller and a tragic drama of nearly Greek proportions, "Revanche" is the stunning, Oscar–nominated, international breakthrough film from Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex (the mesmerizing Johannes Krisch) works as an assistant in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara (Irina Potapenko). Their desperate plans for escape unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop (Andreas Lust) and his seemingly content wife (Ursula Strauss). With meticulous, elegant direction, Spielmann creates a tense, existential, and surprising portrait of vengeance and redemption, and a journey into the darkest forest of human nature, in which violence and beauty exist side by side.

With Michael Keaton • Bobby Cannavale • Kelly MacDonald • Steven Jones • Ron Lazzeretti • William Dick • Tom Bastounes

Running away from a troubled marriage, Kate Frazier (Kelly Macdonald, No Country for Old Men) hopes to find anonymity with a new home and a new job in Chicago. What Kate finds instead is Frank Logan (Michael Keaton, Batman), a veteran hit man who intends to kill her when he learns she may be a witness to his latest hit. But when he realizes she is like him, a troubled soul haunted by the past, their relationship deepens, and his plans change. Now, Logan must decide if he should walk away from his old life or use it as a way to secure their future.

With Bill Murray • Tilda Swinton • Isaach De Bankolé • Gael García Bernal • Jim Jarmusch • Hiam Abbass • Luis Tosar • Youki Kudoh • John Hurt • Alex Descas

The story of a mysterious loner, a stranger (Isaach De Bankolé), whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. The new picture from independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain (both urban and otherwise).

With Isabelle Huppert • Denis Freyd • Denis Delcampe • Olivier Gourmet • Ursula Meier • Thierry Spicher • Elena Tatti

Life for a family in a rural town is is upended when a major highway is constructed nearby.

With Tyler Perry • Winona Ryder • Eric Bana • Chris Hemsworth • J.J. Abrams • Karl Urban • Alex Kurtzman • Zachary Quinto • Chris Pine • John Cho • Zoe Saldana • Simon Pegg • Jimmy Bennett • Clifton Collins Jr. • Bruce Greenwood • Anton Yelchin • Leonard Nimoy • Ben Cross • Bryan Burk • Roberto Orci • Damon Lindelof

From director J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci ("Transformers," "MI: III") comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, "Star Trek," featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before. Star Trek explores the early Starfleet careers of future Enterprise officers Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Amanda Grayson (Winona Ryder), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekhov (Anton Yelchin). A Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana), and a much older Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are influences, as well as Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), the first captain of the USS Enterprise.

With Diego Luna • Gael García Bernal • Alfonso Cuarón • Carlos Cuarón

Tato (Gael García Bernal) and Beto (Diego Luna), two brothers living a hard life of manual labor in rural Mexico, have a simple dream of saving enough money to build their mother her dream house. But fate has other plans; a friendly game of soccer leads to first one, then the other being taken on by the nation’s top talent scout, Batuta, and gives rise to the first of many emotional head to heads between brothers. Suddenly, they find themselves living the high life of star athletes—fame, riches, fast cars, and beautiful women. But every dream has a dark side, and when they are forced to compete on rival teams, bitterness brews between them. Mutual trust gives way to resentment and betrayal, while the dangers of their wild new lifestyles threaten debt and the safety of their entire family. In the end, all will ride on the one big game between their two clubs. Tato and Beto must face each other on the pitch but also reunite again as brothers before they lose everything they had once dreamed of.

With Robert Pattinson • Philippa Goslett • Jonny Persey • Jaume Vilalta • Paul Morrison • Javier Beltran • Carlo Dusi

The young life and loves of artist Salvador Dalí.

With Billy Zane • Amy Smart • Betty White • Robert Iscove • Tom Malloy

Jake and Jessica must try to elude all obstacles, romantic or otherwise, to stay focused on the goal - winning the World Title and winning each other.

With Forest Whitaker • Jessica Biel • Ray Liotta • Eddie Redmayne • Kris Kristofferson • Patrick Swayze • Timothy Linh Bui • Stephane Gauger • Alejandro Romero

The story follows four eclectic characters — a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest and a stripper — brought together on Christmas Eve by a mixture of circumstances.

With Scott Speedman • Arsinee Khanjian • Atom Egoyan • Raoul Bhaneja • Simone Urdl • Robert Lantos • Laurent Petin • Katie Boland • Michele Halberstadt • Jennifer Weiss

A high school student misrepresents himself as a figure from recent history, and draws a group of schoolmates and survivors into a community mourning a tragedy that never happened.

With Tilda Swinton • Kate Del Castillo • Saul Rubinek • Erick Zonca

An alcoholic woman becomes involved in a nefarious ransom kidnapping scheme with a stranger from an AA meeting.

With Tom Hanks • Stellan Skarsgard • Brian Grazer • Ewan McGregor • Ron Howard • Nikolaj Lie Kaas • Ayelet Zurer • Dan Brown • Armin Mueller-Stahl • Akiva Goldsman • John Calley • Todd Hallowell • Kristof Konrad • Masasa Moyo

The team behind the global phenomenon "The Da Vinci Code" returns for the highly anticipated "Angels & Demons," based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard again directs the film, which is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and John Calley.

When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival.

With Jennifer Aniston • Woody Harrelson • Steve Zahn • Fred Ward • Wyck Godfrey • Stephen Belber • Marty Bowen • William Horberg • Jim Tauber

"Management" is a romantic comedy that chronicles a chance meeting between Mike Cranshaw (Steve Zahn) and Sue Claussen (Jennifer Aniston). When Sue checks into the roadside motel owned by Mike's parents in Arizona, what starts with a bottle of wine "compliments of management" soon evolves into a multi-layered, cross-country journey of two people looking for a sense of purpose. Mike, an aimless dreamer, bets it all on a trip to Sue's workplace in Maryland - only to find that she has no place for him in her carefully ordered life. Buttoned down and obsessed with making a difference in the world, Sue goes back to her yogurt mogul ex-boyfriend Jango (Woody Harrelson), who promises her a chance to head his charity operations. But having found something worth fighting for, Mike pits his hopes against Sue's practicality, and the two embark on a twisted, bumpy, freeing journey to discover that their place in the world just might be together.

With Juliette Binoche • Charles Gillibert • Nathanaël Karmitz • Olivier Assayas • Marin Karmitz

Three kids must sell all their childhood valuables to ensure their dead mother’s wishes are granted.

With Sasha Grey • Steven Soderbergh • David Levien • Brian Koppelman • Chris Santos • Greg Jacobs

A revealing look at the world of prostitution from an elite call girl's point of view.

With Justin Long • Sam Raimi • Alison Lohman • Jessica Lucas • Reggie Lee • Joe Drake • David Paymer • Nathan Kahane • Josh Donen • Grant Curtis • Rob Tapert • Ivan Raimi • Dileep Rao • Lorna Raver

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home.

In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse?

With Yojiro Takita • Kundo Koyama

A cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved, leaving him without a job. He decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work, finding a job in a funeral home.

With Hilary Duff • Molly Shannon • Steve Coogan • Olivia Thirlby • Jonathan Glazer • Robert Lawson • R.D. Robb

A reporter covering the Challenger Space Shuttle launch becomes mixed up in the lives of some local students.