Drama Movies 2016 List

With Cliff Curtis • James Rolleston • James Napier Robertson • Sia Trokenheim

The film features Cliff Curtis as Genesis “Gen” Potini, a brilliant but troubled New Zealand chess champion who finds purpose by teaching underprivileged children about the rules of chess and life.

After years in and out of mental institutions, Genesis is released into the care of his estranged brother Ariki (Wayne Hapi) and thrust into his volatile gang lifestyle. Seeking to escape this toxic environment, Genesis finds solace by volunteering at the Eastern Knights chess club and sharing his gift with the disadvantaged Maori children of his community. Charismatic and impassioned, Gen encourages the group to train for the upcoming National Chess Championships. But his teaching puts him at odds with his brother when Ariki’s son Mana (James Rolleston) shows an interest in the game – chess is considered a distraction from the teen’s imminent initiation into his father’s gang. Genesis’s conflict with his brother and the violent gang, along with his ongoing battle with illness, threaten to ruin the hopeful progress Gen has made for himself and the young Eastern Knights. But Genesis’s positivity leads him to always search for light, even when the world seems at its darkest.

With Emma Thompson • Gillian Anderson • David Arquette • Tillotama Shome • Seema Biswas • Jeffrey Brown • Parambrata Chatterjee • Priyanka Bose • Sushmita Mukherjee

Based on true stories, Sold, is the story of Lakshmi who journeys from a pastoral, rural village in Nepal to a gritty brothel/prison called Happiness House in Kolkata, India. .

With Ewan McGregor • Michael Stuhlbarg • Don Cheadle • Vince Wilburn Jr. • Cary Brokaw • Steve Baigelman • Emayatzy Corinealdi

The story centers on the life of jazz legend Miles Davis.

With Robin Givens • Ernie Hudson • Jesse Metcalfe • Ray Wise • Chuck Konzelman • Cary Solomon • Harold Cronk • David AR White • Eamonn McCrystal • Melissa Joan Hart

God's Not Dead 2 centers on Grace (Melissa Joan Hart), a Christian teacher, who is forced before a judge for honestly answering a question about Jesus in the classroom. With the principal and superintendent joining forces with a zealous civil liberties group, Grace faces an epic court case that could cost her career she loves and expel God from the classroom.

With Jake Gyllenhaal • Naomi Watts • Jason Reitman • John Malkovich • Jean-Marc Vallee • Chris Cooper • Lianne Halfon • Bryan Sipe • Wass Stevens

Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), a successful investment banker, struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father in law Phil (Chris Cooper) to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep Karen (Naomi Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son Chris (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.

With Pilou Asbæk • Tuva Novotny • Tobias Lindholm

Company commander Claus M. Pedersen (Pilou Asbæk) and his men are stationed in an Afghan province. Meanwhile back in Denmark Claus’ wife Maria (Tuva Novotny) is trying to hold everyday life together with a husband at war and three children missing their father. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences for him - and his family back home.

With David Strathairn • Jesse Eisenberg • Isabelle Huppert • Rachel Brosnahan • Joachim Trier • Amy Ryan • Gabriel Byrne • Ruby Jerins • Eskil Vogt • Devin Druid

Two years after her death in a car crash, the husband and sons of famed photographer Isabelle Reed (Isabelle Huppert) are still trying to cope with their loss. Gene (Gabriel Byrne) struggles as a single parent, but is taking his first exultant steps towards a new relationship. Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg), the elder son, has just had a baby of his own and finds the transition from child to parent more than a little daunting. The younger son, Conrad (newcomer Devin Druid), is a typical teenager, wearing his alienation as a badge of honor and resisting his father’s every attempt to connect. On the occasion of a major retrospective of Isabelle’s work, Jonah returns home to help his father organize her effects. Once again under the same roof, all three men are flooded with memories, and secrets are unearthed—most notably the truth behind the mysterious circumstances of Isabelle’s death.

With Nitzan Giladi • Moran Rosenblatt • Roy Assaf • Assi Levy

Hagit, a young woman with mild mental deficiency, works in a toilet-paper factory. She lives with her mother Sarah, a divorcée who gave up her life for her daughter. Hagit strives for independence and Sarah is torn between her desire to protect her, and her own will to live. When a relationship develops between her and the son of the factory owner, Hagit hides it from her mother. The announcement of the closing of the factory shakes Hagit and Sarah’s life and jeopardizes Hagit’s love story.

With Jack Reynor • Aidan Gillen • Anthony Bregman • Aiden Gillen • John Carney • Lucy Boynton • Maria Doyle Kennedy • Martina Niland • Kelly Thornton • Ferdia Walsh-Peelo

Sing Street is inspired by writer/director John Carney’s life and love for music, and tells the story of a 14-year-old named Cosmo growing up in 80’s Dublin who must break free of a home strained by his parents’ relationship and money troubles, deal with his drop-out older brother’s antics, and survive a new public school where the kids are rough and the brothers are tougher.

Cosmo writes a song, forms a scrappy band with some school mates, writes more songs, and shoots some wicked music videos. How to shoot pop videos in a recession ridden country? Beg, borrow and steal. And steal.

But when he realizes he can’t save his family, he must make a family of his own.

With James Franco • Amber Heard • Christian Slater • Ed Harris • Cynthia Nixon • Vince Jolivette • Pamela Romanowsky • Wilmer Valderrama,

A writer obsesses over a high-profile murder case, begins an affair with a reporter and clashes with his father over their dysfunctional past.

With Jesse Garcia • Julio Cedillo • Veronica Sixtos • Roberto Urbina • Jorge A. Jimenez • Maria Del Carmen Farias • Michael Dwyer • Kaitlin McLaughlin

Raised in the U.S., Claudia (22) is an undocumented immigrant living beyond her means in a twisted version of the American dream. When she’s arrested by the FBI for credit card fraud, Claudia is quickly deported to México. Speaking no Spanish and lost in her foreign “homeland,” she reluctantly takes refuge at her estranged father's cattle ranch. As she clashes with her unyielding father, her attempts to return home to the U.S. thrust her into a dangerous bond with a foreign smuggler, Ricky. Caught between her father’s sermons, Ricky's promises, and the encroaching military, Claudia must navigate a tightrope of impossible choices.

With Emily Blunt • Charlize Theron • Chris Hemsworth • Sam Claflin • Jessica Chastain • Nick Frost • David Koepp • Palak Patel • Joe Roth • Rob Brydon • Sarah Bradshaw

Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen—including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain)—only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love.

When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable…unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.

With Kevin Spacey • Colin Hanks • Alex Pettyfer • Cary Elwes • Evan Peters • Johnny Knoxville • Michael Shannon • Cassian Elwes • Ashley Benson • Liza Johnson • Sky Ferreira • Hanala Sagal • Joey Sagal

On a December morning in 1970, the King of Rock ’n Roll showed up on the lawn of the White House to request a meeting with the most powerful man in the world, President Nixon. Starring Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley and two-time Academy Award® winner Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon, comes the untold true story behind this revealing, yet humorous moment in the Oval Office forever immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives.

With Tom Hanks • Tom Skerritt • Tom Tykwer • Sidse Babett Knudsen • Sarita Choudhury • Jay Abdo • Gary Goetzman

Cultures collide when an American businessman (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver (Alexander Black) and a beautiful Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhury).

With Rose Byrne • Susan Sarandon • Lucy Punch • J.K. Simmons • Jason Ritter • Lorene Scafaria • Casey Wilson

Follows Marnie Minervini (Susan Sarandon), recent widow and eternal optimist, as she moves from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter (Rose Byrne). Armed with an iPhone and a full bank account, Marnie sets out to make friends, find her purpose, and possibly open up to someone new.

With Zoe Saldana • David Oyelowo • Barnaby Thompson • Cynthia Mort

She was one of the century's most extraordinary talents, a 15-time Grammy nominee and Grammy Hall of Fame recipient; her mesmerizing songs and passionate politics combined to make her the unforgettable Nina Simone (Zoe Saldana). But fame and fortune came with a price, and her later years were riddled with depression, alcohol abuse and isolation. Rediscovering the meaning of her life and work took courage, strength and one true friend: Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo), the man who started out as her assistant and eventually became her loyal manager. With Clifton's encouragement, the "high priestess of soul" began a courageous journey back to her music... and, eventually, herself.

With Dev Patel • Jeremy Irons • Toby Jones • Kevin McNally • Matthew Brown • Devika Bhise

In 1913, Ramanujan (Dev Patel), a self-taught Indian mathematics genius traveled to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he forged a bond with his mentor, the eccentric professor GH Hardy (Jeremy Irons), and fought against prejudice to reveal his mathematic genius to the world.

With Hailee Steinfeld • Taraji P. Henson • Vince Vaughn • Jon Favreau • Mike Epps • Terrence Howard • Jordi Molla • Shea Whigham • William Levy • Bill Paxton • Peter Billingsley • Annabeth Gish • Victoria Vaughn • Micah Mason • A.J. Lieberman • Nick Thornborrow • Jonathan Banks • Cain Velasquez

A man plans and sells heists to the highest bidder, but when his latest job goes horribly wrong he finds himself hunted by everyone he knows. He must do the only thing he can think of: takes out a life insurance policy on himself with his estranged daughter as the beneficiary. Unfortunately, the policy doesn't go into effect for 21 days and he is forced go on the run with a girl he barely knows.

With Nicole Kidman • Jason Bateman • Christopher Walken • Per Saari • Leslie Urdang • David Lindsay-Abaire • Dean Vanech • Maryann Plunkett

After an unlikely accident, a pair of grown siblings (Nicole Kidman and Jason Bateman) are compelled to move back in with their eccentric parents (Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett), professional practical jokers whose lifetime of public interventions have alienated their children.

With Minka Kelly • Giovanni Ribisi • Joely Richardson • Ellen Goldsmith-Vein • Bob Yari • Denne Bart Petitclerc • Peter McHugh • Kevin Fortuna • Amanda Harvey • Weezie Melancon • Michael Pacino • Adrian Sparks

The true story about the relationship between Miami journalist Denne Bart Petitclerc (Giovanni Ribisi) and legendary writer Ernest Hemingway (Adrian Sparks). Set during the Cuban revolution, the film co-stars Joely Richardson and Minka Kelly with a cameo by Hemingway's granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway.

With Maya Vitkova • Irmena Chichikova • Daria Vitkova • Kalina Vitkova • Mariana Krumova • Dimo Dimov • Georgi Spasov

Follows three generations of women in the final years of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the transition to democracy. The film focuses on reluctant mother Boryana and her daughter, Viktoria, who in one of the film’s surreal, magical touches is born without an umbilical cord. Though unwanted by her mother, Viktoria is named the country’s Baby of the Decade, and is showered with gifts and attention until the disintegration of the East Bloc. Despite throwing their worlds off balance, the resulting political changes also allow for the possibility of reconciliation.