Browse Movies : 2005 : Drama

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.

After his invention causes the Oregon shoe corporation he works for to lose millions of dollars, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is fired for his mistake, and then dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen. Hopelessly depressed, Drew decides to end his life when he gets a phone call. His father has died, and Drew has to go back to his family's small Kentucky hometown of Elizabethtown to make sure his father's dying wishes are fulfilled. On his trip home, Drew meets a flight attendant, Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst), with whom he falls in love, and it seems as if Drew's life may be back on track.

Set in the exotic country of South Africa, Duma tells the powerful adventure tale of an unbreakable bond of friendship between a cheetah named Duma and an intrepid young boy named Xan (Alexander Michaletos), who faces the true test of love when he must cross the whole of Southern Africa to return his best friend to his rightful home in the wilds. On his journey, Xan learns that everything always changes, but not love.

Set in Washington D.C., a man is recruited by the National Security Agency to become a XXX agent. The XXX name refers to a three-strikes rule the NSA employs to give criminals the option of joining the crime-fighting force or going to prison.

"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.

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.

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.

"Lord of War" is an action adventure story set in the world of international arms dealing. The film, based on fact, follows the globetrotting exploits of arms dealer Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage). Through some of the deadliest war zones, Yuri struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke), his business rivals, even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, Yuri must also face his own conscience.

"Sin City" stars Bruce Willis as Hartigan, a cop with a bum ticker and a vow to protect stripper Nancy (Jessica Alba); Mickey Rourke as Marv, the outcast misanthrope on a mission to avenge the death of his one true love, Goldie (Jaime King), and Clive Owen as Dwight, the clandestine love of Shelley (Brittany Murphy), who spends his nights defending Gail (Rosario Dawson) and her Old Towne girls (Devon Aoki and Alexis Bledel) from Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro), a dirty cop with a penchant for violence.

Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.

U.S. Navy pilots Ben Gannon, Kara Wade and Henry Purcell are part of a close-knit elite division of test pilots flying highly classified stealth fighter jets, referred to only as Talons. They're the best of the best and they know it. Then their commanding officer Cpt. George Cummings introduces the team to their new wingman—their first real mission alongside EDI. To their amazement, EDI proves to be a cracker-jack wingman and they successfully eliminate their target. But on the return trip to their base aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson, EDI is struck by lightning. The drone's brain expands in ways its creators could never have predicted. Despite Ben and Henry's reservations, Cummings declares EDI ready to rejoin the team in the air. On their next mission against a nuclear-armed warlord in a remote Chinese province, EDI's seriously compromised circuitry problems only get worse. Ben decides that the risks of the attack far outweigh the benefits to himself, Henry and Kara, (for whom he has developed a romantic attraction). When he aborts the mission, EDI goes against orders and executes the hit anyway. The danger escalates when EDI decides to execute a top-secret mission that, if successful, could spiral into worldwide nuclear Armageddon. And only Ben can prevent it.

Sharp-witted Terry Wolfmeyer, a suburban wife and mother, has her life take an unusual turn when her husband unexpectedly disappears. Struggling to deal with his sudden absence, Terry finds herself increasingly at odds with her four headstrong daughters and regularly drowning her anger in alcohol, until she develops an offbeat relationship with her next-door neighbor, Denny. A once-great baseball star turned radio DJ, Denny becomes a drinking buddy for Terry and slowly evolves into her source of strength, as well as an ad-hoc father to her daughters. But things get complicated as Terry's daughters grow accustomed to having Denny around while attempting to juggle not only their mother's romantic dilemmas, but their own.

Mamie is being blackmailed. This filmmaker named Nick claims to know Mamie's son—the one she gave up for adoption—but Nick won't introduce her to him unless he can film the reunion. Enter Javier, Mamie's massage therapist boyfriend, who convinces Nick to film him instead. Now they're all making a movie about massage. And ‘happy endings'…

Charley has a longtime boyfriend named Gil. Their best friends, Pam and Diane, once tried using Gil as a sperm donor. They said his sperm didn't take, but Charley thinks those selfish, control-freak lesbians are lying. Pam and Diane's two-year-old son looks exactly like Gil. And it's time to set the record straight…

Jude is pissed. Not at anyone in particular. Just in general. When her cousin kicks her out of the house, Jude shacks up with Otis, who's still trying to convince his father, Frank, that he's straight. Frank's a widower. And he's rich. So Jude decides to sleep with him, too. Really. The last thing she expected was to fall in love…

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".

Cinderella Man is inspired by the life of legendary athlete Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe), a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into retirement after a string of losses in the ring. As the nation enters the darkest years of the Great Depression, Braddock accepts a string of dead-end jobs to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and their children, while never totally abandoning his dream of boxing again.

Thanks to a last minute cancellation, Braddock finds himself back in the ring against the second-ranked world contender -- and to everyone's amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Despite being pounds lighter than his opponents and repeated injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to fight against challengers and win. Carrying on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised masses, Braddock, dubbed the "Cinderella Man," faces his toughest challenger in Max Baer (Craig Bierko), the heavyweight champion of the world, renowned for having killed two men in the ring.

John Constantine has been to hell and back. Born with a gift he didn't want, the ability to recognize the half-breed angels and demons that walk the earth in human camouflage, Constantine (Keanu Reeves) was driven to take his own life to escape the tormenting clarity of his vision. But he failed. Resuscitated against his will, he found himself cast back into the land of the living. Now, marked as an attempted suicide with a temporary lease on life, he patrols the earthly border between heaven and hell, hoping in vain to earn his way to salvation by waging war on the earthbound minions of evil. But Constantine is no saint. Increasingly disillusioned by the world around him and at odds with the one beyond, he's a hard-drinking, hard-living bitter hero who scorns the very idea of heroism. Constantine will fight to save your soul but he doesn't want your admiration or your thanks—and certainly not your sympathy. All he wants is a way out. When a desperate but skeptical police detective (Rachel Weisz as Angela Dodson) enlists his help in solving the mysterious death of her beloved twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldy events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

Flying at 40,000 feet from Berlin to New York, Kyle Pratt (Foster) faces every mother's worst nightmare when her young daughter Julia (Lawston) vanishes mid-flight. Already emotionally devastated by the unexpected death of her husband, Kyle desperately struggles to prove her sanity to the disbelieving flight crew and passengers, while facing the very real possibility that she may be losing her mind. Though neither Captain Rich (Bean), nor Air Marshal Gene Carson (Sarsgaard) want to doubt the bereaved widow, all evidence indicates that her daughter was never on board, resulting in paranoia and doubt among the passengers and crew of the plane. Desperately alone, Kyle can only rely on her own wits to solve the mystery and save her daughter.

Charlize Theron plays single mom Josey Aimes, who rallies her female coworkers to rise above unfair treatment they face at a local mining company. Frances McDormand plays Glory, Josey's closest friend; Sissy Spacek and Richard Jenkins are Josey's parents, Alice and Hank; Sean Bean plays Glory's boyfriend Kyle; Woody Harrelson is Josey's lawyer, Bill White; Jeremy Renner is Bobby, a mineworker and Josey's former classmate; and Michelle Monaghan plays Sherry, Josey's fellow mineworker.

He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while. Everyone who went there had the same intention—to recapture their lost memories. It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back—except for one. He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.

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.