The Soloist

PG-13 | 1 hr 49 mins | Drama, Biopic, Music, Adaptation Movie
A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Julliard-trained musician while looking for a new article for the paper.
Synopsis:
Columnist Steve Lopez is at a dead end. The newspaper business is in an uproar, his marriage to a fellow journalist has fallen apart and he can’t entirely remember what he loved about his job in the first place. Then, one day, while walking through Los Angeles’ Skid Row, he sees the mysterious bedraggled figure Nathaniel Ayers, pouring his soul into a two-stringed violin. At first, Lopez approaches Ayers as just another story idea in a city of millions. But as he begins to unearth the mystery of how this alternately brilliant and distracted street musician, once a dynamic prodigy headed for fame, wound up living in tunnels and doorways, it sparks an unexpected quest. Imagining he can change Ayers’ life, Lopez embarks on a quixotic mission to get him off the streets and back to the world of music. But even as he fights to save Ayers’ life, he begins to see that it is Ayers with his unsinkable passion, his freedom-loving obstinacy and his valiant attempts at connection and love who is profoundly changing Lopez.

Director: Joe Wright
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton

Movie Trailer The Soloist

Marley & Me

PG | 2 hr | Comedy, Drama, Biopic, Adaptation
A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog. Based on the memoir by John Grogan.
Synopsis:
As the snow falls on their wedding night, newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan decide to leave behind the harsh winters of Michigan and head south to begin their new lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. They obtain jobs as journalists at competing local newspapers, buy their first home, and begin to make their way through the challenges of a new marriage, new careers and, possibly, the life-changing decision to start a family. Unsure of his preparedness for raising children, John confesses his fears to his friend and fellow journalist Sebastian, who comes up with the perfect solution: John should get Jenny a puppy. “There’s nothing to it,” says Sebastian. “You walk ‘em. You feed ‘em, you let ‘em out now and then.” Then came Marley. The Grogans adopt the cute, twelve pound yellow Labrador, who in no time at all, grows into a 100-pound steamroller of unbridled energy that turns the Grogan home into a disaster area. He flunks obedience school, chews off dry-wall, takes a bite out of the sofa, overturns garbage cans, steals a Thanksgiving turkey, consumes pillows and flowers, drinks toilet water, and chases the UPS guy. Even a newly-purchased, expensive necklace isn’t safe from Marley’s voracious antics. Amidst the mayhem he generates through the years, Marley sees the Grogans through the ups and downs of family life, through job and home changes, and most of all, through the myriad challenges of a growing family. As John and Jenny come to realize, Marley “the world’s worst dog” somehow brings out the best in them.

Director: David Frankel
Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner

Trailer Marley & Me

Milk

R | 2 hr 8 mins | Historical, Biopic, Period, Political Movie
Stories about California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone.
Synopsis:
Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans. While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith relocate to San Francisco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working class neighborhood. With his beloved Castro neighborhood and beautiful city empowering him, Milk surprises Scott and himself by becoming an outspoken agent for change. With vitalizing support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones, Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. Bolstering his public profile with humor, Milk’s actions speak even louder than his gift of gab words. When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White. But as White and Milk’s political agendas increasingly diverge, their personal destinies tragically converge.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Victor Garber, Denis O'Hare, Stephen Spinella, Eric Stoltz

Movie Trailer Milk

Cadillac Records

R | 1 hr 48 mins | Drama, Biopic, Period, Music Movie
The rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Chuck Berry.

Synopsis:
The rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of Muddy Waters, Etta James and Chuck Berry. Leonard Chess scoured the South, checking out the various blues scenes and selling records from the back of his Cadillac.

Director: Darnell Martin
Starring: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles, Gabrielle Union, Columbus Short, Cedric the Entertainer, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Eamonn Walker, Mos Def

Movie Trailer Cadillac Records

W

PG-13 | 2 hr 9 mins | Biopic, Political Movie
A chronicle of the life and presidency of George W. Bush.
Synopsis:
The life and presidency of George W. Bush, his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and the critical days leading up to his decision to invade Iraq.

Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, Ioan Gruffudd, Jesse Bradford, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn

Movie Trailer W

The Express

PG | 2 hr 9 mins | Drama, Biopic, Sports, Adaptation
A drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
Synopsis:
The true story of Ernie Davis, two-time All-American running back for Syracuse University who led his team to the national championship in 1960. In 1961, he became the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy. Later that year, he was the first pick in the NFL draft. But Davis never got the chance to play professional football, he was diagnosed with leukemia during the summer of 1962 and died nearly a year later.

Director: Gary Fleder
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Rob Brown, Omar Benson Miller, Clancy Brown, Charles S. Dutton

Movie Trailer The Express

The Duchess (2008)

PG-13|1 hr 45 mins|Drama, Biopic, Period, Adaptation
A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.
Synopsis:
Long before the concept existed, the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Spencer, was the original “It Girl.” Like her direct descendent Princess Diana, she was ravishing, glamorous and adored by an entire country. Determined to be a player in the wider affairs of the world, she proved that she could out-gamble, out-drink and outwit most of the aristocratic men who surrounded her. She helped usher in sweeping changes to England as a leader of the forward-thinking Whig Party. But even as her power and popularity grew, she was haunted by the fact that the only man in England she seemingly could not seduce was her very own husband, the Duke. And when she tried to find her own way to be true to her heart and loyal to her duty, the resulting controversies and convoluted liaisons would leave all of London talking.

Director: Saul Dibb
Starring: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell

Movie Trailer The Duchess (2008)

Savage Grace

NR | 1 hr 34 mins | Drama, Biopic, Period, Adaptation Movie
The true story of the Baekeland family, the inventors of Bakelite and their descent into sexual obsession and murder.
Synopsis:
Barbara Daly, the dashing heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune, married above her class to Brooks Baekeland. Beautiful, red-headed and charismatic, Barbara is still no match for her well-bred husband. The birth of the couple’s only child, Tony, rocks the uneasy balance in this marriage of extremes. Tony is a failure in his father’s eyes. As he matures and becomes increasingly close to his lonely mother, the seeds for a tragedy of spectacular decadence are sown. From 1946 to 1972, the Baekelands’ pursuit of social distinction and the glittering “good life” propels them across the globe.

Director: Tom Kalin
Starring: Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Unax Ugalde, Belen Rueda

Movie Trailer Savage Grace

Charlie Wilson's War

R | 1 hr 37 mins | Comedy, Biopic, Period, Adaptation Movie
Based on Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have had long-reaching effects.
Synopsis:
Charlie Wilson was a bachelor congressman from Texas who had a habit of showing up in hot tubs with strippers and cocaine. His "Good Time Charlie" exterior, however, masked an extraordinary mind, a deep sense of patriotism and a passion for the underdog, and in the early 1980s the underdog was Afghanistan--which had just been brutally invaded by the Russians. Charlie''s longtime friend and patron and sometime lover was Joanne Herring, one of the wealthiest women in Texas and a virulent anti-communist. Believing the American response to the Russian invasion was anemic at best, she prods Charlie into doing more for the Mujahideen (Afghan freedom fighters). Charlie''s partner in this uphill endeavor is CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos, a blue-collar operative in a company of Ivy League blue bloods. Together, the three of them--Charlie, Joanne and Gust--travel the world to form unlikely alliances among the Pakistanis, Israelis, Egyptians, arms dealers, law makers and a belly dancer. Their success was remarkable. Funding for covert operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually. The Red Army retreated out of Afghanistan. When asked how a group of peasants was able to deliver such a decisive blow to the army of a superpower, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq responded simply, "Charlie did it."

Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts
Movie Trailer Charlie Wilson's War

Walk Hard (2007)

R | Comedy, Biopic, Satire, Music Movie
Singer Dewey Cox overcomes the ups and downs of a rock 'n roll lifestyle to become an American musical legend.
Synopsis:
America loves Dewey Cox! But behind the music is the up-and-down-and-up-again story of a musician whose songs would change a nation. On his rock ''n roll spiral, Cox sleeps with 411 women, marries three times, has 22 kids and 14 stepkids, stars in his own ''70s TV show, collects friends ranging from Elvis to the Beatles to a chimp, and gets addicted to--and then kicks--every drug known to man. But despite it all, Cox grows into a national icon and eventually earns the love of a good woman--longtime backup singer Darlene.

Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows
Movie Trailer Walk Hard

I'm Not There (2007)

R | 2 hr 15 mins | Drama, Biopic, Period, Music Movie
Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where seven characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
Synopsis:
A re-enactment of the life of musician, Bob Dylan, with multiple actors embodying different stages in the singer''s life.

Director: Todd Haynes
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale

YouTube - I'M NOT THERE - Trailer
YouTube - I'm Not There Movie Clip

American Gangster

R | 2 hr 40 mins | Thriller, Biopic, Urban, Period
A NYC detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, who is smuggling the herion into the country in the coffins of dead soldiers returning from Vietnam.
Synopsis:
Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas, the quiet driver to one of the inner city''s leading black crime bosses. But when his boss suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade, flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city''s mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars. Richie Roberts is an outcast cop close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation where only one of them can come out on top.

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
Trailer American Gangster

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

PG-13 | 1 hr 54 mins | Biopic, Period, Foreign, Sequel Movie
An exploration of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh.
Synopsis:
It is 1585 and, having reigned over England for nearly three decades, QueenElizabeth I continues to face bloodlust for her throne and the lingering threat of familial betrayal. A channel away, a destructive wind of fundamentalist Catholicism blows across 16th century Europe, with Spain’s Philip II, its figurehead. Backed by the Church in Rome and armed with the Inquisition, Philip--with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada--presents an imminent threat to Queen and Country--the dark and pious king is determined to wrest the Protestant “heretic” from the throne and restore England to the glory that is the Roman Catholic Church. Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth also struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Raleigh--despite his status as a commoner--who remains forbidden for a Queen sworn body and soul to her country. Unable and unwilling to pursue her passion, Elizabeth encourages her favored lady-in-waiting, Bess, to befriend Raleigh and keep him near. But such a strategy places Elizabeth at the center of their courtship, where she has no choice but to observe their growing intimacy. In the dashing and adventurousRaleigh, she sees not only an intellectual and spirited equal, but also a clarion of lands beyond, the unexplored globe, infinite freedom. By electing Bess to take her place, she is ultimately forced to make the anguishing choice between being a woman and being a Queen. And as she charts her course abroad, Elizabeth’s trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham, continues his masterful puppetry of her court at home--and her campaign to solidify absolute power. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth’s own cousin Mary Stuart, he unknowingly sets England on a course of destruction.
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Abbie Cornish, Jordi Molla
Trailer Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Pride (2007)

PG | 1 hr 44 mins | Drama, Sports, Period, Biopic |
Jim Ellis, a man driven to see social change in his community, starts a swim team made up of disadvantaged inner-city kids.

Synopsis:
The year is 1973, and Jim Ellis, a college-educated African-American, can’t find a job. Driven by his love of competitive swimming, Jim converts an abandoned recreational pool hall in a Philadelphia slum with the help of Elston, a local janitor. But when city officials mark the new Philadelphia Department of Recreation for demolition, Jim fights back--by starting the city’s first African-American swim team. Recruiting troubled teens from the streets, Jim struggles to transform a motley team of novices into capable swimmers--all in time for the upcoming state championships. But as racism, violence and an unsympathetic city official threaten to tear the team apart, Jim must do everything he can to convince his swimmers that victory, both in and out of the pool, is within their reach.

Directed by: Sunu Gonera

Starring: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kevin Phillips, Evan Ross, Nate Parker

Pride Movie Trailer