Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent working in the New York mafia as part of a huge sting operation. Through his alliance with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a mafia tough, Pistone excels under mafia leader Sonny Black (Michael Madsen). As his actual life deteriorates, Pistone is faced with the realization that if he stays undercover, he might be found out; but if he leaves, Ruggiero will pay for it. Directed by Mike Newell. With James Russo and Anne Heche. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Based on a True Story. Year: 1997.
Donnie Brasco
Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is an unemployed single mom who convinces her lawyer (Albert Finney) to give her a job after he loses her case. When she begins to investigate the shady dealings of a local corporation, Erin uncovers a conspiracy involving contaminated water that is poisoning a nearby town. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. With Julia Roberts, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick and Albert Finney. Categories: Politics, Biography, Drama. Year: 2000.
Erin Brockovich
Ernie Davis (Clancy Brown), a two-time All-American running back at Syracuse who led his team to the national championship in 1960, becomes the first black player to win the prestigous Heisman Trophy. Raised in poverty, Davis overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to become one of the greatest players in college football history. Under the guidance of his bull-headed coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), Davis refuses to be limited by the racist rules of the day, and eventually goes on to become the first pick in the NFL draft. Directed by Gary Fleder. With Clancy Brown, Charles S. Dutton and Omar Benson Miller. Categories: Biography, Drama, Sports, Based on a True Story. Year: 2008.
The Express
In 1977, after three years of silence, former president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) agrees to sit down with British talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) to discuss his time in office and answer questions about the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. While Nixon intends to take advantage of the situation and use Frost to exonerate himself, Frost is more concerned with getting financial backing and selling the project to major networks. But, once the interviews begin, Frost realizes the importance of the meeting and sets out to deliver the truth. Directed by Ron Howard. With Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Toby Jones and Matthew Macfadyen. Categories: Drama, Based on a True Story, Politics. Year: 2008.
Frost/Nixon
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) leads the first college basketball team with all-black starters to the NCAA national championship. After a recruiting trip to find the best talent, Haskins leads a team of seven blacks and five whites through a season of ridicule and insurmountable odds to eventually take on a powerhouse team from Kentucky. Directed by James Gartner. With Jon Voight. Categories: Drama, Sports, Based on a True Story. Year: 2006.
Glory Road
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) always wanted to be a gangster. Starting out with small jobs for the local mafia boss (Paul Sorvino), he eventually quits school to focus full time on working his way up the mob hierarchy. Surrounded by money, power and dangerous men without boundaries, Henry becomes immersed in the lifestyle and begins to hatch his own schemes, partnering with Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro). But when lines are crossed and millions of dollars are on the line, Henry will have to decide who he can really trust if he wants to make it out alive. Directed by Martin Scorsese. With Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino and Debi Mazar. Categories: Crime, Drama, New York. Year: 1990.
Goodfellas
In 1935, Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant, fiery professor at Wiley College in Texas, inspires his students to form the schools first debate team. Using the power of words, Tolson shapes a group of underdog students from a small African American college into elite debaters, who eventually challenge Harvard in the national championship. Directed by Denzel Washington. With Forest Whitaker, Jermaine Williams and John Heard. Categories: Drama, Based on a True Story. Year: 2007.
The Great Debaters
A hotel manager (Don Cheadle) fights impossible odds to provide shelter for over a thousand Tutsis refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. While the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world, in only three months one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save as many lives as he can. Directed by Terry George. With Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix and Sophie Okonedo. Categories: Drama, History, Thriller, War. Year: 2004.
Hotel Rwanda
In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Denzel Washington), a middleweight contender, is falsely accused and convicted of a triple murder. Sentenced to life in prison, he copes with his life behind bars by writing the story of his life. Twenty years into his incarceration, high school student Lesra Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon), inspired by Carter's autobiography, convinces a group of friends and mentors to take up Carter's cause to try and prove his innocence. To set his idol free, Martin and his team not only have to deal with a racist establishment intent on keeping Carter behind bars, but also with Carter's broken spirit and sense of hopelessness. Directed by Norman Jewison. With Dan Hedaya, Clancy Brown, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber, John Hannah and David Paymer. Categories: Biography, Drama, Sports, Based on a True Story. Year: 1999.
The Hurricane
Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) knows that the information he holds concerning the truth about cigarette addiction and tobacco industry malpractice could open a floodgate of litigation against Big Tobacco. After Wigand contacts Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a producer for CBS's "60 Minutes," the industry sets out to discredit the doctor and shut him down any way they can. With Bergman's backing, Wigand's story finally makes it to the air and the two men form a relationship built upon a shared struggle to reveal the truth despite personal and professional hardships. Directed by Michael Mann. With Christopher Plummer, Michael Gambon and Diane Venora. Categories: Biography, Drama, Thriller. Year: 1999.
The Insider
Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a part-time bartender, recently lost his job as a substitute teacher and had his wife leave him, taking all of his furniture. When Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear), the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, announces that the team will be holding open try-outs, Vince decides to give it a shot despite the staggering odds against him. Encouraged by his friends at the bar, Vince is chosen as the only new addition to the team and gets the chance to live out his dream of being a professional athlete. Directed by Ericson Core. With Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Conway. Categories: Drama, Sports, Based on a True Story. Year: 2006.
Invincible
Edith Piaf (Marion Cotillard), the Little Sparrow, overcomes overwhelming odds to become one of the most beloved singers of the 20th century. Born into proverty in France to an alcoholic street singer and a circus performer, Piaf spends much of her early life in her grandmother's brothel and singing on street corners. After being discovered by a wealthy club owner (Gérard Depardieu), Piaf struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and intense heartache as her magical voice captivates audiences around the world. Directed by Olivier Dahan. With Jean-Pierre Martins. Categories: Biography, Drama, Music, Based on a True Story. Year: 2007.
La Vie En Rose
Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young, aspiring doctor, moves to Uganda to stand up to his father and make a difference in the world. While working at a mission in a remote village, Nicholas crosses paths with newly elected President Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), who instantly takes a liking to the Scotsman and hires him as his personal physician. At first, Nicholas is taken in by the lavish parties and comfortable lifestyle provided by his new boss, but when he witnesses Amin's ruthless treatment of his people firsthand, Nicholas realizes that he is aiding a cruel, unstable monster. Directed by Kevin Macdonald. With Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney and David Oyelowo. Categories: Drama, Thriller, Based on a True Story. Year: 2006.
The Last King of Scotland
In 1977, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) becomes the nation's first openly gay man to be voted into public office, joining the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Using his victory to champion not only gay rights but human rights as well, Milk unites a diverse group of people from across the political spectrum with his outspoken manner and sense of humor. But, as he gains recognition and increases his public profile, Milk also faces hostility from fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin), the man who would ulitmately take the lives of both Milk and Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber). Directed by Gus Van Sant. With Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Diego Luna, Alison Pill and Lucas Grabeel. Categories: Biography, Drama, Based on a True Story. Year: 2008.
Milk
After a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September kidnaps and murders eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, a secret squad of Israeli assassins is assigned to track down and kill those responsible one by one. Putting their own lives in danger to complete a mission of ulitmate revenge takes an emotional toll on the team and its leader, Avner (Eric Bana), who leaves his pregnant wife (Ayelet Zurer) to hunt down the killers. Directed by Steven Spielberg. With Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz and Hanns Zischler. Categories: Drama, History, Thriller. Year: 2005.
Munich
Ron Livingston stars as Richard Pimental, a real-life advocate for the rights of the disabled who was the driving force behind the Americans with Disabilities Act. Pimental was a soldier in Vietnam who lost most of his hearing when a shell exploded near him. Back home, he received poor medical treatment and little help living with his disability. He befriended Art Honeyman (Michael Sheen), a brilliant young man confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy and together they began to fight for better treatment for the disabled. Directed by Steven Sawalich. With Rebecca De Mornay, Melissa George and Hector Elizondo. Categories: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Based on a True Story. Year: 2007.
Music Within
Rap legend the Notorious B.I.G. (Jamal Woolard) rises from the tough streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most famous MCs in history. Using the hard realities of his life for inspiration, Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, leaves drug dealing behind and teams up with Sean "Puffy" Combs (Derek Luke) to provide the East Coast's answer to LA's gangster rap movement. While dealing with difficult relationships with his wife Faith Evans (Antonique Smith) and fellow rapper Lil Kim (Naturi Naughton), the pressures of celebrity and a bitter feud with Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie), Biggie never loses his lyrical genius and becomes an inspiration to millions of fans. Directed by George Tillman Jr.. With Angela Bassett, Marc John Jefferies and Sean Ringgold. Categories: Biography, Drama, Music, Based on a True Story. Year: 2009.
Notorious
When a young Afghan girl named Osama (Marina Golbahari) and her mother (Zubaida Sahar) lose their jobs at a hospital closed by the Taliban, they are left alone in the world. Her father and brother, both killed in battle, were the only ways for the women to leave their house since the Taliban requires a male escort for any woman. Forced to disguise herself as a young boy, Osama must work to save her mother's life and her own. Directed by Siddiq Barmak. With Arif Herati. Categories: Drama. Year: 2003.
Osama
Jackson Pollock (Ed Harris) is a brilliant painter living in New York City in 1941. Struggling with alcoholism, his talent goes to waste until he meets Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden), a fellow artist whose love for Pollock brings her to give up her own career to save his. What emerges is some of the most famous and popular artistic work of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, even the support of the people around him cannot save Pollock from his inner demons. Directed by Ed Harris. With Tom Bower, Jennifer Connelly, Bud Cort and Val Kilmer. Categories: Biography, Drama. Year: 2000.
Pollock
After being held back from reaching his dream, Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) becomes an inspiring swim coach determined to see his team fulfill their potential. After gaining the trust of a group of troubled teens, Ellis gets them into shape and helps them believe in themselves, even in the face of discrimination and inequality. Directed by Sunu Gonera. With Bernie Mac, Tom Arnold, Kimberly Elise, Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso McAuley, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, Evan Ross and Regine Nehy. Categories: Drama, Sports, Based on a True Story. Year: 2007.
Pride
Chris (Will Smith) struggles as a hapless salesman while his wife (Thandie Newton) works double shifts. Despite appearances to the contrary, Chris always believes that he is on the verge of securing a small fortune. When he runs out of money, his wife leaves him and his son in an act of desperation. While the newly-evicted Chris and his son, Christopher (Jaden Smith), are forced to stay in homeless shelters, this determined father works as an unpaid intern for a prestigious stock brokerage company, hoping to secure a coveted spot as a stock broker. Directed by Gabriele Muccino. With Dan Castellaneta, Brian Howe and James Karen. Categories: Drama, Based on a True Story. Year: 2006.
The Pursuit of Happyness
Molly Craig (Everlyn Sampi), a young aborigine girl, her younger sister, Daisy (Tianna Sansbury), and their cousin, Gracie (Laura Monaghan), are taken from their homes by a heartless bureaucrat (Kenneth Branagh) and sent to a government-run camp to be trained as domestic workers. Trapped in in a compound meant to integrate aborigines into white society and wipe out their culture, the girls make the decision to escape and make the dificult trek back home across 1500 miles of desolate outback terrain. Directed by Phillip Noyce. With David Gulpilil, Deborah Mailman, Jason Clarke, Ningali Lawford and Natasha Wanganeen. Categories: Drama, Adventure, Foreign Film, Based on a True Story. Year: 2002.
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Harold Jones (Ed Harris) is the football coach at T. L. Hanna High School. When he meets Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a mentally challenged student with a reputation as a trouble maker, he refuses to dismiss the young man and instead becomes a mentor for him, watching him transform into a confident adult and an icon in their town. Directed by Michael Tollin. With Alfre Woodard, Riley Smith, Debra Winger, S. Epatha Merkerson. Categories: Drama, Sports. Year: 2003.
Radio
At the height of WWII, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) assembles a group of high-ranking Nazi officers to carry out a plot intent on assassinating Hitler (David Bamber) and seizing control of the military in order to end the war. Codenamed "Valkyrie," after Hitler's own emergency plan to address a revolt against the German government, the operation is seen as the last chance to stop a mad man and bring justice and honor back to Germany. With everything seemingly in place and millions of lives hanging in the balance, von Stauffenberg must take matters into his own hands and accepts the charge of killing Hitler himself. Directed by Bryan Singer. With Carice van Houten, Eddie Izzard, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson and Kenneth Branagh. Categories: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller, Based on a True Story. Year: 2008.
Valkyrie
Twenty-something pals Kristy (Kestie Morassi), Ben (Nathan Phillips) and Liz (Cassandra Magrath) take a road trip through Australia to hike through Wolf Creek National Park. After spending time camping, the trio returns to their car and finds that it won't start. Their troubles escalate when a local bushman offers to make the repairs, and then takes them captive. Directed by Greg McLean. With John Jarratt. Categories: Horror, Thriller, Adventure, Crime. Year: 2005.
Wolf Creek
Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner) was one of the Wild West's greatest heroes, a family man who became a law man to bring justice to the frontier. Together with Doc Holiday (Dennis Quaid), Earp reigns in the same kind of rough and tumble bandits he would eventually face in the famous showdown at the O.K. Corral. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. With Gene Hackman, David Andrews, Catherine O'Hara. Categories: Biography, Western. Year: 1994.
Wyatt Earp
Newspaper cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco with a string of murders and cryptic messages to the media during the 1960s and 1970s. Though he has no personal stake in the case, Graysmith slowly pieces together missed clues and identifies possible suspects with the help of newspaper reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), even as the crimes are forgotten by the rest of the city. Directed by David Fincher. With Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox and Chloë Sevigny. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Based on a True Story. Year: 2007.
Zodiac