A Dangerous Method

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 110

Language: English

Director: David Cronenberg

Plot: Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, the driven Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) as his patient in A DANGEROUS METHOD. Jung’s weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). Both men fall under Sabina’s spell.

 

Tyrannosaur

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 121

Language: English (International)

Director: Paddy Considine

Plot: Joseph (Peter Mullan) is an unemployed widower with a drinking problem and a violent temper. When he meets Hannah (Olivia Colman), a devout Christian who works at a charity shop, the two form an unlikely bond where secrets are revealed and salvation is found in dark places. With striking performances and a deeply moving story, actor-turned-writer/director Paddy Considine’s film is a stunning debut about the emergence of grace and redemption from the least likely of places. Winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Jury Prize for Breakout Performances and the World Cinema Directing Awards.

 

The Greening of Whitney Brown

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 153

Language:

Director: Peter Odiorne

Plot: Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of the economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse, and undertakes a misguided journey back to her old life, only to discover that her family is her home.

 

J. Edgar

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 152

Language: English

Director: Clint Eastwood

Plot: “J. Edgar” explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.

 

Melancholia

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 133

Language: English

Director: Lars von Trier

Plot: In this beautiful movie about the end of the world, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth-MELANCHOLIA is a psychological disaster film from director Lars von Trier.

 

The Last Rites of Joe May

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 98

Language: English

Director: Joe Maggio

Plot: Despite all evidence to the contrary, aging short-money hustler Joe May (Dennis Farina) always believed he had a glorious future ahead of him. Now in his sixties, Joe is released from the hospital after a long battle with pneumonia and forced to confront the harsh reality of his legacy: everyone he knew had assumed he was dead, and life had gone on around him without missing a beat. Returning to his old neighborhood in Chicago’s “Patch” district, he finds his car gone, all his worldly possessions pawned by his landlord, and the apartment he’s lived in his entire adult life rented out to a single mother named Jenny and her eight year-old daughter Angelina . After a rough night’s sleep outdoors, Joe reluctantly moves in with the new tenants of his home – at least until he is able to get back on his feet.

Even as Joe doggedly pursues his comeback, he finds the odds stacked drastically against him. He gets no respect from his old supplier, his best friend and partner in crime has moved into an assisted living facility, and even Joe’s prized pigeon coops have fallen into disrepair. Throughout this ordeal, Joe’s one lifeline is his burgeoning friendship with his co-tenants. So when things turn ugly between Jenny and her boyfriend – a crooked detective with a penchant for domestic violence – Joe is determined to take a stand for his unlikely new family, and perhaps take one last shot at redefining his legacy.

 

Janie Jones

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 121

Language: English

Director: David M. Rosenthal

Plot: A faded rock star is forced to take responsibility for the daughter he never knew he had in Janie Jones, a funny and touching road trip through the world of rock ‘n’ roll from writer-director David M. Rosenthal (Falling Up), inspired by his own experiences.

Rocker Ethan Brand (Alessandro Nivola) and his band, the Ethan Brand Experience, are on the comeback trail when a former flame (Oscar nominee Elisabeth Shue) drops a bomb in his lap-their 13-year-old daughter, Janie Jones (Abigail Breslin). Ethan refuses to believe Janie is his kid, but when her mom suddenly leaves for rehab, the child has no place to go but with the band.

With no inclination toward fatherhood, Ethan continues his hard-living ways, leaving Janie to fend for herself in the dive bars and sleazy motels along the way. As his drug- and booze-fueled antics take their toll on and off stage, the band deserts him one by one, until he and Janie are left alone.

Desperate to finish the tour and revive his career, Ethan stays on the road as a solo act with Janie in tow. As Ethan’s self-destructive spiral threatens to derail his comeback, Janie uses her own surprising musical talents to help guide him down the rocky road to redemption.

 

The Mighty Macs

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 129

Language: English

Director: Tim Chambers

Plot: It’s 1971. Cathy Rush is a woman ahead of her time … and she’s about to embark on an adventure for the ages. A new era is dawning in the country and in collegiate athletics, where a national champion will be crowned for the first time in women’s basketball.

In the lead up to this historical season, major universities are preparing their game plans to win that first title. Meanwhile a tiny all-women’s Catholic college in Philadelphia has a more modest goal: find a coach before the season begins. Providentially, Cathy Rush is about to find Immaculata College.

Recently married, Cathy is dealing with the aftermath of a truncated playing career. While cultural norms would have her staying at home, she’s willing to do the hard work necessary to help her new team reach their goals – or perhaps she’s just trying to achieve her unfulfilled dreams through them.

From the beginning, her challenges are as imposing as the big-school teams Immaculata will face on the court. Cathy learns there is no gymnasium on campus, she receives little support from the school’s Mother Superior, and the school is in dire financial straits. To top it off, she may not even have enough players to field a team!

While it appears the Macs don’t have a prayer, all hope is not lost. With the help of Sister Sunday – a spunky assistant coach – and the support of a booster club of elderly nuns, Coach Rush creates a new game plan that just might bring the team – and the school – together.

Will this pioneer buck cultural norms and spur her rag-tag team to unexpected heights? Or will her hard-driving ways create a wedge between the coach and everyone around her? One thing’s for certain: there’s never been anyone like Cathy Rush at Immaculata!

THE MIGHTY MACS is based on the incredible true story of the 1971-72 Immaculata College team that started in obscurity but became the original Cinderella story in women’s basketball. This team of pioneers went from barely making that inaugural tournament to the first dynasty in their game. And Cathy Rush, the woman that was ahead of her time, became immortalized when she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

 

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 151

Language: English

Director: T. Sean Durkin

Plot: A powerful yet restrained psychological thriller, MARTHA, MARCY MAY, MARLENE tells the story of a young woman rapidly unraveling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life. Escaping a harrowing experience as a cult member in rural New York, Martha (newcomer Elizabeth Olsen) seeks help from her estranged older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson), though she is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. With a mounting sense of dread, Lucy comes to realize that her sister’s bizarre behavior may point to something much graver than an idiosyncratic personality.

Lost in a post-traumatic torment, Martha’s memories trigger the chilling paranoia that her former cult is actively pursuing her. As her reality blurs with delusion, we realize that Martha (cult aliases Marcy May and Marlene) is lost in the eye of an emotional storm much larger than anyone could have suspected.

 

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2012

Runtime: 152

Language: English

Director: Stephen Daldry

Plot: Oskar (Thomas Horn) is convinced that his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother (Sandra Bullock) and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can’t be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him beyond his own loss to a greater understanding of the observable world around him.

 

My Friend Pinto

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 146

Language: Hindi

Director: Raaghav Dar

Plot: Twenty-something Michael Pinto has grown up in a small Goan village, believing everyone in the world to be simple, kind and honest, just like him. His world revolves around a doting mother, a passion for music and the memories of a childhood friend, Sameer, who left Goa for Mumbai many years ago and hasn’t replied to his frequent letters ever since. Pinto’s talent for music is only matched by his knack for finding trouble in the unlikeliest of places often resulting in the most outlandish and hilarious situations. When Pinto’s idyllic world is shattered by the sudden demise of his mother he decides to head to Mumbai in search of the only friend he knows. Will Pinto find Sameer or will trouble find him first? Will Pinto and his crazy antics survive the big bad city or more importantly, will Mumbai survive a phenomenon called Pinto?

 

Take Shelter

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 131

Language: English

Director: Jeff Nichols

Plot: Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

 

Fireflies in the Garden

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 149

Language: English

Director: Dennis Lee

Plot: To an outsider, the Taylors are the very picture of the successful American family: Charles (Willem Dafoe) is a tenured professor on track to become university president, son Michael (Ryan Reynolds) is a prolific and well-known romance novelist, daughter Ryne (Shannon Lucio) is poised to enter a prestigious law school, and on the day we are introduced to them, matriarch Lisa (Julia Roberts) will graduate from college—decades after leaving to raise her children. But when a serious accident interrupts the celebration, the far more nuanced reality of this Midwestern family’s history and relationships come to light.

 

Texas Killing Fields

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 133

Language: English

Director: Ami Canaan Mann

Plot: Inspired by true events, this tense and haunting thriller follows Detective Souder (Sam Worthington), a homicide detective in a small Texan town, and his partner, transplanted New York City cop Detective Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they track a sadistic serial killer dumping his victims’ mutilated bodies in a nearby marsh locals call “The Killing Fields.”

Though the swampland crime scenes are outside their jurisdiction, Detective Heigh is unable to turn his back on solving the gruesome murders. Despite his partner’s warnings, he sets out to investigate the crimes. Before long, the killer changes the game and begins hunting the detectives, teasing them with possible clues at the crime scenes while always remaining one step ahead. When familiar local girl Anne (Chloë Grace Moretz) goes missing, the detectives find themselves racing against time to catch the killer and save the young girl’s life.

 

The Way

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 151

Language: English

Director: Emilio Estevez

Plot: “The Way” is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever-changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn’t plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his “California Bubble Life.”

Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On “The Way,” Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own issues and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman (Yorick van Wageningen), a Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish writer (James Nesbitt), who is suffering from a bout of writer’s block.

From the unexpected and, oftentimes, amusing experiences along “The Way,” this unlikely quartet of misfits creates an everlasting bond and Tom begins to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world again. Through Tom’s unresolved relationship with his son, he discovers the difference between “the life we live and the life we choose.”

THE WAY, written and directed by Emilio Estevez, was filmed entirely in Spain and France along the actual Camino de Santiago.

 

The Ides of March

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 151

Language: English

Director: George Clooney

Plot: A young staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a lesson on dirty politics on the campaign trail. Based on the play by Beau Willimon.

 

1911

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 57

Language:

Director: Zhang Li

Plot: At the beginning of the 20th century, China is in a state of crisis. The country is split into warring factions, the citizens are starving, and recent political reforms have made matters worse, not better. The ruling Qing Dynasty, led by a seven-year-old emperor and his ruthless mother, Empress Dowager Longyu (Joan Chen), is completely out of touch after 250 years of unquestioned power.
With ordinary citizens beginning to revolt openly, the Qing Dynasty has created a powerful, modern army (the “New Army”) to quash any rebellion. But weapons are expensive, and desperate for cash, the Qing leaders are trading anything they can get their hands on with foreign countries and selling China’s future in the process. Huang Xing (Jackie Chan) has recently returned from Japan, where he has studied the art of modern warfare. When he finds his country falling apart, he feels he has no choice but to pick up the sword, leading an increasingly desperate series of violent rebellions against the powerful Qing Dynasty and the New Army- several with tragic consequences. From the walls of the Forbidden City to the battlefields of China, with no expense spared in production and no detail ignored in its quest for historical accuracy, 1911 is a true epic in every sense of the word.

 

Courageous

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 140

Language: English

Director: Alex Kendrick

Plot: Four men, one calling: To serve and protect.

As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners aree confident and focused. They willingly stand up to the worst the streets have to offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them. Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those that are most dear to them?

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God – and to their children?

 

Margaret

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 138

Language: English

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Plot: Margaret centers on a 17-year-old New York City high-school student who feels certain that she inadvertently played a role in a traffic accident that has claimed a woman’s life. In her attempts to set things right she meets with opposition at every step. Torn apart with frustration, she begins emotionally brutalizing her family, her friends, her teachers, and most of all, herself. She has been confronted quite unexpectedly with a basic truth: that her youthful ideals are on a collision course against the realities and compromises of the adult world.

 

Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 140

Language: Hindi

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Plot: Based in a small town in the Northern part of India, Sahib Biwi aur Gangster is a story packed with intrigue betrayal and ambition between a beautiful Begum, her Nawab husband and an ambitious young boy. The Nawab and his Begum, live in their ancestral royal house trying to maintain the status and structure their ancestors had left behind. But due to the changing time, some extreme financial conditions and the long gone habit of a royal having a mistress, the Nawab tries real hard to maintain his status and financial conditions.