2006
Saw III
(2006)
Leigh Whannell (story), James Wan (story), Leigh Whannell (screenplay)
5 nominations.
Jigsaw kidnaps a doctor to keep him alive while he watches his new apprentice put an unlucky citizen through a brutal test.
Silent Hill
(2006)
Roger Avary
8 nominations.
A little girl who doesn't get enough sleep wakes up every night screaming "silent hill." One day her mother, driving through a thick fog, loses her daughter in a parallel world which hell itself would just not tolerate. Through all those atrocities and lack of trust, her daughter is living the biggest nightmare of her life.
Smokin' Aces
(2006)
Joe Carnahan
4 wins.
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
Tell No One
(2006)
Guillaume Canet, Harlan Coben (novel), Philippe Lefebvre
12 wins & 15 nominations.
Police find two bodies at an old murder scene and evidence to suggest the scene's first victim's husband is a murderer. Coincidentally, the husband receives clues suggesting his deceased wife is actually alive and begins to investigate.
The Black Dahlia
(2006)
Josh Friedman (screenplay), James Ellroy (novel)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations.
In 1946, the former boxers Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and Lee Blanchard are policemen in Los Angeles. Lee has a good relationship with his chief and uses a box fight between them to promote the department and get a raise to the police force. They succeed and are promoted to homicide detectives, working together. Bucky becomes a close friend of Lee and his girlfriend Kay Lake, forming a triangle of love. When the corpse of the aspirant actress 'Elizabeth Short (I)' is found mutilated, Lee becomes obsessed to solve the case called by the press Black Dahlia. Meanwhile, Bucky's investigation leads him to a Madeleine Linscott, the daughter of a powerful and wealthy constructor that resembles the Black Dahlia. In an environment of corruption and lies, Bucky discloses hidden truths.
The Da Vinci Code
(2006)
Akiva Goldsman (screenplay), Dan Brown (novel)
Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 21 nominations.
A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity.
The Departed
(2006)
William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Won 4 Oscars. Another 83 wins & 111 nominations.
In South Boston, the state police force is waging war on Irish American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello. While Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan, a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the state police as an informer for the syndicate is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by their double lives, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations they have penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the mob and the police both discover a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy-and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save themselves. But is either willing to turn on their friends and comrades they've made during their long stints undercover?
The Fountain
(2006)
Darren Aronofsky (screenplay), Darren Aronofsky (story), Ari Handel (story)
Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 31 nominations.
As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.
The Good Shepherd
(2006)
Eric Roth
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 11 nominations.
Laconic and self-contained, Edward Wilson heads CIA covert operations during the Bay of Pigs. The agency suspects that Castro was tipped, so Wilson looks for the leak. As he investigates, he recalls, in a series of flashbacks, his father's death, student days at Yale (poetry; Skull and Bones), recruitment into the fledgling OSS, truncated affairs, a shotgun marriage, cutting his teeth on spy craft in London, distance from his son, the emergence of the Cold War, and relationships with agency, British, and Soviet counterparts. We watch his idealism give way to something else: disclosing the nature of that something else is at the heart of the film's narration as he closes in on the leak.
The Hills Have Eyes
(2006)
Alexandre Aja (screenplay), Grégory Levasseur (screenplay), Wes Craven
2 wins & 7 nominations.
A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization.
The Illusionist
(2006)
Neil Burger (screenplay), Steven Millhauser (short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist")
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 9 nominations.
In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
The Lives of Others
(2006)
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Won 1 Oscar. Another 75 wins & 32 nominations.
Gerd Wiesler is an officer with the Stasi, the East German secret police. The film begins in 1984 when Wiesler attends a play written by Georg Dreyman, who is considered by many to be the ultimate example of the loyal citizen. Wiesler has a gut feeling that Dreyman can't be as ideal as he seems and believes surveillance is called for. The Minister of Culture agrees but only later does Wiesler learn that the Minister sees Dreyman as a rival and lusts after his partner Christa-Maria. The more time he spends listening in on them, the more he comes to care about them. The once rigid Stasi officer begins to intervene in their lives, in a positive way, protecting them whenever possible. Eventually, Wiesler activities catch up to him and while there is no proof of wrongdoing, he finds himself in menial jobs - until the unbelievable happens.
The Night of the Sunflowers
(2006)
Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo
7 wins & 9 nominations.
While a speleologist is exploring a cave near a village in the north of Spain, his girlfriend is attacked in the nearby woods. His reaction leads to a tragic chain of events.
The Omen
(2006)
David Seltzer
1 win & 6 nominations.
A remake of the 1976 horror classic The Omen (1976), an American official realizes that his young son may literally be the devil incarnate.
The Prestige
(2006)
Jonathan Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Priest (novel)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 28 nominations.
Two stage magicians engage in competitive one-upmanship in an attempt to create the ultimate stage illusion.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(2006)
Sheldon Turner (screenplay), Sheldon Turner (story), David J. Schow (story)
5 nominations.
In August, 1939, a worker goes into labor while working in a slaughterhouse and dies after a complicated labor, though the deformed child survives. The possibly orphaned baby is dumped in a garbage container and found by a beggar later, who brings him home. Along the years, the mentally retarded and disturbed boy called Thomas is raised by the Hewitt family in spite of having psychological problems as well as suffering from an unnamed skin disorder, later working in a meat packing plant. In July, 1969, when the facility is closed, the inhabitants move to other places, but the deformed, mentally childlike Thomas flies into a rage after being insulted and kills the foreman. His deranged brother (considered his uncle due to their age difference) executes the sheriff that is going to arrest Thomas, and assumes his identity, wearing his clothes,driving his car though the roads in Texas and entitling himself as Sheriff Hoyt. Meanwhile, the brothers Eric and Dean are traveling in a Jeep with their girlfriends Christie and Bailey, Eric to serve in Vietnam and Dean escaping to Mexico. When the group has a car accident, Hoyt arrests Eric, Dean and Bailey and brings them to his house. Christie follows them trying to rescue the trio, trapped in the house of sadistic and insane cannibals, in a trip of horror and gore.
Underworld: Evolution
(2006)
Danny McBride (screenplay), Len Wiseman (story), Danny McBride (story), Kevin Grevioux (characters), Len Wiseman (characters), Danny McBride (characters)
2 wins & 6 nominations.
Underworld: Evolution continues the saga of war between the vampires and the Lycans. The film goes back to the beginnings of the ancient feud between the two tribes as Selene, the beautiful vampire heroine, and Michael, the lycan hybrid, try to unlock the secrets of their bloodlines. This will be a modern tale of action, intrigue and forbidden love, which takes them into the battle to end all wars as the immortals must finally face their retribution.
World Trade Center
(2006)
Andrea Berloff, John McLoughlin (true story), Donna McLoughlin (true story), William Jimeno (true story), Allison Jimeno (true story)
3 wins & 8 nominations.
Two Port Authority police officers become trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
(2006)
N/A
1 win & 1 nomination.
Football match Real Madrid vs. Villareal, April 23, 2005, from the perspective of soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane.