Tom Guiry

Black Irish -- In South Boston, where Irish roots run deep and Catholic tradition reigns, two brothers face similar hardships but lead far different lives.

Mystic River -- Three friends (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon) who grew up in working-class Boston drift apart after a terrible tragedy. Years later, brutal events reconnect them.

Sixteen-year-old Cole McKay's struggle for independence is put to the test as his South Boston Irish-Catholic family implodes around him. Older brother Terry is descending into a life of drugs and crime, pregnant sister Kathleen is being sent away to cover the shame of unwed motherhood and Cole's father, Desmond, spends his days in a fog of alcohol and self-pity, silently torturing himself over what might have been. The one thing keeping young Cole's head above water is his love of baseball. A talented pitcher, Cole overcomes self-doubt and family indifference to fight his way into the state championships. To get there however, he must make a life and death decision, a decision that will change the McKay family forever. The term "Black Irish" has also been used pejoratively to describe Irish people from hardscrabble roots: hard-drinking, brawling, of a lower class tracing back to the 19th century American sentiment "Irish Need Not Apply".

Screen legend and Academy Award-winner Clint Eastwood ("Blood Work," "Space Cowboys") directs this psychological thriller written by Academy Award-winner Brian Helgeland ("Conspiracy Theory," "L.A. Confidential"). A stellar cast includes box-office superstars Laurence Fishburne (The "Matrix" trilogy, "Just Cause"), Kevin Bacon ("Hollow Man," "Apollo 13"), Sean Penn ("I Am Sam," "The Thin Red Line"), Tim Robbins ("The Truth About Charlie," "The Shawshank Redemption"), Academy Award-winner Marcia Gay Harden ("Pollack," "Space Cowboys") and Laura Linney ("The Laramie Project," "The Truman Show"). Based on the best-selling novel by Dennis Lehane, the film follows three childhood friends who, 25 years after a tragic accident, reunite when one of their daughters is murdered and they become linked to the investigation.