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After continually missing this Danish film that received solid reviews upon its release, I have now discovered a classic drama that is one of the premiere films from 2005. Since then, director Susanne Bier went on to receive an Oscar nomination last year for her film AFTER THE WEDDING. Now BROTHERS is set for an English language remake starring Natalie Portman, Toby Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal. It will be very difficult to improve on the original.

Michael (Ulrich Thomsen, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN) is a soldier in the Danish Army. He is about to be sent to Afghanistan. His marriage with wife Sarah (Connie Nielsen, GLADIATOR) is good and his relationship with his two young girls is loving. Before he leaves he picks up his younger brother Jannik (Nikolaj Lie Kaas, THE IDIOTS) from jail, where he has finished a sentence for assault and robbery. Jannik is a loose canon, who likes to spend a great deal of his time in bars. His father Henning (Bent Mejding, ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS) is an abstinent man who has no faith in his youngest son. The brothers’ mother Else (Solbjorg Hojfeldt, THE KINGDOM) is a quiet peacemaker.

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One of the great horror films from one of the great filmmakers, THE SHINING is a simple horror tale, raised to another level by perfect tone and Stanley Kubrick’s uncanny knowledge of the filmic language. Based on a Stephen King novel, Kubrick and Diane Johnson altered the story a great deal, boiling it down to its essence. Upon multiple viewings, the film still has the ability to create unsettling feelings and dread.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, THE DEPARTED) is a wannabe writer who takes a job as the caretaker for the long winter at the remote Overlook Hotel. Upon taking the job, the manager Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson, “Stopover in a Quiet Town” episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE) warns Jack that a previous caretaker went crazy during the winter season and murdered his family there. Jack doesn’t seem phased, because he is looking forward to having months of time to write his first novel. Accompanying him is his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall, 3 WOMEN) and their young son Danny (Danny Lloyd, WILL: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF G. GORDON LIDDY), who has an imaginary friend named Tommy living in his mouth. At the Overlook, the head cook Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers, THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS) discusses the special abilities that he and Danny share. Both are telepaths who can see the past and future. And the future looks scary for the Torrances as Jack becomes increasingly unstable under the influence of the ghosts of the hotel.

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With the extended edition of PLANET TERROR hitting stores this week, I am centering another This Weekend’s Film Festival around the theme of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s GRINDHOUSE. Unlike the past lineup, which featured road/chase flicks, this one focuses on flesh eating and embodies the essence of grindhouse films. This will be the bloodiest and most disturbing lineup thus far. Most of the films will be films I recommend, but two will be films I didn’t recommend. One of those films is one of the most controversial films ever made. The second is one of the most ridiculous zombie movies ever made. The two better films in the lineup are an homage to grindhouse fare and an old school grindhouse production that has risen to the heights of a horror classic. This Weekend’s Film Festival isn’t for the weak at heart — or the weak stomached either. Be warned, you might be offended… but that’s part of the grindhouse experience.

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Tony Gilroy moves from the writer of the BOURNE series to his first directing gig with this solid corporate thriller. With a fairly straight-forward visual style leaving the flare to the script structure, Gilroy is blessed with a cast filled with the likes of George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack. Each actor gives first-rate performances, driving this very believable tale of corporate greed and deception.

Clooney plays the title character, a fixer for a major law firm. He refers to himself as a janitor; the man who cleans up the dirty laundry of the firm’s high paying clients. He is called in when, during a deposition in a billion dollar lawsuit, the firm’s chief litigator Arthur Edens (Wilkinson, IN THE BEDROOM) strips down naked and professes his love for the young woman testifying in the 15-year-old contamination case. Chief legal advisor for uNorth, the company being sued in the class action suit, Karen Crowder (Swinton, DEEP END) is appalled when she sees the tape of Edens. When Clayton comes to her, he doesn’t make her feel confident that the problem will be adequately taken care of, spurring her to take matters into her own hands.

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George A. Romero redefined a sub-genre of horror films with this landmark independent production. In addition to pushing the boundaries of screen gore, Romero also pushed the boundaries of handling race relations. This cult classic goes to show that great direction and story can overcome a low budget.

Barbra (Judith O’Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Steiner) have driven three hours for their yearly ritual of placing a wreath on their father’s grave. A lone man wonders the graveyard. When Barbra gets a little creeped out, Johnny jokes, “They coming to get you, Barbra.” How true that statement comes to be? Turns out that lone man is really a fresh eating zombie, who knocks out Johnny and chases Barbra to an isolated farmhouse. Barbra is almost catatonic when Ben (Duane Jones, BEAT STREET) arrives at the house. The young African-American man quickly takes charge to board up the windows from the growing number of the living dead. Later they will be joined by the coward Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman), who bickers with his wife Helen (Marilyn Eastman). Their daughter Karen (Kyra Schon) is sick. The couple is accompanied by the younger couple Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley). Tensions build between the group as they argue on their best next move.

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Bob Fosse surprisingly won the best director Oscar over GODFATHER helmer Francis Ford Coppola for this melancholy musical. His handling of the material is entertaining, as well as subversively haunting. The design and choreography of the musical numbers begin with the sexual razzle-dazzle one would expect, but over the course of the film take on an unsettling freak show quality, as the Nazis come to power in 1930s Germany. Roger Ebert said it best — the film ends with the joyous title song, which is underlined by total desperation.

Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli, ARTHUR) is a bohemian, ex-pat American, cabaret singer. She has drunk the kool aid of the cabaret lifestyle of living life like it’s an endless party. In to her boarding house comes proper English language teacher Brian Roberts (Michael York, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS). They develop a friendship that later develops into romance. Sally introduces her to all her acquaintances from the world of the cabaret, which includes gigolo Fritz Wendel (Fritz Wepper, THE LAST COMBAT) and the twisted Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey, BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS). Later Brian will inadvertently introduce Fritz to wealthy Jewish girl Natalia Landauer (Marisa Berenson, BARRY LYNDON) and Sally and Brian’s relationship will be challenged by the presence of filthy-rich, decadent baron Maximilian von Heune (Helmut Griem, THE DAMNED).

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“No, I’m Spartacus!” I’ve been saying that for a week now after seeing this sword and sandal classic. It’s only one of the iconic moments in this film about Roman slavery. Directed by Stanley Kubrick in a very uncharacteristic “Hollywood” style, this lavish production paved the way for modern epics like BRAVEHEART and GLADIATOR.

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas, THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS) has been a slave all his life, working rock quarries. Then he is purchased by shyster slave trader Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov, LOGAN’S RUN), who plans to train him to be a gladiator. After being assigned a slave girl named Varinia (Jean Simmons, ELMER GANTRY), Spartacus screams that he isn’t an animal as this owners watch him fumble with the first woman he’s ever been close to. Spartacus’ tenderness toward Varinia makes her fall in love with him. As the gladiators train, Roman senator Crassus (Laurence Olivier, MARATHON MAN) comes with his protégé Marcus Glabrus (John Dall, ROPE) and two women to watch two pairs of gladiators fight to the death. Spartacus is chosen, and following a series of events, ends in Spartacus leading a slave revolt. Meanwhile, senior senator Sempronius Gracchus (Charles Laughton, MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY) tries to hold the senate together in the face of Crassus’ maneuvers to use the uprising to gain more power. Spartacus’ continued victories lead Crassus’ own slave Antoninus (Tony Curtis, SOME LIKE IT HOT) to flee his master and join the rebellion.

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On Monday in the U.S., we had the Columbus Day holiday. For many, non-religious holidays are just another day off from work; the meaning is inconsequential. However, Columbus Day is not one — except for government workers and a few happy school children — that many people get off from work for. This makes the holiday even less significant to many Americans. However, there is a segment of the population that find the holiday offensive, which is quite counter to the spirit of a holiday. We set aside one day a year to celebrate a man who really didn’t discover the Americas, who was a tyrannical religious fanatic that heard “divine voices,” and who died insisting that he was not exploring the West Indies, but the east coast of Asia. For the many indigenous and African-American people of the U.S., he also represents the beginning of the decimation of their ancestors through murder and slavery.

Some have called for the abolishment of the holiday, replacing it with a holiday celebrating indigenous people. So in that spirit, I have decided to look at the portrayal of Native Americans on film. I’ve selected a wide-ranging lineup of films, most with balanced portrayals and some with more traditional Hollywood clichés. I hope This Weekend’s Film Festival allows viewers to see the changing portrayal of Native Americans on film, as well as entertains with five excellent productions.

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In his second feature film following THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, Judd Apatow is becoming a master at combining bawdy humor with real characters. With VIRGIN, he was able to craft a laugh out loud funny film based around a realistic central character, who in less skilled hands could have been a caricature. Now in KNOCKED UP, he takes a plot that has been done many times before and makes it feel fresh and original, mainly due to the contemporary feel.

Ben Stone (Seth Rogen, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN) is the quintessential slacker. He lives in a house with his friends, decorated like a freshman dorm room. He’s living off a small savings and is building a website that tells people what movies feature nude scenes of their favorite stars. Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl, TV’s GREY ANATOMY) is the exact opposite. She is a young professional, quickly climbing the ranks on the E! cable network. To celebrate her promotion to an on-air correspondent, she and her older married, sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN) go out to a club where Alison meets Ben and the evening ends with the pair hooking up. A few weeks later Alison discovers that this one-night stand has resulted in her getting pregnant. Now Alison and Ben, who barely know each other, try to give a relationship a shot as they both prepare for unexpected parenthood. During the process, Ben will get some good and not so good guidance from Debbie’s husband Pete (Paul Rudd, THE SHAPE OF THINGS).

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Based on a short story by Thomas M. Disch, this independently produced 2D animated feature was made by a who’s who list of future animation superstars. The late Pixar storyman Joe Ranft wrote the story and provided voices. Mark Dindal (CATS DON’T DANCE) was an effects consultant while TARZAN and SURF’S UP director Chris Buck and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST helmer Kirk Wise served as animators. Hyperion Pictures gave it an art house release in 1987, making it a cult favorite. Disney, who actually originally owned the rights to the short story, released the film on video. Somehow, despite a theatrical release, the film was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.

The story follows a group of household appliances who have been left behind at an underused cabin. They long for their young master to come back, but it has been years since he has visited. When a “For Sale” sign is posted in front of the house, Toaster (Deanna Oliver, HOT TO TROT) calls for his friends to head out into the world and find their old master. Along for the adventure are shy, innocent Blanky (Timothy E. Day), talkative Radio (Jon Lovitz, TV’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE), skeptical Lampy (Timothy Stack, TV’s SON OF THE BEACH) and grumpy Kirby the vacuum cleaner (Thurl Ravenscroft, 101 DALMATIANS). Along the way the brave gadgets will need to find a way to work together to survive woodland creatures, a waterfall, the junkman, jealous high-tech appliances and a junkyard garbage compactor.

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