Pickings are slim this weekend, as the majority of screens in town will be flickering with images of a vampire/human wedding and werewolf jealousy. Several films are also pushed onto the release slate for next Wednesday, to capitalize on the long Thanksgiving weekend. Not to worry, though, as Austin is still blessed with two films from two of the world's most celebrated filmmakers. Screens around town will feature a drama about depression and the end of the world and a documentary about the death penalty.

This Weekend at the Drafthouse

The controversial Danish director Lars von Trier, who last shocked audiences with the equally beautiful and revolting Antichrist, is back with his new film Melancholia. Kirsten Dunst is Justine, recently married to Michael (Alexander Skarsgård). The pair travel to the sprawling castle-like home of Justine's sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who, along with her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland), is throwing a wedding reception for the pair. After the festivities, Justine, who is fading into a state of depression, is left alone with Michael and Claire in the mansion. Adding to the problems is the revelation of a planet ten times the size of ours which has appeared from its hiding spot behind the sun and is hurtling straight for a world-destroying collision with Earth. It's no secret that director von Trier has had a lifelong struggle with clinical depression, and in Melancholia he explores the effects of it utilizing anything-but-subtle metaphors. (Melancholia also opens Friday at Violet Crown Cinemas.)

This Weekend at Regal Arbor Cinemas

The release of a new Werner Herzog (The Thin Blue Line, Grizzly Man) is always cause for celebration and is an instant recommendation. His new film Into the Abyss explorers the situation of Michael Perry, who is scheduled to be put to death by the State of Texas eight days after the interview taking place on screen. In 2002 Perry, along with Jason Burkett (who received 40 years), murdered three people over a dispute involving a car. While Herzog is outspoken on his extreme distaste for death penalty, his film seeks more to show how normal people can end up in a position where their death is a punishment prescribed by other human beings. Praised for its extraordinarily even-handed approach, giving voices to the murderers, those impacted by the crime and the punishment, Into the Abyss looks to be another excellent effort from Herzog, a film that tackles some of his recurring themes while presenting incredibly controversial material that speaks to people both emotionally and intellectually.

Beyond the Weekend

On Sunday (11/20) the A/V Geeks return to the Alamo Ritz with a new show consisting of several selections from their collection of more than 24,000 16mm education films. Each film in the show, called Balls Out, features balls of some sort—from golf balls to marbles—and lessons to be learned. Attendees are guaranteed a good time and will be seeing films about as rare as they come.