His later and best-known work, Growth of the Soil, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. If it had been adapted for the big screen, it would be a Janus film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Max Von Sydow would star as the introspective Isak, a humble settler carving a life out of the wilderness in the Northern Norway of the mid-1850s.

“These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, / Which, as they kiss, consume” (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, scene 6).

The public’s consumption of Twilight has been as ravenous as a vampire’s legendary thirst for blood. Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally successful novel series has now spawned the film release of Twilight, the first arc in the currently four-part series centering on the love between the immortal vampire Edward and his 17-year-old high school girlfriend, Bella. Teenage girls form the crux of this fan base. In recent weeks, they have lined up in malls, literally screaming for a glimpse of Twilight’s stars, bought Twilight themed merchandise and tuned in to the glut of media coverage about the film. However, these girls are increasingly not alone in their adulation. Both adult male and female moviegoers are also flocking to see this modern day take on Romeo and Juliet.

Let’s talk about vampires. I guess I really mean to say, let’s talk about sex.

I am a wanton viewer of any kind of vampire entertainment. Wesley Snipes sealed the deal for me. He narrowly missed out on a Best Actor Oscar as Blade, the half-vampire vampire slayer with a fade in leather and spikes and snarls. Let’s not overlook: John Carpenter’s Vampires (James Woods’ crew has this insane Jeep with a vampire harpoon on the front that cranks the soon-to-be-dead undead out of their lairs to fry in the hot sun … in a word, awesome); From Dusk 'Til Dawn (if you wrote this one off, just, shhh, watch it again); and Buffy … sigh, Buffy.

The Christmas shopping season starts this weekend, but the disc everyone wants for their respective holiday is still two weeks away. But I'm sure that there will be no shortage of mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, boyfriends and girlfriends wandering around Best Buy in five days, asking where they can find it. On behalf of the overworked retail employees of America, I would like to help spread the word: really, The Dark Knight isn't out until December 9. You'll have to use that Black Friday discount on WALL-E.

If the reaction by the youngsters in the audience at last Saturday night’s preview of Disney’s Bolt is any indication, the new digital 3-D process that was used to make this feature is here to stay. “Oohs” and “aahs” filled the theater, as did the sight of young hands reaching towards the screen, trying to grab the many pixeled pictures that floated before them. Without question, this is not your grandfather’s 3-D, as this new technique does lend a depth of field to the screen that’s astonishing. The illusion that fireballs or helicopters are breaking the fourth wall is as real as it gets, making this one of the most significant advancements in motion pictures in the last twenty years.

Tickets are still available to see actor Bruce Campbell live screening his new film, My Name is Bruce at the Avon Theater in Decatur, Ill., on Dec. 1. You know Bruce. As a cult and B-movie star of such films as Bubba Ho-Tep and The Evil Dead series, he has appeared in everything from the Spider-Man movies and Fargo to TV shows like Ellen and the X-Files. He’s also the author of two books, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor and How to Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. Presently, Bruce can be seen on USA Network in his new TV show, Burn Notice, about two ex-spies who help out ordinary citizens after being burned by the US government.

A slew of films are out today on DVD, including a couple of the summer's biggest hits. There's also one of those holiday-convenient box sets. But before we get into all that, have you seen the trailer for the new Star Trek movie?

Movie previews are not usually within this column's purview, but this is a significant event for a geek community that hasn't gotten much love in recent years, and I feel it should be mentioned somewhere on Smile Politely. It's been six years since the last Star Trek film and four years since the last Trek series was canceled. The new Trek film is the end of the longest gap we've had between new Trek material since the gap between the original series (canceled in 1969) and the first movie (1979).

Click the jump to read more new releases.

EbertFest, formerly known as The Overlooked Film Festival, showcases films that are hand-picked by locally-raised and internationally-beloved film critic Roger Ebert. Often described as the “least pretentious film festival in the world,” the festival showcases films that often deserve better than the reception or distribution they originally received. It also allows locals to rub elbows with film industry insiders and outsiders. Each film screening is followed by a discussion with folks associated with the film, such as the director, producer, writer or actor. Past guests have included Ang Lee, John Malkovich and Alan Rickman.

Like most Americans, I’ve been worried about the state of things these days. While I’m not in danger of losing my house or my job as so many thousands are, I’ve felt the pinch. My disposable income has suddenly become less so, as there are far fewer dollars left for going out to dinner, stopping by for an afternoon coffee or picking up a trashy novel on impulse. No, there are people in far worse shape than I, but there’s a general pall hanging over all of us and the notion that me and mine might soon end up on the slippery slope of financial ruin is growing. The fact that my wife and I haven’t been out on a date for over three months has less to do with our constant sense of fatigue than the fact that money for a babysitter, dinner and popcorn has gone in the gas tank or on the supper table.

Another fifty-dollar word worth knowing is the German schadenfreude. There’s no word for it in English, but it roughly translates to a feeling of happiness when someone else suffers a misfortune. A great example of this wonderful feeling can be found near the end of Thomas Bernhard’s Woodcutters, a bitter novel set in the Viennese cultural scene of the 1980s. Alcohol seems to be the drug of choice in this novel, but expect a powdery line of condescension and spite throughout.

This is our submission to the University of Illinois' 49-Hour Film Competition from last weekend in which we had 49 hours to make a five-minute movie incorporating balloons, an extreme close-up and the line, "It went too far." Enjoy!

Comprised of singers, dancers and musicians from the various cultures of West Africa, this company combines the traditional rhythms, instruments, folklore and mythology of nations such as Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, Benin, The Ivory Coast and Mauritania.

The prominence of self-conscious genre films in (post-) postmodernism is a phenomenon which at times can grate the nerves, as anyone who has tried to watch Shoot ‘Em Up more than once can tell you. It surely speaks to the importance of this type of film that some of the highest-grossing and fastest-rising directors of the last ten years are Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), and Guillermo del Toro (Blade II, Hellboy, and Pan’s Labyrinth), all of whom started as imaginative creators of wacky, often self-referential horror films.

Today’s releases include at least three post-modern genre films, and at least one-and-a-half good ones. We get one from Japan’s foremost genre (-crossing) director, one from the sci-fi/fantasy guru everyone loves to hate, and one from the aforementioned Spanish director, Mr. del Toro.

Click the jump to read about the new releases.

If Saturday Night Live has another opening sketch featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin it won’t be good for anyone. Just as McCain quickly gave a concession speech, so must SNL concede that they can no longer cling to the only thing that has given them decent ratings in years.

So now that the late night comedy show has once again become completely irrelevant, you must be starving for a new way to see great sketch comedy. Well worry no more, because tonight student owned and operated comedy troupe Fishing with Dynamite is once again taking the Canopy Club stage. For only $5, you can be entertained by everything from dick jokes to insightful, social satire. There’s something for everyone!

Smile Politely got a chance to talk to long time member Jon Hansen. See what he had to say after the jump.

Now that Halloween is over, we're getting dangerously close to the holiday season, so be on the lookout for expensive box sets of DVDs you already own and the bigger movies from this summer, including, yes, THAT one. The Dark Knight is out on DVD and Blu-Ray in just over a month, in time for Christmas and to remind Academy voters that if they don't give Heath Ledger a Best Actor statue, they are literally spitting on the grave of the dead.

This week we get more blockbusters from this summer, some Halloween Horror-Hangovers, the tentative relaunch of a much-loved but deceased show, and a re-release of an imperfect reconstruction of that weird film you had to watch in CINE 104 by the Citizen Kane guy.

Click the jump to read about the new releases.

Graphic designers don’t get much exposure in art galleries. As commercial artists, our work is seen in the marketplace for a brief period of time, then trashed and forgotten. There are exceptions, of course, and Art Chantry’s work is one of those exceptions. Starting today, you’ll have a rare opportunity to admire the work of a great commercial artist in an art gallery setting at Parkland College.