Films This Week(end): Festivals, Smoking, Vendettas

While The Other Venice Film Festival finishes up this weekend, three local film fests hit Los Angeles. Tonight through Sunday, Perspectives International Film Festival, at Laemmle's Music Hall 3, features films that challenge stereotypes of the lives of people with developmental disabilities. The Silver Lake Film Festival, in its 6th year, begins next Thursday. Joining them at the ArcLight, will be the Fringe Fest '06 & mp-4 Fest.

But tonight at the ArcLight there will be "21+ Screenings" of Thank You For Smoking (Starring Robert Duvall, Sam Elliot, Katie Holmes, Aaron Eckhart). If you've been following the hype about this movie, then you probably already know about director Jason Reitman's blog or Defamer's premiere report.

This will also be the last weekend you will be able to see America's favorite cowboys sheepherders on screen at the ArcLight (last day: 3/23).

Another big opening tonight is the latest "socially conscious blockbuster" – V for Vendetta. The Wachowski brothers, who were behind The Matrix trilogy, bring us a movie that looks into the 400 year old history of Guy Fawkes and asks questions relevant to today's elevated threat atmosphere.

Other films of interest this week are She's The Man (is Twelfth Night as 10 Things I Hate About You is to The Taming of the Shrew), The Zodiac (1960's Bay Area killer), Sorry, Haters (NYC taxi driver meets hip-hop producers), and Argentinean A Year Without Love (Got Pain? Get Kinky).