Usually, heavy drama and inspirational fare are mixed into hard-hitting or heart-sagging packages. But sometimes, the tough-to-swallow is mixed with comedy -- not in a way where the funny is the only thing that matters, but in a way that helps move the story and keep you out of that moviegoer depression. When done right, it can be a really enjoyable experience -- one that makes you think, feel, and laugh.

Now, I'm cheating a little bit for this double feature. One of the films just came out on DVD this week, but the other doesn't come out until Tuesday (Double Feature of the Future!). But having received both screeners, and having them sitting here on the desk, looking at me, I couldn't help but use them because they go so well together. Both contain some pretty dramatic moments, but the drama is couched in levity. I present: Music Within and Lars and the Real Girl -- two films that embrace the marriage of comedy and drama, as well as people who get past their own fears and offer help to others.

My personal pick is the powerful, haunting There Will Be Blood, but there are other intriguing titles to explore. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) won the inaugural Cinema Eye Award for Best Feature; according to one synopsis, the documentary examines the "cycles of violence that plague Brazil's upper and lower economic classes in fits of rampant corruption and violent kidnappings." The DVD from City Lights includes an audio commentary by the director and producers, as well as several additional scenes.

Linda Hattendorf first met the subject of her documentary, The Cats of Mirikitani, on the streets of New York. He was homeless; she bought one of his drawings. "Thus began a strange, intimate relationship," Martha Fischer wrote in her review. She called the doc "a treasure of personal filmmaking, created on a shoe-string budget and completely devoid of pretensions or aspirations beyond simple, intimate, storytelling." The DVD from Arts Alliance America includes 20 minutes of bonus footage, deleted scenes and Mirikitani art gallery images.

The music, the melody, the tunes if you will. Music is, of course, a vital part of cinema, and it is particularly significant to the trailers we're looking at today. It's all about the music here on Trailer Park.

Shine a Light
I'm sure you've heard of this band called The Rolling Stones, right? They're the ones who played the Super Bowl half-time show last year to the delight of older fans and the befuddlement of teenage viewers (at least that's how it was at the party I attended). Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film presents interviews with the band both new and historic, with the majority of the film detailing a 2006 performance at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Scorsese himself figures prominently in the trailer, so apparently at least part of the film is about the making of the film. I'm not a big fan of concert movies, although one of the few I did like was the Stones' Gimme Shelter, which covered a notorious 1969 performance at Altamont Speedway, so I'm mildly curious about Shine a Light.

Music Within
The music here is more of a metaphor, though the preview makes good use of lates 60s/early 70s pop tunes to set the period. Ron Livingston plays a gifted public speaker who, after the loss of his hearing in the Vietnam war, becomes a champion for the disabled and one of the primary activists behind the American's With Disabilities Act. Looks like an interesting little historical drama, and I've always liked Livingston, so this looks like one worth checking out.