If you have a brother, you have a hundred and one stories to tell, ranging from the funny to the downright violent.

This week sees the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the tale of four brothers who are also, yeah, you guessed it…

Jonathan Liebesman’s blockbuster encapsulates the camaraderie and rivalry between brothers and celebrates it in a festival of action, comedy and a whole lot of pizza.

To celebrate the big screen return of our four amphibian friends, we look at ten movies that know what it’s like to be brothers in arms!

 

A River Runs Through It

Robert Redford’s adaptation of Norman Macleans semi-autobiographical novel is the quintessential “brothers on two paths” movie, packing two excellent lead performances from Brad Pitt (who went on to become…well…Brad Pitt) and Craig Sheffer (who did not go on to become Brad Pitt) and some of the director’s best work to date.

Sure, a film about fly-fishing in the rivers of Montana probably doesn’t sound like a riot a minute, but stick this on one Sunday afternoon and you’ll be rewarded with a film rich in brotherly love.

 

Rudo y Cursi

Sticking with the “brothers on two paths” theme, this under-rated gem from Mexico sees Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna play two football loving brothers, one a ‘Keeper the other a fancy Dan Striker who are pitted against each other when they are discovered by a scout.

Like all of the best sports flicks, Rudo y Cursi focuses on the steady rise and the heavy fall of the two players, leading to the inevitable face-off, yet like the pair’s most famous film Y Tu Mama Tambien, it is tackled in such a way that the laughs come thick and fast but the drama is never too far away.

 

Adaptation

Trust Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman to come up with the idea of pairing Nicolas Cage with Nicolas Cage, a decision akin to the baking of double chocolate chip cookies or a double cheeseburger with double gherkins.

Adaptation had my heart even before I realised it was a meta-telling of Kaufman’s own struggle to adapt Susan Orlean’s book ‘The Orchid Thief’ and with Cage as Kaufman, you are treated to a bonkers trip into the mind of the most interesting writer working today.

Oh yeah, it’s really bloody fun too.

 

Dead Man’s Shoes

Speaking of fun, Dead Man’s Shoes is the exact opposite of that. However, Shane Meadow’s best film to date is littered with incredible performances, especially Paddy Considine in the lead role, and Toby Kebbell in a role as far away from monkey planets as you can get.

Channelling the likes of Rolling Thunder, this revenge tale is not for the faint of heart but if you look beyond the tragedy, excessive violence and potty mouths and you’ll find a film with a big heart and a sensitive soul.

 

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

There was a time when the arrival of a new Johnny Depp film was celebrated instead of feared, when he was an actor at the top of his game, not some dude in a crazy hat. Depp has never bettered his role as the eponymous lead, bringing a soulful and conflicted performance to a film that in the wrong hands could have been a Lifetime movie of the week.

Like the best movies about the family unit, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is equal parts heart warming and heartbreaking, with a young Leonardo DiCaprio stealing the entire film as Grape’s younger brother Arnie.

 

Step Brothers

Okay, okay, I’m cheating a bit with this one. They aren’t blood brothers. But who cares when a partnership is as good as Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s?

Like the best comedies, Step Brothers is a film that leads with its heart and adds the potty humour later and if you aren’t a little bit choked up by the time we hit the Catalina Wine Mixer, then you’re an animal and you need to get back into your basement.

 

Mistaken For Strangers

Hey, you like The National, right?

Of course you do, you’re not a horrible human being. Well, if you like The National and want to watch a documentary, not about the band, but about the brother of the lead singer and his struggles in finding his walk in life when his older brother has found his in such a big and successful way, WELL, do I have a film for you!

Tom (brother of Matt) Berninger’s debut film really does blind side you with the amount of heart and warmth with which he approaches not only his subject, but the realisation of what the film is becoming, and that is its greatest strength and why it appears on this list.

 

The Proposition

Okay, we’re going dark again. Imagine a film that encapsulates the Australian outback so perfectly, it is mandatory that you have a large bottle of water with you when viewing. No, not The Inbetweeners 2.

John Hilcoat’s debut film, written with rock god Nick Cave, portrays the brother relationship in such a unique way, focusing less on the love and more on the obligation to protect at all costs, regardless of their crimes. It’s dark, it’s dirty and it’s thoroughly unpleasant at times. It is also the best “western” since Unforgiven.

 

The Brothers Bloom

Director Rian Johnson is riding the wave of success following the awesome Looper and the news he will be at the helm of the second new Star Wars movie. But before all of that, and after his breakout film Brick, Johnson wrote and directed The Brothers Bloom, which sadly did not receive anywhere near the fanfare it deserved.

Teaming Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody as the brothers in question, Johnson riffs on the caper flicks of old such as The Sting and The Ladykillers (Ealing, not Coen) to great effect and frankly, I’m visibly annoyed that this film didn’t get the kudos it deserved. Sate my annoyance and watch this film.

 

Warrior

Remember how you really like The National? Well, here is a film that partners the beauty of brotherhood, the angst of being estranged, the brutality of mixed martial arts and the burden of being Nick Nolte’s sons, all to the lovely songs of The National.

Warrior came out of nowhere and, like The Brothers Bloom, wasn’t a financial success, but since it hit home video and streaming sites, this beautiful film has found the audience it rightfully deserves.

It’s also a personal favourite, because I saw this film in the theatre with my brother of 31 at the time. He kept on talking, asking what was going on, he got his phone out at one point and then he cheered during the fight scenes. I wanted to murder him but I didn’t because he is my brother. That’s brotherhood right there, readers.

 

What’s your favourite movie about brotherhood? Let us know below…

This post is sponsored by Paramount Pictures.