MONDAY JANUARY 31ST / B-MOVIE MADNESS PRESENTS FREAKS AND VAMPIRE CIRCUS / BLOOR CINEMA / 7PM & 9PM
It's a madhouse at the Bloor tonight, or at least it's a circus, as the B-Movie Mondays presents a double bill of freaks and geeks. (Sorry, no James Franco here.) The night starts out with true freaks in the extremely bizarre and truly exploitative film entitled 'Freaks' from 1932, and rounds out the night with Vampire Circus, a sexy gory romp about a carnival that brings nothing but death to a small Austrian village. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the theatre.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 1ST/ MARWENCOL / THE REGENT CINEMA / 8:50PM
Marwencol, which won the HBO Best Emerging Artist award and was voted in the Top Ten for Hot Docs in 2010, follows Mark Hogencamp as he tries to put his life and his mind back together after a devastating brain injury. Through the use of models and dolls, he reenacts a version of his life, and as he tries to make sense of his new place in life, the world begins to notice the world he created in his own backyard. Tickets can be bought at the theatre.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 2ND / DOC SOUP PRESENTS THUNDER SOUL / BLOOR CINEMA / 6:30PM & 9:15PM
Doc Soup's film series has a musical focus this month with Thunder Soul, about Conrad Johnson who directed Houston's Kashmere High School Stage Band, an all-black marching band in the seventies, who then went on to win not only the Texas State Championship but almost all their competitions for the following decade. A mix of contemporary and archival footage, the film comes together with a tribute to Prof Johnson by his former students, who practice and perform together for the first time in three decades. Tickets can be bought online and a limited quantity may be purchased the night of the show.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3RD / REVUE CINEMA / I AM LOVE / 9PM
One of my favourite films at TIFF in 2009, I Am Love follows wealthy housewife Tilda Swinton as her entire world-view crumbles following an encounter with a younger man. Not your traditional May-December romance, the film explodes with colour, texture and flavour, as her entire family is affected by the change brought around by her newfound independence. Tickets can be bought at the theatre and are $13 which nets you a membership, resulting in further films just being $7.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4TH / FREE FRIDAY FILMS PRESENTS BLACK BOOK / INNIS TOWN HALL / 7PM
The Free Friday Film series is in full swing this winter, showcasing anime and cult horror as well as recent gems from the past few years. Black Book is the latter, a spy/thriller/drama about a Jewish songstress who finds herself working for the resistance after a failed attempt to escape the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The screening is free but come early to get good seats, more info can be found at the CINSSU website.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5TH / THE GOONIES / TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX / 2PM
Adults of all ages celebrated the announcement that TIFF would be featuring the most beloved 80's kids movies in this winter's 'Back to the 80's' program and it's finally here! While I wish that it had been programmed with some late-night screenings in mind (who wouldn't want to kick back after a few drinks for some well-deserved nostalgia?) the series begins this weekend with The Goonies and I wouldn't have it any other way! Tickets are $12 for adults, $9.50 students/seniors and $8.50 for children and can be bought in person or online.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 6TH / XALA / TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX / 6:30PM
This Sengalese satire from the seventies pokes fun at the uncomfortable situation that colonialism had on Sengalese men and women in this thinly veiled criticism of European influence on African citizens. The film follows El Hadji, who's lavish festivities celebrating his wedding to his third wife end in disappointment as he is unable to consummate his marriage due to a curse laid on him, but was it laid by friend or foe? Tickets are $12 for adults and can be bought in person or online.

Photo by onasill in the blogTO Flickr pool.