Never had to read War & Peace in school? Couldn't get around to seeing one of the many filmic adaptations? Like big music and big voices? If you answered yes to those questions, why not see War & Peace at the Four Seasons Centre as part of the Fall Season at the Canadian Opera Company (COC)?

I must admit, I never even attempted Tolstoy's novel and the films looked daunting, but after seeing the Opera, I think I finally get the full gist of the story. Even amongst the Napoleonic War and the threats against Russian society, there's just something about Natasha Rostov!

If you're looking for an earful of music tonight, mixed with a dash of atmosphere at an unusual venue, swing on over to the highly anticipated CD release party for Toronto 'vintage sci-fi indie rock band' and overly-enthusiastic Battlestar Galactica fans, Radius and Helena.

The album in question is their first full length CD release and this whole shebang will be going down in the swanky Centuries Lounge which can be found in the basement of The Old Lady of Shuter Street herself, Massey Hall!

But before you go any further, you may want to catch up on our story thus far...

Sometimes when I'm choosing what films to write about for the upcoming week, I'm reminded that one of the beautiful things about film in Toronto is that we treat it as something more than simply popcorn entertainment.

The film medium has been used by activists and explorers, scholars and dictators throughout it's entire lifespan, and in this city we really know how to appreciate a compelling story with a dose of reality to it, or a documentary that will change your perspective on things and give you something to sink your teeth into.

These are the types of films I recommend this week. Well, that and a free suspense film, and some Japanese short films too.

This October, there will be gardening, butchering, pop star idoling, porn star ogling and chainsaw maids a-chaining... basically a little bit of everything thanks to the Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival. Now in its 6th year of programming fantastic short selections from the land of the rising sun, the festival has screened over 130 films to over 5000 audience members with hopefully many more to come.

Divided into five programs, (all named after fruits!) the festival runs from October 7th-10th with every program screening twice, giving you more than enough chance to see all the films.

This week in film really kicks it up a notch, with yet another fantastic Free Friday Film, one last film screening under the stars, a documentary about who controls your food and what they do with it, a festival of films that are short and sweet, classic cinema offerings you have to see, for the first or dozenth time... and did I mention a funky forest?

The first week in film after the Toronto International Film Festival has an eerie, ghost-town quality to it. Basically it's quiet, a little too quiet. Some of the festival flicks are out already, such as Burn After Reading or The Duchess, but some of the best will probably be a long while to come. There are no other festivals to really speak of this week, and the local cinemas are keeping fairly quiet. Still, there are things to see, as always, in a city where the movie-goers keep prowling and the projectors never really stop rolling.