Toronto film picks for TUESDAY DECEMBER 14 through SUNDAY DECEMBER 19, 2010.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 14 / THE BOOK REVUE PRESENTS THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO / REVUE CINEMA / 6:45PM
Poor Stieg Larsson. Just when everyone had finally moved on from the posthumous career output of Tupac Shakur, the Swedish author comes along and drops dead - leaving the adult equivalent of the Harry Potter franchise in his wake. It ain't easy, being dead and rich. And as easy as it would be to dismiss the bestselling Millennium Trilogy as popular book club lit, the novels are a surprisingly intelligent exploration of the misogyny in Swedish society, organized crime, and human trafficking. The Revue will be presenting the film adaptation of the Larsson's first novel in the trilogy as part of their monthly Book Revue series, and the discussion preceding the film (hosted by the Toronto Star's Geoff Pevere) should be interesting, to say the least. $8/$10 at the door for members and non-members respectively, $7 advance (at the cinema or Another Story Bookshop).

The ten worst movies made in Toronto have one positive side: almost all of them purport to be set elsewhere, sparing the city the embarrassment of starring in all but two of these stinkers.

With the aid of government subsidies and the benefit of a close proximity to the U.S., Toronto continues to be an attractive and affordable shooting location for visiting international productions. Plus, the old girl can look like pretty much any place on earth, from New York to Detroit to Raccoon City, and so countless films are shot here, and a lot of them are... well, crap.

Toronto film picks for MONDAY NOVEMBER 29 through SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2010.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 29 / WASTE LAND / BELL LIGHTBOX / 6:30 & 9:00PM
I start this week's column with a bit of a confession: I composed a lengthy rant about another film that I had originally intended to recommend for Monday, only to realize that I had misread the schedule and that the film is no longer screening. Balls! So instead, I turn your attention to the screening I will be attending on Monday evening - Lucy Walker's acclaimed documentary about Brooklyn-based visual artist Vik Muniz and his project at the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho. From TIFF's press release: "Collaborating with the local catadores (garbage pickers), Muniz crafts stirringly beautiful portraits that he hopes will benefit his impoverished subjects. Filming the project's evolution over three years, director Lucy Walker movingly captures the ways in which the project changes the community involved in its creation." Sounds good, right? Tickets are $12, $9.50 for seniors/students. Info available at TIFF's website.

Toronto film picks for MONDAY NOVEMBER 22 through SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2010.


MONDAY NOVEMBER 22 / CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER / SHEPPARD GRANDE-YONGE / VARIOUS SHOWTIMES
Start your week off with corporate corruption and call girls! Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) offers up a skillful and fairly even-handed documentary about disgraced former New York governor (and current CNN personality) Eliot Spitzer. Gibney charts the politician's life in public office, moving through his crusades against white collar crime as State Attorney General to his eventual disgrace at the discovery of his involvement with high-class call girls - all the while interviewing a collection of colourful characters, many of whom were likely responsible for the seedier aspects of the politician's life coming to light in the first place. Worth a look. Consult your local listings for showtimes and ticket prices.

When Torontonians discuss their city, there is often a tendency to focus on urban space from the ground up - with an emphasis placed on historic tree-lined communities like the Annex, Cabbagetown or Riverdale at the expense of the concrete apartment blocks that came to dominate many areas in the city from the late-1950s onward.

Film picks for MONDAY NOVEMBER 15 through SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2010.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 15 / CATFISH / FOX THEATRE / 9:15PM
It is practically impossible to discuss Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman's documentary about relationships in the age of social networking without spoiling the big twist, so I will keep it brief: a man receives a painting from a gifted child artist, and soon begins an online flirtation with the child's older sister that becomes serious - prompting him to pay her a visit that reveals... something unexpected. How the lead and the filmmakers deal with this new information is what elevates the documentary above standard fare. Highly recommended. $7 members, students and seniors, $10 non-members.