Can't Stop the Serenity in Toronto

Joss Whedon's magnificent space opera, Serenity, returns to Toronto this weekend in a special charity screening, which provides Torontonians with a) another chance to catch one of last year's best movies, and b) more proof that the Browncoats (as Serenity's fans are generally known) are pretty much unstoppable.

After Serenity's less-than-sizeable box office take in September (the flick is the big-screen update of the old Fox TV series, Firefly), Browncoats around the world rallied at CantStoptheSerenity.com for an opportunity to put Serenity back on the big screen in support of Equality Now, which happens to be Joss Whedon's favourite charity. A whopping forty-seven fan-run screenings are being held in Canada and around the world, in Australia, New Zealand, England, and the United States. Maybe it's time Universal started seriously considering fast-tracking a Serenity sequel.

The film tells of a band of space rogues (think "the Millennium Falcon with a crew of 9, on the run from the law") who get caught up in a galaxy-spanning conspiracy to hide the truth... truth which happens to be squirrelled away in the mind of 17-year-old River Tam (Summer Glau), who has been programmed by the government as a walking human weapon. Trouble, as one might expect, ensues.

It's a treat of a flick, and the charity event is a brilliant exploitation of the ongoing popularity of Whedon's creation on the part of the fans.

Toronto's Serenity screening will be held at the Royal at 4:00 on Saturday. Tickets are $10 at the door. More info can be found at Canadian Browncoats, or at CantStopTheSerenity.com.