Does Toronto ever look better than when it's presented in timelapse sequences? Maybe I need to get out more, sure — but tributes like the one below tend to draw into question the idea that this city is anything less than beautiful. The latest in a series of high quality timepases comes courtesy of Ryan Emond, whose previous video Day to Night got some well deserved attention earlier this year. It features some stunning neighbourhood and rooftop sequences, reminds us that the SkyDome (yup, SkyDome) is still pretty cool, and just looks slick overall.

Toronto's spookiest, goriest and bloodiest film festival, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival begins this Thursday, as it 'occupies' the Toronto Underground Cinema for a week of exciting premieres for horror fans and alternative cinema lovers.

Things are a bit different the sixth year of Toronto After Dark. Its had a change of venue (from the Bloor Cinema) and also a change of season. In its first few years, the festival ran during the fall, at the tail end of October just before Halloween. But, because it had some difficulty running against other big-name festivals on at the same time (think Planet in Focus, Reel Asian, etc), After Dark moved to August for 2009 and 2010. While it definitely made for nicer rush lines, it just didn't have that same spooky feel. Luckily, the festival is as successful as ever and has made the move back to October, hopefully for good.

To tide you over and help those who are undecided, here are my top 5 films to see this year.

This Week in Film rounds up the most noteworthy new releases in theatres, as well as key DVD releases, festivals, and other cinema-related events happening in Toronto.

Welcome to the first installment of This Week in Rep Cinema. These posts will combine and feature second run and classic film selections from cinemas such as The Fox, The Revue, The Royal, Toronto Underground Cinema, Projection Booth, TIFF Bell Lightbox and other such cinemas around town.

This week, two of our usual repertory cinemas are acting as hosts for film festivals. The Toronto Underground Cinema is hosting this year's Toronto After Dark Film Festival from October 20-27 (look for a post in the coming days), and the Revue Cinema has the Ekran Polish Film Festival from October 21-23. As this fall continues to pass, there's still no word on an opening date for the Bloor Cinema. Its absence is noted and missed. While smaller theatres do what they can, and TIFF has its programming, I certainly hope the staple of the Annex is ready to open soon.

The 12th Annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival starts tomorrow. With over 80 films, it's Canada's biggest environmental-themed film festival, and it all takes place right here in Toronto. For five days, films will be screening at a variety of downtown locations, including those with a little bit of Hollywood punch, like The Whale, which was produced by Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson. There will also be lots of Canadian content — not surprising given the topic. The following are my five must-see screenings from the festival.

It's probably not necessary to repeat how much I like a solid timelapse. Cinematic and slick, the good ones cast Toronto in an intriguing light that tends to renew one's appreciation for just how photogenic this city can be when the right people are tripping the shutter. One of those people is Ben Lean (a.k.a. *Imperialis*), whose previous efforts Time Travel and Cherry Ice are some of the best timelapse sequences of Toronto that I've seen.