Now that we're two days into TIFF we've actually been able to get into regular screenings and watch films with our fellow festival-going public. Here's what we've seen since our last set of reviews.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Fish Tank
Andrea Arnold is proving to be a powerhouse of a filmmaker. Fish Tank follows her acclaimed first feature Red Road - and packs just as much punch. The film's juicy bit is a budding relationship between a 15 year old and her mother's boyfriend, but it's the startlingly real characters that drive the story. This is the set up: Mia is a tough delinquent type and her young mom is a hot party chick. In a volatile and alcoholic household, the arrival of a seemingly solid paternal figure, Connor (played by Michael Fassbender from Hunger), intensifies the rift between the two women. This is not your not your run-of-the-mill teen angst movie. (Chandra)

Looking for TIFF related videos? There's no shortage of them now that the annual film festival has begun. Both local and international media are obsessed with covering TIFF - many of them chasing the same photos, the same sound bytes and the same moving images. It's enough to drive a media pundit crazy. With so many worthy stories not being covered by both traditional and online outlets, why dedicate precious resources to publish the same stuff that can be widely read or viewed elsewhere?

We're only hours away from the 34th edition of Toronto International Film Festival, our annual 10-day celebrity glitzfest and showcase of world cinema.

While stalking celebrities is a cheap way to kill time between screenings, as luck would have it, there are plenty of other free (and worthwhile!) TIFF events scheduled throughout this year's fest.

Another week means another slate of films reviewed leading up to the start of the Toronto International Film Festival. We've been escaping the (finally) summer weather for air conditioned comfort inside various screening rooms at the Varsity Theatre. Here's a summary of the films we've seen since our first slate of TIFF reviews.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Hipsters
Okay. Let me preface this by saying if you hate musical theatre, you may not like this one. But despite my very own pre-existing disinterest in the genre, everything about this flick -- the colours, the music, the fake saxophone playing, the costuming, and the dramatic love story -- kept me hostage. I credit it to the Moscow setting, which definitely eased the cheese factor of similar theatrical productions based in North America. Communist Russia meets Swing Kids meets Footloose. Chalk this under well-filmed Guilty Pleasure. (Connie)

A few days ago, we reported that John Greyson had pulled his short Covered from this year's TIFF lineup in protest against the festival's City-to-City spotlight on Tel Aviv. So what else is left in TIFF's Short Cuts Canada Programme? Well, a good showcase of 40 or so films, flush with emerging and established talent from all over the country.

Short Cuts is like a fest within The Fest, running five full programmes and pairing some odds and ends (each under 50 minutes in length) with screenings of Canadian features. Thrillers, dark comedies, and the latest from animation guru Cordell Barker top my list of standouts in this year's set.

The TIFF party calendar is filling up. Fast. With celebs like George Clooney, Matt Damon and Oprah Winfrey descending on Toronto, the approaching 10 day stretch in September is a boon for bars, restaurants and clubs looking to make some serious coin to go along with the cache and photo ops for hosting some of the international film community's biggest stars. Almost every night of the festival there's a multitude of bashes worth crashing - some almost impossible to get into (tight guest lists, limited capacity, dress code etc.) and others more accessible to the public. Here's a rundown of some of the parties getting the most buzz.