The 2013 Toronto Jazz Festival descends on the city this Friday with a huge “free for all” event. That means all of Friday’s programming at every Jazz Festival venue is, yes, completely free of charge. There will be concerts from local favourites Molly Johnson and Mary Margaret O’Hara, plus a show by Smokey Robinson and Martha Reeves, who will be launching the fest from its epicentre, Nathan Phillips Square.

Here’s a rundown of some of the shows worth checking out on Friday—and during the rest of the festival, when you’ll actually have to pay.

Folks who are planning on having a swim in the pool at Scadding Court Community Centre over the next few days may find themselves a little disappointed. Those who want to go fishing, however, will probably be ecstatic.

For the rest of the week, the Community Centre will be holding its annual Gone Fishin’ event, meaning its indoor pool will be an indoor fish pond. The pool has been drained, dechlorinated, and refilled with 2,000 rainbow trout, to be caught by local children and families.

Andy Serkis as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Image courtesy of Photofest.

Science on Film
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West)
February 27 to June 26
$180 for subscription, single tickets available on Wednesday, February 27

Having recently devoted screens to separate ongoing programs focused on books and food, the TIFF Bell Lightbox continues its busy subscription-series lineup with the Wednesday launch of the second season of Science on Film. Over the course of the next four months, six films will screen and then be discussed by noted guests and experts in various scientific fields related to each movie’s subject matter. With lectures, demonstrations, and Q&As, the series promises to be a unique viewing opportunity. Here’s a guide to the highlights.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Wednesday, February 27, 7 p.m.

The movie: An unexpectedly impressive reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise, this 2011 origin story sets the stage for what seems destined to be many more sequels and prequels. James Franco stars as a scientist who is working to cure Alzheimer’s—which his father (John Lithgow) is suffering from—by testing a new drug on chimpanzees. After he takes in a baby chimp, naming it Caesar, he begins to notice that his drug is causing the primate to develop extreme intelligence. With a brilliant motion-capture performance by Gollum himself (Andy Serkis), and a grand climax on the Golden Gate Bridge, Planet of the Apes is an engrossing and surprisingly resonant action film.

The scientist: Dr. Stephen Scherer, a geneticist who studied at the University of Toronto before co-founding The Centre for Applied Genomics (TCAD), Canada’s first human genome centre. His work in genetic variation was integral to sequencing the human genome, and he currently holds the GlaxoSmithKline-Canadian Institutes of Health Research Chair in Genome Sciences at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto.

What to expect: Aside from the Science Centre being on hand for an interactive audience demonstration involving real primate skulls, there’s sure to be a scintillating discussion of genetic engineering and bio-technologies.

Up in the Air
Wednesday, March 27, 7 p.m.

The movie: Jason Reitman’s follow-up to the much-lauded Juno bears more of a resemblance to the dark humor and caustic wit of his debut feature, Thank You for Smoking. The adaptation of Walter Kim’s novel follows professional corporate downsizer Ryan (George Clooney), who lives a solitary and transient existence as he flies from city to city to do his job: laying off employees at companies that have contracted for his services. Meeting fellow traveler Alex (Vera Farmiga) and growing close to Natalie (Anna Kendrick), his ambitious protege, forces him to re-examine his priorities.

The scientist: Dr. Barbara Killinger, a Toronto psychotherapist and a pioneer in the field of workaholism. Her book, Workaholics: The Respectable Addicts, has been published in nineteen countries and nine languages. She maintains a blog on the subject of workaholism for Psychology Today.

What to expect: Because Killinger’s Ph.D dissertation was the first empirical study of humour in psychotherapy, it’s a good bet that her lecture will be delivered with a touch as light as Reitman’s. Audiences can look forward to a visual representation of what an unhealthy amount of time spent at the office can do to the human brain.

Apollo 13
Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m.

The movie: NASA’s Apollo 13 mission—the origin of the ubiquitous phrase, “Houston, we have a problem”—is brought to life with rousing performances and great attention to detail in Ron Howard’s 1995 crowd-pleaser. After being forced to abandon their mission to the moon because of malfunctioning equipment, Commander Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) and his crew navigate the difficult trip home with the help of Flight Director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and his team back in Mission Control Center.

The scientist: Astronaut Julie Payette, who has spent twenty-five days in space aboard space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery. With Endeavour, she became the first Canadian to participate in an International Space Station assembly mission.

What to expect: Payette will definitely dispel any myths about space travel perpetuated by Apollo 13 and other films, and she’ll also likely explain the logistics of (and inherent difficulties in) guiding Apollo 13 back to Earth. Given the timing, it could be an opportunity, as well, to provide some insight into Chris Hadfield’s mission aboard the International Space Station, and what he may be experiencing as Commander of Expedition 35.

John Francis Daley in the work-in-progress 5-25-77. Photo courtesy of TIFF.

TIFF Next Wave
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West)
February 15–17
$8.50–$12, or FREE for high school students for select screenings

For three days this month starting on February 15, things at the TIFF Bell Lightbox will work a little differently. The reins will be handed over to a group of teenagers, who will decide—and in some cases, create—what is shown on the screens. The schedule at the second Next Wave festival, aimed at those aged 14 to 18, features a wide array of films and events, including a John Hughes retrospective, a Talent Lab where young filmmakers can hone their skills, and a 24-hour Film Challenge that culminates with young artists providing live musical accompaniment in a Battle of the Scores.

Among the highlights in the slate of films are zombie flick Dead Before Dawn 3D and Patrick Read Johnson’s long-awaited ode to all things sci-fi, 5-25-77 (otherwise known as the release date of Star Wars). The latter is screening in an unfinished state and the director is seeking feedback to assist in its completion. The film is a kaleidoscopic coming-of-age story that follows a young man (Freaks and Geeks‘ John Francis Daley) on his roundabout path to meeting his filmmaking heroes and soon-to-be heroes in Hollywood. It’s a little long and rough around the edges still, but has an earnestness that’s hard to resist.

Some of their other picks: a great performance by young actress Olesya Rulin grounds the quirky comedy Family Weekend and the documentary Fame High is an absorbing account of one year at a Los Angeles art school. The lineup also includes international offerings like the Irish space-themed comedy Earthbound, and Bushido Sixteen, a Japanese story of a fencing rivalry between two teenage girls.

In an effort to pick the brains of the panel responsible for helping to shape the program, we sent a questionnaire to three of its members: Nasma Ahmed, 17, from Woburn Collegiate Institute; Julia Galle, 16, from the Etobicoke School of the Arts; and Corina Bizim, 17, from Pickering High School.

Torontoist: When did you first start watching films? Do you remember the first one you saw?

Julia Galle: I’ve always watched films. I can’t remember not watching them. The first one I can remember seeing was Elmopalooza!. Yeah, I was a Sesame Street fan.

What film has influenced you the most in your life and why?

Corina Bizim: Matilda has influenced me the most in my life because she was my first example of a female hero. I wanted to be just like her—the little girl with special super powers who could do anything that she set her mind to.

How did the process of selecting the films for the festival work?

Nasma Ahmed: We spent time watching the movies that were submitted and discussing them. Then at the end of a long—but pleasant—viewing spree, we selected the movies we feel will cater to different types of audiences and represented several countries. This is why we have films from Ireland, Japan, and South Africa.

What film in the festival are you most excited for people to see?

Ahmed: Molly Maxwell because of the interesting take on an odd romance that takes part in our city, Toronto. And Ghost Graduation because of how hilarious it is. It is High School Musical without the music, plus some ghosts.

Galle: I think all the movies are wonderful in their own way. I think people are really going to like Otelo Burning and Family Weekend.

Bizim: I am most excited for people to see Molly Maxwell because of the focus on Toronto talent. I also think it’s a great coming of age story and everyone will be able to relate well to the extremely awkward experience of being a teenager.

What is your favourite John Hughes film?

Ahmed: Sixteen Candles because I remember when I was 16 and how, for some reason, it was the most exciting birthday for me. My family around me didn’t think the same because a birthday was a birthday, but I remember feeling like Molly Ringwald in a sense. Why wasn’t anyone as excited as me? I love how John Hughes portrayed the high school life because I see similarities every day, except we don’t give people our underwear.

Galle: Breakfast Club is my favourite. It’s one of those films that everyone can take from. That movie has an impeccable power to deeply move people who watch it.

Bizim: My favorite John Hughes film is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. It wasn’t directed by John Hughes, but it was written and produced by him. I love this movie because I have watched it every Christmas since I was little, and it really reminds me of the importance of family.

What other groups and activities do you participate in?

Ahmed: Outside of school, I love to participate in my community through volunteering and even sometimes politically. I work closely with Free The Children and United Way and have been for years. At school, I am the editor of the yearbook and adviser to the student council.

Galle: I really like to make movies and write scripts. I’ve also been attempting to learn the ukulele.

Bizim: I am really involved with acting and the drama program at my school. Throughout the past few years of high school, I have co-directed and starred in the school plays, which have participated in the Sears Drama Festival. I am currently an actress on Degrassi, and am always attending acting classes and auditions.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Ahmed: Well, 10 years is a really long time! I see myself working in the municipal government. I am very interested in policy work, especially when it comes to social programming within our city.

Galle: I’d love to continue making and writing movies. Doing that forever would be ideal.

Bizim: I see myself participating in film festivals all over the world, but on the red carpet side. I hope to be acting in films and television shows for the rest of my life, and to produce movies as well.

CORRECTION: February 14, 2013, 10:05 AM This post originally stated that Julia Galle attends the Etobicoke Centre for the Arts. That is incorrect, and has now been fixed.

The Reel Paddling Film Festival brings us a touch of summer tonight. Photo courtesy of Trevor Halton Creative.

PERFORMING ARTS: Our very own listings editor, Steve Fisher, plays host tonight at In Conversation With… as part of Theatre Local’s WORKSPACE festival. Get to know playwright and actor Julia Lederer, singer-songwriter MJ Cyr, and Theatre Local’s principal artist and WORKSPACE creator, Rebecca Singh as they give insight into their art and creative processes. Artscape Wychwood Barns (601 Christie Street), doors at 6:30 p.m., event at 7 p.m., PWYC.

FILM: Think warm thoughts and surround yourself with images of summer tonight at the Reel Paddling Film Festival. They’ll be screening some water-themed films to inspire viewers to explore nature, and all proceeds from the night support Project Canoe, an organization that engages at-risk youth in outdoor adventuring. Royal Cinema (608 College Street), 7 p.m., $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

THEATRE: Join the Studio 180 Theatre as they premiere their production of Clybourne Park tonight. Spanning over two generations in a Chicago suburb, the play offers a satirical look at race, class, property ownership, and community. Starring Audrey Dwyer, Michael Healey, Sterling Jarvis, Jeff Lillico, Mark McGrinder, Kimwun Perehinec, and Maria Ricossa. Panasonic Theatre (651 Yonge Street), 8 p.m., $25–$79.

FILM: As part of Black History Month, the Canadian Film Centre presents Celebrating Bold, Black, Risk Takers: An Evening with John Singleton. Learn about his influential films (Boyz N the Hood, Shaft, Poetic Justice, and Baby Boy), his inspiration, and becoming the the first African-American to be nominated for a best director Oscar. TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West), 8:30 p.m., $20.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly. Image courtesy of the Film Reference Library.

Whoa. The Films Of Keanu Reeves
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West)
January 11–April 5
$8.50–$12

Initially, TIFF’s decision to host a retrospective dedicated to the work of Keanu Reeves may seem like a curious one. After all, the actor has been the subject of some derision over the years, for everything from his notoriously uneven acting, to his limited on-screen vocabulary, to his habit of sometimes looking a little too morose.

But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Reeves, who spent many of his formative years in Toronto, is worthy of celebration. He has managed to carve out a filmography that includes a healthy mixture of crowd-pleasing blockbusters and interesting independent films. In advance of the retrospective, here are brief refreshers on three movies that helped define Keanu, and that made all of us say, “Whoa.”

River’s Edge (1986)

When it’s playing at the Lightbox: Friday, January 25, 9:45 p.m.

Role: Matt, a troubled teenager who runs with the wrong crowd, but who also has a conscience—and, perhaps, a heart of gold.

The story: A group of rural high-school outcasts deals with the aftermath of one its members murdering a classmate.

Mini-review: As a commentary on the callousness and apathy of disillusioned youth, it remains as prescient as ever. With great performances from an especially creepy Dennis Hopper and the mesmerizingly unhinged Crispin Glover, this bleak snapshot of eroding morality will linger in your thoughts long after the credits roll.

Place within Keanu’s career arc: It established Reeves’s enthusiasm for appearing in smaller films from less established filmmakers. This trend would continue with Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho (1991), and all the way through to Mike Mills’s Thumbsucker (2005).

Does Keanu say “Whoa”? No. This was made in 3 BW (Before Whoa), when those glorious four letters were still only a glimmer in Keanu’s eye.

Choice Keanu moment: When his trashy mom insists that he not smoke pot in the house, he fires back with the zinger, “Don’t worry, it’s not yours.”

Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

When it’s playing at the Lightbox: Friday, February 1, 9:00 p.m.

Role: Ted “Theodore” Logan, an underachieving metalhead who makes up in ambition what he lacks in intelligence. Ted is also, incidentally, one of the Two Great Ones. That’s because he helped form the band Wyld Stallyns, whose music is ultimately responsible for the formation of a utopian society in the distant future.

The story: Bill and Ted are tasked with travelling back in time in a specially outfitted phone booth. Their mission is to collect great figures from the past, like Napoleon and Abraham Lincoln, thus ensuring that they pass a history class and are able to shape the world with their music.

Mini-review: It’s practically the Citzen Kane of dumb comedies, with many classic lines and great moments—not to mention a memorable appearance by the legendary George Carlin as Bill and Ted’s guide, Rufus.

Place within Keanu’s career arc: While his participation in it could have jeopardized his credibility, the movie’s success only burnished his silly side. To Keanu’s credit, he not only gamely reprised the role in the sequel, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, but also still plans on doing so again to complete the trilogy.

Does Keanu say “Whoa”? Does he ever! In total, Keanu utters the trademark word a whopping 11 times, though it should be noted that some of these are whoa duets with Alex Winter’s Bill. Nonetheless, this is only enough to place the movie second among Keanu’s whoa-iest films. (It trails Sweet November‘s staggering 15, which is a little misleading considering all 15 are said in succession while urging someone to stop what they’re doing.)

Choice Keanu moment: As he offers the imposing emperor a snack, “You want a Twinkie, Genghis Khan?”

The Matrix (1999)

When it’s playing at the Lightbox: Friday, March 22, 9:00 p.m.

Role: Computer hacker Thomas Anderson, better known as Neo. Or, continuing the messianic theme of Bill and Ted, he may also be addressed as The One.

The story: Mr. Anderson learns that the world as we know it is really just a computer program. He becomes part of a battle against machines that have enslaved the human race. Or, something like that.

Mini-review: Though its legacy may be somewhat tainted by two sequels that were tepidly received by eager fans, the original was a kinetic hybrid of science fiction and action the likes of which no one had seen before. The bullet-time shootouts enthralled audiences, even as the labyrinthine intricacies of the plot threatened to confound them (before, in the sequels, they actually did).

Place within Keanu’s career arc: Having already cemented his status as an action star first with Point Break (1991) and later with Speed (1994), this became Keanu’s crowning achievement in the genre.

Does Keanu say “Whoa”? Only twice, but one of them is likely the defining whoa of his entire career. After watching Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus leap across to a distant building in a way that defies physics, Reeves drinks in the strangeness for a beat and then unleashes a delivery of his sacred syllable that shatters everything we ever thought we knew of the word.

Choice Keanu moment: When he downloads martial arts into his brain and then states, blankly, “I know kung fu.”

DIRECTED BY SERGIO CORBUCCI

As much as for his inimitable way with words and his virtuoso flair for renderings of violent retribution, movie geeks revere Quentin Tarantino for his frequent, loving nods to all manner of grindhouse landmarks and obscure gems. With Django Unchained hitting screens on Christmas Day, TIFF is offering film buffs a chance to bone up for the inevitable game of “spot the reference,” with a Lightbox presentation of a direct precursor to QT’s latest: Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 Spaghetti Western, Django.

Corbucci’s film is itself indebted to a seminal antecedent, borrowing liberally from 1964’s A Fistfull of Dollars, directed by Corbucci’s compatriot Sergio Leone. Like the first episode of Leone’s Dollars trilogy, Django concerns a stoic drifter with a lightning trigger finger who finds himself embroiled in a triangular intrigue between two warring factions. But Corbucci’s tale—which became an international cult hit in its own right—is both bleaker and bloodier than Leone’s, and was once banned in the U.K. due to a scene depicting the severing of an ear. (Unchained‘s various callbacks, including Luis Balaclov’s stupendous title tune, evidently aren’t the first instances of Tarantino sampling from this particular source.)

Today, there’s a laughable, distinctly low-budget quality to that ear scene, but Django generally holds up marvelously, and is often blackly funny by design. Even as it lacks the operatic grandeur of Leone’s classics, it’s easy to see why Corbucci’s stylish blend of cynical wit and gleeful schlock commands Tarantino’s keen appreciation.

The documentary Special Flight screens tonight as part of Cinema Politica. Photo courtesy of Cinema Politica.

FILM: Every year, thousands of people are imprisoned in Switzerland without trial or sentence, because they are living in the country illegally. Documentarian Fernand Melgar spent nine months in an administrative detention centre in Geneva, capturing the “end of the line” process for those about to be deported. His film, Special Flight, screens tonight as part of Cinema Politica, and is co-presented by No One is Illegal Toronto. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor Street West), 6:45 p.m., suggested donation $2—$10.

MULTIMEDIA: Tonight, TIFF and the Images Festival team up to co-present a unique hybrid performance piece, Jem Cohen: We Have an Anchor. A decade of Cohen’s documentary footage—in both HD projections and 16-mm film—have been coupled with various texts, such as poems and local news items. The screening will be accompanied by a live musical performance from a “supergroup” made up of Guy Picciotto (Fugazi), Jim White (Dirty Three), T. Griffin (The Quavers), Efrim Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), and Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt. Zion), along with special guest vocals from Mary Margaret O’Hara. TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West), 8 p.m., $40.

THEATRE: Watch Jack Callaghan battle Russian goons, fight wild beasts of Guatemala, dodge elaborate traps, and perform romantic musical pieces in CALLAGHAN! And the Wings of the Butterfly. Created and performed by Toronto comedy group Sex T-Rex, the show combines romance, music, tragedy, and adventure, but relies mostly on pure silliness (in a good way). Unit 102 Theatre (376 Dufferin Street), 9 p.m., $15.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

Gabino Rodríguez and Luisa Pardo, two of Nicolás Pereda's regular players, in Juntos.

Where Are the Films of Nicolás Pereda?
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West)
November 22–25
Tickets $12 each

Like TIFF’s recent spotlight on the films of Mia Hansen-Løve, the latest Lightbox retrospective is very much a forward-looking affair. Its subject is 30-year-old Mexican-Canadian filmmaker Nicolás Pereda, who, since completing his MFA at York University in 2007, has been heralded as a key emerging talent on the contemporary art-cinema scene. His prodigious output—six features and a short in five years—has made him a fixture of the international festival circuit, where he claimed the avant-garde-focused Orrizonti prize at Venice in 2010. No less prestigious is the fact that Pereda was named among the “50 Best Filmmakers Under 50” by Cinema Scope, alongside influences like Lisandro Alonso, Jia Zhangke, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Pereda has recently been feted at venerable film institutions in New York, Chicago, and L.A., but Where Are the Films of Nicolás Pereda? is the first series of his collected works to screen in the city he now calls home.

Pereda himself will be on hand to introduce each film, beginning with Thursday evening’s presentation of his first feature, Where Are Their Stories? (6:30 p.m.). Originally completed as his thesis project, his bumpkin-in-the-big-city debut serves as a thesis statement in the broader sense, establishing the core tenets of the cinematic vision Pereda has continued to re-articulate with every subsequent endeavour. Combining rigorous formalism with semi-improvised performances, deadpan humour, and a keen sense of the everyday struggles of working-class Mexicans, Stories provides the template that has seen Pereda compared to the likes of Pedro Costa, Tsai Ming-liang, and Aki Kaurismäki. Stories also introduces two of Pereda’s perennial leading players, Teresa Sánchez and Gabino Rodríguez, who feature throughout the director’s highly self-referential filmography as variations on the same, perpetually squabbling, mother and son.

Gabino Rodríguez and Francisco Barreiro as two of Mexico City's least motivated movers in Perpetuum Mobile.

Luisa Pardo and Francisco Barreiro, the other members of Pereda’s recurring troupe, make their first appearances in Juntos (Thursday, 8:45 p.m.). Cited in TIFF’s synopsis as perhaps Pereda’s least-seen work, his sophomore effort is our top pick, along with Friday night’s screening of its not-quite-sequel, Perpetuum Mobile (6:30 p.m.). Alternately droll and poignant, both films offer perceptive explorations of deteriorating social relations among Mexico City residents of different classes. In Juntos, Gabino and Luisa are excellent as a young couple whose already-strained relationship is severely tested by a lost pet, faulty appliances, and the arrival of Gabino’s freeloading pal, Paco (Barreiro). In Mobile, meanwhile, the pet is still lost and the appliances are still faulty, but Gabino and Paco inhabit new personas, playing a pair of low-rent movers whose lack of ambition is profoundly irksome to Gabino’s hectoring mother, Teresa.

The series continues on Saturday afternoon with a double feature presentation of Pereda’s experimental documentary All Things Were Now Overtaken by Silence (3:15 p.m.), and the filmmaker’s own carte blanche selection, The Corridor, by minimalist Lithuanian auteur Sharunas Bartas. A marked departure departure from Pereda’s established style and subject matter, All Things is a behind-the-scenes look at Mexican actor-director Jesusa Rodríguez’s preparations for a theatrical recital of the classic poem Primer sueño, framed in sumptuous high-contrast monochrome. Also screening on Saturday is Summer of Goliath (7 p.m.), Pereda’s prize-winning narrative-documentary hybrid, which casts his regular performers against actual inhabitants of the film’s rural setting. The series concludes on Sunday with the Toronto premiere of Greatest Hits (4 p.m.), which aptly revisits Pereda’s favoured motifs while pushing formal boundaries.

Images courtesy of TIFF.

Maurice Binder's famous gun barrel serves as the exhibition's entranceway.

“Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style”
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West)
October 26, 2012–January 20, 2013
Admission $11.87–$16.95

Perhaps no brand has contributed so much to the iconography of popular culture as Bond. In the name of Queen and country, the British superspy has been besting bad guys, bedding babes, quaffing dry martinis, and delivering drier quips since 1962. In the process, he has become cinema’s longest serving franchise figurehead. To mark the golden anniversary of Bond’s film debut, TIFF has partnered with London’s Barbican Centre and EON Productions to present “Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style,” a celebration of the craft behind Bond’s half-century of big-screen exploits. The exhibition offers visitors a chance to immerse themselves within five decades’ worth of iconic ephemera—from Daniel Craig’s skimpy Casino Royale swim trunks to a fibreglass replica of Jill Masterson’s gold-coated corpse.

Visitors to the Lightbox lobby between now and January 20 will find themselves staring down the rifled barrel that serves as the exhibition’s entrance, an inspired rendition of title designer Maurice Binder’s trademark introductory motif. During last week’s media preview, “Designing 007″ co-curator Brownwyn Cosgrave revealed that the exhibition’s physical layout is modelled on the well-established structure of a typical Bond adventure. Thus, beside Binder’s famous gun barrel are 23 monitors featuring all of the elaborate title sequences that have heralded the beginnings of 007′s escapades, each a psychedelic kaleidoscope of silhouetted nudes and phallic firearms.

Pistols and passports: key tools in a day at the office for 007.

Beyond the circular entranceway is a nook that commemorates novelist and Bond creator Ian Fleming. An adjacent space is mocked up to evoke M’s office, where Bond receives intelligence briefings ahead of each new op. On display there are the padded leather doors that kept naval secrets from prying ears in The Spy Who Loved Me, conceptual illustrations by original Bond production designer Ken Adam, and an array of 007′s personal effects, including various passports and a silenced Walther PPK, Bond’s signature sidearm since his fist cinematic outing in Dr. No.

Equally unmistakable—and even more likely to inspire fetishistic fascination—is the titular pistol from The Man With the Golden Gun, on display in the exhibition’s Gold Room. Also housed alongside Scaramanga’s collapsible shooter is the previously mentioned 24-carat cadaver, the gold-flecked tux worn by Goldfinger as his laser memorably encroached on Bond’s crotch, and Oddjob’s razor-brimmed bowler. The vault-like decor of the chamber itself is a tip of the hat to Ken Adam’s Fort Knox set for Goldfinger, the film that propelled the then-fledging Bond to record-breaking box-office returns. Though a brief departure from the exhibition’s follow-in-Bond’s-footsteps floor plan, the Gold Room will, for many, be the main attraction of “Designing 007.”

Jill Masterson, fatally gilded for her frolic with Bond.

For others, the exhibition’s highlight will doubtless be Q Branch, where MI6′s R&D boffins outfit Bond with the bleeding-edge gadgets that have long been a series staple. Lined with wooden packing crates stacked from floor to ceiling, this space affords visitors intimate views of dozens of 007′s deadly toys, including From Russia With Love‘s exploding briefcase, Tomorrow Never Dies‘ multi-functioning taser phone, and Skyfall‘s biometric twist on an otherwise back-to-basics Walther. Also featured are design sketches from the Bond art department, as well as familiar video clips of Bond deploying the devices in the field.

Because Bond’s unique brand of espionage often entails a visit to a gambling establishment, next in store is a casino. Fitted with mirrored panelling and crystal chandeliers, this room hosts the exhibition’s largest selection of costumes, complete with a variety of our hero’s standard-issue Saville Row evening wear, as well as the designer finery worn by several of the series’ femmes fatales. On display, too, is the actual card table at which Craig struck it lucky against Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre in his debut performance as 007, in Casino Royale.

Comprising a lighter, a cigarette case, a pen, and a cufflink, Scaramanga's golden gun is a thing of ballistic beauty.

Le Chiffre’s comrades in villainy from other Bond films, meanwhile, are given their due in the neighbouring gallery, with installations spotlighting Grace Jones’ statuesque May Day, Charles Gray’s Blofeld, and Richard Kiel’s Jaws. In addition to cinema’s most infamous grill, featured artifacts include Tee Hee’s prosthetic pincer arm from Live and Let Die, the S&M-inspired flight suit sported by GoldenEye villainess Xenia Onatopp, and Rosa Klebb’s From Russia With Love–vintage flick-knife lace-ups.

Nefarious though they may be, Bond’s nemeses have at least consistently demonstrated a keen sense of the exotic in situating their evil lairs. And so the home stretch of “Designing 007″ is a lengthy corridor devoted to the locales of Bond’s many missions, which have spanned the globe and beyond. Moonraker, indeed, receives the most extensive presentation here. There are storyboards, miniatures, and even a pair of space suits from the film’s climactic low-orbit laser battle.

Richard Keil's stainless steel gnashers blazed the trail for mouth-borne bling.

Anticipating that few will leave the exhibition without a hankering to relive that movie moment (along with Roger Moore’s feats of zero-gravity hanky panky), TIFF will present Moonraker as part of its screening program, Shaken, Not Stirred: Bond on Film. The series will feature all 22 pre-Skyfall EON productions, from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace. Like “Designing 007,” the series runs through January 20.

Of course, any product as popular as Bond is bound to inspire imitations, and TIFF has also curated a parallel sidebar dedicated to pretenders to 007’s throne. Entitled Beyond Bond: The Other Secret Agents, the series surveys everything from knock-offs and spoofs to deliberate bids to rid the spy genre of Bond’s opulence and mystique. Notable selections include Michael Hazanivcius’ pre–The Artist venture, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, starring Jean Dujardin; Stephen Chow’s action comedy From Beijing With Love; Sydney Polack’s ’70s paranoia thriller Three Days of the Condor; and The Ipcress File, starring Michael Caine as everyman espionage agent Harry Palmer.

Photos by Julian Carrington/Torontoist.

Would "normal" people be possessed to roam the streets as the undead had George A. Romero never made zombies so captivating? Photo by {a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickyounger_photography/8117822118/sizes/z/in/photostream/"}Patrick.Younger.Photography{/a} from the {a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/torontoist"}Torontoist Flickr Pool{/a}

FILM: Spend your Halloween with the Godfather of the zombies himself as TIFF presents In Conversation With George A. Romero. International Programmer Colin Geddes sits down with the legendary writer, producer, and director to celebrate his five decade-long career. Leading the zombie movement, and redefining the horror genre by blending gore with social and political commentary, Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Martin, The Crazies and Creepshow have garnered critical acclaim and cult classic status. TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West), 7 p.m., $19.75 or $16 for students.

DANCE: Les Coquettes, a burlesque ensemble that mixes song, humour, and dance into their shows wants you to celebrate Halloween with them and their dark and sensual revue, Bone Orchard Follies. Follow young Billie Black who plans to teach the world a lesson on her prom night. Instead, she finds herself at the dim and smokey Bone Orchard Lounge, where the nightly variety show celebrates pleasures of the flesh. Revival Bar (783 College Street), 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., $20—35.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

“Living Dread: The Cinema of George A. Romero”
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. West)
Oct. 31–Nov. 4
Tickets $8.50–$12

There is arguably no one who has shaped horror film more than director George A. Romero. And so “Living Dread,” a retrospective of some of Romero’s best work, is a timely piece of programming. It starts at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Halloween.

For series programmer Colin Geddes, there was no question that Romero was the perfect choice for the season. “His influence is so far-reaching, particularly if you look at the mass media acceptance—and almost saturation, at this point—of zombies,” Geddes said.

Romero is scheduled to discuss his works on stage on Halloween night (Geddes will act as his interviewer), and he’ll also introduce some of his films over the course of the event. But the director’s generosity with his time wasn’t the only reason Geddes decided to follow through with “Living Dread.” Another consideration was the fact that Romero is a local. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that George lives in Toronto,” Geddes said. “He’s actually a permanent resident of Canada and he’s chosen to live in our city. So what better way to spend Halloween than with one of our own.”

Here’s a look at some of the program’s highlights, with commentary from Geddes.

Creepshow
Wednesday, October 31, 9:30 p.m.

Before Tales From The Crypt emerged on television, and before The Simpsons unleashed its first “Treehouse of Horror” episode, there was Creepshow, an anthology of spooky stories that united Romero with Stephen King. The shorts range in quality, but the sense of fun on display is refreshing, especially in an era when torture films like Human Centipede now masquerade as entertainment. Of the five vignettes, there are two about people coming back from the dead for revenge, with the best one starring Leslie Nielsen as a man seeking a cruel justice against his wife and her lover (Ted Danson). Some of the effects don’t hold up that well, as in a segment entitled “The Crate,” where the monster looks a little like the Abominable Snowman from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Anyone with a fear of cockroaches may want to leave before the final tale, in which a rich hermit’s bug problem escalates to truly unsettling proportions.

Colin’s take: “It’s just a really fun film, throwing back to the old EC horror comic books from the 1950s. It screams ‘Trick or Treat’—that’s what I’ll say.”

Martin
Thursday, November 1, 6:30 p.m.

With vampires being so in vogue right now, it’s interesting that the 1976 film Martin was so ahead of its time in the way it deconstructs and reassembles the genre. Despite looking like an average teenager, Martin (John Amplas) claims to be in his 80s when he’s sent to live with some members of his extended family in Pittsburgh. He insists to his devoutly Catholic uncle (Lincoln Maazel) and his compassionate cousin (Romero’s now ex-wife Christine Forrest) that there’s no magic to what he is. He regularly calls into a radio show to debunk common vampire misconceptions while the DJ humours him. Targeting the stay-at-home moms in the area, he sets about taking victims in suspenseful and startlingly realistic scenes. To this day, the film remains fresh, creepy, and subversively funny.

Colin’s take: “Out of all of (Romero’s) films, he’s referenced it being his favourite child, as it were. It’s looking at Catholic guilt, psychosis, and the crumbling American landscape.”

Dawn Of The Dead
Saturday, November 3, 7:30 p.m.

Having already established the conventions of the zombie film with Night Of The Living Dead in 1968, Romero adopted an entirely different perspective a decade later for its sequel, Dawn Of The Dead. At first, there doesn’t seem to be anything revolutionary in this tale of a small group of people seeking shelter from a mysterious plague that is transforming humans into flesh-eating savages. When the survivors take refuge in a shopping mall, however, the zombies almost become secondary to a developing social commentary—one that takes aim at a culture based on the constant need for distraction. Certainly, there is still a great deal of gore on display. In fact, Dawn of the Dead‘s exploding heads and festering wounds laid the foundation for all future zombie effects. It’s as if Romero realized that once he had people’s attention with what they had paid to see, he could then use the framework of the genre to speak to bigger issues that were affecting society.

Colin’s take: “It’s a scathing satire of pop consumerism, obviously with the mall culture, and with how after a while, they’re just bored. It’s interesting that with the [2004] Zack Snyder remake—considering that we live in a culture ruled by Starbucks and convenience—I thought they would dive into that, but they didn’t even touch it.”