It’s wild outside, huh? So wild that it allows us to segue into talking about Strange Wilderness first, for some reason. It surprises us that the last Happy Madison film that we saw was (the quite sweet, really) 50 First Dates. Strange Wilderness is only of interest to us because it has quite possibly the worst trailer we’ve ever seen on TV. It’s absolutely meaningless. It explains nothing about the (surely) threadbare plot of......

Drivers passing through the south end of Leaside on Millwood Road may have noticed commentary added to a Baxter's Soup billboard. An anonymous critic with a penchant for exclamation marks has unleashed their critique of the petit bourgeoisie of the neighbourhood, chastising them for falling for the flattery of an instant meal that appeals to their yuppie pretensions and expensive jeans. It might also be the work of a disgruntled diner who thought that......

Hello readers! If you were lucky enough to win tickets to the screening of There Will Be Blood last night you will have already made your mind up about the film (well, we hope), but we’re going to subject you to our opinion of it anyway. Quite good, wasn’t it? Contrary to a lot of things we’ve heard, it did seem to be identifiably a Paul Thomas Anderson film (strong performances, non-traditional story arc,......

It’s funny that we mentioned The Rocky Horror Picture Show in our introduction last week, because it’s showing tonight at 11:30 p.m. at the Bloor. It’s been a while, in our memory, since the last time it showed, which would imply that the fans in Toronto aren't as rabid as elsewhere, but we’d still recommend that you don't head along unless you’re very familiar with the film. Who knows what could happen. Speaking of......

If there’s one thing Torontoist likes to do, it’s moan about stuff, but on the face of it, that Palme d’Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days receiving a theatrical release here is something that should be received without complaint. After all, journalists have praised the film, including Norm Wilner at Metro, who calls the film "marvellous filmmaking." But really, it just gives us a chance to moan about the lack of......

The Revue cinema is due to reopen its doors on October 4th, and if you’ve been waiting for the chance to buy tickets for the opening night, they’re now on sale at She Said Boom (393 Roncesvalles Avenue) at $20 for the film and the after-party or $10 for just the party at the Lithuanian Hall (1573 Bloor Street West). The opening night film is secret, but it was selected by an online poll,......

After some talk in April, we were worried that the movement on street food had fizzled out. Lo and behold, Councillor Filion is rounding up his troops of chefs for the promised Toronto Street Treats Event on Friday at Nathan Phillips Square from 12 to 2 p.m. with little to disappoint. A full list of the playful and potential street food that will be served was released along with the official word that August......

While North American documentaries are becoming increasingly political and divisive, Souvenirs, Iraeli filmmaker Shahar Cohen’s directorial debut doc, is the very human story of a father and son trying to understand where they came from so they might to understand who they are. Souvenirs follows Shahar, an unemployed filmmaker, and his 82-year-old father, Sleiman, as they drive through Europe. Sleiman, a former WWII truck driver in the Jewish Brigade, believes they are retracing his experiences......

Interesting and depressing news today in the Toronto Star, with the revelation that there are no plans to release the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theatres in Canada. Why is that, hmm? The article states (quite correctly) that it’s one of the most popular shows on The Detour on Teletoon (where you can watch it at 10:15 p.m. weeknights) so why they’re not giving it at least a limited release here confounds......

Jim Jones was not your typical self-proclaimed messiah. The man preached love for all races and classes, freedom of speech and socialism through Christianity. In 1978, Jones and more than 900 followers, known as Peoples Temple, moved from California to Guyana. They were going to build the ideal society. Dubbed Jonestown, after Jones himself, it was to be a utopia for the disenfranchised; a place where believers of all races and classes could lead self-sufficient......

This week our attention is almost completely owned by Cinematheque Ontario’s offerings, even with the thought of Christina Ricci chained to a radiator in Black Snake Moan grasping at us. Not only are Cinematheque Ontario hosting the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, they’re also showing From the Tsars to the Stars, a series of Russian sci-fi. How awesome is that? (There’s more to Russian sci-fi than just Solaris, doubters.) Maybe they’ll do a season......

In the post-Christmas period, there aren’t usually a lot of films released, and this year it's no different; really we’re all just twiddling our thumbs waiting for the new Cinematheque season, right? Well, there’s still some things of note this week; this Wednesday the first Doc Soup screening of the year hits, with a screening of Jesus Camp at the Bloor (506 Bloor W.) at both 6:30 & 9:15 pm. The filmmakers will be present......

The word on the street is that the hottest ticket in town is The American Astronaut, screening tonight at Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex) as part of U of T Cinema Studies Student Union’s Free Friday Film. Screening in 35mm, this black and white sci-fi western rock opera is “the best thing ever” according to Todd Brown from Twitch Film. If you don’t think your hands are suitably insulated to hold the hottest ticket in......

Yeesh; another week, another pile of movies which were at the Toronto International Film Festival. Considering there are, oh, 32,064 or so films at each TIFF we should probably get over this as soon as possible, otherwise every week our column is going to sound the same. Still! At least this week we’ve seen some of them. Burtynsky doc Manufactured Landscapes is the big dog of the week, having been covered heavily and given glowing......

Okay, so, this week it’s definitely the Oscars! Everyone you know is probably all excited and arranging Oscar parties because, you know, Jon Stewart is presenting! He’ll be all edgy spelt with a ‘3’ and probably insult George Bush or something! Will he mention Cheney shooting a lawyer again? OMG that dude is the funny! Expect a muted performance from Stewart, so muted, in fact, that you’ll wonder if he’s wearing a ball gag. This......

The real-life Soup Nazi Al Yeganeh will finally open his new store next week at the Eaton Centre. The grouchy soup salesman made the announcement last April, via a group of Canadian business men, and will attempt to expand to 100 franchises over the next five years. Probably a wise decision, the purveyor of gourmet soups is careful not to mention the word 'nazi': The Original SoupMan (TM) will celebrate the long anticipated grand opening......

Sometimes, on Torontoist’s laziest days, it will drag itself out of bed just long enough to flick on the BBC’s 6 music internet radio service, the BBC’s gift to the world’s fans of British indie music, to listen to the 6 music breakfast show, which for ages was almost always preceded by a Don Letts introduction, (if it wasn’t someone doing a bad impression of David Bowie doing the intro.) Which, to be honest, is......

An Ottawa businessman (and masochist?) has signed on to be the sole Canadian distributor of the Soup Nazi's soup. Al Yeganeh, the finicky brothmaster, made popular on Seinfeld, is getting ready to kiosk the world's malls with his brand of soup and sass. Why Canada? Says the CEO, "the Canadian weather is conducive to year-round soup consumption and the people there are health-conscious trend-setters and taste-makers." Taste-makers who deserve quality fast-food soup! But how is......

After a tiring afternoon of shopping on Bloor Street - by shopping we mean trying on expensive sunglasses at Holts, and by tiring we mean trying to get through the crowd of hipsters at H&M, TOist stopped by Yonge Streets latest Pan-Asian eatery, Saigon Sister, for a light dinner. Saigon Sis opened just over a year ago on the strip which includes Green Mango and Spring Rolls, and has already established itself as a hip......