So what do you do if you're a film writer and the director of the week's only big release is publicly ripping his own film to bits just days before it releases?  Well, if you're this writer and you're in Toronto you look ahead to next week when North America's festival behemoth rolls into town.  Yes, kids, the Toronto International Film Festival is almost here.  The fest will be dominating the ol' Sideshow over the next couple weeks but before we get to all the reviewing here's a handful of titles I wouldn't want to miss if I were you.

Want to hit the big Hollywood blockbusters and do the red carpet, celeb gawking thing?  Well, the biggest fish this year has got to be Burn After Reading. The latest from the Coen Brothers is going to draw huge crowds not only because the Coens cleaned up at the Oscars with No Country For Old Men but also because their latest looks bloody hysterical and features a Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich and more in the cast.  Speaking as someone who saw the crowd lose their shit last year when Pitt walked into the room for The Assassination of Jesse James I can assure you that this will be utter insanity if you manage to get in.

Also Hollywood-y but less massively so, I'd also recommend The Brothers Bloom.  The sophomore feature from Brick wunderkind Rian Johnson this thing's a sophisticated con man comedy with a less high profile but no less impressive cast than what the Coens have got.  Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo and Babel's Rinko Kikuchi all sharing the screen?  Yes, please.

Want something a little edgier?  French true crime story Public Enemy Number One looks positively stunning and boasts Vincent Cassel in the lead role, which is always a good move in my book.  Edgier still?  Jean Claude Van Damme's return to the big screen after years stuck in straight to video hell in JCVD is one of my absolute favorite films of the entire year and French horror flick Martyrs is absolutely guaranteed to have people talking for months after it unspools.

And with that, I leave it to you ... loads of good stuff happening, make a point of checking it out.