Yes, my friends, that is an ugly poster.  A truly horrible and shockingly amateur poster, really, the sort of thing a high school kid could knock out in an hour or so on Photoshop and not at all the sort of thing you'd expect to be out there representing one of the biggest and most important film festivals in the world.  But there you have it.  The Toronto International Film Festival's 2009 edition is nearly upon us and the big show is representing itself with a poster that looks like ass.  But make no mistake about it ... while we all may snicker when Toronto compares itself to New York the big fest really is a world class event and as much as we like to gripe about ticket cost and how complicated it all can be the only other of the world's major festivals as friendly to the general public as TIFF is the big winter soiree in Berlin.  How'd that happen?  Well, because when not stirring up controversy they show films.  Lots of 'em.  Good ones.  Here are some pointers on things you may want to check out ...

Of the big Gala films I reserve my highest expectations for Micmacs, the latest from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, previously responsible for Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children and Amelie.  Jeunet's a mad genius and I fully expect this to carry on his tradition of wild imagination, whimsy and absurd comedy.  Looking to get bragging rights by seeing something coming to the megaplex before any of your friends?  Then of the Gala films I'd go for The Men Who Stare At Goats, the fictionalized account of a very real US government program to create psychic soldiers, part of whose training regimen involved trying to kill goats by staring at them.  There's a huge cast for this one - George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Kevin Spacey, Ewan MacGregor - and the combination of smarts and comedy should have fans of the Coen Brothers clamoring for more.

And speaking of the Coens, they turn up in the Special Presentations program with A Serious Man, a film I've heard more than one advance viewer call their best sine The Big Lebowski.  All sorts of big titles lurking in this program, actually, films including the latest from South Korean genius Bong Joon-Ho (Mother), Australia's John Hillcoat (The Road), Denmark's Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising), and Canada's own Peter Stebbings (Defendor).

You're not going to go too far wrong with any of those, honestly, but if - knowing what I know right now - I had to pick just one film then I'd have to recommend Ole Bornedal's Deliver Us From Evil.  A sort of back country Danish spin on Straw Dogs, this latest from Bornedal is savage in its treatment of hatred and xenophobia, horrifying not so much because of the level of violence - which is quite graphic - but because everything at every point seems absolutely plausible.  This could really happen to people you know by people you know.  It's one damn fine piece of film.