The Toronto Int’l Film Fest kicks off in a few days with an incredible 336 films. Yikes. I’ve read the catalog and highlighted a mere 75 or so here. Many will make the fest circuit for the next year and a good number will see a theater near you. So even if you can’t make it up north (I can’t, btw) you can still find some flicks to keep an eye out for over the upcoming months.

The following 6 films are on display in the above banner, clockwise from the top left pic of Penelope.

Broken Embraces
Straight from Cannes, Penelope Cruz is again on display in the latest from Spanish master Pedro Almodovar.

City of Life and Death
Lu Chuan’s drama taking the viewer deep inside the Rape of Nanking is said to be one of the year’s best.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Terry Gilliam’s latest fairy tale will forever be known as Heath Ledger’s final role. His decision to bring in Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to finish Ledger’s role may have created some controversy, but it has also certainly piqued interest. It is finally time to find out if Gilliam’s vision is a success.

The Trotsky
Jacob Tierney directs the hilarious Jay Baruchel as the reincarnation of Leo Trotsky in modern day Montreal.

The Young Victoria
Jean-Marc Vallee’s (C.R.A.Z.Y.) period piece stars Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria.

A Serious Man
It seems the Coen Brothers can’t take a vacation – not that I am complaining. This absurd comedy set in the 1960s is said to be one of their very best.

I have tried to loosely group these films into a few categories to make it easier on everybody…

Best of Cannes

Enter The Void
Gaspar Noe’s controversial and experimental tale of a drug dealer in Tokyo had plenty of people talking in Cannes.

A Prophet
This French prison drama is probably the most exciting film to come out of this year’s Cannes competition.

The White Ribbon
Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winning film is set in early 20th-Century Germany and shot in striking black and white.

Antichrist
Lars Von Trier’s ultra-violent film is sure to be one of the year’s most controversial. It gets its headline-grabbing follow-up to Cannes at TIFF and will be released shortly after.

Indies

Down for Life
This LA based story (shot in Watts) follows one day for a young Latina girl trying to quit her gang. Directed by Alan Jacobs (American Gun), the film features Danny Glover and Snoop Dogg.

High Life
This crime comedy is about a couple of drug addicts (one being Tom Olyphant of Go and Hitman) going for one big score.

Suck
This vampire-rock-comedy starring and directed by Rob Stefaniuk features cameos by the likes of Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop.

The Unloved
Samantha Morton makes her directorial debut in this intensely personal story of a young English girl living in foster care.

Damned United
Woo-hoo! A soccer movie – and directed by John Adams director Tom Hooper no less. This film stars one of the best actors working today, Michael Sheen as Derby County’s great manager Brian Clough.

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
Said to be the best film at last winter’s Sundance fest, this is a tough tale of a girl growing up in Harlem.

My Dog Tulip
You don’t see a whole lot of indie animated films out there and this story of a man and his dog seems to be stylish to say the least.

Bitch Slap
3 bad girls, 6 enormous breasts, and hundreds of guns. This movie looks completely ridiculous. Just check out the trailer.

Cracks
Marking the feature directing debut of Jordan Scott, daughter of Ridley Scott, this film is set in a 1920s boarding school for girls.

Defendor
This absurd sounding film stars Woody Harrelson as a comic book crime fighter and Kat Dennings as a troubled young prostitute.

Mr. Nobody
Jared Leto stars in this film that seems to bizarre too try to explain in one sentence. Mars, the future, alternate realities, comedy… just read the write up.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Werner Herzog has two cop dramas at TIFF (the very poorly reviewed Bad Lieutenant is the other) – and from what I hear, this film produced by David Lynch is the better of the two.

Perrier’s Bounty
Cillian Murphy and Brendan Gleeson star in Ian FitzGibbon’s caper comedy.

Asian Cinema

Accident
This thriller from Soi Cheang is hyped as the best Hong Kong actioner in years.

Castaway on the Moon
Lee Hey-Jun’s offbeat “romantic/social sci-fi” tells the story of a man castaway on an island in the middle of a Seoul river.

Prince of Tears
This historical drama lauded for its beautiful cinematography is about Taiwan’s 1950s anti-communism campaign known as the White Terror.

Sawasdee Bangkok
Another stories-of-a-city movie, this film features all Thai filmmakers, including personal fave Pen-ek Ratanaruang.

Bare Essence of Life
Female filmmaker Satoko Yokohama makes her much anticipated feature debut with this unique sounding view of rural Japan.

Toad’s Oil
This whimsical Japanese tale is directed by successful actor Koji Yakusho

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
Tony Jaa is back and this time he is also taking on the reigns co-directing the follow up to the best Muay Thai actioner ever.

Air Doll
Hirokazu Kore-eda (After Life, Still Walking) returns with this whimsical story about a sex doll come to life – which seems ot bear a number of similarities, at least in terms of tone amd subject matter, to Lars and the Real Girl.

Kamui
Yoichi Sai directs this badass looking ninja epic.

Mother
Host director Bong Joon-ho tries to catch lightning in a bottle a second time with this detective horror/thriller.

Vengeance
Johnnie To’s latest and worst titled HK actioner.

The Warrior and the Wolf
The Blue Kite director Tian Zhuang Zhuang returns with this costume epic.

Wheat
Another Chinese costume epic, this one from Warriors of Heaven and Earth director He Ping. Hopefully it is better than that film.

Around the World

Wind Journeys
This road drama set in Colombia looks to be extraordinarily beautiful.

Crab Tree
The tour of Colombia continues with this film that focuses on the country’s often overlooked black communities on the Pacific coast.

Micmacs
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie) is back at last with this con-man comedy.

Kirot
This film stars uber-hottie Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) as a Tel-Aviv prostitute turned assassin.

25 Carat
This gritty thriller from rookie Patxi Amexcua is set in the Barcelona underworld.

La Soga
Gotta have respect for a film with a write-up like this: “Inspired by true events, and made on location in the Dominican Republic for the price of a high-end German car, La Soga embodies everything that independent filmmaking should be about: passion instead of money, story instead of special effects, soul instead of spin.”
Check out the intense trailer.

Deliver Us from Evil
Danish thrill-master Ole Bornedal’s (Nightwatch) latest is loosely based on Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs.

Hotel Atlantico
This very interesting sounding “Lynchian” film follows an unnamed man as he travels across Southern Brazil.

Men on the Bridge
This intimate portrait of Istanbul follows a group of men who work on the Bosphorus Bridge.

White Material
Claire Denis returns to Africa 20 years after her film Chocolat for this story of a post-colonial French family trying to save their coffee plantation.

Baaria
Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) returns with this lush Sicilian epic.

Les Derniers jours du monde (Happy End)
This film stars Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) as a man setting out across the continent on the eve of the apocalypse.

The Front Line
This film looks to be a smart and taut Italian actioner.

Documentaries

Good Hair
This Sundance award winning docu follows Chris Rock as he examines African-American hair (and probably some other socio-cultural issues).

Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore returns with… well another Michael Moore movie.

The Art of the Steal
This docu examines the fate of the Barnes Art Collection – one of the best private collections of modern art ever amassed.

Collapse
Fantastic documentarian Chris Smith (American Movie, Yes Men) gets personal with Michael Ruppert and his intensely pessimistic views of America’s future.

How To Fold a Flag
This docu from the people who brought you Gunner Palace goes in depth with soldiers after they return from the Middle East.

Once Upon a Time Proletarian
These 12 portraits of modern day Chinese workers examine the social landscape of China today.

Hollywood, etc.

Youth In Revolt
Miguel Arteta (director of a number of episodes of Freaks and Geeks amongst other achievements) directs Michael Cera and others in this hilarious looking film written by Gustin Nash (Charlie Bartlett).

Get Low
After winning an Oscar for his short Two Soldiers, Aaron Schneider makes his feature debut in big fashion with this country story about a man planning his own funeral party starring Robert Duvall and Bill Murray.

The Men Who Stare At Goats
By this time mostly everyone has seen the great trailer for this George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges starring psychic soldier comedy which gets its premier at TIFF.

Jennifer’s Body
Scribe Diablo Cody’s follow-up to Juno stars Megan Fox as a sexy and scary monster.

Up In The Air
George Clooney, Jason Bateman, and Anna Kendrick (woo wooo) star in the latest film from Jason Reitman – in a theater near you very soon.

The Informant!
Matt Damon stars in Soderbergh’s witty and off-kilter drama

Creation
Jon Amiel directs Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly in this Darwin biopic.

Dorian Gray
Colin Firth and Ben Barnes star in Oliver Parker’s adaptation of Wilde’s only novel. The material rests in capable hands, as Parker has made his career adapting Wilde’s works.

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits
Don Roos (The Opposite of Sex) directs Natalie Portman and Lisa Kudrow is his latest mature dramadey.

Agora
Rachel Weisz stars in Alejandro Amenabar’s (The Others, The Sea Inside) impressive looking period drama set in 4th-Century Alexandria.

Solomon Kane
16th century swashbuckling and soul saving is on order in this story created by Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan.

Harry Brown
Michael Caine stars in this dark crime film by newcomer Daniel Barber.

The Invention of Lying
Ricky Gervais co-wrote, co-directs, and stars in this film… nuff said.

Leaves of Grass
Ed Norton stars in Tim Blake-Nelson’s pot comedy.

Life During Wartime
Todd Solondz returns with yet another strangely comedic drama about ugly people.

The Road
John Hillcoat (The Proposition) tackles Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic (and post-punctuation) story with the help of Viggo Mortensen in the lead.

Ondine
This mermaid fairy tale from Neil Jordan stars Colin Farrell opposite the gorgeous Alicja Bachleda.

Whip It
Drew Barrymore directs Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig and others as roller girls.

An Education
This clever comedy written by Nick Hornby is the coming of age story of a 16-year old girl in 1960s London who falls for a man twice her age.