Every year around this time, we are reminded that the last weekend in August is cinema’s equivalent of The Bad Place, with studios dumping their garbage because no one goes to the movies over Labour Day. But The Happytime Murders and Little Italy came out last week, so the worst is actually behind us! Hooray!

Anyway, here’s what’s opening. Longer version is online at NOW.

Cardinals: Mom’s out of prison. Daughters deal. [Susan]

Far from the Tree: “Ordinary” parents raise “different” children. Extraordinarily.

Juliet, Naked: Hawke, Byrne, Hornby. Could be worse  [Rad]

Kin: It’s Laserblast without the aliens, right?

The Little Stranger: Creepy old house hides secrets, lies.

Searching: John Cho hits SEND, looks worried.

Trench 11: Holy crap! WWI had rage zombies!

Oh, and I did a fun thing about the various Jack Ryans over the decades, up to and including John Krasinski.  Enjoy it, and then watch The Hunt for Red October again because you know you want to.

Oh, hello! I didn’t see you there, probably because I’ve been buried under TIFF stuff for the last couple of weeks in service of NOW’s great big festival preview issue, which hits the stands today and features Glenn’s excellent look at Patricia Rozema’s Mouthpiece. (Don’t worry, I’ve got next week’s cover. It’s a good one.)

There’s also a whack of reviews, and a whole mess of ten-to-see listicles; I contributed the pieces on Canadian features, Canadian shorts, and genre films. If something seems conspicuously absent, it’s probably because I’ve reviewed it elsewhere in the pullout.

So have at it! The festival starts in a week! Oh, and Fan Expo starts today; I wrote a list of things to do there too. I’m heloful that way.

Sure, my entire life is a freight train screaming towards the deadlines for our great big TIFF issue, but I still have time to write about other stuff — specifically, a NOW screening spotlight on Angelo Muredda’s No Future presentation of Firestarter tomorrow night, and a Superhero Nonsense! column backing Ethan Hawke on the whole “Marvel movies are just movies” thing.

Because he’s right. It’s not even an issue.

This week is going to kill me. Not only are we closing our TIFF preview issue today, but there are almost a dozen movies opening in town — which you can read about at NOW or in six-word summaries below.

The Bookshop: Woman opens bookshop, community leaders froth. [Glenn]

Breath: Simon Baker’s directorial debut! About surfing!

Crown and Anchor: Collision-course crime drama, very intense.

The Happytime Murders: This should have been way better.

Little Italy: Worst thing you’ll see this week.

Madeline’s Madeline: Best thing you’ll see this week.*

1945: Hungarian Holocaust drama about guilt, complicity.

Papillon: Hunnam and Malek remake 70s classic.

Support the Girls: Bujalski’s latest is rich and funny.

We The Animals: A boy’s life, rendered most artfully.

What Keeps You Alive: Survival thriller is short on plot. [fixed!]

*unless you go see 2001: A Space Odyssey in IMAX 70mm at the Cinesphere, in which case all bets are off

It’ s Friday! Movies are everywhere! You can read about ’em over at NOW or stay here for the six-word game. Totally up to you.

Alpha: Man meets wolf. Man invents dog.

Ballet Now: High-stakes dance in Los Angeles.

Crazy Rich Asians: Kevin Kwan’s book becomes a party. [Glenn & Michelle]

Maison du Bonheur: A gentle look at old age.

Mile 22: More brawny bullshit from the WahlBergs.

Never Saw It Coming: Fargo in northern Ontario. Sort of.

Nico 1988: Life in the shadow of fame. [Rad]

Skate Kitchen: Life in the moment. On wheels.

Oh, and I also wrote about Matt Groening’s new Netflix series Disenchantment, which is … not good. But now you don’t have to!