It’s a dim weekend for new releases; the studios are putting all their efforts into squeezing one last frame out of their Oscar nominees, and everyone else knows there’s no point in releasing a serious contender when the world’s entertainment media is focused on the Kodak Dolby Theater. So this is all we get:

Dark Skies: Scott Stewart, director of Legion (kind of fun) and Priest (kind of not) scales back with this slow-burn creeper about a suburban family being punked by aliens.

Snitch: The DNA of the best movie Gene Hackman never made runs through this labored thriller, starring a badly miscast Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a father who endangers himself and his livelihood to get his son out of prison. But the execution’s off.

Tower: Toronto filmmaker Kazik Radwanski takes advantage of the relative quiet to put his first feature onto the screen at the Royal Cinema. I missed it repeatedly at TIFF, but I understand it’s a character study of a maladjusted thirtysomething who gets into a battle with a raccoon. Rad‘s review further intrigues me.

And there we have it … oh, except for the Oscar stuff that’s actually relevant. I’m currently scheduled to appear on CTV Newsnet this morning at around 10:45 am EST to discuss the Academy’s options, and I’ll probably do another hit over the weekend. Keep an eye on the Twitter widget to the right, or follow me directly, and you’ll get all the relevant information as it happens.