One of the year’s most anticipated films comes our way this week—and that’s not all. We’re also looking at four mainstream titles and another art title. That’s six movies hitting town on Friday. I guess we’d better get down to them.

The painting of Dale Earnhardt in the Atlanta airport was somehow refreshing, a reminder that I’d made it back to America. I’d become more than a bit homesick while in Toronto, which says nothing about my feelings towards Canada, but much more about how little I travel, and how easy it becomes for me to miss my routines at home.

It’s been a few days since my last dispatch—blame that on time and an aversion to lugging this laptop around. Nevertheless, there’s plenty to tell you about, so let’s get started.

The art titles have it this week—at least locally—and we bid farewell to the weekend of the worst box office in years. (Well, when your big opening movie is The Words what do you expect?) We have three art titles up against one mainstream title—and one oddity that slipped in quietly and will probably leave the same way.

This trip to Toronto is the first time I’ve ever left The States, a fact that I’ve found is surprising to most. The city, in many respects, reminds of New York but less bustling and less intimidating. It’s a strange town in a way, too—a place that has adult cinemas, sex shops, and male strip clubs across the street and up the block a bit from the American Apparel. What’s oddest is that it all seems to fit, and no one—at least from my experience—seems to mind.

For the next week, the Xpress’ own Justin Souther will be whiling away his time at the Toronto International Film Festival—getting, in many cases, an early look at what we’ll be seeing in Asheville during awards season (which is just about upon us). Since the rest of us are stuck here—holding down the fort, as it were—while world-traveler Justin is awash in movies and hob-nobbing with the famous, he has promised to send us updates on his experiences. This is the first.  —Ken Hanke

We’re looking at a light week—or so it appears at this moment. The Labor Day holiday means that there’s the chance (fairly slim, I think) that someone’s going to sneak something into the mix—especially if any theater finds itself stuck with The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure for a second week. As it stands, however, we’re in for two art titles and one mainstream one.

It’s official: Wednesday openings no longer have any meaning whatsoever. I mean when something called The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure scores a showcase mid-week release…yes, well. However, this is generally a pretty heavy week of releases—three art titles, two mainstream ones, and the Oogieloves. Truly, there is something here for everyone—in virtually every rating known to man, including the rarely seen NC-17.

This may actually be a week that’s more notable for what we’re losing than for what we’re getting, which is a little on the depressing side. For that matter, there’s some question over just exactly what we’re getting—all this and yet another incomprehensible Wednesday opener.

Another week, another Wednesday opening. The ways of the marketing folks remain mysterious—as does the material they’re choosing for this not-so-special treatment. It’s merely one of a total of four mainstream titles and a single art title coming to town this week for our amusement and amazement.

Once again we have some of those Wednesday openings. Why? I have no earthly idea. But we do. We also have two other mainstream titles, one art film, and a curio that I can’t quite classify. It perhaps doesn’t matter, since it seems to me to be a very long shot in terms of audience appeal. Time will sort that, of course.

Whatever else happens this week at the movies, I suspect that we can be assured that the mainstream titles (of which there are two) will be better than last week’s mainstream titles (of which there were two). Before you get too excited, remember what last week’s titles were. It won’t be hard to be better than those. Now, the art title is another matter.

We can now settle back into movie releasing normalcy since The Dark Knight Rises has risen. And considering it’s Bele Chere weekend that’s good news for those of us in search of air conditioned amusements that don’t involve going anywhere near downtown. However, all is not skittles and beer. The two art titles opening this week are one thing, but the ones grasping for those simoleons from more mainstream moviegoers look pretty sketchy indeed. Then again, those art titles are choice.

Only one movie opens this week—and that’s no surprise. Put simply, no one wants to put their film up against the poised juggernaut of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Not even the art titles care to tackle this one, but then the current run of art titles—Moonrise Kingdom, To Rome with Love, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Your Sister’s Sister, and even Bernie—are going strong enough that that market might be saturated anyway.

Last week in the hermetically-sealed room of an undisclosed location, three shadowy figures assembled in the gloom of a single candle to make decisions of grave importance about this year’s 48 Hour Film Project. Sworn to secrecy under penalty of who knows what, this trio—this Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego of the movies—were charged with the task of deciding the winners of this year’s bout of Cinema in a Rush.

The first thing I noticed when I got the phone call from Lynn Shelton — the writer-director of Your Sister’s Sister (opening Fri., July 13 at The Carolina) — for our interview was that she hadn’t blocked her number from showing up on caller ID. I liked that. It immediately presented her to me as completely unaffected. And our conversation proved that entirely true.

I won’t say this is going to be the shortest “Weekly Reeler” in history, but the fact that all we have is one mainstream title and one art one will factor in. The pickin’s are on the lean side, but, hey, they’re 50 percent higher than next week when no one wants to open anything up against a certain comic book hero.

It’s a confusing sort of week in that the studio folks can’t seem to figure out what day movies should open on. Is it Tuesday? Or maybe Thursday? (Thursday??) Or what about plain old Friday like normal people? Well, since boardrooms full of the finest minds in marketing (yes, well…) could not seem reach a conclusion, they decided to go with all three.

Yes! The wait is over. It’s finally here! I mean the new Tyler Perry picture with Madea, you understand. Not seriously—although, yes, that’s coming as well, along with several other things. What I really refer to is, of course, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. The question is whether or not it lives up to the praise that has preceded its arrival?

OK, there are no less than five movies opening this week — two of them falling into the art category, two of them into the mainstream and one borderline case. All in all, it looks more promising than last week, but you know what they say about looks possibly being deceiving.