ummer romances are eroding and the days of tapas and brewskis on the patio are coming to a close. The leaves are beginning to change colour and a cool evening chill permeates the air. Cheer up. Don’t let the lack of clear skies get you down in the dumps. A cinematic dose of Riddlin can cure your autumn blues. With a total 162 films (not including shorts) to choose from, the Calgary International Film Festival (September 21st - September 30th) is a surefire way to expand your cultural horizons with hot, year-end, Oscar-ready releases and foreign curios. Martiniboys.com's list of film fest best bets will surely provide a filmic antidote to your brisk-weather blues.

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Thursday, September 20 - 8:00pm
Director: Andrew Dominik
Filmmaker Andrew Dominik gives sage advice: when it’s cold in Calgary, you have to dress like an astronaut to stay warm. Still, this highly-anticipated melancholy western that was shot around Calgary and Edmonton is prepared to launch into the cinematic stratosphere as the opening night gala for this year’s fest. Besides the local connection and uber-star Brad Pitt (and a host of other great character thesps in the flick), there’s still a great many more reasons to see this movie: a talented, up and coming director, the way too easy-on-the-eyes Zooey Deschanel, and a stunningly beautiful film that’s been compared to Terence Malick’s sublime “Days of Heaven”. For those more celeb-minded attendees: Mr. Pitt’s been traveling with the film to other festivals so best start camping out now for your ticket.



4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS
Friday, September 21 - 6:45pm
Director: Cristian Mungiu
This year’s Golden Palm winner at the Cannes Film Festival, 4 Months… is a disturbing tale of a woman who must travel to communist Romania to have an illegal abortion. If the promise of harrowing subject matter, controversial storylines, and English subtitles interest you, then look no further. This quiet award-winning Romanian film has blown away festival audiences from here to France.



ADRENALINE
Friday, September 21 - 9:00 pm
Saturday, September 22 - 1:30 pm
Director: Robert Lynn
Five years ago, the Russians and Germans conspired to make the film Russian Ark, a one-take film featuring historical figures of the last two centuries. Although technically impressive and exquisite to look at, the film was, well, kinda boring. Leave it to the Americans to use infuse the formula with a more pop-cornian (that's a word) flavour. Filmmaker Robert Lynn uses his uninterrupted 84-minute shot for an action thriller about a man who finds himself the subject of paranoid chases and dangerous deeds in an attempt to rescue his captive daughter.