ith the Vancouver International Film Festival just around the corner, and scheduling time getting tighter and tighter, I had to remind myself what would be luring me from the comforts of home to the cinema this year. Sure, there’s the highly talked about VOLVER opening the festival (Pedro Almadovar’s newest which scored a best actress win for all 5 leading ladies at Cannes) and a slew of other films that have received praise and acclaim; but aside from all that “critical” hoopla, here are a few picks you must make a point of seeing:

ACTS OF IMAGINATION: CANADA
A first feature effort by filmmaker Carolyn Coombs that is being toted as haunting, stunning and sensual: A young Ukrainian woman and her brother find residence on the bank of the Fraser River, but memories of home become an obsession for the woman, especially since they’re not hers. Aside from the talked-about and incredibly impressive acting from Stephanie Hayes and the charismatic Billy Marchenski (an acknowledged stage actor…okay, and personal friend) the film is also being praised for its impressive and vibrant cinematography.

CANDY: AUSTRALIA
Finally, a heroin-esque pick that claims not to be one of “those” heroin-esque picks. Love and scoring dope don’t always have to be cliché, and with a string of uniformly superb actors (Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush), Candy is staking claims as the closest thing to excellent this year.

EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN: CANADA
Admittedly, I'm not a fan of Douglas Coupland’s work, but the premise of this sharp comedy has me intrigued enough to forget that fact: A good natured slacker is tempted into a money laundering scheme while working for a lottery magazine. The comedy is said to be capitalistic, which will no doubt have some commentary on greed and the times in which we live - you know, Coupland stuff. While I may not be the biggest fan of his books, I’m willing to give the screenplay a go.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY: (SHORT)
“It's funny, it's sad, and there's a rhinoceros.” That’s the pitch for this short that I am now unquestionably going to see.