Here are some capsule reviews of what I saw at TIFF, in chronological order (links to full postings where appropriate):

Oct. 17, 1961 - A fine docudrama about a Bloody Sunday-style attack on Algerian protesters in France.

Banlieue 13 - (Terrific) action/martial arts flick starring parkour virtuoso David Belle and fistmeister Cyril Raffaelli.

Bangkok Loco - A wacky Thai flick about murder, music and the ultimate drum war between good and evil. Lots of fun!

Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela - An interesting premise but unfortunately, a largely uninteresting movie.

Metal: A head-banger's journey: All the MSM capsule reviews I saw dissed it. Don't believe the snipe. This was a fine doc, made from a fan's perspective, but it covers all the bases and talks to many of the genre's great characters. Well worth a look.

The War Within - An excellent movie about a Pakistani-born man swept off the streets of Paris by the CIA and "renditioned" to Pakistan -- only to eventually emerge as a real terrorist in the United States.

05/06: The Sixth of May - A paranoid political thriller designed around the murder of maverick Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, murdered on May 6, 2002 during an election campaign by an animal rights activist. A photojournalist taking pictures of a soap opera starlet near the murder scene gets caught up in a very high-level conspiracy. This is the last film of Theo Van Gogh, who was murdered by an Islamic extremist.

Midnight Movies - From the Margin to the Mainstream: Director Stewart Samuel's look back at the golden age of cult cinema and how its values have worked their way into the cinema of today.

SPL - Hong Kong martial arts/action cinema at its best. Some incredible fight scenes. HK legend Sammo Hung does an amazing turn as an ultraviolent gangster.