Life's A Breeze
Let's call it the "Irish sleep stakes." An upbeat comedy from Lance Daly has a spunky Dublin family cleaning house to its chagrin, because the mattress they tossed in the garbage held within it a fortune squirrelled away by the clan's feisty grandmother. A fortune hunt ensues. (14A, Carlton Cinema)
Slums: Cities of Tomorrow
"Even though you're homeless, you can still make a home out of nothing." From the Quebec filmmaker Jean-Nicolas Orhon, a revelatory documentary on shantytowns and squatting situations, in which it is suggested that slums are not blights to be razed, but a solution to urban overcrowding caused by the massive migration of people to cities. (Bloor Hot Docs)
Don't Get Killed in Alaska
That the film's title offers unsolicited but very reasonable advice is obvious. What's less obvious is that this family drama, self-billed as a "sweet micro-budget," is told from the perspective of a 20-year-old tomboy, features a soundtrack from the Toronto-based post-rockers Do Make Say Think and deals with the concept of home and how to leave it. (14A, Carlton Cinema)
Kung Fu Elliot
To some he's a dreamer; to others, delusional. A documentary tells the tale of a karate-chopping young man whose martial plan involves his mission to become Canada's first action-movie star. (PG, Carlton Cinema)
Imagine I'm Beautiful
Are you Fonda single white females? Naomi McDougall Jones and Katie Morrison star as new friends in a New York-set psychological drama about self-invention and secrets, but not lethal stiletto heels. (Carlton Cinema, Kingsway Theatre)