If it's Tuesday this must be September

The ol' Movie Nation blog's been quiet for a while, and for good reason: Wesley and I have both been away from our desks doing vacation-related things. Can't speak for him but I'm fit, tan, rested, and ready... to go to the Toronto Film Festival. It starts this week, carries over into next, and has become the unofficial starting gun for the fall Oscar season. I'll be reporting from there in this space starting next Monday; Wes will be there a little earlier.

Anyway, how can a week in which Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake dominates the box office not be a good time to take off? Okay, that's a little mean: other than the Globe's Tom Russo (see link above) the film got surprisingly decent reviews, and I'm a big fan of Monsieur Zombie's last opus du crud, "The Devil's Rejects". I'll try to catch it soon and let you know what I think. More box office analysis from Box Office Mojo and Leonard Klady.

While I'm away, some interesting movie-related events around town to put on your calender. The Coolidge will be hosting a midnight screening of Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" on Friday, a run-up to the Huntington Theatre's comic-extravaganza stage presentation of the same story. Cast members will be in attendance, while the ghost of Mr. Memory will hover just offscreen.

If you're an AARP member or know someone who is, there are some excellent previews of big fall movies on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, a film series that's part of the "Life@50+" national convention hitting town this weekend. The new western remake "3:10 to Yuma" (it opens in theaters on Friday) and sneaks of "The Jane Austen Book Club" and Robert Benton's "Feast of Love" are among the highlights. Under-50s, sorry, you'll be carded. Unless you can suck up to your parents, it's "Balls of Fury" for you. Ask yourself: What would Walken do?