The public screenings definitely have a different atmosphere from the ones strictly for press and industry. Lines stretching around the block, the excitement and glitz of celebrities and the investment that comes from actually paying for your ticket, rather than showing up on a lark like the lucky few with accreditation – it all makes for a much more electric atmosphere. As The Brothers Bloom demonstrated, it also helps when the movie is actually good.

AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (dir. Dan Stone)

This compelling documentary focuses on the Sea Shepherds, an environmental activist group that splintered off of Greenpeace when they decided that group wasn’t radical enough. With two ships, a helicopter and a handful of volunteers, the Shepherds patrol the marine sanctuaries around the Antarctic, searching for vessels violating the international whaling ban. When they find them, they stop them from harvesting whales by any means necessary, excluding anything that could injure or kill any humans or animals.

Illegal whaling doesn’t seem like a particularly contentious issue – the Japanese government aside, most people are against it – but that doesn’t mean the film is devoid of any moral issues. The Sea Shepherds operate without the approval of any government, making them both pirates and vigilantes. Even with their respect for human and animal life alike and their perfect safety record to date, they’re still endangering lives and taking the law into their own hands. The whalers aren’t pure evil, either – there’s a sequence where one of the whaling ships help the Shepherds find a lost motorboat and its crew, proving they can put aside their differences when they need to. It’s one of the few truly human moments in a documentary that ignores the individual crew members in favour of the larger storyline, and adds a welcome depth to the film’s politics.

THE GHOST (dir. Karen Oganesyan)

The Ghost is something like a Russian take on Man Bites Dog – a novelist tags along with a professional killer to add more realism and insight into his books, but ends up in over his head. Where Man Bites Dog used its gritty documentary feel to raise issues of journalistic detachment and voyeurism, though, The Ghost is satisfied to use its premise to construct a serviceable thriller. Shot slickly but burdened with a cheesy upright-bass-and-wah-pedal score, Oganesyan’s film twists and turns ably, but its attempts to raise broader social issues on the ills of popular culture fall flat. At nearly two-and-a-half hours, it also drags where it should be taut. The premise is interesting, though, and a bit of post-fest editing could make it much more enjoyable.

RELIGULOUS (dir. Larry Charles)

There’s been a trend in documentaries lately to abandon any pretence of being unbiased. Especially among films that deal with big issues, the goal is always to convince, rather than simply inform. Religulous, a collaboration between Borat director Larry Charles and stand-up comic Bill Maher, takes the approach to the extreme. Maher approaches nearly every interview in the film as a condescending skeptic. Although he claims to be trying to understand why people believe in religion, he seems more eager to tear down their beliefs, and derides them for being so foolish as to even consider religion. And that’s not even getting into the closing monologue, where Maher rails against the evils of religion in front of a backdrop of exploding nuclear weapons, while sinister music swells behind him. In its favour, Religulous is a funny film, and the constant stream of clips and quips lightens the tone considerably. Until that last monologue, it’s undeniably fun – unless you disagree with Maher, of course – but treating it as anything but a propaganda film would be dishonest.

THE BROTHERS BLOOM (dir. Rian Johnson)

Johnson’s 2005 debut as a writer and director, Brick, was an excellent genre pick, transplanting film noir conventions into a modern high school. More than that, though, it established Johnson as a writer with a unique skill for establishing a fully integrated world – everything from the look to the made-up slang felt cohesive. The Brother Bloom continues in that tradition, though it shares very little with its predecessor. In look and feel, the film is closer to a Wes Anderson effort, all bright colours and whimsical scoundrels. Adrian Brody and Mark Ruffalo play brothers and con men, Rachel Weisz their mark, and Kill Bill’s Rinko Kikuchi their mysterious, silent assistant.

Unlike most films that borrow from Anderson, though, Bloom never seems burdened by its flights of fancy. Johnson’s script is far too smart for that, and his direction far too capable. If I had to pick a flick from this year’s line-up to be the next Juno or Little Miss Sunshine, a fun indie pic that could draw in a mainstream audience, this’d be it. Unlike those films, though, The Brothers Bloom feels like it also has the depth to hold up to repeated viewings. Look for it in Canadian theatres in January.