NOW Magazine Online Edition

After its premiere at Cannes more than a year ago, we finally get to check out 2046, the final chapter in Wong Kar-wai's gorgeous and enigmatic trilogy that began with Days Of Being Wild and In The Mood For Love. Bedroom-eyed Tony Leung returns as Mr. Chow, a writer who continues his run of bad luck with women, played here by a virtual who's who of Chinese leading ladies: Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi , Faye Wong and (in a brief cameo) Maggie Cheung. Instead of a linear narrative, expect beautiful cinematography (Wong's films demand to be seen on a big screen), terrific period costumes and a moody score. Be prepared to discuss the meaning of the title afterwards. Opens August 12.

At long Last

The Nirvana frontmans's name is never mentioned, but Gus van Sant's Last Days, about the final days of a grunge-era rock star, is becoming known as "the Kurt Cobain movie," just as van Sant's last film, Elephant, was known as "the Columbine movie." Apparently, Last Days resembles the disturbing Elephant in its spare dialogue and long, unbroken takes. There's no Courtney Love-type character, but lead Michael Pitt has Cobain's scruffy look down pat. Still, here's a thought: if the film's so good, why isn't it screening at the Toronto International Film Fest? Opens August 12.

A Drew story

Jersey boy Brian Herzlinger's been obsessed with Drew Barrymore ever since he saw her in E.T. and joined the Drew Barrymore fan club. So after winning $1,100 on a pilot game show (his prize-winning answer was, in fact, Drew Barrymore!), the aspiring filmmaker decided to use the cash to make My Date With Drew, a film documenting his attempt to get a date with the star in 30 days. The low-budget guerrilla doc shows Herzlinger trying to use his connections to get close to the Charlie's Angels star, scamming publicists and getting advice from Hollywood has-beens along the way. Even if Herzlinger comes across as annoying and obnoxious, the film captures Tinseltown movers and losers in an entertaining and revealing way. Opens August 12.

The joker's wild

Didja hear the one about the documentary everyone was talkin' about...? Paul Provenza's The Aristocrats, which made its Canadian premiere at the Just For Laughs Fest, is bound to be that hot. In it, one hundred comics tell the same filthy joke � around since the days of vaudeville � in their own inimitable way. The list of comics includes old-school jokesters (Phyllis Diller, Don Rickles, George Carlin, Robin Williams) and relatively new ones (Lewis Black, Jason Alexander, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart). One of the highlights is rumoured to be Matt Stone and Trey Parker's (South Park) animated version. Curious? The punchlines arrive August 12.

Guilty pleasures

Before the onslaught of serious, weighty films takes over screens in the fall, a few more summer movies are competing for your guilty-pleasure bucks. I'll bet you an old pair of cut-offs that folks'll be lined up to see if Jessica Simpson can act in The Dukes Of Hazzard (opens August 5), a remake of the aw-shucks TV series. The Cave (opening August 26) looks pretty creepy, with Cole Hauser and his crew getting attacked by a bunch of giant bats.

But I'm most looking forward to munching popcorn while watching Red-Eye, the new Wes Craven movie. The trailer is terrific, starting out like a rom-com with Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy meeting cute in an airport, then morphing into an action thriller with bits of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Murphy looks as demented as he did as Batman Begins' Scarecrow, and London, Ontario's McAdams could walk away as summer 2005's breakout actor following her lovely stint in Wedding Crashers. Opens August 19.