A dull moment this summer can easily be cured by the selection of films this week at Toronto’s indie cinemas. Spend time in a fantasy world modeled on 1960s New England with Moonrise Kingdom, journey off into the depths of space with Prometheus, go into a environmentally ravaged future with Beasts of the Southern Wild or experience what it’s like to live in Toronto during the unbearable heat of summer with Take this Waltz. Our recommendations for planning your week in cinema are below.
Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
There are plenty of music based films offered at the Bloor this week. Jonathan Demme’s third documentary featuring Neil Young, Neil Young Journeys, is available with multiple showtimes. The film documents Neil Young’s road trip from a town in north Ontario to a performance in Massey Hall. Stop Making Sense, another concert film directed by Demme, with a performance from Talking Heads, plays Saturday July 21 at 1:00 pm. Shut Up and Play the Hits, a concert documentary of LCD Soundsystem’s final concert, plays on July 18 at 7:00 pm and July 19 at 9:00 pm.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012, brings this month’s edition of A World of Shorts. This time around, the monthly series will showcase winners from the 2012 CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival. Starting at 5:00 pm, there is a wide selection of animated, live action and documentary shorts from all around the world.
On Friday, July 20, 2012, Toronto Burlesque Festival presents the world premiere of Burlesque Assassins, a film featuring sexy espionage during the 1950s. The licensed event begins at 11:00 pm, and will feature a Q&A with the director and cast as well as a live cabaret performance. Tickets for the event are $20.
For tickets and details, visit the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema’s website.
Fox Theatre
Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson’s seventh feature film, plays at the Fox Theatre Monday through Thursday. The film is the story of a boy and girl who run away from their similarly immature parental figures. Snow White and the Huntsman, featuring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as the Huntsman, plays Tuesday at 9:00 pm and has a Movies for Mommies showing Wednesday at 1:30 pm.
Prometheus, the pseudo-sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien, is available in 3D all weekend. Nothing says summertime like Grease, the classic 1950s themed musical with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, so be sure to see that at the Fox Theatre when it screens on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm.
For tickets and details, visit the Fox Theatre’s website.
The Revue
Headhunters, a Norwegian film about a headhunter by day and art thief by night, plays Monday through Thursday. There will also be a screening of the film Wednesday, July 18 at 1:00 pm as a part of Baby and You at the Revue, where babies are welcomed to watch the film as well. Also screening Monday through Thursday is Marley, a documentary about Bob Marley.
Moonrise Kingdom (the quirky nostalgic comedy) and Prometheus (the brooding existential horror) play all weekend at The Revue. The weekend at The Revue also brings a rare opportunity to catch a children’s classic back in cinemas. Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, written by Monty Python’s Terry Jones and starring David Bowie, plays at 2:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
For tickets and details, visit The Revue’s website.
The Royal
This week, The Royal has plenty of opportunity to see some unique cinema. That includes Marina Abromovic: The Artist is Present, screening July 18 and 19 at 7:00 pm, a documentary about performance artist Marina Abromovic. Alps, a Greek drama from director Giorgos Lanthimos, screens on Wednesday, July 18, and Thursday, July 19, at 9:00 pm. The Redemption of General Butt Naked, a film documenting a former African war lord’s attempt to atone, is on Friday July 20, 2012, at 7:00 pm.
Sarah Polley’s second film Take This Waltz, starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, plays Friday at 9:00 pm. Afterwards, at 11:30 pm, is this month’s showing of The Room, Tommy Wiseau’s unintentionally funny cult classic. Don’t forget to bring your plastic spoons!
For tickets and details, visit The Royal’s website.
Projection Booth
Continuing from last week, The Projection Booth will have multiple screenings all week of Portrait of Wally, Patang (The Kite), To Make a Farm, Fat Kid Rules the World and Battle Royale. To Make a Farm is a documentary that follows five new small scale farmers, and we reviewed it when it premiered last week.
For details and tickets, visit the Projection Booth’s website.
Toronto Underground Cinema
The Underground is closed for July for renovations.
TIFF Bell Lightbox
TIFF Bell Lightbox this week has films to offer from their returning summer series lineup that includes Summer in France, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Blonde in Fifties Hollywood Cinema and Schwarzenegger/Stallone: The Rise of Beefcake Cinema.
Summer in France starts off the week July 17 at 6:00 pm with Army of Shadows. There are seven other French films playing this week, including multiple works from Jean Grémillon. Some Came Running, showing Sunday, July 22 at 1:00 pm, is this week’s selection from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The 1958 film stars Frank Sinatra as an alcoholic aspiring writer, alongside Shirley MacLaine, Martha Hyer and Dean Martin.
Screening for free Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 7:00 pm is Fractured Movement/Constituent Parts. This is a series of short, 35 mm or 16 mm films from avante-garde directors. Alexandre Larose and Alexi Manis, two directors whose work is featured in this retrospective, will be in attendance.
Beefcake Cinema presents Cliffhanger, the 1983 thriller in which Sylvester Stallone has to outwit a villainous John Lithgow on the top of a mountain, Saturday July 21 at 8:00 pm. Other films playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox include: new release Beasts of the Southern Wild, the debut film from Benh Zeitlin; Taika Waititi’s Boy and another week’s run from a digitally restored version of Jaws.
For tickets and details, visit TIFF’s website.
Original artwork of the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema by Bennett O’Brian.
More from Toronto Film Scene
- Movies with staying power: a look at what makes a classic porn
- TIFF Summer In France: Army Of Shadows
- You’re gonna need a bigger theatre: Jaws screens at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Jordan Moffatt
Jordan Moffatt is a person living in Toronto. He is an improviser, actor, writer and graduate of the University of Ottawa. His favourite Indiana Jones film is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He was the third string point guard of his high school basketball team.
Latest posts by Jordan Moffatt (see all)
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