The Carlton: Tsui Hark S Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame

China Dept: A sequel to the 2008 fantasy flick Painted Skin , The Resurrection infuses traditional legends about magical demons in alluring human forms with elaborate action sequences and romantic melodrama. Viewers who missed the original may be bewildered by some of the film s contents but at least director Wuershan displays the same knack for visual invention that he did in 2010 s The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman . Indeed, recent smashes like the Painted Skin movies and Tsui Hark s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame suggest that Hollywood can learn some things from China s current wave of fantasy spectaculars. Wuershan s film opens Aug. 17 at AMC Kennedy Commons, according to The Star. THIS SPACE AVAILABLE: The ever more intense commercialization of previously public space is the subject of one of two new titles at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema this week. In This Space Available , filmmaker Gwenaelle Gobe depicts the war over billboards and other forms of advertising in cities across America and Toronto, too . The film plays Aug. 17-19 and 23, with Gobe on hand for Q&As after the first two screenings. The Bloor also presents a limited run for Bill W. , a portrait of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson that plays Aug. 17 and 20-22 before continuing its run at the Carlton next week and pAINTED SKIN: THE RESURRECTION: China may soon dominate the global movie industry much as it does so many other sectors of the world s economy. It s already the second biggest film market after North America. Yet its homegrown blockbusters don t often make it onto movie screens in this part of the world, which is why it s big news to get a local run for the film that recently became China s top-grossing domestic hit. Mind you, its success was partially aided by a government ban on foreign films. FORTUNATE SON + SOMEWHERE TONIGHT: The Carlton has a busy week with three new titles opening alongside The Expendables 2 and ParaNorman . Subtitled a love story, Fortunate Son is a documentary by Montreal filmmaker Tony Asimakopoulos that explores his volatile relationship with his Greek-immigrant parents. Asimakopoulos will be present for Q&As at the opening weekend s screenings. The Carlton also presents the Toronto premiere of Somewhere Tonight , a whimsical comedy-drama about two lonely New Yorkers who forge a connection over an adult chat phone line. John Turturro and Lynn Cohen star. A true-life Borat set in the new-age community in the American Southwest, Kumare also continues its local engagement after a run at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.