The Hot Summer Guide issue of NOW hits the street today, and if you’re curious, here’s my look at the season’s niftier movie options. We cast a pretty wide net, so hopefully there’ll be something in there that you’ll (a) be surprised by and (b) want to see.

One film that fits both those critera is Vincenzo Natali’s “Splice”, which didn’t make it into the guide because it’s opening this week. Here’s my Sarah Polley interview, which ran in the paper proper, and here’s my online Q&A with Natali.

Full disclosure, as I keep saying: I’ve known Natali casually for more than 20 years. (I went to York with his friend and eventual “Cube” co-writer Andre Bijelic, who introduced me to both Vince and their actor pal David Hewlett.) We don’t see each other socially or anything; in fact, the last time I saw him before our sit-down for “Splice” was at our sit-down for “Nothing” at the 2003 edition of TIFF.

It’s not like Richard Schickel and Clint Eastwood hanging out in Johannesburg during the shooting of “Invictus” or anything, but one just wants to put that out there.