So
what usually happens is I cobble together a list of films to write about for a
summer movie preview, and with any luck a unifying theme will present itself. This time? Not so much. Truthfully, the following rundown is
more notable for what’s not included;
save for a couple of big-budget studio flicks, it’s mostly beneath-the-radar
cinema. I know that traditional wisdom says the higher the temperatures, the
dumber the movies, but it turns out there’s actually some interesting art
coming our way that doesn’t feature vampires or piranhas or Rob Schneider.

Please
note, however, that I would not be entirely opposed to a movie that found a way
to showcase vampires, piranhas, and Rob Schneider, but we can just cross that
bridge when we come to it. Meanwhile…

“Jonah
Hex”

With
source material first published in the 70’s by DC Comics, this nouveau Western
stars “Milk” Oscar nominee Josh Brolin as the scarred
title character, going up against John Malkovich as a
dangerous terrorist with a tomahawk to grind. Hot commodities Michael Shannon
(“The Runaways”) and Michael Fassbender (“Fish Tank”)
co-star. So does Megan Fox, but don’t let that deter you. (6/18)

“Please
Give”

The
fourth film from gifted writer-director Nicole Holofcener
(Netflix her flawless debut, 1996’s “Walking and Talking”) stars her alter-ego
Catherine Keener as a bleeding-heart liberal at ethical odds with her
materialistic ways in a Manhattan
teeming with poverty. No, wait! it’s a comedy! With the always-welcome Oliver Platt and the underappreciated
Amanda Peet. (6/18)

“Exit
Through the Gift Shop”

One
of the more intriguing flicks of the summer is the first film from the renowned
graffiti artist known only as Banksy, who turned the
camera on quirky shopkeeper-slash-aspiring filmmaker Thierry Guetta when Guetta attempted to
capture the legendarily anonymous figure for a documentary. According to Banksy, “It’s basically the story of how one man set out to
film the unfilmable. And failed.”
(6/25)

“The
Girl Who Played With Fire”

Arriving
quickly on the heels of the critical and commercial success of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is Swedish director Daniel Alfredson’s adaptation of the late Stieg
Larsson’s sequel, which follows the continuing adventures of NoomiRapace’s inked hacker LisbethSalander and Michael Nyqvist’s journalist MikaelBlomkvist. Interesting factoid: Alfredson’s
little brother Tomas directed “Let the Right One In.” (7/2
ltd.)

“Ondine”

For
his first film since 2007’s “The Brave One,” Oscar winner Neil Jordan scaled it
back to write and direct this gorgeous-looking Irish fairy tale that stars
Colin Farrell as a fisherman who finds a woman who appears to be a mythological
selkie (Polish actress AlicjaBachleda) in his nets. Shot by the acclaimed
Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle, best known for his painterly work
with Wong Kar-wai. (7/2)

“Micmacs”

French
filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet is back with a whimsical
tragicomedy about a man who teams up with a diverse group of junk dealers to
get revenge on the arms manufacturers who killed his father and left him with a
bullet lodged in the head. Features a Who’s Who of French
Cinema: Dany Boon (“My Best Friend”), Andrรฉ Dussollier (“Tell No One”), Yolande
Moreau (“Sรฉraphine”), and perpetual Jeunet collaborator Dominique Pinon.
(7/2)

“Cyrus”

Mumblecore
godfathers Jay and Mark Duplass (2008’s deadpan
horror flick “Baghead”) edge closer to the big time
with their most high-profile film yet, a romantic comedy starring John C.
Reilly as a recently divorced shlub who lands the
lovely Marisa Tomei. The catch?Her clingy son (the sidesplitting Jonah Hill, “Superbad”), a 21-year-old New Age musician who is
definitely not ready to share his mom. (7/9)

“The
Sorcerer’s Apprentice”

Am
I proud that I secretly dig the “National Treasure” franchise? Of course not. But when producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director
Jon Turteltaub, and Oscar winner Nicolas Cage
reassemble for a live-action reimagining of the classic “Fantasia” sequence, I
will be there, especially with Jay Baruchel (“Tropic
Thunder”) in the Mickey role and the luscious Monica Bellucci
as Cage’s long-lost love. (7/16)

“Dinner
For Schmucks”

Steve
Carell and Paul Rudd join forces for the third time
in “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach’s remake of Francis Veber’s “Le Dรฎner de Cons,” in
which Rudd’s ambitious executive invites Carell’s
dorky IRS employee to a soiree where the guy who brings the biggest knucklehead
is crowned the winner. Hilarity, comeuppance, and Zach Galifianakis
ensue. (7/23)

“Life
During Wartime”

Leave
it to the defiantly abstract filmmaker Todd Solondz
(“Welcome to the Dollhouse”) to do a sequel his way, revisiting the
tribulations of the Jordan sisters from his 1998 arthouse
hit “Happiness” 10 years later, but with different actors playing the original
characters. With Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, Ally Sheedy, and Paul Reubens.(7/23 ltd.)

“Valhalla
Rising”

Danish
filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Netflix the virtuoso
“Pusher” trilogy) follows up the well-received “Bronson” with a moody Viking
epic set in the wilds of Scotland. The
awesome MadsMikkelsen
(“Clash of the Titans”) plays a mute Norse warrior named One-Eye, who escapes
captivity and joins up with a group of Christian crusaders on a sea voyage to
the Holy
Land.
(7/23 ltd.)

“Winter’s
Bone”

The
Grand Jury Prize for Drama at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival went to this
Ozark neo-noir by writer-director Debra Granik
(2005’s “Down to the Bone”) about a 17-year-old girl (Jennifer Lawrence, “The
Burning Plain”) forced to track her bail-jumping father through the chilly
mountains. With John Hawkes and
Garrett Dillahunt from “Deadwood.” (7/23)

“The
Kids Are All Right”

The
latest film from Lisa Cholodenko (1998’s “High Art”
was her debut) stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening
as a longtime couple and mothers of two whose lives are topsy-turvied
when their eldest (Mia Wasikowska, “Alice in Wonderland”)
visits the sperm bank in search of the donor. A super-sexy Mark Ruffalo ensues. (7/30)

“Get
Low”

In
one of this year’s surefire Oscar contenders, the great Robert Duvall plays
Felix Bush, a hermit living deep in the woods of Tennessee who decides to throw
himself a funeral, inviting all the townspeople to share the stories they may
have heard about him and possibly setting them straight. The killer cast
includes Bill Murray, Lucas Black, Sissy Spacek, and
Gerald McRaney. (7/30 ltd.)

“I
Love You, Phillip Morris”

This
comedy-drama actually has nothing to do with Big Tobacco; it’s based on the
true story of Steven Russell (Jim Carrey), a married Texas police officer who
realizes he’s gay, turns to the con game to bankroll his expensive lifestyle,
and falls madly in love with a fellow inmate (Ewan McGregor) once apprehended,
repeatedly escaping from jail in order to be with his soulmate.
(7/30 ltd.)

“The
Other Guys”

“Anchorman”
director Adam McKay reteams with his Ron Burgundy for a buddy-cop comedy about
two mismatched NYPD desk jockeys (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg)
who get their big break tackling a case that even the department hotshots
(Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) won’t touch. Co-stars
Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, and Steve Coogan.
(8/6)

“The
Expendables”

Sylvester
Stallone directs himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews,
Bruce Willis, and the Governor of California in an action flick about — who
cares? Just go see it. (8/13)

“Scott
Pilgrim vs. The World”

It’s
the return of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” filmmaker Edgar Wright,
adapting Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel about a between-jobs 23-year-old
(Michael Cera, naturally) who meets his true love,
roller-blading delivery girl Ramona V. Flowers (Mary
Elizabeth Winstead). The only problem is that in
order to win her heart he has to defeat her seven evil exes, played by the
likes of Kieran Culkin, Brandon Routh,
Jason Schwartzman, and Mae Whitman. (8/13)

Not
so fast, you! Don’t forget that release dates are subject to change.

This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2010.