Film: Not Quite Iron Man - Seven Independent Releases To Watch For This Summer

The summer movie season could be said to officially open tomorrow when Iron Man 2 debuts in the USA. That means three to four months of superheroes, big action, and 3D. But there are several independent or limited-release films that can give you a break from all the sound and fury of the summer blockbuster. You already know about movies like Toy Story 3 and The Last Airbender, but here are seven movies you might not know about yet:

Please Give - Opens April 30.

Nicole Holofcener tends to make films about real women. The women in her films are familiar, flawed, charming, annoying, sweet, smart, impulsive - in other words, they are every bit as mutli-faceted and complex as anyone you might encounter in real life, something that is unfortunately not often seen in onscreen women, especially during the summer season. This film features one such woman named Kate, played by the wonderful Catherine Keener. Kate runs an antiques shop that she supplies by buying furniture cheap at estate sales. She tries to teach her daughter to not be materialistic, while she herself wants the same things her daughter wants, she suspects her husband (Oliver Platt) is not being faithful, and she is trying to reconcile her own desire to live well while dealing with the poverty she sees on the street outside her door. It's a comedy about value systems colliding, upper-middle class guilt, moral contradiction, and unsteady familial bonds. It is currently playing in New York and Los Angeles and will be opening in more theaters across the country.

Micmacs - Opens May 28.

With films like Amélie, The City of Lost Children, and Delicatessen, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has given us funny, quirky, slightly dark and off-beat films and his new film looks to be no exception. Bazil (Dany Boon) is an unlucky fellow whose father was killed by a roadside bomb and who is left with a stray bullet lodged in his skull which could kill him at any moment. Released from the hospital after his latest accident with no money and nowhere to live, he encounters a group of junkyard dealers who build him a home from the scrap in their junkyards and help him seek revenge on the weapons manufacturers who created the weapons which orphaned him and left him on the brink of death. This looks to be yet another darkly comic and charming adventure from a unique and interesting filmmaker.

Cyrus - Opens June 18.

The first film from Mark and Jay Duplass - The Puffy Chair - was among the first in the unfortunately named but interesting independent film movement known as "mumblecore." These are films characterized by extremely low budgets, non-professional actors, improvised scripts and explorations of personal relationships. Their new film ups the budget and brings in professional actors, but the heart and soul still appear to be in place. John (John C. Reilly) is divorced and still struggling to adjust to his life seven years after the fact. He meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) at a party and they quickly hit it off. However, in order to make the romance work, John and Molly must contend with Molly's grown son Cyrus (Jonah Hill). He is his mother's best friend and will go to any lengths to stop John's invasion into their life. Festival reactions say that the Duplass brothers have successfully translated their heartfelt, very funny and humane style to a higher budget, so this will be a movie to seek out.

I Am Love - Opens June 18.

Tilda Swinton is one of the best and most under-appreciated actresses of our time. Last year's little-seen Julia featured her fierce and unrestrained ability, and she is consistently the best part of any film in which she appears. This new film from Italy about a wealthy Milan family's undoing due to intense passion. Tilda Swinton is enough of a reason to see any film, but this looks to be a rich, intense, beautiful film and should give Swinton a chance to yet again show off her considerable talent. It's been getting overwhelming praise after every festival in which it has appeared.

Dogtooth - Opens June 25.

This film from Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard category at last year's Cannes Film Festival. It is about a family where the children are being raised with zero influence from or exposure to the outside world. Now, they are fully grown, still with no knowledge of the world outside their home. The reactions have been extremely excited, with several critics calling it one of the best films of the year already. It promises to be a disturbing, haunting, and beautiful experience.

The Kids Are Alright - Opens July 7.

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as the parents of two children who decide to seek out biological father, a sperm donor. When they find Paul (Mark Ruffalo), he quickly develops a relationship with them that threatens the family unit that Bening and Moore have worked hard to maintain. Reactions from critics have been overwhelmingly positive, with a consensus that it is a smart, funny and heartfelt look into a modern family.

[REC] 2 - Opens July 9.

I couldn't leave off all the sequels, and this one should be exciting for horror fans. It's the sequel to the 2007 Spanish horror film [REC] written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza who both return for this film. The new film follows a medical and special operations team going into the quarantined apartment building to investigate, and finding that religious weapons work to fight off the infected people. The original film was remade badly in the U.S. as Quarantine, but the original still packs a horror punch. With the same writing/directing team returning for this and a promise to upping the ante on the first film, this is one to check out. The first film is available on DVD.

These are all movies I am extremely excited to see, based not only on the pedigree of the filmmakers, but on reviews and reactions from their appearances at festivals. So as you decide what to spend your money on at the theater this summer, please consider scanning your local art house listings for some of these films. They aren't going to have the action and big-budget effects of Iron Man 2 or The A-Team, but they may just surprise you.