Summer Viewing Finale

Summer is winding down, and that means we’re seeing more options at the box office beyond the computer-effects-saturated movies with nine-figure budgets.
Don’t get me wrong; I like those movies a lot. But I also like variety.

Here are my recommendations — and alternatives — for what to watch the rest of the summer:

Aug. 7 — “Julie and Julia.”

The terrific Amy Adams (“Enchanted”) stars in this based-on-two-true-stories tale of a woman attempting to make all the recipes in a famous Julia Child cookbook in a year. Her journey is mixed with a look at a portion of Child’s life. The renowned chef is played by Meryl Streep, who could earn her 8 millionth Oscar nomination (or something like that) for this movie.

Alternative: The aforementioned hyper-budgeted, CGI offerings continue with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” by “Mummy” director Stephen Sommers. A neat cast, including Dennis Quaid, “Lost’s” Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Ray Park (Darth Maul of “Star Wars Episode I” fame) has me hopeful.

Aug. 14 — “District 9”

Neil Blomkamp, the man Peter Jackson hand-picked to make the “Halo” movie (it didn’t work out), delivers a tale of aliens living in a quarantined area of South Africa. The attraction, besides the ultra-realist look to this fantastical tale? The mystery of why the aliens are here and why they won’t (or can’t) leave.

Alternative: “Bandslam.” I’m more interested in “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” but to have this be a true alternative to science fiction, I offer this PG-rated story of a social outcast forming a band with the most popular girl at school and “High School Musical’s” Vanessa Hudgens.

Aug. 21 — “Post Grad”
The pickin’s are slim this week. If you don’t decide to go back and see a film you missed earlier, my choice would be this film about a young woman (Alexis Bledel, “Gilmore Girls”) who can’t land a job and moves back in with her odd family. Despite the hype, I have no interest in seeing the celebration of violence that will be the...

Alternative: “Inglorious Basterds.” Director Quentin Tarantino does offer a somewhat interesting take on the revenge story, with a group of Jewish soldiers who brutally battle Nazis and take great pleasure in it. I’m no fan of Nazis, but I’m also no fan of moral relativism and bloodbaths.

Aug. 28 — ...
Eh, I can’t recommend the gore-fests I expect from “Halloween II” and “The Final Destination” (the first movie was good, the second not so much, and I lost interest for part three and now four). Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock” opens that week, but I’m not sure it will come here or that I’m that interested in this based-on-a-true-story account of Elliot Tiber (played by comedian Demetri Martin), the man who helped make Woodstock happen and had his own homosexual awakening in the process.