Still, it's not just given to any film to scale the heights of the box office. Take the subjects of my columns for example. American independent films and foreign movies rarely have box-office tallies that can be counted in millions of dollars. And no amount of inflation will change that. Especially in the case of the lone Aug. 8 indie release, Hell Ride. This week, to fill out the void of August, I'll dissect in advance the reasons why it might be interesting to keep an eye on a British film opening next October.

Some directors inhabit such a distinct and recognizable universe that you don't need more than a few shots to spot one of their films. A few others have such an influence on the films they produce, and Quentin Tarantino is definitely one of them. Even if his name were not proudly announced in the trailer for Hell Ride, there is no way you could watch that trailer and fail to assume that the Pulp Fiction director was associated with the project at least as a producer. And, indeed, Q.T. is an executive producer of this "grindhousesque" B-movie, which seems like a mixture of From Dusk Til Dawn, Easy Rider and a badass Wild Hogs. (Incidentally, anyone who thinks Wild Hogs is already badass should be banished from every single movie theater on the planet. The Aristocats is more badass than Wild Hogs!)

[Interjection from Indie's editor, who is still ticked that he wasted more than an hour of his time on Earth seeing almost all of Hell Ride at the Sundance Film Festival: I'd say it's more like a mixture of B.O., pus, vomit and crap-on-a-stick.]

Take a look at the characters' names: Pistolero. Comanche. The Gent. Opium. Cherokee Kisum. Apeshit (no kidding). Machete (nope, this Machete is not Danny Trejo). Those guys and gals are the protagonists of biker gang The Victors's thirst for revenge after one of them is killed by the leader of the 666, a rival gang.

You want more proof that Hell Ride is Tarantino-tainted? How about a character-actors-only cast that includes the likes of Michael Madsen, Dennis Hopper, David Carradine, Vinnie Jones and Eric Balfour (I know, this one was harder to guess)? I know tons of guys who would be willing to go see such a flick in theaters, especially since it's rated R for "strong violence, sexual content including graphic nudity and dialogue, language and drug use."

The question is, will those guys have a chance of seeing it? It's hard to imagine many arthouse theaters choosing to program this film that, despite having Quentin Tarantino's name all over it, is, after all, written, played and directed by Larry Bishop, not exactly the most revered filmmaker around. Actually, Bishop has only directed one prior film, the enjoyable but (very) little-seen Mad Dog Time (remember this old school gangster comedy starring Jeff Goldblum, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Dreyfuss and a whole bunch of cool actors?).

What can you expect from such a film as a Fantasy Moguls player? Well, to be honest, not much at all. Although executive-produced by the Brothers Weinstein (along with dear Q.T.), Hell Ride is being distributed by second- or third-tier arthouse outlet Third Rail Releasing. Take a look at what the fledgling company has released these past few months, and you'll understand why Hell Ride's choppers won't exactly be running on premium unleaded: Diary of the Dead, Rogue, The Promotion and Death Defying Acts. Even Lou Reed's Berlin, which looked like a sure bet to snag a few PTA points, did not manage to draw the arthouse crowds for Third Rail.

At $7 in Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues, Hell Ride is considerably overpriced. Unless the film is released in only one or two theaters, it does not seem likely to grab any PTA points (maybe one), and it almost certainly won't generate notable box-office revenues unless it's released in several hundred theaters. So even for $2 in Box Office Moguls leagues, don't count on it. The only category it may perform well in is User Rating, since the few spectators who see the film will be B-movie geeks who will probably have a hell of a good time watching gangs of bikers on a quest for violence, with hot women taking their clothes off as a bonus. The User Rating already stands at 8 with more than 200 votes.

Let's leave the month of August, leave the American desert landscape, leave weapons and bikers. Let's cross the Atlantic instead, and put our cinephilic eyes on Mike Leigh's new feature film, Happy-Go-Lucky, which will not arrive in U.S. theaters until Oct. 10. Leigh has one of the most steady and respected careers in British cinema, often dealing with the human condition and society's faults.

The Manchester native began his career in the '70s, but truly became a strong voice of the British cinema in the '90s, thanks to such acclaimed features as Naked, Secrets and Lies, Career Girls and, more recently, All or Nothing and Vera Drake. Those dramas earned Leigh multiple awards, at the BAFTAS and the Oscars, in Venice and, of course, at Cannes, where Leigh won the coveted Golden Palm in 1996 for Secrets and Lies.

Happy-Go-Lucky is quite a departure in the director's filmography, as it clearly is lighter, a cousin in tone to his 1999 old-timey-theater-lovin' Topsy Turvy. It is the contemporary tale of Poppy, a London teacher, open-minded and determined, enjoying life at its fullest, trying to see the positive in everything she does and everyone she meets. In the past, Leigh has accustomed us to darker stories. The change of tone seems to have worked its magic on everyone who saw the film, however, as critics have been pretty much ecstatic about Happy-Go-Lucky since its Premiere at last February's Berlin Film Festival. The general enthusiasm towards the film even allowed the lead actress Sally Hawkins (who played Colin Farell's girlfriend in Cassandra's Dream) to be awarded the Best Actress prize at the Berlinale.

There is no doubt the film will be one of the most favorably reviewed of the fall season, and with the buzz it grabbed in Berlin, it could be a contender come Awards season. Unless the movie is deemed too light for such honors. Keep in mind, however, that Leigh's previous film, Vera Drake, earned him three Academy Awards nominations, and not minor ones, either: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress (for Imelda Staunton). In any case, film buffs will surely give a warm welcome to Happy-Go-Lucky, and you should have it on your PTA/User Rating radar.

Next week won't be any more arthouse-friendly than this week has been, but you can't have every week bring out the Golden Palms, Golden Lions, Golden Bears and any other Festival winners who've been crowned by an animal made of gold (Leopard in Locarno!). And you also can't have badass bikers and nearly nake hot girls, either. No, next week will bring a morose Luke Wilson ... having the face of Jesus appearing on the wall of his house. Why not, after all? If Shakespeare in Love can win the Oscar for Best Picture, then anything can happen, right?

Indie Jones is headin' out on the highway, lookin' for adventure and whatever is coming his way. He's ready to take the world in a love embrace, fire all of his guns at once, and explode into space. Tell him what's in store with your own badass weekend at danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.