The summer is in with a bang, thanks to another comic book adaptation (a good one, I must say), that has officially launched the sunny days inside and outside theaters. And when studios prefer to not open their big films against one another, it turns out smaller films definitely have a place to grab between blockbusters. If you're looking for an insight at those overshadowed features, then welcome to Dances with the Arthouse. Make yourself at home, grab a comfortable chair and leave the popcorn behind. The first weekend of the summer already brought one surprise, as Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely grabbed better PTA numbers than Redbelt and Son of Rambow, finishing a close second to Iron Man. Looking for another great surprise? Could The Edge of Heaven or The Children of Huang Shi, the two limited releases of the weekend of May 23, provide it?

Are you feeling a little different this week? Don't you sense something special in the air? As you read these lines, it is official: The summer moviegoing season has begun at America's theaters, be they multiplexes, arthouse outlets, or small-town theaters with just one screen. For the next 15 weeks or so, moviegoers are going to be looking for top entertainment across the country, and Hollywood executives will be eagerly anticipating the towering profits of their favorite period of the year. Small films, on the other hand, will try to find an unexpected niche among the giants. They will be few, but it seems unlikely that there won't be at least a couple, perhaps a trio, or, who knows, maybe a quartet of arthouse films that will make a name for themselves, with results that will make them great Fantasy Moguls selections.

Arthouse films usually rely on Festivals to build up a reputation. Set critics and audiences on fire in a key film festival, and your movie will multiply its chances of getting a theatrical distribution and finding success along the way. And, by this time next week, the most important Film Festival of the planet will have unveiled its 2008 selections. The prestigious Cannes Film Festival, on the sunny French Riviera.

Spring has barely begun (in a purely meteorological sense), and yet it's already time to announce the forthcoming arrival of the summer movie season. It feels strange, but that's what we will discuss today for my newest overview of limited release films. So prepare your sunglasses, put the big sweaters back in the closet, and get ready to ... lock yourself up in a nice air-conditioned movie theater. Of course, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, it may be the other way around, and in that case, uh, get ready to warm up in a nice heated theater.

Greetings everyone, and welcome to your weekly appointment with arthouse cinema. When one begins to get really passionate about movies, tastes either shorten, or broaden. Some specialize in martial arts pictures, others in South American cinema, or even in Bollywood films. If you get hooked by all different kinds of features, genres and nationalities though, you're in for an atypical lifestyle. You see so many films, in so many theaters, that you begin to spot other individuals you recognize as being from the same species as yourself, whether they are buffs or geeks, or a bit of both.

Ladies and gentlemen, if I say that I'm an arthouse man, you will agree. Some see that as a defect, some as a mark of quality. But the truth is, one should not always put films into distinctive categories, the work of an auteur or a blockbuster, an independent or a studio film. Where do you put Zodiac or The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? Can't they qualify as "arthouse films?"

It's fun to try to remember your cinema "firsts." First film you saw, first time you went alone to the movies, first time you cheated and went to see a restricted film, first time you noticed Salma Hayek was such a hottie (those last two were the same film for me — From Dusk Till Dawn, yowza!) or, like I said last week, first time you fell in love with Asian cinema (thank you, Wong Kar Wai). Writing about the independent American films that will be released on April 11, I was wondering what's the first American indie I remember watching in a theater.

When I was a kid, I used to think arthouse cinema was a punishment, invented by mean people who gave parents an opportunity to torture their kids. They made you sit for two hours, listening to people talking about things that had nothing to do with time-traveling DeLoreans, archaeologists looking for the Holy Grail, or how to save people trapped by terrorists in a building when you only have a gun, a big mouth and no shoes. And then one day you change. You start to like when a film not only entertains, but also makes you think. You start to enjoy seeing foreign films with subtitles.

Hello everyone, moguls looking for some arthouse tips, professionals keeping an eye on your films' buzz, and friends I force to read my column every week. I know you guys are craving to see the new Indiana Jones movie, or The Dark Knight, or Tropic Thunder (who wants to bet it will be the funniest film of 2008?) ... but you know that you won't find any mention of those kinds of film in these lines. (Well, at least not in the rest of the column!) Instead, we'll take a look at the limited release that will conclude the month of March, as well as a few others that recently became available in Fantasy Moguls games.

The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in ... OK, so someone already used those lines to begin something else. Let's just bid you a simple, and warm welcome to this weekly appointment with arthouse cinema. I'm not sure you'll be dancing with it, but I sure hope you'll be thinking about it a bit. After the failure of Semi-Pro, most of you will probably be looking for box-office muscle to keep up with those who cleverly avoided Will Ferrell's semi-bomb. I'm sure there are others, however, who feel they missed PTA opportunities by not grabbing The Counterfeiters or The Duchess of Langeais, both of which have proven to be well worth their price tags. If Horton Hears a Who is the possible redemption for Semi-Pro, then I think the weekend of March 21 could help PTA laggers snatch a few points for next to nothing. If you don't trust foreign movies though, pass by, because the films I will write about today are Mexican and French. (What!? Again?? Yes, again.)

Hello to you all, and welcome to the latest Dances with the Arthouse. Now, I know we're still in the midst of post-Oscars reflections like, "Maybe it's time I catch There Will Be Blood," or "I didn't think No Country For Old Men was THAT good," or even "Into the Wild and The Assassination of Jesse James should have gotten waaaay more recognition." Some of you probably feared that I might start showing off with some chauvinistic exclamations following Marion Cotillard's Oscar ... but I won't give you that pleasure. (Maybe if I thought La Vie en Rose was a great film — but I don't). It's interesting, though, to note that none of the winners in the acting categories are Americans. British, French, Spanish, that's it.

Ladies and gentlemen, film lovers, film eaters and film watchers, welcome to the latest edition of Dances with the Arthouse, the place to come to ... no, wait ... that sounds too much like a Shrykespeare introduction, and I refuse to steal my friend's thunder. I must find my own path, my own style, even if some people don't like it. Who cares, it's too late now, I already defended Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien: Resurrection in the forums the other day, claiming it was a better film than James Cameron's Aliens. Now I'm on a Wanted List. (Grin.)

Sometimes, moviegoers, critics and box office all unite to give a film the career it deserves, propelling Juno to heights no one would have thought possible, for example, or quickly sinking The Hottie & the Nottie into a deep abyss (with absolutely no chance of recovery). Yes, although it does not happen every week, sometimes life is fair. Of course Meet the Spartans topping the charts on opening weekend is not a sign of fairness, and it sure won't be the last disappointment of the season, but you know, anything can happen if you are patient enough.

Good day everyone, players, readers, and even you who, out there, on an small island no one has ever heard of, will never ever read this column. Welcome to your weekly dose of arthouse lookout, where I strive to give you clues about what to trust and what to flee in the world of limited movie releases. Along the way, of course, I'll try to make you want to see some of those films, be they playing two blocks or 200 miles from the place where you hang your hat.

Ladies and gentlemen, films lovers and lost wanderers, welcome to your latest dose of insight into the arthouse land. I know that chronicling a Paris Hilton movie last week seriously damaged the credibility of my column, but I'm going to keep on writing anyway — maybe I haven't lost all my readers. Although I must start by saying that, even though last week I announced that I would, in my next column (this very one), talk about Wong Kar Wai ... in fact, I won't. My Blueberry Nights has been pushed back to April. Sigh.

Greetings everyone! Your favorite column dealing with the independent releases (I know, it's easy, it's the only one around here!) is back after taking a week off. If you missed me, then I apologize for my absence . And if you found out that you don't need my advice after all, well, let's hope you still want to read me just for the pleasure of it.

Here we are, finally. The doors of 2008 have definitely opened, and with them the promise of a new year of cinema. There will be the big films, accessible in most theaters from Augusta, Maine, to Riverside, Calif. And then, of course, there will be those films it will be easier to see if you are a New Yorker or an Angeleno (is this what you call someone from Los Angeles?), but still may show up in your town once they start circulating a bit in this big country that is the United States. Let me be your humble guide through the last independent releases of the month of January.

Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the very first Dances with the Arthouse of 2008. I wish all of you, mogul friends and others, a Happy New Year, full of excitement, joy and success. I guess all of us have experienced a fluctuant mix of good times and bad times in 2007, so all I can hope is that the good times will come around more frequently than the bad ones this year. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,"  you know. To open 2008, I thought I'd take a look at what could make us stronger in Fantasy Moguls all year long, and list some of the independent films I suspect could very well strike gold this year.

"Ta ta ... ta ta ... trtrtrtrttrr ta ta ... Ta tatata ... tatatatatata ... Trrrtatata tatata tatatatata ..." Greetings everyone, and welcome to your weekly appointment with independent cinema! If you recognized the 20th Century Fox fanfare, then you probably spend too much time thinking about movie, because even though I just typed the darn thing, I wouldn't have recognized it myself. Of course, if you could hear me sing it ... well, in fact, no, that would have been even worse. Anyway, this well known introduction was supposed to launch my  Dances with the Arthouse Look Back at 2007 with panache. I guess I'll blame my French accent for the false start.

Greetings everyone, bitter 2007 film buffs disappointed with the year that is coming to an end, or satisfied spectators ready to embark on another exciting year in movies. 2008 is approaching, and, in Fantasy Moguls, just as in Hollywood, there are no weeks off. Films keep opening, players keep strategizing and columnists keep ... well ... columning. (Oh come on, that could be a word!).

Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs, film buffs and film eaters, I bid you a fond welcome to the last Dances with the Arthouse of 2007. Not that this will be the last one I'll write in 2007 — don't worry, or don't be too relieved, you who just smiled and sighed in the last row. In this column, however, I will be chronicling the limited releases that will open on the last weekend of the year. And just like every year, when a handful of Oscar-hungry distributors try to squeeze in their prestige films at the last minute, the Christmas weekend will be a busy one.

Do you know what is great about writing on arthouse cinema? You get to examine every kind of film. I mean, that's not to say I wouldn't sometimes trade a film or two with fellow columnist Shrykespeare, and talk about, say, Charlie Wilson's War, or Cloverfield. And sometimes, I must confess, I'm jealous because some terrific arthouse films open wide, and he gets to treat them, like We Own the Night, or Gone Baby Gone. But the truth is, laying out the highs and lows of features by such filmmakers as Wes Anderson, Ang Lee, Sidney Lumet, Julian Schnabel or Francis Ford Coppola — that is waaaay too much fun and rewarding to give up for the likes of The Comebacks every other week. (Kudos to you, Shryke, for forging ahead. Wink.)

Helloooo everyone, Fantasy Moguls, real-life moguls, or simple neighborhood moguls. You're all welcome to this weekly arthouse cinema overview entitled Dances with the Arthouse. Yes, the name is an homage to Dances with Wolves, the film some consider to have stolen the golden statuette from Goodfellas back in the day. As I personally think the nearly four-hour long, beautiful arthouse western deserved its success, I decided to show it some love. And this week, I will also spread some love over a film that will have its detractors, although this one seems very unlikely to make more than $100 million at the box office (or win many Oscars). It does, at least, have the distinction of being directed by one of the greatest living American filmmakers, Francis Ford Coppola. Will Youth Without Youth be as interesting Moguls-wise, as it is mysterious? Is The Kite Runner really worth $25? And that Nanking film, what is it exactly? Okay, sit comfortably, put the John Barry score in the player (come on, you know which one, there's a clue in the column's title) and let's answer those questions ...

The hardest thing to do is always to begin. The first line to say. The first move to make. The first sentence to write. Once you choose how to begin, the rest comes along, the flow keeps rolling. Like a Dances with the Arthouse column for instance. "How am I going to introduce it this week?" Am I going to react to the actuality? Am I gonna talk about a great film I saw last weekend? Am I going to come up with a smart quote? Maybe say something profound (hum) like, "Talking about cinema is like dancing about architecture," or quote François Truffaut with, "Films are more harmonious than life." Well, no, I'm not going to make you that pleasure. Don't count on me. I'll stay down to earth. Focused. Cold. Professional 'til the end. Oh come on, who am I kidding?

This is the last straight line. Goodbye November, hello December, which brings with the last batch of 2007 films. It's not yet time for a look back, because those last few weeks have some very interesting arthouse options. If epic spectacles will be in full gear at the multiplexes, Oscar pretenders will be impossible to avoid on the arthouse front. Sure you'll still have a few oddities, but all eyes will be fixed on the films with awards buzz.

Moguls, mogulettes, visitors lost and wondering where they have landed, welcome to your weekly appointment with arthouse cinema. In the last few days, you have been swamped with advice, predictions, lists of films opening in the next three months — I'm sure some of you are still a bit exhausted after taking in all of this information from my esteemed columnists colleagues and myself.

Fantasy Moguls players, film buffs, wandering souls killing time in our company, I bid you welcome to our weekly rendezvous with arthouse cinema. Today, as planned (and announced by my fellow columnists), this is a special Dances with the Arthouse event. On the eve of the November-January season, we thought it would be nice to make a survey of what is lying ahead in the U.S. arthouse theaters. More specifically, I've chosen 15 films that could prove themselves strong Ultimate Movie Moguls performers. Among those, there are five in particular that could turn out to be, also, sound pick-ups, proportionally, for Box Office Moguls players.

Some mock arthouse cinema. It's true, let's face it, there will always be someone saying you can't have fun, you can't feel all trippy, in front of an arthouse film, the way you're having the time of your life alongside Jason Bourne or a bunch of Spartan warriors lusting after blood. I won't even mention the fact that a lot of foreign films that open in the United States under the label "arthouse" are in fact foreign "blockbusters" that do monstrous numbers on their local European or Asian box-office charts (just email me if you want titles [wink]).

Cinema, like every other art, is a matter of taste. Some might try to make us think there are kinds of movies to love, and kinds of movies to ignore, or even despise. But the truth is, there is no truth about "filmloving." So, what, you're more excited about seeing Saw IV than I'm Not There? You're more inclined to go see Hitman than My Blueberry Nights? You're within your rights (but don't come back and complain that there aren't enough good films in theaters these days ... ).

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Yes, Renton said it all. Maybe you took his advice, but unfortunately the Trainspotting protagonist forgot to tell you one thing: Choose a slate of films. Choose big ones. Choose good ones. Choose films that will get a great User Rating on IMDb. Choose films that are going to fill theaters and bring gigantic PTA numbers. Choose movies that won't even be remembered in six months but that will finish at the top of the charts for weeks and weeks. I chose not to choose the big ones. I chose something else. The little films, those that could do you good if you choose them well.

In a perfect world, The Game Plan would never have ended up in the box-office top spot (would it even exist?), Shakespeare in Love would never have become a Best Picture Oscar winner and Stanley Kubrick would still be alive. The world isn't perfect, however, it is flawed and unpredictable, just like the weekly box-office numbers. Dances with the Arthouse is here to help you find your way among the limited releases, whether they are foreign films, Oscar hopefuls or second-tier movies being dumped by their distributor (may they rest in peace).

At the end of the year, when you look back at the films you saw in 2007, some of the ones you'll have enjoyed the most will be big Hollywood fare. Some will be films that seemingly everyone hates but you. And some will be small films you'll be proud to have seen, because not many others will have. It's a remarkable sensation, getting out of a movie theater feeling you've a discovered a gem almost no one else knows about. When playing Fantasy Moguls, you can experience the same kind of sensation by picking up a film not many have paid attention to ... and scoring big points because of it. My mission is to help you find those gems that might give you an unexpected boost. And, while I'm at it, to awaken your inner filmgoer's curiosity toward a few films worth noticing.