Quiet Little Indies Bracket

Ruby Sparks (July 25 — limited)

Director: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Starring: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas
IMDb Says: “A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.”

My only worry about this quirkfest from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine is that it feels a little too forcefully jam-packed with whimsy — I think I liked this concept better when it was the criminally underrated Stranger Than Fiction (and the much-less underrated Pygmalion). Great cast, though — anything with Alia Shawkat and Steve Coogan among its lower-billed rungs should be eminently watchable.

Verdict: Fuck

Killer Joe (July 27 — limited)

Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon
IMDb Says: “When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.”

When did Matthew McConaughey become so sneakily appealing? I’m not sure, but this NC-17 film from the legendary William Friedkin did well at its limited festival releases last year, and it does have an excellent supporting cast — Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon, and Emile Hirsch. Also, Friedkin will presumably be obliging the “Shirtless in At Least Three Scenes” clause of McConaughey’s contract, so there’s that. This has the pedigree (and the super-dark plotline) to be the surprise hit of the summer.

Verdict: Marry

The Queen of Versailles (July 6)

Director: Lauren Greenfield
Starring: Jackie and David Siegel
IMDB Says: “A documentary that follows a billionaire couple who live in a 90,000-square-foot mansion inspired by Versailles, built on the success of the time-share industry.”

Lauren Greenfield does good work — there’s no denying that. But this doc about a 1% couple feels like a return to the well (she previously covered the detestably wealthy and un-self-aware in 2008’s Kids + Money), and there is literally no reason to give Jackie and David Siegel any more attention. (David Siegel actually sued Sundance, objecting to the film’s tagline, “Rags to riches to rags.”)

Verdict: Kill