Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
It's the time of year when most films go 'bang' and 'crash' and 'zoom' and 'snap', when the multiplexes are packed on multiple screens with animated movies and blockbusters and animated blockbusters.
But, if you look carefully enough, you'll find some smarter, more challenging pictures that aim to make you think and feel, not just dazzle you with high-tech visuals
or tickle your funny bone.
Call it counter-programming, movies for grown-ups, whatever. Regardless of the label, serious movies have done seriously well come summertime.
This summer, there's a smorgasbord of meatier fare to choose from, including Julia, starring Tilda Swinton as a middle-aged alcoholic who makes a desperate decision; Away We Go from director Sam Mendes, starring John Krasinksi and Maya Rudolph as an expectant couple searching the country for a place to call home; and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, about an elite Army bomb squad in Iraq, which earned Jeremy Renner a lead-actor nomination at this year's Spirit Awards.
Independent films, which usually have smaller budgets and less money to spend on advertising, especially get a fighting chance this time of year.
"Summer's always great because there are more people going to movies in general - not just regular movies, although the behemoths are there - but people have more leisure time in the summer so they have more time to go to the movies," said Eamonn Bowles, president of Magnolia Picture.
