Top 5 movies to see this summer that have smaller budgets than "Transformers"

Don’t worry. These are all major studio releases that will be around here for you, Talladega!

1. The Time Traveler’s Wife (release date: Aug. 14): What better way to examine how diseases can affect family life than to make one up? As long as you’re doing that, why not make the disease involuntary time travel?

2. The Boat That Rocked (release date: Aug. 28): British comedies that still play it straight are almost always more entertaining than any star-studded slapstick marathon we can put out in any given year. Don’t let the “Based on a true story” cliché scare you off. The film clearly focuses on the ridiculousness of situations without pushing the facts on you. If nothing else, who can resist the images of Bill Nighy and Nick Frost rocking it out in 60’s garb?

3. Public Enemies (release date: July 1): Easily the biggest summer blockbuster on the list. Michael Mann, one of the masters of crime pictures, finally takes on a criminal period piece. It’s too early to tell if he’ll pull it off, but it will definitely be worth the ticket price to find out.

4. 9 (release date: Sept. 9): This doesn’t look like the typical animated movie that’s supposed to be as enjoyable for adults as much as kids. It’s actually a mature, other-worldly science-fiction story that happens to be drawn rather than acted. It’s American McGee meets Oddworld. Darkness has nothing to do with it, fantasy does.

5. Inglourious Basterds (release date: Aug. 21): I’ve enjoyed some of Quinton Tarantino’s films more than others, but there’s one thing obvious in all of them. This guy loves movies, and that’s the reason he’s making them. He’s a film buff who makes everything he shoots a homage to the films that helped shape him into adulthood. If he’s turned his attentions to making a highly stylized Jews vs. Nazis bloodbath, you’ll be able to feel the love that went into it. Not to mention, it just sounds darn entertaining.