When I left the Nerdist offices yesterday, it was 114 degrees outside. Even without humidity, that is in no way an acceptable temperature. Thankfully, I sought refuge in a local movie theater, where I soothed my sun-dappled skin with luxurious gales of arctic-cool air conditioning and broadened my cultural horizons by watching a film. Namely, Weiner, a documentary about the political scandal that toppled former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner’s congressional career and likewise doomed his NYC mayoral bid. It was an engrossing, fascinating look at how a scandal metamorphosed into a nightmarish feedback loop of ego and headlines. The worst part of it is that because it is an independent film, it will likely go unnoticed by many folks headed to the multiplexes this summer, lost in a sea of big budget blockbusters like Captain America: Civil War, Star Trek Beyond, and Suicide Squad.
Now, don’t get me wrong—I love a good summer blockbuster. In fact, I highlighted the best of the bunch in The Dan Cave summer movie guide back in April. This time though, for my 100th episode (!), I want to take a moment to highlight some of the truly stellar independent films making their way to theaters over the next few months. From Matthew McConaughey leading a rebellion during the actual Civil War to Paul Dano riding Daniel Radcliffe’s farting corpse like a jet ski to Stephen Lang as a blind serial killer and beyond, these are some the under-the-radar films that you need to put into your eyeballs this summer.
This is obviously just a small sampling of the weird, wild, wonderful independent films making their way to theaters and VOD this summer. So tell me, which indie films are you most looking forward to seeing? Which ones that are already out would you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious) and ask him to share his popcorn.
