'Beasts' beats out 'Batman', 'Brave' in 'Current' summer film top 10

Most, if not all, of these movies will open in San Antonio either as part of the same nationwide release. But, as is the case with anything studio-related, dates may change. So cross your fingers and be ready for the summer movies you don't want to miss.

10 Neil Young Journeys (Aug 10)
Dir. Jonathan Demme; feat. Neil Young
In May, Neil Young played a show at the Massey Hall in Toronto, his birthplace, and Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) followed him around. Young's music is reason enough to see this, but Demme's work with the Talking Heads (Stop Making Sense) and Spalding Gray (Swimming to Cambodia) makes this a must-see.

9 The Campaign (Aug 10)
Dir. Jay Roach; feat. Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis
Ferrell and Galifianakis running against each other for a seat in the U.S. Congress and directed by the guy who did the Austin Powers movies? We're in.

8 The Possession (Aug 31)
Dir. Ole Bornedal; feat. Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick
Produced by Sam Raimi, this horror flick was slightly watered down in order to earn its PG-13 rating, but it still should scare the hell out of you, especially if you have a daughter who likes little boxes.

7 Moonrise Kingdom (Aug 22)
Dir. Wes Anderson; feat. Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray
Anderson's best movie since The Royal Tenenbaums involves a case of runaway teen love made Anderson style: unexpected magic and a terrific cast.

6 Sparkle (Aug 17)
Dir. Salim Akil; feat. Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo, Whitney Houston
The plot involves a Motown girl group in the '60s, but that's the least important part of this movie. What matters is that this is Whitney's posthumous film, and she shines. Let us remember her as Emma.

5 Brave (June 22)
Dir. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell; feat. the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson
Pixar/Disney's latest animation marvel couldn't be further away from the old Snow White/Cinderella characters: Princess Merida won't take crap from anyone.

4 The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)
Dir. Christopher Nolan; feat. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway
Bale's Batman, the most human of superheros, returns to battle Bane, a bad guy mixing elements of Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter and Heath Ledger's Joker. The last in the Dark Knight trilogy.

3 Red Hook Summer (Aug 10)
Writ. and dir. Spike Lee; feat. Jules Brown, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Toni Lysaith
The good news: Shot in only three weeks with less than a million bucks, this marks Lee's return to guerrilla-style filmmaking. It is the story of a young Atlanta kid who spends a summer in Red Hook (a Brooklyn neighborhood) with the grandfather he never met. Spoiler: there's Mookie (first seen in Do the Right Thing)! And yes, he still delivers for Sal's Famous Pizzeria. The bad news: this is not a wide release, so I wouldn't be surprised if San Antonians have to wait for this one.

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