As most of the country melts under the Heat Dome (screw you, Seattle), the best thing to do to beat the heat is head to the multiplex and sit in the arctic AC for a while. To entertain you this week we have a superhero, a super couple, and a supernatural tale of woe.

A Little Help

Pam from The Office stars in this comedic drama (or "crama" — no better word for it) about Jim dying and their baby turning into a teenage boy and what happens then. Michael and everyone else must also be dead because I don't see them anywhere so that's kind of sad. At least Lesley Anne Warren is there as Pam's mom, a different Pam's mom, because I guess the other Pam's mom died too. Everyone's dead, basically. (Limited release)

Another Earth

In this Sundance favorite, a soul-wounded young woman navigates the landscapes of grief and desire all while a newly discovered, well newly appeared, alternate Earth hovers huge in the sky, offering a supernatural sci-fi possibility for switching into a better, alternate life. It's an interesting concept, if a bit over-the-head whunky, so it's no surprise that the movie is getting decidedly mixed reviews. As long as it's not too much of the indie shaky mumbling sadness kind of thing, I'm into it. (NY & LA)

Captain America: The First Avenger

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg once again team up to tell you a tale of World War II, this one about the men of Crazy Company, a fantastical band of soldiers headed by a bloated sex-tick named America. It's one of the war's most strangely overlooked stories, so I'm glad it's finally being told. In fact, my grandfather fought in Crazy Company, under the command of Captain Sex-Tick, until he was killed in the battle of Lightstorm against the terrible skull warrior, Redhead. This is all true! Just ask Stephen E. Ambrose. (All over this great nation)

Friends With Benefits

Two impossibly good-looking people fuck and act like it's weird that they're fucking and try to get us to totally relate to their fucking, like "Oh yeah, I'm always beautiful and fucking someone beautiful too, boy it can be complicated," and then we're also supposed to laugh both at and with the beautiful people, but also be turned on I guess, and feel bad about ourselves too, so it's really a pretty tall fucking order from one summertime romantic comedy. This movie is a jerk. (Wide)

The Myth of the American Sleepover

As far as I'm aware, there are only two distinct sleepover myths: for the girls it's that things like Ouija boards and Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board and Bloody Mary are real. For the boys, it's that girls spend their sleepovers getting into pillowfights and gently practicing kissing on each other. Neither, of course, are true. So I guess this Michael Moore documentary will get to the bottom of that. Or it's some weird mumblecore version of Kids. One or the other. (NY)

Sarah's Key

The always fantastic Kristin Scott Thomas (if you missed her Madame Arkadina you missed everything, dahling) is a British actress who speaks fluent French and yet she plays an American in this movie set in France. Hm. She's a journalist trying to uncover a mystery born out of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup of World War II, in which French Jews were detained in deplorable conditions by their own countrymen, only to later be sent to Nazi concentration camps. Sounds like a fun summertime confection, really. (NY, LA)

Singham

In this over-the-top Bollywood action film, a dogged IA inspector "fights against corruption with the valor of lion." A lion, huh? Fuckin' Lannisters. They're everywhere! (Limited)