And while blockbusters themselves aren’t necessarily a bad thing, I feel it’s important that a year’s worth of education not go to waste catching that repeat showing of Mission Impossible 3.

So here are four movies this summer that won’t ask you to tune in and turn off your mind.

May 5

"Art School

Confidential"

The comic book movie this summer that you should be paying attention to, the film is directed by Terry Zwigoff ("Bad Santa," "Ghost World") and is the second film he’s adapted from the work of comic book writer and artist Dan Clowe.

The plot revolves around a young man pursuing his dream of becoming a great artist (emphasis on the "t"), his attending art school and being confronted with unbelievers, an unknown "strangler," and pursuing his infatuation for another student.

The film follows Zwigoff’s work in the realm of understated black comedy and how can one not enjoy John Malkovich playing a professor who inspires his students with lines like, "Only one out of 100 of you will ever make a living as an artist."

May 26

"An Inconvenient Truth"

Though its trailer overstates the message a bit, this documentary focused on global warming should be an incredibly important film for both those who are educated and uneducated on the topic.

The documentary follows Al Gore as he presents to an audience facts regarding what’s happening to the earth and how mankind is slowly destroying the world we live in, while presenting possible scenarios of what could happen if we don’t change our habits.

Though it may be easy for some to feel put off due to Gore’s political ties (and the unnecessary potshot at his run for presidency in the beginning of the trailer), the film seeks not to take sides but rather inform its viewers of what we’re doing to the world and how we need to change the way we live our day-to-day lives.

Some critics have called the documentary the reason Gore was put on this earth, and I think everyone owes it to themselves to become better informed regarding global warming.

July 7

"A Scanner Darkly"

"Bad News Bears" withstanding, Richard Linklater is probably one of the most interesting and versatile directors of the last 15 years. His work ranges from classics like "Dazed and Confused" to mainstream fare like "The School of Rock," and with each new film he grows more confident as a filmmaker.

In this case, Linklater may have made the closest adaptation to a Philip K. Dick novel ever done, utilizing the animation techniques used in his film "A Waking Life."

The story, set seven years from now where everything you do is recorded and watched in the name of national security, follows a government recruit who doesn’t know what’s real and where his imagination begins. And the film looks to be something of the mind-blowing persuasion.

August 18

"The Science of Sleep"

Michel Gondry, the film’s director, is a strange cat—there’s no way of getting around it. He’s thought up bizarre videos for bands like the Foo Fighters and the White Stripes and directed films such as "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind," or more recently, the documentary, "Dave Chappelle’s Block Party."

But though he may be different, his eccentricity is welcome in a season of by-the-number films.