Judging from the menu, the popcorn flicks are an unusually gourmet bunch this summer. As always, there’s sure to be a lot of junk food out there (“The Fantastic Four,” July 8), and some truly revolting confections (“Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo”) but several of the most talented commercial filmmakers are serving up their latest gazillion-dollar eye candy for global consumption.

Stephen Spielberg gets back to what he does best with “War of the Worlds”(June 29), a science-fiction spectacular featuring Tom Cruise and the demolition of much New York real estate. Tim Burton helms a super-production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”(July 15) starring Johnny Depp and mountains of psychedelic scenery. Terry Gilliams’s long-delayed project “The Brothers Grimm” (July 29) could be the summer’s smartest pop movie or its most notable film maudit. “Batman Begins”(June 15) will prove whether “Memento” director Christopher Nolan can keep his nerve in the very big leagues. Finally, the presence of Richard Linklater behind the camera all but guarantees that “The Bad News Bears” (June 10) remake will be one of the summer’s must-see movies. Believe me, I’m as shocked to write that as you are to read it.

But a strict popcorn diet, no matter how upscale the goods, is enough to give anyone a bellyache, and the summer’s art-house and repertory fare provide some healthy counter programming. Werner Herzog is everywhere, with four documentaries screening throughout the season. Film Forum will host two, “White Diamond” (June 1) and “Wheel of Time” (June 15), while his Sundance smash “Grizzly Man” (August 5) gets a theatrical push by Lion’s Gate. On June 28 Anthology Film Archives will screen his documentary masterpiece “Lesson of Darkness,” a (literally) scorching essay film on the burning oil fields of Kuwait.

We can also thank Anthology for booking the limited theatrical run of Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s masterly “Cafe Lumiere,” one of the highlights of last year’s New York Film Festival. Conceived in tribute to Ozu, this hushed study of contemporary Tokyo is as lovely a lightshow as they come.

“Cafe Lumiere” will also turn up in the essential Village Voice Best of 2004 series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (July 1-29). Culled from the results of the Take Six Poll, with a generous sampling of undistributed favorites and local premieres, this is an invaluable chance to catch up with last year’s best friends and make some new ones.

At the end of last year, in an e-mail announcing the poll results to participants, Dennis Lim had the pleasure of noting that, contrary to every top 10 list and awards group on the planet, “Sideways” was not the alt-weekly champion. Those honors went to my own favorite film of the year, “Before Sunset,” which will screen at BAM alongside its companion piece, “Before Sunrise.”

The series opens with Mr. Lim’s pick of the year, “I Heart Huckabees.” A lot of smart people took a liking to David O. Russell’s spastic metaphysical farce, though I found it about as likable as being harangued by a pretentious grad student on a coke binge. Other reprisals from last year include Jonathan Demme’s beautifully wrought remake of “The Manchurian Candidate,” the low-fi, sci-fi mind-bender “Primer,” Lars von Trier’s beloved/reviled “Dogville,” Jafar Panahi’s gripping “Crimson Gold,” and Patrice Chereau’s criminally ignored “Son Frere.”

All films ought to be seen on the big screen first, but “Goodbye Dragon Inn” is the rare example of one that’s almost rendered meaningless on a television. Set entirely in a crumbling Taipei movie house on the night of its final screening, Tsai Ming-liang’s masterpiece depends for all its affects on being seen in a theater surrounded by other people. (Check out the recently released DVD, however, for a look at the short film “The Skywalk Is Gone,” one of Mr. Tsai’s very best films.)

But the best part of “Best of” is the sampling of undistributed films, previews of upcoming releases, or movies that have shown only once or twice in a specialized local event. Take a chance on “Vento di terra,” “Pinboy,” “Childstar,” or “Darwin’s Nightmare.”

Elsewhere in the series, audiences will get a sneak peek at two upcoming critical favorites from Asia: Jia Jhangke’s “The World” and Hang Sang-soo’s “Woman Is the Future of Man.” Cult French director Eugene Green is honored with a sidebar retrospective including the U.S. premiere of his debut “Night After Night.” And if this all sounds way too smarty-pants for your taste, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” yet again.

THE BEST OF THE REP HOUSES

May 26-June 30, MoMA
To Save and Project: The Third MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation
An enormous festival of works preserved through the collaborative efforts of the International Federation of Film Archives and commercial studios and distributors, virtually all are having their New York premieres.

June 1-29
The Village Voice Best of 2004, BAM

June 11-July 3, Museum of the Moving Image
Asian City Film
Yet another chance to see such masterworks as “Cafe Lumiere,” “The World,” and “Millenium Mambo.”

June 17-30, Anthology Film Archives & ImaginAsian Theater
New York Asian Film Festival

June 24-July 21, Film Forum
Paramount Before the Code
A four-week festival of works created at Paramount before the motion picture production code of 1930.