A darkened theatre . the smell of popcorn wafting in the air . a sticky floor . yes, the movies are a fun place to be. The only question is-is there anything worth paying money to see? These days Hollywood seems to be churning out one formulaic movie after another. So what is a dedicated movie buff to do?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against Hollywood movies. After all, the major studios have produced some very high quality and enjoyable films. But for every Thin Red Line that is produced, there seems to be many more movies of the caliber of Corky Romano or Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Perhaps it has something to do with “Saturday Night Live” cast members making movies, perhaps not. All I know is, sometimes I am in the mood for an intelligent, quirky film, and my only options end up being Freddy Got Fingered or Glitter.

So by now you may be wondering-why on earth does Hollywood produce such bad movies? I have no idea. However, being that the movie studios are businesses, they obviously are aiming to make money. This leads to a frightening conclusion- people are actually watching these movies. Maybe trailers have deceived the public, but I know when I see Rob Schneider acting like a dog I realize that The Animal is probably not the next American Beauty.

Another gimmick the studios keep using to produce bad movies (other than using “Saturday Night Live” cast members) is to make movies starring aging action stars. If Jean-Claude Van Damme or Steven Seagal are in a movie, I can automatically assume it is one to miss. The studios are also really fond of producing big action films with lots of explosions, i.e. any Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Of course, I rather enjoy the occasional action film, but there are only so many of them I can take in one summer. Apparently the action films are big hits overseas, and it is very easy to dub in foreign languages since the movies tend not to be full of thoughtful soliloquies on the meaning of life. Grunts and yells tend to be a universal language.

Another popular genre is the “romantic comedy,” referred to as “chick flicks” in the vernacular. I must admit, I do often go and see these types of movies, however there is a limit to the amount of formula romances I can stomach. These movies tend to have story lines that are one of the following:

 Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl with humorous mishaps along the way.. (i.e. On the Line the new film staring Lance “I can’t act but I sure look cute” Bass of N’Sync).

 Boy meets girl, girl hates boy, boy wins over girl with humorous mishaps along the way.

So let’s say you have decided that you want something slightly more in a movie than potty humor, explosions and cookie-cutter romance-what do you do? Luckily for St. Louis, we do have a few theaters that consistently show independent and international films. The Tivoli and Plaza Frontenac theatre have an ever-varying lineup of interesting movies from all over the world.

Another boon for the indie-film lover is the St. Louis International Film Festival that runs from November 8 through 18. Recent and older films from America and the world will be shown, as well as films made in St. Louis. So if you have ever had a hankering for French, Russian, Chinese or Iranian cinema, November will be the month to indulge.

There is a slight warning that I feel obligated to add: Just because a film is independent does not mean it is good. The same things that make an independent film great-the absence of corporate pressure, room for inventiveness in story line and direction – can also make the films utterly unbearable. Sometimes the movies are just plain weird. The worst are the weird movies masquerading as high art that no one criticizes since no one wants to look like the art buffoon. However, the vast majority of films shown in venues like the Tivoli, HiPointe and Frontenac tend to be the better indie films.

The films advertised heavily are not the only movie-watching options out there. There are lots of creative, intelligent films just waiting to be watched. So next time you are at the movie theatre and are trying to decide between Bubble Boy and Jurassic Park III, just remember there are corners of St. Louis where movies like that are never shown and run like hell to get there.

Lubna Alam is a junior studying history.