OK, the bad news first: What will surely be one of the year's most talked-about and highly praised films will not, unfortunately, be at the State this weekend. (Because of our agreement with the other theaters, we're typically not able to show any first-runs opening on more than 200 screens.) The good news: You will be able to see the Caped Crusader literally almost anywhere else you go. Seriously - the thing is breaking the record set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World's End" for highest theater count, with 9,400 screens at 4,366 theaters. Theaters you never even knew existed will come out of the woodwork to show this film (minimum screening requirements: a wall, a sheet and a portable projecter). In any event, odds are good that you'll be among the millions of people who see "The Dark Knight" before the end of the weekend.

Coming to every theater near you…

Which brings us to our next piece of good news: There's plenty of movie love to go around in Traverse City. So, when you're done watching what I personally think may be one of the greatest comic book movies of all time (starring a terrifyingly creepy Heath Ledger), come down to the State and check out two other great summer flicks we have going on: "Roman de Gare" and "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies." Both are showing at the theater this week only.

Nothing is what it seems in "Roman de Gare"

"Roman de Gare" is a French phrase that translates roughly to "train station novel," a reference to the kind of cheap dime-store novellas that are churned out by the dozen. The title is winking, though, as the film is a stylish, highly intellectual thriller about a crime novelist who gets caught up in a murder investigation. Is the ghostwriter who works on her books actually an escaped serial killer? Or is he simply a misunderstood schoolteacher suffering a midlife crisis? The film twists and turns through murder, romance and mystery in such a mind-bending way that it can't help but draw comparisons to Hitchcock's thrillers. If your brain is mushy from too many summer popcorn flicks, this film will provide a welcome cerebral jolt and keep you guessing right until the very end.

It's not easy being a spy in "OSS 117"

After the grimness of "Dark Knight" and the mind games of "Roman de Gare," you'll probably be in need of a good laugh. To the rescue is "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies," a hilarious spoof on the James Bond films whose title alone cracks me up every time I hear it. French comic Jean Dujardin stars as OSS 117, a secret agent charged with "making the Middle East safe" once and for all. The film is both over-the-top and brilliantly subtle in the way it spoofs the '50s spy genre, right down to the purposefully cheesy set designs and special effects. It also has some great one-liners stemming from OSS 117's various cultural misunderstandings and general ignorance of social mores in the Middle East. What pulls the film together so magnificently is Dujardin's performance - swaggering and deadpan, OSS 117 is smirkingly convinced of his total and absolute rightness in every situation, regardless of the fact he is an incorrigible idiot. He's kind of like the Michael Scott of subterfuge.

"Roman de Gare" and "OSS 117" are playing back-to-back most days at the State, so head down for a double feature and spend a few air-conditioned hours at the theater. Then, when you've sufficiently recovered from the overload of big screen goodness, drop a note on the Comments section below with your thoughts on this week's films, including "The Dark Knight." Did the labyrinthine plot of "Roman de Gare" dazzle or confuse you? Is "OSS 117" one of the greatest spy spoofs ever made - or just a goofy imitator? Should Heath Ledger win a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker? More importantly, have "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" ushered in a new era of top-level filmmaking and serious artistic expression in comic book movies? (Please God, yes.)

The answer - for now, anyway - is as intriguing and full of possibility as the classic ending of all great comic book stories: "To be continued."