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A handful of limited-release films hit the theaters this Friday, and I can do nothing more but highly suggest two inspiring gems for you to catch on the big screen.

My top pick of movies to go see this week goes to director Zach Braff’s first new film since Garden State (2004), Wish I Was Here. Middle-aged parent Aidan Bloom (Braff) finds himself in a position we all find ourselves at one point in our lives in trying to find an identity and purpose, while juggling the everyday stresses of life.

Wish I Was Here looks like a film that encompasses all of life’s gifts in being a son, a brother, a husband and a father meshed together in a soul-searching journey I would hope most people could relate to. Even after eagerly watching the trailer for the 20th time, there’s just nothing that feels wrong about this movie.

The ensemble of talent, featuring Kate Hudson, Mandy Patinkin, Donald Faison and the exceptionally young Pierce Gagnon and Joey King, make this heartwarming tale even more enjoyable to watch because they set up a sense of reality. It’s refreshing to see Hudson play the role of Aidan’s wife, which resembles her likable character in Almost Famous.

What’s great about Wish I Was Here is Braff’s accomplishment of being able to raise a budget through a Kickstarter campaign, giving him full creative control to present this project how he envisioned it. Also, knowing how much Braff loves to incorporate music into his storytelling, especially music of the Shins, the score throughout the film is sure to add to the overall experience. Take a breather from your everyday life to feel like a unique individual and check out the moving piece of work, Wish I Was Here, in select theaters July 18.

This next film, Mood Indigo, is from imaginative director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) and will most likely be a masterpiece few people will actually get to see in theaters.

Wealthy French bachelor Colin (Romain Duris) finds the love of his life in Chloé, played by the beautiful Audrey Tautou (Amelie), and ends up in a pursuit against time to find a cure for her unusual illness caused by a flower growing in her lung. Sounds like a crazy premise, right? This film could not look any more beautiful.

Gondry has clearly out done himself in this surreal work of art and uses his creative techniques of filmmaking as a canvas to paint this adaptation of Boris Vian’s 1947 novel, Froth on the Daydream, to life. This charming fable sparks an inventive approach of telling a love story that is able to catch the importance of life and happiness all wrapped up in one of the most romantic cities on Earth, Paris. Mood Indigo opens in select theaters Friday.

For those of you who like taking risks with your money, check out Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel in the romantic comedy, Sex Tape; make out with your significant other during The Purge: Anarchy; or take the children to see another Disney spinoff, Planes: Fire & Rescue.

Also in select theaters: I Origins; Persecuted; Video Games: The Movie

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