A timid accountant is attacked by a motorcycle gang and joins a karate class to build up his self-esteem. That’s the spare premise of The Art of Self-Defense, an outré comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Novola, and Imogen Poots. The clandestine world of martial arts is the playground on which writer-director Riley Stearns toys with ideas about masculine aggression. The deadpan, geometric camerawork augments the droll line deliveries of this offbeat indie.

ArcLight, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; Fri. July 12, various showtimes; $16-$18; (323) 615-2550, arclightcinemas.com.

Also opening/screening this week:

Stuber, Crawl, Darlin’, Three Peaks, Come Around, Miracle Mile, Gremlins, Armstrong, The Farewell, Firecrackers, Lying and Stealing, Rojo, Saving Zoe, Sea of Shadows, Summer Night, Super 30, Sword of Trust

 

 

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