To watch Marc Turtletaub’s “Jules” — a middlebrow dramedy starring Ben Kingsley as a widowed, half-senile eccentric so desperate for someone to care about him that he casually befriends the alien who crashes into his backyard — is to be reminded that truly strange movies have become hard to find. These days, a film this unusual is about as rare as a call from Milton’s estranged son, who hasn’t phoned home in several years.

Not that “Jules” would seem all that bizarre just by looking at it. On the contrary, this modest late summer whatsit looks and feels just like a million other milquetoast charmers aimed at audiences of a certain age, what with its reassuringly nice score and endless array of conflict-avoidant medium shots. The difference here is that those medium shots feature Sir Ben Kingsley sitting on a couch next to a silent and seemingly naked extraterrestrial...