...And now back to your regularly scheduled program

Now that my experiment is over, it's back to regular blogging. Let's begin with the best (and worst) of the summer of 2008. It was actually a surprisingly good summer for movies. That - or I managed to avoid most of the really bad movies. Either way, here's the best and worst from Memorial Day to Labor Day...

The Best

The Dark Knight (A) - Brilliant in every major way. Solid directing. Witty and intelligent writing. Spectacular special effects. Great performances (Eckhart, Oldman, Bale, Caine, Freeman). One amazing out of this world performance (Ledger). The best of the summer, for sure. The best of the year, possibly.

Sex and the City (B+) - A fun way to spend two and a half hours. If you are a fan of the show, there is no way the movie could disappoint. It's everything you wanted from a Sex and the City movie and more! These women are not fictional characters. They are friends and it's good to have them back.

Pineapple Express (B+) - Sticks and stones and weed and bombs. First of all, what a great usage of Paper Planes. Second of all, we all know that Seth Rogen is funny but holy shit James Franco! What a hilarious scene stealing performance.

Tropic Thunder (B+/B) - I can't decide if it's the movie I love or just the fact that Jay Baruchel is finally on screen again. He's my current celebrity crush and he's as adorable as ever. Also, kudos to Robert Downey Jr. and his hilarious / controversial / brilliant performance.

The Good

Wall E (B) - Adorable, sure. Clever, sure. Cute, of course. There are certain scenes which are unforgettable (the first twenty minutes or so, the fire extinguisher dance scene) but ultimately it might be a little TOO cutesy.

Wanted (B-) - Off the wall craziness. Is it realistic? Absolutely not. Is it fun as hell to watch James McAvoy be an all around bad ass? Hell yeah! There may be a little too much plot actually. It gets in the way of Angelina Jolie throwing cars at buses and what not.

The Decent

Step Brothers (C+) - It's not the smartest or funniest comedy of the summer but it's still funny in a stupid kind of way. Also, the whole Boats and Hoes thing is ridiculously funny.

Hancock (C) - Hancock is sort of hit or miss. It's half of a good movie. The first half is funny and charming and original. Then it takes a turn and becomes a huge cliched mess. Still, Will Smith is the most charming man in all of Hollywood and Jason Bateman has the most perfect comic timing.

The Disappointing

Mamma Mia (C-) - Mamma Mia sure was fun at times. Seeing Meryl Streep jump around on a bed singing Dancing Queen was a hoot! There were moments of pure joy in this movie. Too bad it was spastic and messy overall.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (C-) - Shia was hot. Harrison can still kick ass. But aliens, really? Plus, it was kind of a rip off of National Treasure which was kind of a rip off of the original Indiana Jones movies. Just give it up.

The Strangers (C-) - A less edgy and inferior version of Funny Games, this movie is not scary in any way shape or form. In fact, it sort of grates on your nerves after a while. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman sure make a pretty couple but could they be any stupider in this movie?

The Bad

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (D+) - Honestly, it was so bad I fell asleep during it. Boring, boring and then when you think it can't get any more boring, guess what? It gets more boring. I forget why I gave it such a generous grade actually? Maybe it was because of my girl crush on Selma Blair.

The Love Guru (D-) - The only decent thing about this stupid, stupid, stupid movie is Justin Timberlake and his ridiculous French Canadian accent walking around in a speedo. That and the Morgan Freeman voice over joke because I not-so-secretly which Morgan Freeman would narrate my life.

The Worst

You Don't Mess With the Zohan (F) - Not even close to being funny. Close to offensive, actually. Adam Sandler is not funny. I repeat, Adam Sandler is NOT funny. Stop making movies, please. You have enough money. Just leave me alone.