I couldn’t wait to see “Moneyball” due to the fact that I am a huge baseball fan and the fact that the film was being directed by Bennett Miller. In case you didn’t know, Miller was the one who directed the 2005 film “Capote”, a film I liked a lot. So upon seeing the picture, all I can say is that it is one of the best sports movies I have seen in a very long time.  Most sports films follow the same formula, but “Moneyball” has a different approach. It is not like those other sports films which have the basic formulaic sports elements. One such element would be the “big game” at the end of the movie. Bennett Miller’s picture doesn’t have that, or the clichés, and it is better a better movie because of that. Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball” is a phenomenal and insightful movie full of heart, excitement, a well written script and great performances.

Most fighting movies follow the same formula. We get a guy who is a fighter who is down on his luck and is considered the underdog. No one thinks he has chance to win and the odds are against him. However, he proves everyone wrong and starts to win and will eventually lead to a championship round were no believes he will win but does. “Warrior” does it different because instead of having one underdog, it has two. Yes it does follow the typical fighting clichés, but it has enough elements in film that are worth liking for the audience to excuse this. “Warrior” is a very good film filled very memorable performances and heartfelt drama.

I knew that the latest picture from David R. Ellis entitled “Shark Night 3D” wasn’t going to be a masterpiece. However, my expectations of this film was going to be along the same lines and tone as films such as “Piranha 3D”, and Ellis’ other film “Snakes on a Plane”. If you have seen those films then you would realize that those films were fun “creature features” that were purposely made bad on purpose. They were making fun of themselves because those films (particularly “Piranha 3D”) had excessive amounts of gore and nudity, wise humor, fun characters, and just a consistent tongue-in-cheek tone. Those films knew what they wanted to be. That’s what I thought “Shark Night 3D” was going to accomplish, however that’s not the case since everything that made “Piranha 3D” and “Snakes on a Plane” fun, “Shark Night 3D” doesn’t have. In fact, it is one of the worst films of the year.

I wasn’t really expecting much from the “Rise of The Planet of The Apes”. Could it be because of the way the blockbuster season has been going as of late? The last few blockbusters have been average with the exception of the last “Harry Potter” film. Or could it be the fact that I am getting sick of constant reboots? Maybe it’s both. All I know is that I wasn’t expecting anything out of this film (I thought it was just going to be an average picture with only a few inspired moments). However, “Rise of the Planet of The Apes” is a very good surprise of film because of some extremely well made special effects, some exciting and frightening action sequences, and one very good performance by Andy Serkis. That being said, “Rise of The Planet of The Apes” is not without its flaws, but those flaws don’t bring the film down and it manages to still escape with something exciting and strong.

How can you not get excited for a movie whose title is “Cowboys and Aliens”? Think about it. It’s a movie about cowboys fighting off alien invaders. Sounds cool right? Let’s also not forget to mention that “Cowboys and Aliens” was directed by Jon Favreau. He was the one who directed the 2008 superhero film “Iron Man” (A film I greatly admired). So by now you are probably thinking that a film with Cowboys, Aliens, and Favreau would be a fun summer blockbuster. However, “Cowboys and Aliens” is not that fun summer blockbuster everyone was anticipating. Despite its unique premise, it just comes across as average because of some cinematic flaws, because of those flaws “Cowboys and Aliens” will be considered one the bigger disappointments of 2011.

“Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2” marks the final “Harry Potter” film and I can safely say that it all ends on a very satisfying note. The Harry Potter films have always been filled with such stylish substances, memorable characters, and thrilling and suspenseful events. However, the conclusion brings more of those elements I just mentioned. There are more thrills and suspense mixed with exciting action sequences, while at the same time blending excellently with drama. Out of all the sequels that have come out this summer, “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2” stands out as the best.

I really didn’t know what to expect from “Horrible Bosses” since it was directed by Seth Gordon and his last film, “Four Christmases”, was less than impressive. However what I got was an enjoyable movie with funny and raunchy jokes, very humorous and well written characters, and the performances by the all-star cast are memorable and funny. That being said however, “Horrible Bosses” is still flawed with a few problems within its jokes; but that does not make it horrible. Though flawed, “Horrible Bosses” is still good.

I was not looking forward to seeing the latest film in Michael Bay’s “Transformers” film franchise. Even though I thought the first film was good at establishing its characters and bringing us exciting action sequences. However the next film, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, was complete trash and I labeled it as the worst film of 2009, that’s why I was not looking forward to see this film. But I thought maybe, just maybe, that this film could execute something better then the last Transformers film and, to my surprise, it did. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is better than “Revenge of the Fallen”, but that’s not really saying much because I still found this film to be just average.  The story isn’t interesting, the characters lack anything to care about and the action is minimally exciting.

Even though I gave the first “Cars” film a positive review; I claimed it was my least favorite out of the films made by Pixar Animation. However, “Cars 2” can now claim that spot. I have given at least a positive review to all of the films released by Pixar. They all seemed to hit the right note at bringing comedy for the kids and heartfelt drama for adults, but “Cars 2” is an unnecessary remake that doesn’t bring any of those elements that I mentioned earlier.  “Cars 2” is just an average and minimally funny picture that can be considered one of Pixar’s least appealing films.

Out of all of the superhero movies that were supposed to be released this summer, “Green Lantern” was the one I was most skeptical about. However, I did have some hope that the film would be good because it was directed by Martin Campbell. He is the one who rejuvenated the James Bond franchise with “Casino Royale”. So after seeing the picture, I can safely say that my negative predictions were correct.  “Green Lantern” is just an ordinary superhero film that doesn’t bring anything exciting or memorable to the genre. It is just an over produced and dull picture mixed with special effects that aren’t really special and a poorly written script.