Every Christmas I sit in the theatre in awe of the flashy summer movie trailers. Summer is the time when the studios put away most of their independent movies and the romantic comedies, it is the time to bring out the big guns. The Christmas of 2006 was no exception, I saw trailers for Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and of course the much anticipated Spider-Man 3. The summer is now over and we had a chance to see some movies that were everything we wanted and others that we wished they would have left on the cutting room floor (but more on that later).

The Following are MY top ten movies for the summer of 2007. (Click here to continue)

10. Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer



Typically speaking with low expectations comes low reviews but every once in awhile a movie comes along and surprises you. This is the case for the second Fantastic Four. After the first movie I expected some serious cheesiness, corny lines, and all around lame action. Now even though they still had some pretty corny lines, and some cheesiness, (The Fantasticar, anyone?), the action was good and the silver surfer played off very well even if half the time I felt like Morpheus was speaking to me through the silver surfer. And of course the resurrection of Dr. Doom was also not only cool but very well done. All in all, this movie was a great surprise and deserved more credit than most people gave it.

9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix



Now the fifth Harry Potter was probably number two on my “most excited” list. I lined up a couple of hours early and I made sure my friends and I got great seats for the packed house midnight showing. Yet as the movie played I couldn’t help myself…I broke a promise I made to myself and that promise was to not compare it to the book. Yet alas there I saw watching nine hundred pages fly by in 2 hrs. and 18 min. But setting that aside, the movie had the ever so skilled cast back doing what they do best in their magical school…fighting Lord Voldomort. This is Lord Voldomort with a twist however as he controls Harry’s mind and starts to pull a Darth Vader bringing Harry to the mid teens dark side. But as always the Harry Potter series, comes equipped fully with great special effects, a great and always growing cast, and of course an amazing story, if you haven’t seen these movies it’s time to put a side your nerd insecurities and head to the local video store and check ‘em out.

8. Knocked Up



Ever since I saw the forty year old virgin I have loved Seth Rogen. His dry sarcasm, well timed, and always quotable lines (“You know how I know you're gay? You just told me you're not sleeping with women anymore.”), always made his smaller roles the most memorable. That is why I was so excited to see that he was stepping into the main character scene in Knocked Up. In this film It was like his character walked straight off of 40 year old virgin and straight in to Knocked Up. Some people say type casting is a bad thing but he is an exception to that rule. With an amazing supporting cast and a wonderful script, Judd Apatow’s team does it again. If you ever needed a good laugh on a hot day then this was the summer movie you shouldn’t have missed.

7. Ratatouille



I have become a firm believer that Pixar can do no wrong. I mean they have made a movie about a monster world powered by children’s screams. They have decided to make a movie about finding a fish. And now with no big surprise they have hit major success with a movie about a rat that cooks. With the great voice acting of Patton Oswalt and Peter O’Toole and of course brilliant animation, Ratatouille was one of the most enjoyable films I saw all summer. They took the physical comedy even a bit further than usual. The lines and jokes were also great, but I think the best part was all the underlining stabs they took at the French. With Pixar never missing a beat on a movie why miss anything they come out with, unless you did miss this, in which case go get it when it comes out so you can correct such a mistake.

6. The Simpsons Movie



I don’t even know how much I really have to say…it’s the Simpsons in a full length feature film. Now a lot of nay-sayers have said how much the last three or four seasons have slacked on intelligence and humor, and on most of these points I would even tend to agree but I believe Matt Groening and James L. Brooks must have been saving up much of their funniest ideas the past couple years to throw together this 84 minutes of almost greatness. I admit I did expect more but what I got was also more than enough to satisfy this long time Simpsons fan. Sure I may not have laughed the entire time but when I did it was one of those rare laugh out loud and annoy the guy next to you laughs. However, just because I didn’t laugh the whole movie doesn’t mean the whole movie doesn’t mean I wasn’t thoroughly entertained. If you ever thought a Simpsons episode was remotely funny or at least giggle worthy then I hope you didn’t miss The Simpsons Movie.

5. Live Free or Die Hard



What’s better than more John McClane, even more explosions, and of course a little "Yippi-kay-ay, motherf%&*#$"? I was slightly weary when I heard that Bruce Willis was going to step back into some of the most bad ass boots in film history one more time, but then I thought hey if Harrison Ford can still crack a whip without cracking a hip why can’t Bruce Willis dive off an exploding Jet? So I went and boy was I happy with the outcome. John McLane was better than ever with exceptional car chases, exploding choppers, semis smashing through cars, power plants blowing up and of course, more bullets flying then at the parking lot after the Source Awards. With Timothy Olyphant playing our wonderful new villain, an ex-government computer genius, they took an old dog and taught him some new tricks, like how to turn on a computer. With a little help from Justin Long, John McClane of course saves the day and keeps this amazing characters legacy alive and shootin’.

4. The Bourne Ultimatum



And speaking of characters who still know how to bust out the bullets and lay the smack down on the bad guys, Jason Bourne came back this summer in The Bourne Ultimatum. This time he was not just chasing people all over the world to find clues about who he is. Bourne now “remembers everything” and he brings the fight home to New York City. The films have kept my attention for an entire trilogy because of the unfolding mystery of who Jason Bourne is (and the action). The story has been strong from scene one of Identity to the final Scene of Ultimatum. Paul Greengrass (what a great name by the way) ended this trilogy in a way that he only could. And of course if you saw this movie you would know what I’m talking about and if you didn’t well you seriously missed out.

3. Transformers



Transformers was one of the most anticipated films of the summer with nerds pulling out their old Optimus Prime or Autobot t-shirts, getting tickets a month in advance and practically peeing themselves with excitement when they heard that Peter Cullen would once again voice the fearless leader. Well with any large anticipated NerdEsk remake, some fans went away very disappointed and some were very happy. I was obviously on the latter. Michael Bay directed the film and kept to doing what he does best….blowing stuff up.

The plot of adheres to the basic Transformers mythology with the Decepticons coming to earth, wanting to rule and destroy while the Autobots try to protect humanity. The new adaptation however had the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron, actually frozen in Nevada for a hundred years or so (and missing from the first half of the film). However once Megatron breaks out of his icy prison all hell comes with it. With the kind of high class special effects that Transformers deserve, this was one highly anticipated movie that did not disappoint.

2. Stardust



Stardust was probably the most underrated movie of the summer. From the first preview I saw I knew it was one to watch out for, but man I was not prepared for what I got. Stardust follows the tale of young Tristan as he crosses the forbidden wall and races against witches and princes to find the fabled fallen star and bring her back. Along the way you meet (the best part of the movie) Mr. Robert De Niro who plays the fruity (yes I mean gay) Captain Shakespeare. With a cast list consisting of Michelle Pfeiffer (no she’s not dead), Claire Danes, Peter O’Toole and Ian McKellen, if this is one you missed….well what are you waiting for?

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End



Captain Jack is back……..again. Now if one movie is in the contender spot for most underrated movie of the summer it is this one. Pirates picks up right where the second one left off, some are looking for Jack, while everyone else and there first mate is looking for Davy Jones’ Heart. With Lord Beckett controlling the seas and Davy Jones himself, the pirate lords including the once deceased Captain Barbossa, team up to take on Davy Jones and the Goddess of the sea. With probably some of the most amazing special effects, and computer generated battle scenes to come out next to Leonidas taking on the Persians, this was one of the very few movies to earn a perfect 10 out of 10 from me. Not only was this the best movie of the summer but possibly the best movie of the year so far.

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Well with Christmas still being three months away, and next summer’s line up already looking good, I suppose I will hold myself over with looking forward to the release dates of these great blockbusters on dvd.

Stay tuned for part two: Five biggest disappointments of the summer…..oh and what tangled web they weaved.