Tropic Thunder: **1/2 (out of a possible **** stars)

I think it's safe to say that Robert Downey Jr's comeback is for real. After all his well publicized...incidents...of the last several years, I have to admit that I thought he was pretty much done. But then he came back as Iron Man, which - largely due to his performance - was the only movie of the year that could challenge The Dark Knight as the seasons best. And now he turns in this brilliantly comic turn as an award winning method actor who undergoes a controversial transformation to play a role he really had no business playing, and he refuses to let the character go even when it becomes clear the action surrounding him is no longer part of the movie. While not top billed, Downey is clearly the most memorable of the lead roles and serves as the saving grace for this hit and miss comedy that would have been mostly miss were it not for him. Ben Stiller plays the same character he has for every other movie he's ever done, and while he isn't bad, he isn't especially funny, either. Jack Black is pretty forgettable, which is ironic because he was supposed to be the comedic actor in the cast, yet he's probably the least funny of them all. Matthew McConaughy, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, and Tom Cruise do well in supporting roles. Women who think that Tom Cruise is hot should definitely see this film. As a fat, balding, bespectacled producer with a gutter foul mouth and almost ape-like hair covering his body, he finally gets to experiance life the way the rest of us always have. It's poetic justice, really.

One complaint though, is the pointlessly graphic violence and language that turned this into an R-rated film. It just didn't seem necessary. They could have cut back and made this PG-13 without losing any of the humor, and it probably would have been a bigger hit at the box office, too. One thing's for certain, though - without a doubt the best part of the movie was the fake trailers at the beginning, starring the characters from the film. The one with Robert Downey Jr and Toby McGuire as fellow priests dealing with...um...temptation...was absolutely priceless.

Wall E: *** (out of a possible **** stars)

My colleague and old Vietnam War buddy Jason King has already reviewed this film, but just like everything else in our long, bitter, and often violent rivalry, my version in better.

If Pixar put a notch in their belt for every hugely successful film they've created, that belt would start to look a lot like mine did after my senior prom. But with Wall-E - unlike my actual prom night - I don't have to repress the painful truth with a series of flattering lies to make it sound tolerable. This was a very satisfying film, with action, humor, sentimentality, and even a message that they were able to deliver without coming across as preachy or self righteous (take a note, Happy Feet!). Jason was right to feel a little something something for Eve...A woman with no mouth and a cannon on her arm - and who only speaks to say your name - is a rare jewel indeed...(I'm sorry ladies...please don't picket in front of my house!)

Anyway, my one complaint was that I think all the people aboard that spaceship were morons for giving up their perfect life! That's how I try to live EVERY DAY, but to be in a society where doing nothing is not only acceptable, but actually encouraged?! Man, we should be so lucky!

The Dark Knight: **** (out of a possible **** stars)

Wow, was that cool or what?! Christian Bale etched his name as the greatest Batman of all time so firmly in stone that it's just ridiculous to try and make an argument for anyone else (sorry Adam West fans, but it's true...). BYU grad Aaron Eckhardt makes Utah proud with his superb portrayal of Two Face, and the rest of the veteran cast - including Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman - give fantastic performances from top to bottom. The one weakness - again, I might add, since this was the low point in the first film as well - was the casting of Rachel Dawes character, this time played by the bland and woefully unnattractive Maggie Gyllenhaal, who should have had an easy time bettering the performance of the talentless Katie Holmes but somehow didn't. Holmes may be a dismal actress, but at least you wouldn't feel horrified and ashamed if you woke up next to her after an all night drinking binge. Gyllenhaal IS a better actress than Katie Homeless (I'm predicting the future here), but that's a little like saying a kick to the gut is better than a kick to the groin. Seriously, I've never understood her appeal at all; she's got to be one of the least attractive leading ladies in Hollywood. Which is why I'm happy to say that her character - and whatever D-list celebrity they'd have dug up to play her next - won't be dragging down any more future installments in this series, which is destined to be one of the all time greats.

But ugly chicks aside, there's no point pretending this entire film didn't hinge upon the performance of the late Heath Ledger (who I actually thought was kindof a weird choice for the role before I saw the previews). And boy, did he ever deliver, turning in one of the best movie villian performances of all time and completely redeeming himself for his Brokeback Mountain days. Seriously, he wasn't just good; he was absolutely brilliant, and he set the tone of the movie early and often by providing a perfect balance of dark humor and brutal, almost R-rated violence (like the disappearing pencil trick, which shouldn't have been funny but somehow was). There's whispers of an Oscar already, and I gotta say, if he doesn't win it, then the award has no meaning (well, less than it already does, anyway...Didn't Marissa Tomei win one?). His unfortunate death may make him a sentimental favorite, but even without any sympathy votes his performance merits the award hands down.

No, it's not a perfect film - there are too many subplots, some of which are never really given enough time to develop - but it's as close to perfection as we've had all year, and I don't see any other movies coming out in the near future that look like they'll give it a run for it's money. So in my own not so humble opinion, The Dark Knight IS the best film of 2008, and anyone who doesn't see it deserves a nice swift kick to the goods.

The Incredible Hulk: *** (out of a possible **** stars)

There we go! This is the Hulk movie that the last one SHOULD have been. I liked how it started AFTER the incident, utilizing it's time to build drama and character rather than dragging it out with a "how it all begun" introduction that we already knew. Edward Norton has been one of favorite actors for awhile now, and he doesn't disappoint. Liv Tyler is also fine as the obligatory hot chick, reminding me once again how happy she should be that she inherited mercifully few of her Aerosmith fathers physical traits. There are a few shout outs to the original series - such as briefly using the famously sad end credit music in the middle of the film, and of course, a smile inducing cameo by Lou Ferrigno (probably misspelled that...). But they did it right, so neither of these Hulk "flashbacks" came across as pandering; rather they were pleasantly nostalgic and even a bit humorous. Some of the special effects still didn't look real, but I guess it is kindof hard to find an actor that's ten feet tall, 2000 pounds, and can throw hummers like they're nerf footballs (I'll be there with a few more weeks of workouts, but until then...).

Anyway, just like the after-credits of Ironman, this movie has an ending that will make comic book geeks wet their pants, indicating that there is at least one more reason to live still ahead in their future.

Hancock: *** (out of a possible **** stars)

This was one of the summer films I was most looking forward to seeing, so you can understand how I was a bit dismayed when all the early reviews I read on Hancock basically ripped it to shreds. But in the end, my man-crush on Will Smith proved to be too strong, and I'm happy to admit that much of the negativity is overblown. Smith shows once again why he's one of the few men that the rest of us can be ga-ga over while still hanging on to our heterosexuality, Jason Bateman turns in his typically subtle, comically genius performance, and Charlize Theron is as hot as ever (see - I'm NOT gay!). That's not to say this is a perfect film - at just over an hour and a half it's too short by at least 15 minutes, and the script switches gears halfway through and heads in a direction that may turn off a few fans, changing from a sarcastic comedy in the first 40 minutes to a pretty dark, violent drama by the end. There's a big twist that viewers will either love or hate, but for me I thought it was refreshing to see a superhero movie that hits the ground running and doesn't waste half the film explaining the characters orgins.

Kudos once more, Mr. Smith. If I ever meet you, well...let's just say you might want to keep a restraining order handy (but in the most flattering sort of way!). You're truly the king of the 4th of July Hollywood blockbuster...

Beowulf: *** (out of a possible **** stars)

Ah, the classic tale of lust, pride, and greed. But enough about me. It seems there's no middle ground as far as opinions on this film go; everyone I've talked to who's seen it either liked it a lot (like me), or completely hated it. It doesn't stick to the book very closely from what I've heard, but then again the book IS the oldest novel written in the English language (seriously), so maybe it's not a bad thing to modernize the script a little bit. Critics have complained that the animation is rubbery and creepy, but I found it impressive how recognizable they were able to make the actors. I didn't know who the main guy was (Ray Winstone), but he did fine, and the rest of the cast were all actors that I knew, including Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Angelina Jolie, Crispin Glover (George McFly!), Brendan Gleeson (Hamish from Braveheart, Mad Eye Moody from the Harry Potter Films), Robin Wright Penn (Jenny! from Forrest Gump), and Allison Lohman (White Oleander, Matchstick Men, Flicka) - who's actually like 28 years old, even though she always plays a teenager (which is good, 'cause then I don't have to feel guilty for thinking she's sort of foxy). Anyway, this film BARELY gets away with a PG-13 rating, and probably just because it's a cartoon. It's pretty violent, and there's a surprising amount of nudity as well; some intended to be funny, some erotic, and some just plain awkward, like Beowulf's naked fight with the monster. Still, I thought the movie was entertaining, and like all straight men I can certainly sympathize with the characters dilema (C'mon, honestly, who WOULDN'T risk cursing their entire village for a single night with Angelina Jolie...even if she was a subhuman demon?).

Cloverfield: *** (out of a possible **** stars)

Sort of the new decades Blair Witch Project, only better and with a much larger budget. The commercials were intentionally and understandably vague, but even after watching the film there's still a lot of unanswered questions, questions that various websites have attempted to answer with a variety of different theories. All in all I thought it was a very clever film, and there were certainly plenty of tense moments. I'm still not sold on this "through the lens of the camera" way of filming, however. Granted, it does elevate the suspense by giving you a feeling of actually being there, but when the characters are running (which is often, in this case), the footage becomes so shaky it's hard to concentrate on what's going on. This is the first film ever that actually made me physically ill - both my wife and I became nauseaous trying to follow the jerky camera work. Definitely not for viewers who suffer from any kind of motion sickness, but for those who don't I strongly recommend that you check it out.