5. THOR
Summer started off with a bang with a movie that was surprisingly good, considering its source material. With a movie about a god from another world who crash lands on our planet and has to fight something called a "frost giant," you wouldn't think the movie would be too impressive. But the director Kenneth Branagh (i.e. the guy who usually does all the Shakespeare movies) managed to pull in some real talent and make the movie at least somewhat credible. Thor has always been one of my least favorite comic book heroes, but with this movie I couldn't help but respect the god of thunder a little bit.
4. COWBOYS & ALIENS
I'll admit that I am a huge nerd who had been anxiously awaiting this movie all year. I could not pass up the chance to see James Bond and Indiana Jones shoot up some aliens in the Old West. It may be the cheesiest movie on this list, but I probably walked away with the biggest smile after seeing this one.
3. CAPTAIN AMERICA
It's probably a good sign when even Sarah is excited to see a summer movie. Captain America had heart, a brisk pace, a good villain, and lots of Nazis getting punched in the face. That's basically the same formula for Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is another one of my all-time favorites.
2. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
I probably had the lowest expectations for this particular movie, since I was a little worn out on X-Men films. But since I'm such a huge James Bond fan, they really nabbed me with the 60's Cold War-style feel that permeated the film. Fantastic movie, even if it did sort of mess with the timeline of all the other films. Even Sarah liked it, but that may be just because she liked all the furniture and fashion design.
1. SUPER 8
As you know, I'm a bit of a sucker for original summer fare (as previous roundup winners include such original films as Inception and Up). Although this movie did borrow somewhat from such Spielberg classics as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T." (ever notice how much Spielberg loves aliens), this was an original and incredibly compelling story all its own. The child actors were brilliant, and this may be the only movie on this list that had an actual touching story to tell. Maybe I have a soft spot for this movie because of all the time I spent trying to make movies with my friends as a kid, but I do think it was the best of this summer's offerings.
There you have it. The roundup for 2011. Let me know if I missed any of your favorites.
