The Dark Knight

I know people will hate me but I didn't like this movie. The only redeeming quality was Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Christian Bale's Batman was mild, Maggie Gyllenhaal as the love interest was not convincing, and again - Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are the better actors who have been shoved off in the overseer roles. Aaron Eckhart's role as Harvey Dent/Two-Face was okay but the special effects for his alternate personality were out of this world. My only real beef with this movie is that as a comic book reader, I was disappointed the audience saw a very young Commissioner Gordon's daughter. I am taking this to mean that future movies will not follow in the comic book line. I was glad to see Scarecrow and some other buddies show up and hope to see more of them in sequels. If you want to see Ledger, watch this. Otherwise, it's a skipper.

Wanted

Skip this movie. Go online and look at sexy pictures of James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. You'll thank me later. This is an unbelievable movie about a secret society of assassins and the quest for one young man (McAvoy) to find out about his lineage. The special effects were the only redeeming quality in this movie. Folks, I had this one figured out with the exception of the mass murder scene at the end. This was not that creative of a movie and I'm disappointed that these stars did the gig for money instead of their craft. Especially Morgan Freeman, who played the behind-the-scenes boss that he's played in a number of movies. Morgan: Please stop being the old wise sage and start doing the action again. You've got it in you.

Iron Man

I had decided I wasn't going to fall in love with this movie because of all the hype. I found that I really did like it because of its unpredictability. Just when I thought THIS was going to happen, THAT happened. Good going, writers! As a teen of the 80s, I loved watching Robert Downey, Jr. in this role, which seemed suited for him. Terrence Howard played Downey's best friend and a military officer (how convenient...) and I understand Paramount/Marvel has not asked him to reprise his role for the sequel - Shame on you! As for the sort of love interest, Gweyneth Paltrow's role was milquetoast - a yawner. The scene stealer was the almost unrecognizable Jeff Bridges as the villain. Please rent this movie. It's really a good story (but not PC) and you'll need to see it to watch the sequel...

Jumper

A great teen movie. I hear teens all the time talk about what super power they'd like to have if they could be granted one. Well Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker of "Star Wars") has a power and is conflicted with using it for good or evil. As if in a "Spiderman" comic, the childhood flame, Rachel Bilson of "OC" fame comes back in the picture and serves as his conscious. "Twilight" fans should look for Kristen Stewart in the last few minutes of the movie. It is supposed to be a sequel movie. If so, I'll be anxious to see the next chapter of "Jumper."