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Mutants Rule Memorial Day
After beginning the summer with box-office duds "Mission: Impossible III" and "Poseidon," "X-Men: The Last Stand" brought the action audiences were waiting for, and with it a monster-sized opening. Of course, the movie itself was a rushed stepchild to the previous installment, "X2: X-Men United," but not many fans were complaining — just the critics.

Tom Finds Christ
"The Da Vinci Code" put Tom Hanks back in the hit column, even if moviegoers who hadn't read the book couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. The best scene in the flick was Ian McKellen's Sir Leigh Teabing being dragged away in a police car like the Wicked Witch of the West and basically shouting, "I'll get you and your little dog, Robert Langdon!"

Oh, Jesus!
J.C. didn't make an appearance in "The Da Vinci Code," but he had a cameo in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center." He appears in a vision — twice — to trapped policeman Will Jimeno (Michael Pena)... holding a water bottle, no less! Sound silly? It is.

Where's Paul Walker When You Need Him?
"The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" may have had some cool action sequences, but it grossed half as much as its franchise predecessor, "2 Fast 2 Furious." Why? Audiences clearly prefer the smooth torso of Paul Walker to the furry chest of Lucas Black.

Pixar Can't Fail
Even with less critical support than its previous animated flicks, Pixar's "Cars" was still a sizable hit with more than $240 million at the box office. The same can't be said for the Tom Hanks-produced "The Ant Bully," which was just another in a string of summer disappointments for Warner Bros.

3-D-elicious
Best way to see a movie this summer? In 3-D on IMAX. "Superman Returns," "Monster House" and "The Ant Bully" all benefited from the process. Let's just hope Hollywood doesn't get carried away. Can you imagine something like "The Hours" in 3-D? Talk about suicide ...

Paging Quentin Tarantino ...
It's hard not to love Uma Thurman, but since her career breakout in the "Kill Bill" movies, it's been one bust after another — and this summer continued the trend. From "Be Cool" to "Prime" to "The Producers" to this July's disastrous "My Super-Ex Girlfriend," the kick-ass beauty needs either a new agent or a serious career wake-up call.

NASCAR Rules
From Will Ferrell playing a racing champ in the blockbuster hit "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" to Pixar's talking "Cars," NASCAR was all the rage this summer — even in the blue states. And the former was definitely the season's funniest, if not sloppiest, comedy. When you have Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly (with that mustache), Gary Cole, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amy Adams, Molly Shannon and Andy Richter, who needs a script, a plot or silly stuff like cinematography? Pure comedy gold, "Ricky Bobby" indeed "pisses excellence."

Johnny Depp's Booty
It may have been a tad too long (or felt like it), but superstar Johnny Depp returned as the lovable Captain Jack in the sequel "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and sailed it to more than $400 million in the United States — a feat duplicated by only six other movies in the history of the movie biz.

No More Money for Mann
Critics generally approved of Michael Mann's modern take on "Miami Vice," but at a reported budget of $135 million, you have to figure Universal Pictures wasn't too thrilled about audiences' general ambivalence to the Colin Farrell/Jamie Foxx action flick.

The Un-Music Mann
Part of the problem (well, besides lack of character development and Colin Farrell's distracting mullet) may be Mann's music taste ... or lack thereof. Like the music montage that signals the steep decline in the second half of "Collateral," "Miami Vice" showcases one of the worst melodramatic, unintentionally hilarious alt-metal soundtracks in history. And yet Mann obviously thinks it's the hippest, coolest thing in the world. Dude, hire a music supervisor.

Best Adult Quote in a Teen Comedy
"She likes old-school Elvis Costello, listens to obscure podcasts and she reads Dave Eggers. She's deep." — One teen brother to another about Brittany Snow's character in "John Tucker Must Die."

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It'zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Anybody else fall asleep during "Superman Returns"? Just me? Just checking ...

Into the Darkness
We haven't seen a scarier, smarter horror film than "The Descent" in a long, long time. Claustrophobic, grim, nerve-rattling ... the film stays with you and haunts your dreams. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, it's not a Hollywood product but a release of a two-year-old English movie.

Funniest Pronunciations
It's a tie between Jean Girard's (Sacha Baron Cohen) French-infused "Zreeeky Bubbbeee" in "Talladega Nights" and Frank's (Steve Carell) "Knee-CHA" (Nietzsche) in "Little Miss Sunshine." Sometimes, folks, it's the little things in life ...

How was your summer at the movies? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com

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