The Dark Knight — Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Christopher Nolan
The Bat (Bale) is back. No more origin stuff — he’s got his hands full with a lot of clone vigilante guys in hockey pads, trying to do the things he does. (Jail for everyone, thank you.) So criminals in general are running scared, including Batman Begins’ favorite — oRgAnIzEd CrImE!!! Well, if that doesn’t sound like an opening for a supreme sociopath.
So there’s your movie. A few hours of film mayhem courtesy of one psychotic Joker. Ledger’s Joker has been talked about over. And over. And over again. He overshadows the rest of the movie so much, it’s hard to know whether or not the rest of the movie is any good. I’d bet every single one of you knows every single plot turn and a ton of Joker quotes. You’ve all got these secret desires that they cut Harvey Dent/Two Face from the movie, but he helped set up the next film. That’s OK. It can be our little secret. Just go keep telling your friends “DUDE! That was the most awesome movie I’ve seen in a long damn time! Pass me a beer, dammit!” A+ for the Joker, B+ for the movie (Joe Allison)

WALL-E — This year’s dose of Pixar
WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is a little robot, rollin’ around the hyper-polluted earth cleaning it up one cube at a time. (Yes, there’s an environmental message. No, it’s not shoved down your throat.) All of the other WALL-E’s are more or less landfill themselves, so he’s gotten pretty good at self-repair. He’s got a pet cockroach. He avoids sandstorms. He otherwise does his duty and makes a life of it. Sounds like a pretty lame premise?
Along comes a giant rocket. Drops off a female-leaning robot. With a laser of death. OK, I’ll admit it; this isn’t really “that” kind of movie, even though that happens. Said female robot, EVE, finds a little life on the planet, flips out and shuts down, leaving WALL-E lovelorn and all alone again. WALL-E spends all his time coddling and protecting her, when she is abducted into the far reaches of space. WALL-E follows, and typically silly Pixar fun ensues. WALL-E is pretty entertaining, and if you’ve got some wee ones that need a movie, this’ll do just fine. A (Joe Allison)

Mamma Mia! — Starring Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard
At times, more like a rock concert than a movie, Mamma Mia! is based on the Broadway musical, which is based on ABBA’s songs from the 70’s. Yeah, strange. But the beautiful Greek Island scenic shots, big productions numbers and Meryl Streep make it all worthwhile. (Is there anything that Streep can’t do, unbelievably well?)
Daughter Sophie is about to be married and longs to find her unknown father. Seems Mamma was a tad promiscuous about 20 years ago and, according to the diary Sophie finds, “Dad’ could be any one of three men — played by Pierce Brosnan (who knew he could sing?), Colin Firth and Stellan Skargard). Sophie invites them all to her wedding. Go for the music, the dancing, the scenery or just to see Streep, in yet another fantastic performance. B+ (Linda Hollar)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor — Starring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh. Directed by Rob Cohen
Rick O’Connell’s (Brendan Fraser) son Alex is back! OK, wait, let me rephrase that. Um... Never mind. I stand by that. He’s a lot older. I mean all grown up older. And he’s digging around in the sand just like good ol’ dad did. In China. Yes. OK. Um...
Let’s put this wafer-thin plot on the fast track. Alex dropped out of school, dug around in China to find Jet Li’s cursed statue. Alex fumbles around with Rick and a new Asian girl, they manage to bring this new, loosely-defined “mummy” to life, and they spend about 15 minutes of the movie in action sequences trying to keep Asian “mummy” Li from taking over the world. Christ. All. Mighty. The rumor last year was that Rachel Weisz dropped out because of a bad script. Good for her. D (Joe Allison)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: Starring America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel
The sequel is again about magical pants — ones that give the person wearing them confidence, courage, heart or whatever the occasion calls for. Narrated by Carmen (America Ferrera/Ugly Betty), it revolves around the lives of four best friends, as each struggles with an identity crises while away at college. Over the summer, they attempt to reconnect, but obligations keep them apart. Since each is in desperate need of a “ pants fix” — they keep the pants a week, then mail them to the next friend.
Tomboy Bridget (Gossip Girl) goes on an archaeological dig in Turkey, finding a way to connect with the past she had buried. Tibby (Tamblyn) has a pregnancy scare, and Lena (Bledel) is in a steamy summer fling. Carmen steals the show. In fact, Ferrera makes this female fluff flick bearable. The film relies on the nostalgia of the original — but sadly, there’s little more the pants could do but retire. C (Marissa Bruce)