The days, minute by minute, are getting shorter. This pleases me, as I prefer the longer hours of darkness that the fall and winter bring.  With the summer movie season winding down, it is time to look back at the past few months of moviegoing. 

      Let’s take the elephant out of the closet first.  I did not like the Barbie movie.  It was a car wreck, awful and many people stop and stare.  The argument that I am not the target audience is irrelevant. I am not the target audience for the kid friendly Elemental or the comic book big screen film Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse but I enjoyed both throughly. 

     On the flip side of Barbie is Oppenheimer, a four star masterpiece.  I was blown away by the story and thought it was a visual feast.  The film also boasts an incredible ensemble that performed each role to perfection. This one will rank highly on my top ten list of the year in December. 

     The other four star feast, this summer, was Master Gardener. It was a slow burn thriller that kept me enthralled from opening scene to final credits. 

   The summer blockbuster season was filled with over the top, fun blockbusters. Disney’s Haunted Mansion was a surprise blast to watch. No Hard Feelings and Strays both had me laughing in the aisles. Talk to Me was a horror film that kept me jumping throughout. 

   Of course it wouldn’t be the summer movie season without big franchise entrees and remakes. Checking both boxes successfully is the latest Mission Impossible film and the live action The Little Mermaid. I saw both movies with a sold out crowd and enjoyed losing myself in both stories. 

     To balance the big Hollywood spectacled were incredible Indy films. Blackberry is another film that I fully expect to put on my end of year top ten list. This movie was one I saw because it was something to see and I did not expect to enjoy that much and was more than pleasantly surprised at what an incredible film it was. 

     The other Indy Hugh,Igor if the summer season was Theater Camp.  It was as charming as it could be.

    It was a great summer movie season with a few more films left to see before the fall Oscar bait (my favorite time of the year at the movies) light the silver screen up!  This tear overall has been fantastic and a leg up from last year.

     Until next time, let’s go to the movies!