The 2009-2010 school year is at a close and, for those of you who know me, you know that, for me, there's no more fitting celebration of the days of summer than starting up my movie blog again. Partially because I have more time, but also because finding the perfect summer movie is a big part of the summertime experience for me.

There are many years in my youth in which the entire summer months are colored by a particularly terrific movie. In '82 it was "E.T." In '83 it was "Return of the Jedi". "Back to the Future", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Jurassic Park", "Spider-Man", "Finding Nemo"...these are all films that are forever associated with sun, vacations and good times.

However, up until today, this summer has been a major disappointment at the multiplex. There have been some slight, yet entertaining films ("Iron Man 2", "Shrek Forever After", "A-Team", "Robin Hood"), some critical and financial disasters ("SATC 2", "MacGruber") and a couple of films that, while hardly classics, were surprisingly good (I'll get to those two in a minute).

The unusual thing this year, compared to other summer movie seasons, is the lack of a May powerhouse. Usually there's at least one movie, if not two, that are huge critical and box-office hits in the first month of summer movies. Don't believe me? Well, let's look.....2009 had "Star Trek" and "Up". 2008 has "Iron Man" 2007 had the big "threequels" (Spider-Man, Shrek and Pirates, which weren't critical darlings, but were huge hits). "Revenge of the Sith", "Finding Nemo", "Spider-Man", "Shrek", all of them huge hits released in the month of May. The closest May movie to reaching those heights this year has been "Iron Man 2", but even it is seen as a slight critical/box-office disappointment, especially considering the huge amount of anticipation before it's release.

However, there have been two movies that, while far from perfect, have surprised me in how much I enjoyed them. The first is Walt Disney's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". The commercials looked kind of cool, but most of the print ads looked more like advertisements for Jake Gyllenhaal's personal trainer than for a movie. The movie itself? A throwback to the types of films Walt Disney championed during his life. There are shades of "Swiss Family Robinson", "Treasure Island", "Kidnapped" and "20,00 League Under the Sea" to this movie. That's not to say that it's a rip-off, but it's the same light-hearted, entertaining adventure in distant and mystical places. Granted, none of the leads look even remotely Middle Eastern, but the locales are beautiful, the humor is zippy and the special effects are pretty cool.

Even more of a surprise than "Prince of Persia" was "The Karate Kid". When I first heard about this remake, I thought it was the worst idea ever. An unnecessary remake of a distinctly 80's movie directed by the guy who brought us "The Pink Panther 2" and starring a child 5 years younger than the character in the original. Granted, these drawbacks don't really go away. It's still an unnecessary remake (the only "necessary" remakes are when they mess it up the first time). The age difference is still a little disturbing (it's one thing to see this level of violent bullying with high school-aged kids, but it gets uncomfortable watching 11 and 12 year-olds pummel each other). However, the director and the stars respect for the material make this an engaging and entertaining experience. In fact, dare I say, there are some additions to the film that I really enjoyed. I won't go as far as to say it's a better movie than the original, but it's every bit as good. Plus, it's the best performance I've seen from Jackie Chan...well....ever. For the first time we see him playing a fleshed-out character rather than a broader version of himself.

Jaden Smith is also a fine actor in his own right. He's definitely his father's son. He has all of Will Smith's swagger mixed with humility. Plus he's inherited his dad's dramatic chops. It'll be interesting to see what types of movies he does now that "The Karate Kid" is a huge smash.

So that's the movie season so far. Of course, I fully expect all of this to change today. With the rapturous reviews combined with my unabashed love of all things Pixar, I have no doubt that "Toy Story 3" will be that magical summer movie I've been waiting for. However, that's something I'll have to let you know later today.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and enjoy the summer at the movies!