Second Act Over the Last 5 Years

Now its time to judge the Summer movies of this year to the previous 5 years. Get ready for some badass lists.

2007

1. Talk to Me (9)
2. The Bourne Ultimatum (9)
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (9)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (8)
5. Stardust (8)
6. Rescue Dawn (8)
7. Superbad (8)
8. Ocean's Thirteen (8)
9. Hairspray (8)
10. Live Free or Die Hard (7)
11. The Simpsons Movie (7)
12. Spider-Man 3 (6)
13. Mr. Brooks (6)
14. DOA: Dead or Alive (6)
15. Transformers (6)
16. 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (5)
17. Halloween (5)

Average Rating: 7.24

2006

1. A Scanner Darkly (9)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (8)
3. Miami Vice (8)
4. Little Miss Sunshine (8)
5. The Descent (8)
6. An Inconvenient Truth (8)
7. Mission: Impossible III (7)
8. Superman Returns (7)
9. Clerks II (7)
10. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (7)
11. The Da Vinci Code (6)
12. The Break-Up (6)
13. X-Men: The Last Stand (6)
14. Waist Deep (5)
15. Click (5)
16. The Omen (5)
17. Snakes on a Plane (5)
18. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (4)
19. Poseidon (4)
20. Idlewild (4)
21. Lady in the Water (4)

Average Rating: 6.24

2005

1. Batman Begins (10)
2. Layer Cake (9)
3. Cinderella Man (9)
4. Hustle & Flow (8)
5. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (8)
6. Wedding Crashers (8)
7. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (8)
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (8)
9. Broken Flowers (8)
10. 2046 (8)
11. Unleashed (8)
12. Four Brothers (8)
13. Kingdom of Heaven (7)
14. The Devil's Rejects (7)
15. War of the Worlds (6)
16. The Brothers Grimm (6)
17. The 40 Year Old Virgin (6)
18. The Longest Yard (6)
19. The Dukes of Hazzard (6)
20. Kicking & Screaming (6)
21. The Island (6)
22. Fantastic Four (5)
23. Sky High (5)

Average Rating: 7.22

2004

1. Spider-Man 2 (10)
2. The Bourne Supremacy (9)
3. Collateral (9)
4. Crash (9)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (9)
6. Garden State (8)
7. The Manchurian Candidate (8)
8. Maria Full of Grace (8)
9. I, Robot (7)
10. Anchorman: The Legend of the Ron Burgundy (7)
11. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (7)
12. Super Size Me (7)
13. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (7)
14. The Terminal (7)
15. Troy (7)
16. Coffee and Cigarettes (6)
17. King Arthur (6)
18. Van Helsing (6)
19. Without a Paddle (6)
20. The Chronicles of Riddick (5)
21. The Day After Tomorrow (5)
22. Fahrenheit 9/11 (5)
23. Napolean Dynamite (5)
24. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (4)
25. The Village (3)
26. Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2)
27. Catwoman (2)

Average Rating: 6.44

2003

1. X2 (10)
2. Whale Rider (10)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (9)
4. 28 Days Later... (8)
5. Bend It Like Beckham (8)
6. Open Range (8)
7. The Italian Job (8)
8. The Matrix Reloaded (7)
9. Swimming Pool (7)
10. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (7)
11. S.W.A.T. (7)
12. Seabiscuit (6)
13. Hulk (6)
14. Bruce Almighty (6)
15. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (6)
16. 2 Fast 2 Furious (5)
17. American Wedding (5)
18. Hollywood Homicide (5)
19. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (4)
20. Bad Boys II (2)
21. The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (1)

Average Rating: 6.43

2002

1. Hero (10)
2. Road to Perdition (9)
3. Signs (9)
4. Spider-Man (8)
5. The Sum of All Fears (8)
6. K-19: The Widowmaker (8)
7. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (8)
8. Insomnia (7)
9. Minority Report (7)
10. Undercover Brother (7)
11. Austin Powers in Goldmember (6)
12. Men in Black II (5)
13. Mr. Deeds (5)
14. Scooby-Doo (4)
15. xXx (3)
16. Enough (2)
17. Bad Company (1)

Average Rating: 6.30

First thing I noticed is that I am about 5ish movies behind and that is influencing the average rating. Due to cable and whatnot I will end up seeing a bunch of crap that came out this summer and it will probably lower the average. But that hasn't happened yet so I can only judge what I have seen so far. An that judgment lands 2007 in first place by a hair over 2005. They are very similar years although I would take 2005 since it has Batman Begins and Layer Cake which are both better than anything I saw in 2007. And wow last year was just awful with only a handful of great movies and an endless supply of mediocre. Looking back 2004 might have the best selection at the top (Spider-Man 2, The Bourne Supremacy, Collateral, my favorite Harry Potter, and Garden State which I have probably seen 100 times) yet since I have seen 27 movies released between May and August of that year and that is just too many flicks to keep a high average.

I don't like all these numbers telling me how great 2007 is, yet the best movie I have seen is Zodiac and the best blockbuster was The Bourne Ultimatum neither of which I would be comfortable with being #1 for the year.