As the school year starts up again, here are the most notable movies from this summer: the good and the bad.

The Good:

“Prometheus”: Some loved it, some hated it, but all agreed it was a beautiful-looking movie. Everyone was reminded of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the story, which raises more questions than answers to the “Aliens” franchise suggested a terrifying premise for the basis of our world. It was an expert cast – some of which gave their best performances yet – and original director Ridley Scott and the brilliant writer of “Lost” complemented each other so well. Watch out for the biggest, Kraken-sized Facehugger you have ever seen.

“Savages”: Two best friends share everything: a giant house in California, a very successful business (growing and selling marijuana), and even a girlfriend with zero conflict or jealousy. Their only problem lies in the Walmart-sized drug cartel forcing all “independent businesses” to join them; and just when they’re trying so hard to get out of the business. So when Walmart kidnaps their girlfriend as a bargaining chip, things get nervous and things get bloody. Romeo and Juliet and Romeo – it’s one of those movies that are good even though a lot of people might not like it. It’s worth a watch, but it’s not for the squeamish.

“The Dark Knight Rises”*: Christopher Nolan concluded his epic trilogy on Batman this summer.  Although this film wasn’t as deep as it’s predecessor, “The Dark Knight,” it definitely set the bar for future superhero/drama combo movies.  As the film delves into Bruce Wayne’s reluctance to jump back into the thick of things and save Gotham once again, Christian Bale spends a significant amount of time out of the his bat suit, making room for extraordinary dialogue and not mindless-action (although this film certainly delivers on that as well, and yes, it was awesome).  This movie combines the best of both worlds, and was a treat for all moviegoers.

“Moonrise Kingdom”: This year’s version of “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Win/Win”.  Wes Anderson’s beautifully made drama that makes you think it’s a comedy (or maybe it’s the other way around) about two different-but-the-same pre-teens from two very different lifestyles who upset every one around them when they run off to secretly meet with each other and bring their pen-pal friendship to life. The cast was an unlikely mix but flowed together perfectly. Think “Bridge to Terabithia,” but from point of view of the townspeople. With a dry humor and unexplainable bittersweetness to it, I’m betting on an Oscar nomination this season for the original screen play at the very least.

“Ted”: Most of the jokes were in the trailer, but if you go in blind, it’s one of the funniest movies. But you have to love “Family Guy” and obscure pop culture references.

The Bad:

“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”: One memorable part in the entire movie: Someone threw a horse. A horse. A fairytale trying to use actual events to justify its historicity but having no good story to take you in. It’s not bad as an action movie, but not something anyone would care to ever watch again.

“The Amazing Spiderman”: Completely unnecessary and unremarkable, but a good start to the rebooted (and hopefully improved) franchise. A change from the Tobey Maguire Peter Parker we know and don’t care about to a younger and more relate-able Andrew Garfield. This is where the friendly neighborhood Spiderman will turn dark.

“The Bourne Legacy”: One of the most boring action movies I have ever watched, with nothing that we actually cared about from the original “Bourne” movies. There’s a new agent in a bizarre and un-Bourne-like pill frenzy, a failed attempt at a romantic relationship with a lady scientist, and constant oh so convenient twists and turns that amount to half the audience falling asleep. A glimpse of Matt Damon giving us hope was the only thing that kept anyone from leaving the theater. Actor Jeremy Renner promised not to do any more action movies for a while; maybe it’s for the best. To quote Kevin Smith, it’s Hawkeye pretending to be Matt Damon.

“Total Recall”: Where is Schwarzenegger? Even though he’s not much of an actor, and admittedly far less skilled than the remade Colin Farrell, jacked Arnold still had more feeling. It had all of the bad from the original and none of the good. Literally the only thing they kept from the original was the woman with three breasts. They didn’t even go to Mars, the best part of the original. It looked like a video game and it had the two hot female leads fight  each other and some robots.  This was just one of the worst remakes ever remade.

“Rock of Ages”: A total failure that makes people hope Tom Cruise never acts again. Even Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand and the greatest rock hits couldn’t save it. Maybe it’s better on Broadway but it doesn’t belong on the big screen.

“The Watch”: When the comedic greats come together, you would expect something that is actually funny. When Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill say and do funny things, you should be amused.

“Brave”: Incredibly mediocre.  It’s Mulan with a Celtic twist, hard to follow, and confusing. Pixar is sliding downhill very quickly. They should be the leader in animated movies; instead, they’re starting down a road where they manufacture generic movies that make money. “Cars 2” was bad, but this won’t even be remembered.

* Nate Schapmann contributed to this article.