15. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'

This one wasn't supposed to be any good. Based on the marketing campaign, it appeared that Fox even thought they had a stinker on their hands. Boy, were they wrong. In the biggest surprise of the summer movie season, 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' didn’t just provide a serviceable movie experience -- which seems to be the ultimate goal with summer movies -- but, shockingly, turned out to be one of the best films of the year. Director Rupert Wyatt crafted, yes, a film with action, but also a film without a defined villain twirling his mustache screaming, "I’m the bad guy, let’s fight!" -- M.R.