‘Dark Knight’ headlines a monster summer season

Phew! The 2008 summer blockbuster season’s sizzle fizzled this weekend with the release of super stinkers “The Rocker” and “The House Bunny” (yuck). But let us not forget what would become the second-highest grossing film in North America was released only a little more than than a month ago.

This has been the grandest summer movie season in years. We got to see planet-saving robots, Indiana Jones and “Sex” between May and July. Who could ask for anything more?

And the top five summer films for ‘08 are (drumroll, please)...

No. 1: “The Dark Knight,” starring Christian Bale, Health Ledger and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Christopher Nolan (4 stars).

Not only does this film break barriers with every turn of the Bat Bike — it’s going to be the cinematic iceberg to “Titanic.” Once TDK’s run is over (maybe sometime next year?) its box office take will surely eclipse that of “My Heart Will Go On” & Co. and deservedly so.

If you haven’t seen it yet — do so today! Do not miss this in the theater.

Why so serious? Because you will enjoy some part of Nolan’s masterpiece no matter what strikes your fancy — from Ledger’s legendary performance as the Joker to the coolest of car chases — there’s so much to choose from.

The perfect combo of action, drama and fantasy acted out by the cream of the crop, TDK will garner Oscar gold come February.

No. 2: “Sex and the City,” starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrell, Kristen Davis, and that redhead. Directed by Michael Patrick King (4 stars).

After a four-year hiatus from the boob tube (no pun intended) the ladies of “Sex and the City” were back with the chick flick to end all chick flicks. Women across the world threw parties to celebrate the release of this film. That instantly ushered SATC into blockbuster territory.

King said he wouldn’t have brought this coveted series to the big screen unless it was done right, and holy Manolo Blahniks did he ever deliver. Seeing Carrie and her iconic gal pals talking about weddings, sipping cosmos and vacationing was almost too much to handle (for die-hard fans, who probably accounted for 90 percent of ticket sales).

The applause at the end of this critic’s showing was deafening and well-deserved. If only the public could somehow convince David Chase to follow King’s lead, we’d already have another flick for next year’s list.

No. 3: “WALL-E,” starring the animators at Pixar Animation Studios. Special thanks to the suits over at Disney. Directed by Andrew Stanton (3.5 stars)

After watching “The Pixar Story” one realizes that it takes years (sometimes decades) to produce these enchanting tales, and they’re well worth the wait. If your granddaughter fell in love with “Nemo,” she will be absolutely smitten with WALL-E — and learn even more life lessons from the lovable little waste-collecting bot like she did from the clown fish.

“WALL-E” surprises from the start — a kids’ “cartoon” with a global warming message?! How can that subject matter keep their short-attention-span attention? With a ton of wit and genius direction.

Though there’s little dialogue, the storyline is completely captivating and the love affair that occurs between WALL-E and EVE (A) is nothing short of breathtaking (though robots don’t take breaths, they can surely take ours away).

No. 4: “Iron Man,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges and Gwenyth Paltrow. Directed by Jon Favreau (3 stars).

A metal hero of a different color ignited the box office at the start of May and has been forgotten about a bit since then. “Iron Man” starring none other than Hollywood bad boy Robert Downey Jr. opened to critical and commercial acclaim.

This was the first feature based off a comic book to be released this summer, but seems like a distant memory in the wake of TDK. It is a kick-butt piece of cinema filled with awesome action and poignant messages and should not be missed. Gentlemen, hopefully you got to go and see this one while your sweetie went to view SATC across the way.

No. 5: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” starring Harrison Ford, of course. Directed by Steven Spielberg (3 stars).

The title, star and director of this entry should be enough to earn its way onto this list. Indiana Jones is back after exiting action adventure in the 80s, and overall Indy IV is tons of fun.

Theme music? Check. Fedora? Check. Car chases that end in inexplicable drama? Big check.

If you enjoyed the first films, you’ve got to check out the last (latest?) installment — there’s an exciting, nostalgia-laced time to be had. And you won’t have to wait long to get this blockbuster from Blockbuster — it will be released on DVD on Oct. 14.

Honorable mentions: “Pineapple Express,” “Kung Fu Panda,” and “Get Smart.”