If there's anything I've learned in the last year, it's that everyone I know thinks I'm totally insane. Well, at least anyone who asks my opinion about movies. So, for those of you who think I'm off my rocker, enjoy this next little bit. If you still think I know something about movies, feel free to learn a bit or two.

I've only seen a couple movies so far this year, but so far my favorites have been the ones I wasn't expecting - I had see the movie trailers and wasn't planning to go see them. After the movie was in theaters, there was enough buzz (not hype) about the films that I ended up catching them in the theaters. These films were Iron Man and Speed Racer. The former was a fun story of another self-made superhero like Batman - Tony Stark realizes that someone has to stop the violence in this world and therefore starts his quest to build an armored suit filled with amazing nanotechnology. It was lots of fun.

I just got back from seeing Speed Racer, which was an amazing sight to behold. Probably my favorite thing was that every frame of the film was filled with the most vibrant rainbow of colors, even more than the amazing Curse of the Golden Flower. It's the most psychedelic film I've probably ever seen and the twisting, ridiculous tracks the characters race on were more than exhilarating for the viewer (think MegaRace taken to a whole new level, for you old-school PC gamers). Also, it was possibly the most fast-paced movie I've seen throughout the film's 135 minutes, with most slower plot points mashed together via fast cuts and innovative wipes. The plot was a heartwearming tale of fast-paced racing, family values and sportsmanship pitted against those who make the game into big business.

Although the film was only rated PG, I don't think it's a great one for young kids. One of the major comedic elements is a young kid and the family monkey, which are obviously aimed at the kids, but there is some language and a bit too many scenes of immodest women to show this to the youngsters, in my opinion. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon do a great job as parents of the main character, Speed Racer, as he deals with his growing success and making his own decisions.

Of course, this time of year is the time of the summer blockbuster, a huge movie event that is full of special effects and is, for sure, best viewed on a big screen. These films are from the first crop of the year's blockbusters, and so far it's been a good ride. The other major blockbusters, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian were both more of a spectacle than their previous incarnations, but both failed to blow the mind in the same way as these newcomers did (as is often the case). Of course, in any given year there are the non-blockbuster movies, which I get to whenever I can because they're not something you have to witness in the theaters. These types of films just aren't the same at home on DVD, at least not yet (or at any of my friend's houses).

For any of those who are wondering, here's the films I'm looking forward to checking out this summer (although we'll see if they're all as good as I hope):

• The Incredible Hulk (June 13) - Edward Norton can make this one work, I think.
• The Happening (June 13) - Hopefully M. Night Shyamalan can get Mark Whalberg to do something interesting for the first time.
• Get Smart (June 20) - This one might be good.
• Wall-E (June 27) - No doubt. This is the movie event of the year.
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11) - Guillermo del Toro is back to work his magic.
• The Dark Knight (July 18) - Christopher Nolan is back for an amazing thrill ride.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (August 15) - Who knows if this will be good, but it looks like it could be a nice 3-D animated fleshing out of the Clone Wars.

Well, maybe it's not that people don't respect my opinion; maybe it's that I have too many types of films I enjoy. I mean, my favorites from last year were Ratatouille, Hot Fuzz, and There Will Be Blood - how many people do you know that liked all of those films and has a modest collection of Disney films in their DVD collection? The only one I know is me.