This week’s review of “The Dark Knight Rises” comes a little later than I had initially hoped, but oh well — it’s never too late to spread good news. And I advise you to enjoy the good times while they last, because the rest of the summer looks pretty dicey.

This year's Oscar ceremony boasts several interesting aspects, including the battle royale between the blockbuster "Avatar" and the indie war film "The Hurt Locker" (a war of words that has resulted in the "Hurt Locker" producer being barred from the ceremony — oops!); the one-two punch of comic masters Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as co-hosts; and the presence of no fewer than 10 Best Picture nominees, which were voted on using a 1-10 preferential ranking system that could result in a good old-fashioned Oscar night shocker (more on that in a minute).

This week we're taking a step back to take a brief look at one of last year's high-profile releases (Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones," finally playing wide release), but in the coming weeks we'll start in on the films of the new year, beginning with the God-goes-nuts actioner "Legion" (if they actually make this work, I'll be amazed) and the Gibson-goes-nuts actioner "Edge of Darkness."

The end of the decade coincides with the 10-year anniversary of this column, and what better way to mark the occasion than with an obsessive ranking of the decade's best films?

We're now in the early stages of the fall movie season, that delightful time of year when studios attempt to atone for the transgressions of previous months by releasing an onslaught of pedigreed awards bait from October through December.

It's always an unparalleled pleasure to go see a new Quentin Tarantino film, in part because there's never a fear that I'll see anything less than a masterpiece.

Here are News-Sentinel film critic Jason Wallis' picks for the Oscars, which will be announced Sunday:

On the subject of movies, sometimes you really have to wonder about casting directors and their choice of actors.

1. "The Dark Knight" (Christopher Nolan)

I'm a week behind in my writing, so as an early Christmas gift to you, here are reports on just the four-star films I've seen lately. We'll catch up with the rest later - for now, let's just focus on four films that have helped make my holiday season a little brighter. All of them are "bummers," technically, but whatever; how can a truly great movie ever leave one completely depressed? There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned, nightmarish Lynch/Kubrick Christmas, am I right?

"Traitor"

"Tropic Thunder"

"Pineapple Express"

Everyone knew "The Dark Knight" would be a major success. Between the brilliant marketing, glowing reviews and incredible hype surrounding the late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, there was no way this wouldn't be one of the biggest hits of the summer movie season.

This week, I was scheduled to review "Speed Racer." But, because I value both my sanity and my retinas, I thought it might be better for everyone to instead look ahead to better things that are in store for us in the coming weeks of the summer movie season. "Iron Man" got things off to a splendid start, and there are several titles - some highly anticipated, others not so much - that promise to keep the ball rolling on quality entertainment all season long. Here are the ones I'm most looking forward to, in order of potential awesomeness.

1. "Iron Man," May 2; stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard

Best Picture

SPARKS IN THE PARKIN LODI