The year’s box office hits and fan favorites

The third highest-grossing film of the year, "Up," found its way into the hearts of millions of children and adults. The animated Pixar film opens with a young Carl Fredericksen, who meets a spirited girl named Ellie. The two friends share a passion for adventure and admire the great explorer Charles Muntz. Carl and Ellie eventually marry and dream of traveling to South America, building a house near Paradise Falls. Seventy years later, Ellie has passed away. In order to fulfill his and Ellie's lifelong dream, he attaches thousands of balloons to his house and sets off for South America. Shortly after takeoff, Carl realizes that he has another passenger onboard — an 8-year-old named Russell. Carl and Russell embark on a dangerous adventure where they encounter a rare bird named Kevin, several talking dogs and an evil villain.

"Twilight" fans anxiously awaited the opening of its sequel, "New Moon." The film's midnight screening set box office records, raking in $26.2 million on opening day — the biggest of all time. "New Moon" picks up where "Twilight" left off. Edward (Robert Pattinson) and the Cullen family are celebrating Bella's (Kristen Stewart) birthday, when a small paper cut leads one of the vampire clan to nearly attack Bella. In order to protect her from further danger, Edward and his family disappear. Bella finds solace in her childhood friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), who possesses a supernatural secret of his own. When someone from Bella's past seeks revenge, trouble ensues and Edward finds his way back into Bella's life. "Twilight" fans won't want to miss the second chapter in the Edward and Bella love story.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" takes place during World War II in Nazi-occupied France. A group of Jewish-American soldiers have been chosen to spread fear throughout the Third Reich and to destroy all Nazis in their path. Their leader, Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine, orders them to each bring back at least 100 scalps of Nazis they have killed. While following orders, the group encounters Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus (played by Mélanie Laurent), who runs a movie theater in Paris. She also seeks revenge against the Nazis for the slaughter of her family. However, the movie theater becomes an ill-fated playground for Dreyfus and the Nazis as disastrous events ensue. Pitt's performance is astounding and should not be missed.

Forty-six years after the beloved children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" was published, director Spike Jonze brought the story to life on the big screen. Newcomer Max Records stars as Max, a rebellious little boy who disobeys his mother and is sent to bed without supper. Max decides to run away from home and sets sail to a magical land of his imagination. On this mystical island, Max meets large creatures known as the Wild Things, and he is crowned their king. After finding adventure and fun in a lush forest, Max decides to return home to his mother. "Where the Wild Things Are" is a great reminder for individuals of all ages to recall the magical adventures they enjoyed as children.

Sacha Baron Cohen follows up "Borat" with a hilarious new comedy titled "Bruno." Cohen stars as the gay Austrian fashion guru Bruno. After a disaster on his fashion television show "Funkyzeit," Bruno is disgraced  in all of Europe and decides to find refuge in America. He travels to Los Angeles to reinvent himself. Accompanying him on his travels is his personal assistant Lutz (played by Gustaf Hammarstan), the only individual who still believes in Bruno's potential for greatness in the fashion world. In his quest for celebrity status, Bruno adopts an African baby and starts a riot at a boxing match in Texas. Fans of "Borat" will find Cohen's latest political and social satire just as hilarious and shocking as expected.

Director J.J. Abrams provided one of the strongest movies of the summer with his reboot of the "Star Trek" series, which satisfied Trekkies young and old.

Chris Pine makes Captain James T. Kirk egotistical and edgy, redefining a character  who is mostly associated with William Shatner's portrayal.

The film provides a nostalgic feel with original cast member Leonard Nimoy as he reprises his role as Spock, but maintains a fresh attitude with a new story that could make "Star Trek" a popular franchise for decades to come.

New villains, exciting action and humor boosted this movie to receive strong reviews from critics. And here's more good news for the Trekkies out there — a sequel is already in the works.

Michael Bay's reputation for special effect action holds true with his sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."  He shows, however, that a strong script may not be his number one priority when making a film.

All of the favorites from the first movie return, including stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, reprising their roles to deliver a jam-packed action movie filled with explosions and battle scenes. 

For a movie that grossed over $400 million, the response wasn't as positive as anticipated for the second installment in the "Transformers" series.  The story wasn't as strong as in the first and the humor that made the first film so enjoyable was replaced by overwhelming special effects.

As the crew gears up for its third movie, fans can only hope that the magic of the first film is restored in "Transformers 3."

Big names aren't always necessary when creating a great film.  "District 9" is arguably one of the biggest surprises for a strong summer movie. Sharlto Copley, an unknown actor,  had a strong performance that launched him onto the radar and into the upcoming "A-Team" film.

"District 9," produced by Peter Jackson, is set in South Africa after an alien space craft crash-lands. The aliens are weak and malnourished and soon live in awful conditions similar to refugee camps.  The South African government's object is to move the aliens out of District 9 and into a new and equally rundown facility, but the aliens rebel and chaos ensures.