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Edwin Davies: It's been a summer of some considerable highlights, both in terms of quality and box office, with The Avengers looming over all comers in both. However, unlike last year when there were a host of decent quality, mid-level blockbusters (Thor, Captain America, Rise of the Planets of the Apes) this year seemed a bit fallow in comparison. The highs were incredibly high, but the lows were pretty depressing, as was the aforementioned moment when an awful tragedy permanently derailed all discussion of what should have been a bright spot on the summer calendar.

Pixar made some amends for Cars 2 with Brave, which by their standards was merely good, rather than spectacular. Prometheus provided the greatest trailer of the year then forgot to deliver a movie worthy of it. Moonrise Kingdom livened up a fairly moribund arthouse scene, though both Killer Joe and The Imposter were pretty great in their own right as well. The Bourne and Spider-man reboots made me wish those series had been left on the shelf for a couple of more years, whilst That's My Boy should hopefully convince Adam Sandler that constantly making crap will eventually leave a lingering stench following him around. In summary, it was a pretty uneven season.

Jason Barney: It was a great summer movie season and I only wish I had the money to go more. In April and May I went quite a bit, then in June and July I didn't go as much as I would have liked. I think back to my Mom and Dad bringing my family to the drive-in when I was a kid, and I know I have handed similar memories down to my son. I've been taking him to the drive-in for years now, and this summer he got another good dose. Pirates: Band of Misfits, Madagascar 3, and Ice Age 4 are the ones he got to see this year. Having the kids fall asleep in the backseat and watching the late movie is just so nice. He saw Brave in the regular theater. Summer movies really are about the family and kids.

Of all the summer films, I think Prometheus left the biggest impression on me. It had some holes, yes, but artistically it was a success. It was a very thought-provoking film and I hope it made enough money for the next two films two be made. It asked some meaningful questions and was very entertaining.

And here we sit at the end of the summer box office season and I wonder why this time of year is so weak for theaters. I think it is possible for some significant movies to open during these frames, but Labor Day has become the dumping ground for movies that studios don't know what to do with. I mean really, are the weekends of late August that different than the weekends in October? Even March? I think quality could be released about now and people might be surprised by the results.

Max Braden: My first thought about the summer overall is that it was very ho-hum. I had no urge to go see a bunch of the big sequels (Men in Black, Madagascar, Spider-Man, Ice Age). Of the ones I did see (Avengers, Dark Knight, Bourne, Expendables) I could have plenty of good things to say about them, but I'd still prefer the originals. Other spectacle movies like Battleship and Total Recall were briefly nifty on the eyes but left no good memories. Prometheus left me with raging memories, so I'd rather leave that there. Every summer should have a couple good raunchy comedies, and The Dictator failed there while I heard The Campaign was okay. I still have yet to see the alternate programming like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom. I think if I were to pick my top three of the summer, The Avengers comes out on top easily, with maybe The Bourne Legacy and Brave occupying the second two slots. After all that, I still come to the conclusion that this summer was very ho-hum.

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