Summer means hot weather, parties and the biggest movies at the cineplex. The Release staff wanted to present you with a summer movie round-up, but we don’t get out much and the conversation eventually turned to the TV show “Lost.” But, below you have our “expert” exposition on summer movies including “Iron Man” and “Sex and the City.”

SUMMER MOVIE SPOILER WARNING!

Chris Harnick (Release Editor): So yeah, movies. We all like them. Let’s talk “Iron Man.” It was awesome and I kind of hate the Tony Stark character in the comics … but he was so enjoyable in the movie and the effects were neat as hell.

Ben White (Release writer): I never read the comics, but the movie was pretty good. Like you said, glitzy effects, and a sense of humor and imagination made the movie a really fun ride, and Robert Downey Jr. was perfectly cast.

Chris: I didn’t think I’d like the movie, but it was a surprise hit. At one point, this woman in the theater just shouted “Oh, Pepper!” and I LOLed.

Ben: The best was when I saw “Spider-Man 3”. People were yelling at the screen every few minutes.

Meaghan Trainor (Release writer): What were they yelling, “We want our money back”?

Chris: Let’s not talk about that train wreck.

Ben: I don’t think it was as bad as people say. Not great by any means, but no disaster.

Chris: The thing with “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” is Marvel Entertainment is now making their own movies so these characters can cross over. Tony Stark appears in “The Incredible Hulk.” But, since “X-Men” was at 20th Century Fox and “Spider-Man” was at Sony, that can never happen.

Ben: But it doesn’t matter because neither “Iron Man” nor the new “Hulk” match up to “Batman Begins” (which I just re-watched yesterday for the 10th time). I seriously can’t wait for “The Dark Knight.”

Meaghan: Ahhh, I’m so excited for “Dark Knight” and I don’t even really like superhero movies.

Ben: Meag, Lauren, how was “Sex and the City”?

Meaghan: I really enjoyed it, but it was a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be. I thought a more casual fan or just a first-time viewer would find it depressing and way too long.

Lauren Roulette (Assistant Release Editor): Yeah, I agree. I was a big fan of the show, so I had a lot of expectations going into it.

Meaghan: Did it meet your expectations?

Lauren: I thought it was good but not as great as I wanted it to be.

Meaghan: I was completely entertained by the movie, but I think mostly because I was so invested in the characters. But for most of the movie, it was kind of a downer. And at two and a half hours, I felt like it was definitely on the long and heavy side for casual viewers or people who had never seen the show.

Chris: Meag, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”?

Meaghan: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN.

Chris: I was emotionally attached to the badger, and I loved the beavers in the first movie.

Meaghan: I did enjoy the badger.

Chris: CGI [computer generated imagery] creatures that are smart and witty and sometimes attack people win my heart. Always.

Meaghan: To be fair, I’m not a big fan of the fantasy genre and I hate battle scenes, but I loved the first one and thought this one was a big snoozefest. OK, so things that were terrible about “Narnia”:

1) Romance was totally forced, which is a cinematic pet peeve of mine.

2) They were cutting off everyone’s heads the whole movie, but wouldn’t kill the bad guy.

3) The fucking Jesus wave.

Chris: Haha. What else are you looking forward to, besides “Dark Knight”?

Meaghan: “Pineapple Express” and “Mamma Mia!”

Ben: “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” “WALL-E” and “Tropic Thunder.”

Chris: I’m going to fire you for wanting to see “Tropic Thunder.”

Meaghan: Haha, you’ll have to fire me too.