All the talk going on around me about Christmas shopping got me thinking about giving some holiday gift giving advice from the movie side… because a lot of people like tech gifts, a lot of people like music, or games, and there are a lot of people who like to get or give movies as Christmas/Holiday gifts.

So here it is, my first ever advice blog for holiday shoppers about what you can give/ask for this holiday season for movies and not be disappointed !!!

2008 movies for teens and adults….

 1. “The Dark Knight” (released on DVD/Blu-Ray 12/9)

Its one of the best movies of the year for both critical and popular reaction and by that, I mean it was well reviewed by the national critics (who don’t usually like the superhero genre) and it was big at the box office ($530 million and counting just at U.S. theaters).

If you saw “Batman Begins” (2006), you know that Director Christopher Nolan did a great job re-booting this franchise and Christian Bale was great as Batman, along with Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.

But this is one of those very rare examples in Hollywood where the sequel is actually better than the first movie!!!

Here’s where I wish my old reviews were still available, but bottom line this is the best superhero movie up to this point! (see my full list here)  The storyline is solid, the effects and stunts, the action, the acting, Heath Ledger’s perfect performance as the Joker (Golden Globe nominee and eventual Academy Award nominated performance), the entire cast is great!

My review: was a 9.5 / 10

The only way you could possibly go wrong giving this movie as a gift is not including a gift receipt because the person you gave it to already bought it when it came out Tuesday (December 9th).

 2. “Iron Man” (released on DVD/Blu-Ray 9/30)

Robert Downey, Jr. is great as Tony Stark/Iron Man, the cast is great, the story and effects are great, the characters are fantastic and the level of comedy and tension are just right for the new-age superhero genre.

Just like “The Dark Knight”, “Iron Man” had critical and box office success ($318.22 million in 20 weeks was 2nd only to “The Dark Knight” this year).

It also became my 3rd favorite superhero movie of all time.

My review: was a 8.0 / 10

How it could be the wrong gift: if someone hates superhero movies or if you’re giving it to Terrence Howard (who will not be returning for the highly-anticipated sequel after a contract disagreement).

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