“The Dark Knight Rises”
Five out of five stars
I never really considered myself a fan of superhero movies — until I saw “The Dark Knight” back in 2008, that is.

I saw “Spider-Man” when it came out 10 years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but it wasn’t until I saw “The Dark Knight” that I started to think of these movies as something more than overly dramatic, action-packed stories about muscular men playing dress-up while trying to save the world.

And as I watched Christian Bale struggle to save his beloved city from a superstrong and highly intelligent terrorist known as Bane, I found myself just as thrilled by this movie as I was the other.

“The Dark Knight Rises” was well worth the money I spent to see it, and although I rarely enjoy rewatching movies, I definitely would pay to view it again.

“The Campaign”
Three out of five stars
You know a movie is likely to make you laugh when it pairs together Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.

“The Campaign,” which stars both marquee actors and was released Aug. 10, does just that by telling the hilarious tale of Cam Brady and Marty Huggins as they vie for a seat in Congress and go to extreme measures to ensure they come out of the race victorious.

As a fan of other works Ferrell has played a major role in, I expected “The Campaign” to be hilarious, and it was — at times — but it definitely wasn’t his best performance.

I found the subtle digs against today’s political climate relevant and entertaining, but I think the jokes could have been taken a step further in order to allow this film to truly live up to its potential.

“The Amazing Spider-Man”
Four out of five stars
Just like “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” which made its way into theaters July 3, had big shoes to fill after the success of the 2002 version of the movie.

I walked into the theater to see this production expecting to leave disappointed, but to my surprise, just the opposite occurred.

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone star as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy in the movie, which has a slightly different — but still intriguing — plotline than the original.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” began with a young Peter Parker, who was left to be taken care of by his aunt and uncle after his mom and dad disappeared. He later discovers why his parents left him, and after being bitten by a spider in the process of uncovering this mystery, he transforms into Spider-Man.

Despite the many changes to the story and its characters, I enjoyed this reboot of the franchise.