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David Mumpower: My lingering memory of the summer box office campaign is that commerce was chosen over art o'er and o'er again. I am not criticizing this practice; ordinarily, I am first in line to say that this is an acceptable business practice. Despite this, Battleship, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Bourne Legacy will comprise my three lasting memories of this year's popcorn films. All of them were immediately damaged the instant they were announced.

Battleship, while not a bad movie, fails the laugh test due to its tie-in to an archaic board game that has no relevance in the gaming app era. The Amazing Spider-Man is the most insulting reboot in the history of the industry and I am not exaggerating for effect when I say that. There was absolutely no need for the project. And The Bourne Legacy is a disappointing money grab using the name of a franchise whose first three movies are all exceptional.

This is the state of the industry right now. Financial modeling software determines the movies that are made rather than human instinct. The end result is a bunch of mediocre garbage that will inevitably lead to a shrinking number of customers (i.e. movie goers). While I love The Avengers, my strongest fear about Hollywood right now is that a bunch of people who have no understanding of why that movie succeeded will now attempt to duplicate it. This is like someone who cannot cook attempting a nitrous oxide milkshake. It will not end well...unless the video gets posted to YouTube.

The real story of the summer has nothing to do with box office and everything to do with a madman in Colorado. The impact of this news extends far beyond our silly little corner of the internet. And it will leave a lingering stain on our memories of the summer of 2012. The entire situation speaks volumes about the reputation that Christopher Nolan has built over the past few years. Any lesser film would not have survived this sort of negativity during its news cycle.

The Dark Knight Rises overcame the stigma of being associated with cold-blooded murder to become one of the ten most popular movie releases ever. I am impressed with the courage of movie goers who refused to be deterred by the actions of a feckless thug. That too will be something I always recall about the summer of 2012.

My final thought is that "Puny God!" will make me laugh every time I think about the quote from now until the end of time.

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