This is so not fair. I agreed to tackle this column moments before leaving my house to see The Dark Knight on Friday, thinking it would be fun to start preparing for some of the great movies coming out later this year. By the time I got home that night, I’d realized that in assigning this column, Laremy was pulling the kind of deranged prank that would make the Joker proud. The Dark Knight is one of those rare instant classics that don’t come around too often. It could be a long time before another movie makes the same kind of cultural impact that this one already has.

And yet, the year is barely half over, and we all know the studios like to hold out on us until winter when it comes to Oscar contenders. So even though I’m pretty convinced we’ve already seen the best movie of 2008, here are seven upcoming releases that I’m daring to top it:

1. Quantum of Solace: The best film franchises of this decade (Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man, X-Men, Bourne, and now Batman) have one thing in common — the second films were all drastic improvements on the first (even though none of the firsts were bad either). Casino Royale gave us an origin story for James Bond that was as fascinating as Batman Begins and as action-packed as The Bourne Identity. Expect 007 to deliver a sequel to match either of those franchises.

2. Hamlet 2: The title alone is making you giggle, isn’t it? Hollywood distributors descended upon Sundance this year looking for the next Juno. Instead, they found this offbeat Steve Coogan comedy about a high school drama teacher who attempts to write a follow up to the Bard’s most famous tragedy. Only it’s a musical. With a song called “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.” And a time machine. The trailer is already the funniest thing I’ve seen all year. If the rest of the film delivers on its outrageous premise, next year those acquisitions teams will be sent back to Sundance to find the next Hamlet 2.

src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/0/4/2/6/19856240-19856246-thumbnail.jpg" alt="Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" width="104" height="142" align="left" hspace="6"/>3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix director David Yates turned one of the worst books in the boy wizard’s saga into one of the best films in the franchise. So imagine how much better he’ll do with the juicy storylines of Voldemort’s backstory and the Harry/Ginny romance. Also, I’d like to thank Daniel Radcliffe for dedicating his adolescence to developing his acting chops rather than racking up DUIs. If this kid continues to keep his focus, he could become the next Christian Bale.

4. Burn After Reading: The credits list for this dark comedy reads like a who’s who of last year’s Oscars — the Coen brothers, Tilda Swinton, and George Clooney are all involved. Throw in Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt (in gym shorts!) and my guess is we’ll see this gang back at the Kodak Theater next March.

src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/7/6/4/6/21896467-21896470-thumbnail.jpg" alt="Leo Dicaprio in Body of Lies" width="104" height="142" align="left" hspace="6"/>5. Body of Lies: I’ll admit I hadn’t heard a single word about this movie until catching the trailer before The Dark Knight. But Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe have a pretty decent track record together, right? And hey look, there’s Leo! That guy’s totally become one of those prestige actors who doesn’t have to make a movie unless he really, really wants to. I’m going to trust his judgment and throw this one in as a wild card.

6. Australia: I’ve already declared myself excited over this one, but here’s a quick recap of its selling points: Baz Luhrmann. His Moulin Rouge muse Nicole Kidman. Wolverine … I’m there!

src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/4/5/3/0/14270354-14270356-thumbnail.jpg" alt="Kate Winslet and Leo Dicaprio" width="104" height="142" align="left" hspace="6"/>7. Revolutionary Road: Look, it’s Leo again! And he’s re-teaming with his former Titanic flame, Kate Winslet! Her husband, Sam Mendes, is directing this 1950s period piece, based on the acclaimed novel by Richard Yates. Sounds like a chance for both Leo and Kate to finally pick up those first Oscar wins that have eluded them for so long.

I know that seven is a weird number for a list article. I could’ve narrowed it down to five, but since it’s so unlikely we’re going to see anything else as good as The Dark Knight this year, I wanted to stretch things out to improve my odds. It would be a fantastic treat for movie fans if all of these films lived up to their hype the way The Dark Knight did. But even if they disappoint us, 2008 will still go down in history as a memorable year at the movies.