Marvel's The Avengers

Directed by Joss Whedon

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston

Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

See the shorter version here

From a 1963 comic book company, to a multi-million dollar motion picture producer, Marvel has been more than successful with their heroes; they’ve been triumphant. Making hundreds of millions of dollars each opening weekend, their films feature incredible actors, brilliant heroes, profound villains and none other than the genius behind it all, Stan Lee, himself. Starting with the 1944 film based on the Captain America comics, Marvel films grew to the Oscar-winning Spiderman trilogy, the everlasting X-Men series and now to the extreme in 2012.


          2008 was the beginning of the immeasurable brilliance. Tony Stark as Iron Man was brought to life for the first time by Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau. The action-packed, humorous film showed how this audacious hero came to be. The success soon brought a sequel in 2010 which introduced Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow and the introduction of this incredible initiative. In 2011, Thor became a part of the craze bringing with him another Asgardian and soon-to-be villain, Loki. Two months after the release, Marvel brought another fantastic hero, Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. Add these all together along with the Hulk and Hawkeye and you get a Marvel Superhero extravaganza, The Avengers.

           Finishing up the movies of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, Nick Fury is brought in with Agent Phil Coulson, explaining the idea of the formation of the Avengers. His plan is to create a team of super humans to protect Earth. When an enemy emerges, threatening global safety, stealing the Cosmic Cube, Fury pulls together six of the strongest heroes with his security agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. They are brought together on the enormous, flying aircraft carrier at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
          

            Throughout the movie, each hero has their own individual, special moment, revisiting or explaining their back story and who they are. Hawkeye seemed a bit out of place. He might not be as familiar as the other heroes, making him hard to recognise. It is not until the last hour or so when he becomes a part of the Avengers. Seeing the movies of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America would definitely help your understanding of the film. This is a continuation on all of the heroes’ stories but more or less like an indirect sequel to Thor. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) is a scientist that finds Thor along with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Selvig is given a briefcase containing the Cosmic Cube a.k.a. the Tesseract by Director Fury at the end of Thor. Selvig is first seen in The Avengers studying the cube in a laboratory before being taken under Loki’s control and opening the portal to Asgard, unleashing his army. The reason Loki is attacking the Avengers and Earth is introduced in Thor.

           

            Aside from the action and explosions, this film is quite funny. From Thor’s misunderstanding of Earth and Tony’s cocky attitude, to the Hulk’s temper tantrums, this movie has the whole theater buzzing.

            The costumes match the other Marvel Studios movies very well. The costumes for the heroes are recognisable from the other movies, but the costumes for the Other (an alien conqueror, who offers Loki an alien army in exchange for the Tesseract) and Loki seemed, to me, a bit Power Rangers-esque. The small set they were on and the Other’s voice made it seem more so. Considering this is based on a comic book excused that fact.

            This really was a great movie. The beginning brags a bit but in the end, it is worth it. I think that having seen Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger would make this movie easier to understand. Also, understanding what the Tesseract is would as well. If science is not your thing, the comedy is still there. I’m sure “Hulk Smash” has never been so comical (pun intended). Stan Lee’s part in this movie is perfect. I would love to see this movie again. The Avengers is the movie to see. If you are going to spend time at the theater to see it, be sure to stay a bit after the post-credits for a hint at what could be The Avengers 2, then after the full credits, you get a look at how these heroes celebrate, shawarma-style. 

Marvel's The Avengers - Brief

Long story short...

See the full review here

            It was great. Brilliant. Exquisite. And worth watching.  I love all the Marvel Superhero movies and this was a Marvel Superhero movie times six. It was almost 2 ½ hours, but there was never a dull moment. It was full of action, evil, teamwork, Tesseracts, romance and humor. Who doesn't want to see six incredibly different heroes come together to fight a half Norse God-half Frost Giant? I have a good understanding of the heroes after seeing their previous movies and maybe even reading their comics, so I understood the way they all fit together. The movie revisits a bit of their stories to recap what you may have missed but it might not cover it all. If there is fact or two about Thor’s decent from Asgard or Tony Stark’s billionaire-status that you aren’t clear about, it shouldn’t take away from the reason for the formation of the Avengers. The movie has a great touch of humor much like the comic books that has the whole theater grinning. This is a fantastic film to see, I would love to see it again. If you are going to spend time at the theaters for it, be sure to stay a bit after the credits to get a hint at what could be The Avengers 2. 

The Big Bang Theory - The Werewolf Transformation

Season 5, Episode 18
Aired February 23, 2012

               This is a great episode full of Sheldon, after Sheldon, after Sheldon, but with a hint of Howard. 

               When Sheldon's barber is in the hospital, and he refuses to get his hair cut by "the nephew" (who clearly doesn't have access to his Haircut Records), it throws him completely off his schedule. Meanwhile, Howard is accepted into the astronaut-training program at NASA.

               Sheldon constantly blows his hair out of his eyes even when it's no longer than usual. He says he "feels like a teen heart-throb" while flipping his hair. When Penny offers to cut his hair for him he replies, declining the help of the "hill folk," then apologizes saying, "I'm sorry, it's the bad-boy attitude that comes with this hair."

               Leonard and Penny finally tell him to get over it and that's just how life works, so Sheldon decides to "embrace the chaos." At three o'clock in the morning Leonard wakes up, pleading to himself saying, "Please don't be Sheldon playing the bongos." Of course, he goes out to see Sheldon banging on a set of bongos and singing everything he says because Richard Feynman, a famous physicist, played them. After Penny joins the early-morning madness, Sheldon leaves the apartment singing, "I'm playing the bongos, walking down the stairs." You then hear him fall along with, "Never play the bongos, walking down the stairs."

               In the scenes with Howard, he is Skyping with Bernadette, telling her how ruthless his day at training was. He is in his room, dirty, bleeding and tired. He describes how they simulate zero-gravity in the air and in his stomach, along with their survival training and eating butterflies.

               There is no TBBT episode that's not the least bit hilarious, but this has got to be at the top. The laugh tracks in this episode match perfectly, from the way Penny beat Leonard at her first game of chess while referring to her knight as a horsey, to Howard begging for Bernadette to send him more underwear after seeing the spinning centrifuge he would be using at NASA. The reason it brings the laughs, just like any other episode, is because of that incredible realism that you recognize within your own friends, if you want to or not. This is definitely not a pass-up. 

Modern Family - The Last Walt

Season 3, Episode 20

Aired April 17, 2012

               Another great episode of Modern Family. It was the same funny realism of any modern family. This was not the best episode I have seen, nor the funniest; but very entertaining nonetheless. 

               Many events pass in this episode but they aren't all extremely moving. In this episode we get to meet Cameron's father for the first time, Haley throws a party using Manny as the supervision, Claire presses Luke to feel bad about the passing over their neighbor's death, and Phil desperately tries to create a unique father-daughter moment for Alex. The best part of this episode was the scenes with Alex and Phil. The worst that could possibly happen while he is "creating" these special events happens. A seagull flies away with his attempt at his neighbor's request having his Navy dog tags thrown into the sea when he dies, the restaurant serving "The World's Best Milkshake" wasn't and The World's Best everything-on-the-menu gave Alex food poisoning. It ended with the sweetest notion from Phil: after explaining how Eugene Cernan wrote his daughter's name on the moon and all dads hate him for being the best dad, Phil, himself, wrote Alex's initials on the moon sign of the restaurant they were at. 

               

               This episode did not feature the hilariousness of Gloria or the confusion of Luke as much as others, but it was just as entertaining for any family to watch. 

The Hunger Games - brief

Long story short....

See the full review here

It was long. I barely survived those 2 ½ hours but I think because I read the book and knew how everything turned out, it made it incredibly boring. Though, I do think because I read the book I understood the characters and how everything worked in the games; I followed the adaptation better than my friend who had only read the back of the book. It’s only rated PG so you don't see very many people being killed except for four or five, which was a disappointment from what I was expecting after reading the book. Some people complain that it is completely different from the book. I strongly disagree. I think it was extremely close to the book and that's why it was so long. They also say Jennifer Lawrence was a terrible choice for Katniss. Again, I disagree. The casting was very close and you could tell who was who if you knew the characters in the book, but then again, if you don’t it may be hard to follow. The ending doesn’t match the book, but the rest of the movie is incredibly close. I'm not saying it was a terrible movie, I am a fan, I have read the whole series, and as a fan, I was disappointed. If you haven’t read the books, the movie might be great. I can’t tell you how great it was from an outsider’s point of view. I, myself, was addicted to series and couldn’t get enough. Now, I don’t really want anymore. For anyone who hasn't see it and would like to, I have one thing to say: May the odds be in your favor. 

The Hunger Games

Directed by Gary Ross

Based on the book by Suzanne Collins

Staring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth

See the shorter version here

~Spoiler Alert~

The book was an international hit, selling over 36 million copies in countries all over the world. Fans flooded movie theater plazas and lobbies on March 23^rd, to be the first to see the start of the Hunger Games’ Trilogy movie adaptation. In less than 24 hours after the premier, the Hunger Games was declared as the new Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen as the new Bella Swan; I just had to see it for myself.

As a fan and trilogy reader, I was psyched to see the movie. My friends who had read the book and saw the movie had gushed about how amazing it was through Facebook and MSN. The trailer captured key emotions from the book that shocked the reader and pulled them into the story, as the trailer should. I soon realised though, people who weren’t familiar with the books and hadn’t read the series weren’t attached to the trailer at all. Hunger Games fans studied the movie production’s every move, knowing exactly how the cast was being formed and how the story was laid out. Even the fans who didn’t up until the premier, knew from the brilliant casting and movie promotion what was going on. Strangers to the story were struck with confusion on the events being shown in the trailer; this lead to a lacking of attraction to the film for non-readers.

Finally, when I found the time to see the movie on a less-busier date, a week after it premiered, I prepared myself for an adventure of a life time; a two hour marathon of excitement; an action-packed, on-the-edge-of-your-seat movie experience. What did I receive? A waste of preparation.

The movie starts with a summary of how the actual Hunger Games work in the area of Panem, a waste of time for the readers but a great start for the newcomers. Katniss and her sister, Prim, follow that introduction immediately exposing the closeness of their family. This gave me confidence in the movie, I awaited more emotion that would pull through and hopefully it would be as interesting as the book. After the reaping and the dramatic family separation, the movie just seemed stretched and so long. The training, the Ceasar Flickerman interview, the scenes with Cinna, all seemed so agonisingly long. I have read the book two times before I had seen the movie, which I do believe changed the way I saw it. I think it seemed so long because it was like I was reading it for a third time, knowing all the details that were coming and how much longer until the end.

When they got to the arena, I was hoping for finally, more action, which again, I never got. The slow-motion right at the beginning after the countdown didn’t add to the mood at all. You couldn’t feel the pain of the tributes being stabbed to death when all you saw was Cato carrying a bloody knife. You couldn’t feel the fear of Katniss or Peeta as the ran from the bloodbath too gory to film. I do understand they needed to keep this movie PG which might have been a mistake to the extreme fanatics who were expecting the gore Suzanne Collins expressed in her book.

I have never found myself on Team Peeta or Team Gale but the movie did change my opinion on both. It’s not that I’ve grown to like either one better by the interpretations of the astonishing, young actors, but that the director or the actors must have seen them differently than I had imagined and put them out through his eyes. That is the problem with book to movie adaptations, it’s adapted from the way the director felt the story and anything can be changed. Though, for me, they weren’t changed in a good way. Peeta seemed very weak, very unconfident. In the book he was fairly negative but I don’t recall him being so negative you honestly felt he had no chance; the book made him seem secretly and mysteriously powerful enough to even be second to Katniss. The introduction for Gale is a bit misleading; the book makes him feel like a loyal best friend to Katniss, but he comes out in the movie as a bully who teases Katniss but then, confusingly, immediately supports her later on.

I’m happy to say there are almost no flaws in this movie. No flaws as in something that you see that makes you say, “Seriously? Why would they do that?” Like in Jurassic Park, how you see the enormous, flying pterodactyls soaring in the sky with nothing to keep them in yet they never leave the island's perimeter. The ending was a little wacky though. The obvious inference is Seneca Crane is killed, but how would you expect a rich man to eat the dry, unappetizing Nightlock berries left with him if he is just locked up in a room with them? Also, taking into consideration that he is the Gamemaker and is supposed to be the one who designed the Games so he would have put the poisonous berries in the arena; wouldn't he know those were the poisonous berries he created and wouldn't he be smart enough not to eat them?

I'm not saying it was a terrible movie, I am a fan, I have read the whole series, and as a fan, I was disappointed. If you haven’t read the books, the movie might be great. I can’t tell you how great it was from an outsider’s point of view. I’m not saying you shouldn’t see it. It’s one of those movies that everyone just has to see so they can be on that list with everyone who saw it. It’s like The Titanic, to some people it’s all around amazing, to some it’s a terrible story line but still a great movie, and to some a complete disaster. For anyone who hasn't see it and would like to, I have one thing to say: May the odds be in your favor. 

1st Post

Hello, I'm new, and I'm not exactly sure what to do. The whole reason I started this is, besides my love of movies, that my family and friends tell me I'm good at "reviewing" movies. I guess I'm good at being honest and persuading people in any way I want. I guess you can trust what I say because my parents are/were in the movie business and I've been around movie production, filming, wardrobe and animation. So, I guess you could say I know how movies work. I'm not sure how to promote this blog or anything but it would be great if you like what I wrote or agree if you could send on to a friend or become a member. My first review is of the Hunger Games because that's the last movie I saw that is "new." I apologize for that but maybe if I see people more people wanting to know about more movies, I will have a better opportunity. I would appreciate that if you didn't agree with my opinion, you would find someone else's. I'm honest in all my reviews and I don't blame anyone for anything "bad" I review. Like I said before, I'm just new here. Thank you.