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.