Marvel's The Avengers

Chels: Let's just get this out of the way now. I think it's sooo incredibly lame that Chris Evans was re-cast as Captain America. It infuriates me actually. YOU ALREADY USED HIM, HE PICKED HIS MARVEL CHARACTER. Granted, it was the Human Torch (booo) whom only appeared in the Fantastic 4 franchise (suuucks). But still, once you cashed that check there's no do overs. Now, I fully understand he was already on their pay roll, and I'm not saying that he doesn't make a good Captain America (he is bad ass), but I just think it's shows such a lack of effort by the studio, when they just cherry pick an actor that they already used and re-use him for a different character. < end of rant > But The Avengers was a fantastic movie (see what I did there). I would enthusiastically recommend this movie to any and everyone. Justin and I saw it in 3-D, which definitely made some of the epic intergalactic fight scenes immensely better. Everything's better with an extra dimension, right? The main standout for me, and what has me the most excited for Avenger spin off movies, is Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. I looove me some Mark Ruffalo (13 Going on 30, anyone?), glad to see he's getting some work. And his Hulk is awesome. I don't even want to compare him to Eric Bana's Hulk - we all know that was shit-tastic. And Ed Norton's Hulk just makes me sad, or maybe that's because I was forced to look at Liv Tyler's droopy dog face throughout the entirety of the movie. Who knows, either way, Mark Ruffalo is waaaaaaay better. Thinking back on it, all of my favorite parts from The Avengers include The Hulkster (some others include Chris Hemsworth, but that's mostly because he's beautiful). There are some great one liners in this movie, it's wonderfully written. Serious enough to get points across, but it's completely conscious of itself - which I believe allows it to tap into a fresh vein when it comes to attempting to create a successful action/comedy franchise. It goes without saying that this is an action movie, but I also find it to be extremely witty. Combine the brilliant writing with some great actors/performances and you get what is sure to be THE blockbuster movie to beat this summer.  CHELS SMASH!

Justin: Oh man, what a movie. Not surprised this movie broke some records. It’s the first real summer blockbuster of the year in my opinion, and people were ready for something big. Hunger Games was good, this is freaking epic. Say what you will about Joss Whedon. I’m pretty down with some his stuff, but I’m not super into Buffy or Firefly. Firefly is good stuff but I never watched them back to back. This project is a perfect fit for him, and the screenwriting is goddamn amazing. Funny, action packed, thrilling, vertigo inducing and produced on a massive scale from beginning to end. I really think he did the franchise justice. It’s too good. There’s so much character to learn, so many balls in the air, so many different threads in the action. How he managed to weave this altogether is almost miraculous to me, as a writer. Where do I start? Ruffalo, dude. Thor? Iron Man? There’s too much I could say about this, but I’m not spoiling anything here. If you’re a fan of Marvel's (or should I say Disney’s) recent fare, you’ll be right at home with the characters. It’s so fun to see the heroes match up and clash as they find each other faced with a terrifying situation. As they grow to trust each other, they work together and save each other in what ends up being such an inspiring tale of teamwork and beating the odds it almost makes me misty. Yeah. I loved it. I might see it again. Sorry to gush, I guess I forgot to criticize anything. This movie has not one, but two, post credit scenes. The reveal in the first of these scenes made my inner comic book nerd cream so hard I’m embarrassed to confess it. Chels was like “who’s that?” The second post credit scene? Stick around and check it out.