The Avengers

It all started back in 2008, when a young man in a theater sat patiently during the credits of Iron Man in hopes of seeing something special. Little did he know what he was in for as he watched Nick Fury step from the shadows and say the words we all have waited for “Avengers Initiative.” Then The Incredible Hulk came out and it was then Tony Stark who stepped out from the shadows to discuss this Initiative to General Ross. The Iron Man 2 promised us the emergence of another superhero, this time of Norse mythology. Thor arrived on the scene and this time things got serious and Loki and Hawkeye came unto the scene along with the all-powerful Cosmic Cube (called the Tesseract in the film). The next obvious step was Captain America and we are getting eager as Nick Fury tempts Rogers to help him save the world. Then, after years of waiting and contemplating, The Avengers is announced. Not only that but the studio has trusted it in the hands of Joss Whedon, one of the best decisions by Marvel Studios. The cast is back (Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as Banner) and Loki its villain. Now trailers are released and every frame is debated and discussed as we await the premiere of hopefully the greatest superhero movie ever. SO…would The Avengers be able to meet the epic expectations and step up the bar for Marvel superhero films?  Read on to find out…

Building on the previous Marvel films, The Avengers is the epic climax of the long building storyline of Loki’s quest for dominance. This time Loki is on the hunt for the Tesseract (Cosmic Cube) in exchange for helping his conquest of Earth. With new powers and abilities, Loki starts brainwashing hundreds of people to bend them to his will. With the Tesseract stolen, Nick Fury has no choice but to call in the team. Captain America, Tony Stark, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner, and Thor (after a few misunderstandings) come aboard to unite against the rise threat of war. With Loki and his army approaching, The Avengers must get over the problems and challenges to come together and save the day for New York and the World.

The Cabin In The Woods

Expectations will either make or break a movie. Sometimes you hear stuff about the movie and go in and find out everything you heard was complete bull...I am looking at you The Orphanage. Then sometimes you go and expectations are met and even beat to beyond our imaginations. This my friends is how I felt after walking out of The Cabin In The Woods which may be my new favorite film of the year! We rarely get to see smart, intelligent, well paced, mature, and unique horror films these days. Unless it is from Japan or Korea and at a time Italy, we generally can expected just slasher horror that can barely entertain an audience. The Cabin In The Woods will hopefully change that, it should be a game changer, that will bring new minds and new perspectives to the horror genre. I have high hopes for where the genre is headed after this film, but for now read on to get my specific thoughts.

The Cabin In The Woods is written by Joss Whedon and co-written and directed by Drew Goddard. The films stars Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford.  The films follows every horror cliche in the book, we find a group of teenagers on the way to a vacation in a (guess what) cabin in the woods. Still, not everything is as at seems. Random occurrences seem more ordered and planned rather than coincidental. As the story unravels we learn not everything is as it seems and this is not merely some cabin in the woods. I would tell more but the less you know about the film the better.