2012: Week 19: The Avengers

The Avengers

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Main Players: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston

General Gist:  A team of super heroes is pulled together in order to save the earth from an attack by an unearthly enemy.

Deb's Take: 

I am not a super fan of the Super Hero movies.  Yet, after seeing this film that brings a team of super heroes together I realized I had seen almost every movie about each individual character that preceded The Avengers.  I think it might have something to do with my husband really liking these kinds of films.

 As far as Super Heroes go, this movie was good.  Sometimes the Sci-Fi stuff ends up being so ridiculous that I just can't get into the movie.  This movie...not to shabby in the Sci-Fi area.  I will say, see "Thor" before you see this movie, there are some pivotal points that may be lost otherwise.  This movie gives you good action, decent acting, a lot more comedy than I would have expected, and some Sci-Fi thrills.   Although it wasn't my type of movie, it really was a good movie and I have to say if this type of movie is your thing, you will love it.

Deb's Rate: Opening night for all you Super Hero Fans, personally I could have taken it as a Matinee

Tiff's Take:
Last year when all these Marvel movies were coming out I thought it was weird.  Why all the super heroes?  It wasn't until this movie came out that I realized it was on purpose and leading up to this one final movie.  I know, I'm pretty quick.  Good idea.  It seems right up my alley even though I'm not a big super hero fanatic.

Going to this movie made me feel a little bit like I did when I went to see Moneyball.  I felt like I was doing the movie a disservice by not knowing all there is to know about these super hero characters.  I mean, there were some of the movies that I didn't even see like The Hulk and the first Iron Man.  I sorta wish I had now.  Even though I hadn't seen them all I felt like I still knew what was going on mainly from seeing Thor since the main bad guy is from that movie.  So, like Deb said, you might want to see Thor first if you haven't.

As far as liking the movie...I'll be honest.  The first part was a little slow.  I felt like they could have reintroduced all the characters a little better.  It seemed like a hodge podge of activity at first.  It didn't start getting really good until about halfway through.  I did love the characters/actors in this movie though.  I love almost anything Robert Downey Jr. plays and I love Chris Hemsworth's Thor character.  He's probably my favorite.  Ruffalo's Hulk character was surprisingly funny too.

So what I'm saying here is if you're into this stuff you'll probably love the movie.  If you're not, you'll probably like it okay but maybe not think it's worth the hype.

Tiff's Rate: Borderline Matinee/Friday Night

Preview: We will post the winner of our "Footloose" giveaway tonight.  Next review...What to Expect When You're Expecting.

Week 51: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

How is it that I get so behind in posting my reviews?  I have three movies swirling in my head right now.  These last few of the year might be short and sweet.
For week 51 we went and saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  I was a big fan of the first one so I was looking forward to this.  Russ was a big fan of the first one too so he was actually looking forward to seeing this movie.  When he's excited about seeing a movie I'm happy because that means he'll try hard to go with me.  So this movie ended up being a date night for us sisters.  Love it when it works out that way.

This is the second installment of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.  I totally agree with Deb.  They have great chemistry together in the movie.  I love the humor and wit.  Actually, Robert Downey Jr. has good chemistry with Rachel McAdams too even if they didn't have as big of a role this time around.  Generally speaking I love Robert Downey Jr.'s humor and he is no exception in this one.  I love the visual effects as well with the dark atmosphere and cool slow mo action shots.  It all works wonderfully.

Definitely a fun one to see in the theater. 
To Sum it up: Good action, good banter and just plain good entertainment. 

Week 51: Sherlock Holmes-A Game of Shadows

This movie was a good "take your husband out on a date" movie. I had not seen the first one, but was told it didn't matter. I think it may have helped a little, but I don't think I lost any of the intention by not seeing the first one.

We also got to enjoy the movie with our friends. Thanks for coming with us Steve and Shelley.

The main players: Robert Downey Jr.-He did excellent. Jude Law-Amazing as well. These two had great chemistry and worked well together. Kept me entertained with humor and quirkiness. Roomi Rapace- She did a great job. Excited to see her in a different role to see if she is a great as she seems.


Overall impression: Good movie, lots of adventure, action, and twists and turns. Good couples movie!

Next review to follow soon.