Movie Review: The Avengers

Happy Mother's Day!  My mom loved the movies. She did lean more toward romantic comedy, but she might have gotten a kick out of the characters below - here's a review I wrote for The Little Paper of San Saba (a town without a cinema).

What happens when you assemble a group of Marvel Superheroes - Thor, Captain America, Ironman, The Black Widow, The Hawk, and The Hulk in one movie? You have a screen filled with plenty of action and you have a lot of bickering. Yep - Joss Whedon, the director, has a wicked sense of humor and he brings it into the screenplay for The Avengers. So many egos, so many talents, and they tend to be annoyed at each other a lot of the time.

It's not Memorial Day yet, but summer movie season has launched into high gear, all in the name of fighting Loki (evil weenie brother of Thor) who's back causing trouble, stealing the Tessarac power cube, and creating mayhem. Nick Fury (Samuel L.Jackson) is in charge of SHIELD and this odd collection of fighters. He has a lot of talent running amok on the screen. We're lucky that they pull together and fight for America. New York City takes a beating, but survives. I won't go into any more plot details - it's fun to watch the action unfold and to laugh out loud at the sheer joy of the action on screen.

Here's the rundown - Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is mighty fine and wields his hammer well. Whew! Captain America (Chris Evans) might have been frozen in time, but he's catching up quick to the 21st century and is a strong leader. Stark's Ironman (Robert Downey, Jr.) is pompous and brilliant. Great performance as always from Downey,Jr. The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is new to me, but her spy skills and leather outfit balance out the testosterone in the room. The Hawk (Jeremy Renner) is aces with his bow and arrow. He wasn't his usual edgy self, but did his part. Finally - the big green guy, The Hulk, was played by Mark Ruffalo. Mild mannered Dr. Banner becomes the raging monster needed to smash anything in the enemy's path. He filled the screen with anger.

As you can tell, The Avengers pulled together star power, great effects, a bang-up script with witty dialogue, and an explosive story. Loki (Tom Hiddletson) is a very good creepy villain, yet as Captain America says, "He won't succeed. He has no conviction."

I paid full price for this film - I had conviction and was not disappointed. Go See The Avengers and kick off your summer right.

Clãs licantropos: a origem

  O aparecimento dos clãs de lobisomens prende-se com o nascimento da sua raça mais nova: os fenrisnianos.

  Segundo o folclore licantropo, os seus antepassados foram escravos do deus embusteiro, Loki, até ao dia em que Fenris, o primeiro membro de uma nova raça, os comandou numa insurreição que  os libertou.

  Nos anos que se seguiram à derrota de Loki, os lobisomens tomaram as terras dele e nelas viveram sobre o comando do poderoso Fenris, eleito Rei dos Licantropos.

  É difícil avaliar, correctamente, como foram esses tempos. Os poucos registos escritos e os que sobreviveram encontram-se numa língua incompreensível para os lobisomens de hoje. Contudo, a opinião geral é que foram anos felizes e prósperos. Anos que não podiam durar...

  Fenris era o único forte e respeitado o suficiente para os liderar e unir, assim, quando ele morreu, o seu reino desfez-se como o proverbial baralho de cartas. Os seus vários filhos, netos, generais e mulheres lutaram pela liderança. Nunca chegaram a um consenso. Os instintos naturais e a sua consciência colectiva dizia-lhes que o líder da matilha devia ser o mais forte, porém, num grupo tão extenso era difícil, senão impossível, aplicar esse sistema.

  As diversas facções acabaram por se separar e dispersar dando origem aos clãs actuais e à guerra que, desde então, grassa entre eles.

"The Punishement of Loki" por Louis Huard