This Review of 'The Avengers''

Quick Review: This is the superhero movie you've been waiting for.

Full Review: It began with one of the best post-credit sequences we'd ever seen. At the end of Iron Man, a movie that proved Marvel really got it when it came to turning its own properties into films, we were treated to one more scene. Tony Stark comes home and finds Nick Fury waiting for him. Fury, played by none other than Samuel L. Jackson, informs Tony that the hero universe is a lot bigger than he realizes, and they need to talk about a new team he's putting together.

That one moment changed everything. Up until that point, a superhero movie franchise was self-contained. Even though comic book heroes crossed over all the time, we never saw it in the films. Marvel, with its shiny new movie studio, decided to change all that. They figured, why not have Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury occupy the same universe? Thus began a series of movies that we knew would culminate in one of the biggest superhero movie events ever to grace our movie screens: The Avengers.

This was a pretty gutsy move on Marvel's part. Many studios have trouble committing to one big-budget blockbuster, and Marvel committed to at least six. Superhero movies are often hit-and-miss, and there's the fact that the longer a franchise runs, the worse the movies get. Marvel risked running out of steam before even reaching this promised movie, and they countered that by making sure each one of the movies leading up to The Avengers was solid.

This Review of 'The Cabin in the Woods'

Quick Review: One of the smartest horror movies out right now and well worth seeing.

Full Review: If the names Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard do anything for you, then you already know why you should see this movie. These two don't just tackle the genres, they turn them on their heads, spin them around, and steal their lunch money. Whedon subverted the entire horror genre with 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer," both the movie and television series. (He's also directing a little movie called The Avengers.) Goddard gave us an entirely new take on the monster movie with Cloverfield and was a producer and writer for Lost, a show that kind of rewrote the rules for network television. So when these two turned their eye to the traditional genre of "Vulnerable Teens Trapped in the Woods and Chased by Something Bad," it was bound to be something we've never seen before.

From here on forward, I'm going to start talking about the movie. If you're already sold on it, stop here. Don't go any further, because the less you know about the plot, the better. The only other thing I will tell you is that there's plenty of scares, a lot of violence and gore, some brief nudity, and a lot of language. It is rated R, after all. As for the rest of it, you can read on if you feel you need to, but I really think you should just stop right here and try not to get spoiled if you hate spoilers. (Personally I was annoyed by what I picked up from accidentally flipping to a commercial, but that's just me.) You've been warned.