I'm pretty pumped about the Avengers movie coming to Cleveland in August. With the par set by recent super hero movies, it might prove to be one of the more ambitious movies ever made. With not one, not two, but - prima donnas whose characters need to be catered to, I'm curious to see how well the makers will be able to pull it off. They definitely needed the solo movies to set up the characters. And I'm curious to see who the villains will be. The ending of Thor would seem to indicate Loki, and I imagine the Red Skull will be in there somewhere. But that's really not enough villains for a single Avengers' movie.

Speaking of the solo movies, did anyone who actually saw Thor like it? Honestly, I felt they could have done a better job. The only part I really liked was Hawkeye's cameo. Hawkeye is my second favorite avenger. (Captain America first. Since three is a nice, traditional number, Black Panther is my third)

I actually have my reservations about the Captain America movie. It could be totally awesome, or it could be akin to G.I. Joe. That's what I draw from the trailers, anyway.

Iron Man I and II? Meh. I never really liked bad guys that are essential clones of the good guy. Heck, that means that Hulk movie too. Which one are they going off of? The first one or the reboot? I didn't see the first one. The reboot was pretty good in parts. But again, Abomination was a pretty lame villain.

That's really what I don't understand. If you want to have a recurring series of super hero movies, DON'T cast the lame villain in the first one! They didn't do that in Batman! But that's hard to live up to. Maybe that's not fair. Oh well. Life isn't fair. Take a lesson from Mr. Nolan, Marvel hero movie makers!

Since we're on the topic of heroes in general, I recently saw Green Lantern and was also disappointed. That one I compared heavily to Batman Begins and found it wanting. Hal Jordan wasn't a very compelling flawed hero. They tried to make him a cross between Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne. Childhood tragedy and playboy status combined. Eh, it flopped. And, like Thor, it felt like there was no real passage of time. How much time elapsed in that movie? Like, a week? That's what it felt like. But you know what? Enough ranting.

Oh, did I mention the Avengers is filming in Cleveland in August? A while ago, a call went out for local crew to work the film. Being a film student, I applied. Having no experience, I'm not surprised I did not make the cut. I'm not even going to bother applying to be an extra at this point. But honestly? If I could just stand somewhere, out of the way yet near the set and watch and listen and learn? I would be more than happy to spend many long days in Cleveland for that. Heck, it's going to be a Joss Whedon movie! Best learning experience evah!

~ Tommy