103 - The Avengers (Avengers Assemble)

Connection To VIEW FROM THE TOP - Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow.

You got to hand it to Marvel Studios - planning ahead - 5 movies it took to get to this point - Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk (which sees a recast here) and giant failure in there and it could have put a damper on getting this far.

Avengers Assemble (as it's called here in the UK likely because of the Steed/Peel Avengers) brings together all those heroes plus Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) who haven't had their own solo movies in 2012's best comic book movie (I would have said Dark Knight Rises but that movies plot holes seem bigger every time I think about it).

Joss Whedon, is both a great and odd choice for a director depending which way you look it - great because he's done plenty of quality work - Buffy, Angel, Firefly - but odd when you consider Firefly didn't make a season, and Buffy and Angel where never rating juggernauts (He did write stuff like Toy Story that was hits though so he's proved he can be involved with a bonafide hit) but to me it's like Sam Raimi when he was given Spider-Man or Peter Jackson Lord Of The Rings - these guys proved they could do awesome on limited budgets so why not give them the keys to the candy shop...

The film's ace in the hole - which is probably true in the film Marvel Universe as an all - is Robert Downey Jr., you feel he really IS Tony Stark and is engaging every time he's on screen, Mark Ruffalo the replacement Bruce Banner is great - I'd go as far to say he's better then Eric Bana or Edward Norton in the role and would welcome seeing him in a solo movie, I think Chris Hemsworth's Thor is one of the least interesting Avengers characters (the first film was good though, haven't seen the second) and Chris Evans is an enjoyable Captain America. I liked Tom Hiddleston as - Thor's brother and film's villain - Loki, but... I suppose he's not really a big enough villain in someways for the movie.

That is a minor niggle, and another minor niggle is they spend time with some of the S.H.I.E.L.D characters etc. but they have nothing to do once the Avengers show up, obviously we want more Avengers but it seemed a set up that say Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders) might get more to do as the film goes on.

Overall, this is what comic book superhero movies should be like - exciting all the way through, and you want to stand up and cheer when the Avengers unite.

80 - Not Another Teen Movie

Connection To JOE DIRT - Jaime Pressly.

In time to come when all the spoof movie movies get lumped together as the scraping of the bottom of the barrel for parody, it will be a shame for the genuinely funny ones in the bunch, it to be fair is films that would pre-date Date Movie, films such as this teen spoof Not Another Teen Movie.

Not Another Teen Movie parodies unsurprisingly an whole bunch of teen movies particularly the comedies (so I guess it does fall into the trap of spoofing something already funny - but at times at least as a new joke to with it, also it parodies the more earnest scenes of these comedies)

Jake (Chris Evans - doing a better Freddie Prinze Jr. then Prinze Jr.) makes a bet with his friends to turn Janey (Chyler Leigh) into prom queen even though she has glasses, a ponytail and paint covered overalls, so yeah the basis is She's All That with scenes or characters mimicking among other teen movies such as American Pie, Can't Hardly Wait, Cruel Intentions, The Breakfast Club, 10 Things I Hate About You and Bring It On among others, yeah it's noticeable that most of the teen movies are from the 3 or 4 years before

The best characters for me are Mia Kirshner as Catherine, taking off Sarah Michelle Gellar's character in Cruel Intentions as Jake's sister (only by blood), she does still get to be sexy for the most part even when doing ridiculous things (the brother/sister incest thing is tiny bit ironic since Chyler Leigh kissed her real brother on film, since they played love interests in Kickboxing Academy), another enjoyable character was Sam Hungington as Ox (taking off Chris Klein's Oz from American Pie) I just love how he plays the performance

My favourite scenes including Ricky reading 10 Things I Love About Janey in class, the musical number (showing Disaster Movie how a musical number featuring the cast should go) and I like Jake trying to save Janey's brother from bullying.

The films worst scene for me, and is the scene that takes toilet humour literally as the three horny freshman characters spying on a girl on toilet who ends up getting discussing, this is not the worst part but the scene ends with the English teacher among others getting covered in shit, the scene goes on way too long for a pay off that is more disgusting and funny.

Overall, because plenty of the jokes hit the mark and everybody plays their characters so well, the film ends up being so damn enjoyable for me.

9 - What's Your Number?

Connection To THE SITTER - Ari Graynor

I think I'm more tolerant to so-called "chick flicks" then the average male, don't get me wrong I enjoy action - all those manly sort of films - but I can sit and enjoy all sorts of chick flicks, which too me is honestly all that easier when the two ladies have decent chemistry and you care whether they get together or not.

Of course with that I'm talking about the romance aspect of it, which is often a key thing of something described as a chick flick, there's been some so-called great chick flicks or rom-coms where I just didn't give a crap if the two people ended or if they killed each other in a suicide pact or whatever - my natural thing for not liking Meg Ryan (Innerspace excluded) means when she's in that area, the film as already lost me -

Happily for me Anna Faris and Chris Evans, the stars of this movie have easy chemistry before the inevitable falling for each other, then something keeping them apart then a final grand gesture, the movie sees the only-in-the-land-of-film-and-TV issue of Anna Faris getting hung up of having slept with 20 men, way more then most of her friends and her engaged sister (Ari Graynor) and decides it sort of enough and maybe she as found her soulmate between the guys she's already been in, Chris Evans plays her next door neighbour who sleeps around and puts his detective skills to good use to find the 20 men so she can she can see if one of them was the one that got away.

Most of her exes are familiar faces who drop by for fun cameos - Martin Freeman, Andy Samberg etc. and Faris real life beau Chris Pratt plays an ex she keeps accidentally stalking - all of them for whatever reason are proven to not actually being the one, during this time it's clear Faris and Evans are falling for each other.

Like I say that description there nails it, it's something that wouldn't happen in real life unless you was really trying to recreate a rom-com plot, but the film gets by on the chemistry of the leads and some funny scenes.

On a note, I don't know which came first but the opening is identical to Bridesmaids opening, both where released in 2011 so I just think it's a case of both villages inventing the wheel at the same time. and on a more pervert note - Anna Faris has a nice body - she shows her butt off and yeah I thought this bit would be worth mentioning. 

It's negative is really the thing that didn't bother me, the predictableness of it all - sometimes the obvious route is the right route for a film.

Overall it's enjoyable, charming and funny, it's not a classic but it's a worthy entry into the rom-com genre,