In the movie The Avengers our planet earth is threatened by a powerful alien army. The secret organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. is desperately trying to prevent the evil demigod Loki from opening a dimensional portal which would allow this alien army to invade. To be able to succeed S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to build a team of super heroes, the Avengers. But most of the possible candidates are not exactly team players and a lot of them don’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. Only when the catastrophe seems to be almost unavoidable the Avengers finally stop to fight each other and join in a desperate effort to stop the invasion.

The Avengers features the well known mix of spectacular action, comedy and interesting characters which made the other Marvel Comics based movies worthwhile to watch. But with multiple featured super heroes, an excellent cast and even more spectacular action sequences the film surpasses all its predecessors.

If you like entertaining action movies you should definitely watch the The Avengers. Silke and I both enjoyed it very much.

The Hunger Games is set a few hundred years in the future. After an apocalyptic war a single large city called Panem is left in North America. It rules over twelve districts, smaller human settlements that provide Panem with resources like food. As punishment for a rebellion against Panem 74 years ago the districts have to take part in the Hunger Games each year. One male and female tribute between the age of 12 and 18 from each district are chosen via a lottery. All the twenty four tributes have to fight each other in a massive open air arena. The games last until only one of the tributes is left alive.

When Katniss Everdeen’s little sister Primrose is chosen Katniss volunteers to take Primrose’s place as the female tribute for district 12. She does that knowing very well that she is mostly likely going to die in the arena. Together with a Peeta Mellark, a boy from the same district, Katniss is immediately send on her journey to Panem. Their only ally is Haymitch Abernathy, the only surviving district 12 tribute. But as Haymitch is a drunk Katniss’s and Peeta’s situation is desperate.

The movie is a decent adaption of the novel. There are of course parts of the book’s story missing but the essence has been preserved. The movie is also less violent than the original, probably to get an age 12 rating. Jennifer Lawrence‘s performance as Katniss Everdeen is good which is key to making the film work.

I can definitely recommend watching the The Hunger Games. It’s a good movie based on an excellent book which provides both action and food for thought.

While the first part stayed mostly true to the book the second part has been turned into an epic battle. It reminds me a bit of Return of the Jedi: after an initial action sequence and a short reprieve a one and a half hour final showdown begins. It  is full of action but still manages to find time for the important moments from the book although some details get lost of course.

Overall the movie is exciting but manages to slow down for the moving moments. It delivers the grand finale that I was waiting for.

X-Men: First Class tells the story of the founding of the X-Men and their school for mutants. At the beginning Charles Xavier is only a talented university student with telepathic abilities and an interest in genetics. He leads a relatively normal life until a CIA agent asks him for help to examine hostile mutant activity. During their first mission Xavier and his protégé Raven, later known as Mystique, encounter Erik Lehnsherr who will one day become the infamous mutant leader Magneto. Together they set out to find other mutants and bring them together for education and training. But the conflict with a violent group of misanthropical mutants and the human fear of mutants threatens Xavier’s idea of a peaceful coexistence.

The new X-Men movie takes much more time to portray the human aspects of the mutants. They are frequently scared of their own powers and fear and loathe rejection by normal people. Thanks to an ensemble of excellent actors this aspect of the film is neither boring nor corny. Of course there is also a lot of action and special effects, just as you would expect from an X-Men movie.

All in all X-Men: First Class is a very entertaining a movie and a must for all X-Men fans.

The movie of the same name finally unravels the mystery of the crater shown at the end of Iron Man 2. It was created by the impact of Mjölnir, Thor’s magical hammer. After Odin the king of Asgard banished Thor to earth for this arrogance and recklessness he sent the hammer to earth as well. But Thor can only reclaim his powerful weapon if he finally proves worthy of it. During Thor’s exile his brother Loki tries to seize power in Asgard at all costs.

Thor is a very entertaining action movie. Good actors and lots of special effects guarantee a lot of fun. The 3D effects are nicely done and avoid poking at your eyes. In between all the action there is even room for a bit of comedy and human relations.

We are looking forward to The Avengers to see what havoc Iron Man and Thor can wreak together.

1. The original novel is one of the best of the series. Its story is dark and except the lengthy camping part very exciting.
2. For the first time the producers decided to turn one of the books into a two-part film. I was hoping that this way the story wouldn’t be mutilated as e.g in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie.

Last Sunday Silke and I finally managed to go to the cinema. The film definitely picked up the dark mood of the original. It featured only small modifications to the book’s story, some were even for the better. The camping part seemed less long-winded than all those chapters in the novel. There were however some small inconsistencies mostly because previous movies left out too much of the plot.

All in all it was one of the best Harry Potter movies. But the final verdict will have to wait for the release of the second part.

Last Tuesday we could finally watch Iron Man 2 in a local cinema. Just like the first part it is full of humour, action and amazing special effects. Robert Downey Jr. delivers another brilliant performance as Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man. Tony Stark’s attitude towards his status as a super hero is still refreshingly relaxed and his worst enemy is once again his ego. Even after a healthy dose of self-discovery and the unavoidable fight against a supervillain he remains a big kid which really enjoys flying around in his armoured suit and doesn’t take life very serious. This refreshing attitude is what makes this film really enjoyable.

While Iron Man 2 is not quite as good as the first part it is still very entertaining and definitely worth seeing. According to The Internet Movie Database there will be a third movie as well which I’m looking forward to.

Law Abiding Citizen tells the story of a man who feels betrayed by the justice system after the murderer of his wife and daughter walks free due to a deal with the district attorney. He takes justice in his own hands and doesn’t only go after the criminals but also after the people who failed to prosecute the culprits.

The movie is a well done thriller. The main character Clyde Shelton is terrifying and likeable at the same time, hero and villain in one person. Gerard Butler‘s performance in this role is excellent. He manages to engage sympathy for a stone-cold killer.

If you like a good thriller with action and an original story you don’t to want miss Law Abiding Citizen.

District 9 has the usual ingredients: ugly aliens, ray-guns and space ships. But that is where the similarities with a lot of science fiction movies end. A large part of the movie has been shot to look like a documentary which makes the story appear very real. This is emphasized by the all too believable behaviour of the human characters. As the story develops you realise that real monsters often don’t look like monsters from the outside.

District 9 is well worth seeing and uses science fiction to reflect on human behaviour and its consequences.

The movie was just what he had hoped for: hilarious cartoon characters, breakneck action and a lot of humour presented in dizzying 3D. We had a really good time watching the film.

I’m only wondering how much of the fun will be lost when the 2D version is released on DVD or Blu-Ray …