The Avengers

I'm not going to say a ton about Marvel's The Avengers movie -- because I hate spoilers and don't want to be That Guy.

I will say, as a lifetime comic book fan and film guy, I'm very happy with the film.

Joss Whedon and Zak Penn do a great with story and dialog (and the cast with delivery and physicality), and there were some unexpected, laugh-out-loud moments (in a good way).

I also like the parkour stunts for Captain America (I think Levi Meeuwenberg was his double) -- this worked far better for me than the CGI that (for me) takes away from things like the Spider-Man films.

Mark Ruffalo is a surprisingly good Bruce Banner / /Hulk, Tom Hiddleston is an increasingly good Loki (with one particularly good / creepy vitriolic diatribe), and Scarlett Johansson surprised me by holding her own in the film.

And (again avoiding spoilers), the after-credits scene surprised and shocked me, and put my hairs on end -- non fan boys might not get the import, but for me, it teases toward one of the defining story arcs in the Avengers universe.

Well worth a watch. Maybe a re-watch. Or several.