'Marvel's The Avengers' Review - Marvel's Best Film is Epic, Exciting, Fun, and the Best Comic Movie to Date

"And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand!" Those were the opening words of the first ever Avengers comic book that debuted in 1963. Then in 2008, Marvel placed the first building block of their Marvel cinematic universe in an after credits stinger in Iron Man. Featuring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, he confronts Tony Stark in his house to talk to him about The Avengers initiative. Marvel had set their goals high, and after five movies and four years of work later, we've finally arrived at the film that everything was building to: The Avengers. And let me say, the wait has been well worth it! Marvel Studios, with the help of Joss Whedon, has given us not only what could be the greatest comic book movie yet, but one of the best action/adventure movies in recent memory.

'Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance' Review - An Unfortunate Misstep For the Marvel Character

It's been five years since Marvel comics Ghost Rider last graced, or crashed and burned in some eyes, in Mark Steven Johnson's movie 'Ghost Rider'. The movie starred Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a man who makes a deal with the Devil to save his father, only to become cursed as a flaming skull vigilante known as Ghost Rider. The movie did well at the box office, but was considered by many to be a wasted opportunity to bring  the character to the big screen. Now Sony has gone back to the character to try again, with the duo behind the 'Crank' series, a new take on the character, and Nicholas Cage back as the anti-hero. But unfortunately, the movie falters out the gate and never quite recovers during it's short running time, making 'Spirit of Vengeance' a very disappointing return to the character.

'Marvel's Thor' Review - The Superhero Genre Just Got a Lot More Mythical

I had a chance to see an early screening of Thor today, and I have to say, I'm very impressed. Thor is a character that could have been very hard to translate onto screen, and I know some people worry how it they could make it connect to Marvel's Universe of Iron Man and Hulk seemlessly.The short answer: They did it. But there will be more on that later. This movie was a lot of fun, and is nothing like you've seen before. Although the trailer suggests that most of the movie takes place on Earth, but the better portion of it actually takes place in Thor's home of Asgard. A bold move, but something that makes this movie stand apart from all the other comicbook based films, and in my opinion, elevates it. Along with its fantastic cast and great direction, Thor looks to be one of the biggest hits of the summer, and it deserves to be. Marvel once again proves why they are the best at making movies based off of comics: they stick to the source material and make it real. They don't take the comics for granted, and it works wonders in their favor. Other studios could learn from their example.