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THE AVENGERS (***1/2)

Marvel has been building to this movie ever since the comics company started bringing their heroes to the big screen on their own. Nothing like this has ever really been attempted before. The build up to this mash up includes IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA. Besides the great original IRON MAN, this accumulation is the best of the lot and the best multiple superhero film ever made. For those kinds of films, it has set the new bar much higher.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston, WAR HORSE), following his banishment from the mythical realm of Asgard, plots vengeance again his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN). He makes a devilish deal with a mysterious alien race to command their army against Earth, which Thor has dedicated himself to protect. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, PULP FICTION) fears a giant interstellar attack and believes, as do the other members of his elite government agency S.H.I.E.L.D., that humanity will need a team of superheroes to win.

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THE HUNGER GAMES (2012) (***)

Based on Suzanne Collins' bestselling YA series, Gary Ross' screen adaptation has already become a mega hit. The film was supposed to be the next TWILIGHT and it has surpassed it at the box office already. But is it any good? In the categories of story and especially acting, it is certainly better than any of the TWILIGHT films. With its dystopian society and futuristic technology, it tells a compelling sci-fi yarn. But I still have a sneaky feeling that I've seen it before and done better.

Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence plays the heroine Katniss Everdeen, a scrappy teen who lives in a future America where the country is split up into 12 districts. Each year a boy and a girl from each district are selected to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised battle to the death. The solo winner is awarded food and wealth from the State for their home district. On selection day, Katniss's younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is chosen to represent District 12. Katniss instead volunteers to take her place.

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SUPERMAN, LORD OF THE RINGS, STAR TREK, STAR WARS, AVATAR and dozens of other sci-fi and fantasy tales owe their origins to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. This new film is based on Burroughs' A PRINCESS OF MARS, a classic of pulp fiction. Now Andrew Stanton, who won Oscars for FINDING NEMO and WALL*E, has brought the world to the screen.

John Carter (Taylor Kitsch, WOLVERINE) is your Han Solo-esque reluctant hero type. A Civil War vet who refuses to get pulled back into a cause (Indian Wars) because he is only seeking gold. But fate has other plans and like Frodo, he gets thrust into a world he couldn't imagine when he gets teleported to Mars. In a reverse of Superman's tale, he, the Earthling, travels to another planet and gains superpowers because of the alien world's environment. Like the worlds of STAR TREK and STAR WARS, various alien races are warring and the good guys must stop the superior weaponry of the villains. Like in AVATAR, Carter is a human who establishes himself as a leader in an alien culture. In this world of Mars, aka Barsoom, the giant, four-armed alien race is led by Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe, SPIDER-MAN).

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Here is a unique use of sci-fi. For the most part this film is a drama regarding recovering from a tragic event that fundamentally transforms one's life over night. The concept of a doppelganger planet is used as metaphor for how decisions we make create new lives and even selves.

Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling, upcoming THE COMPANY YOU KEEP) is a high school student who has just gotten into MIT. After a night of drinking, she makes the mistake of driving home and along the way hits another car putting college professor John Burroughs (William Mapother, TV's LOST) into a coma and killing his pregnant wife and young son. In an instant, she transforms from a promising future astrophysicist into a convict who must serve four years in prison.

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Depression is an oppressive force. It filters all light through murky waters that the sufferer is drowning in. Lars von Trier finds a metaphor for it that seems so obvious and yet it comes off ingenious. A mysterious planet is headed for a collision course toward Earth. That's a big weight on your shoulders.

Justine (Kirsten Dunst, SPIDER-MAN) is getting married. But she's not really happy. Her new husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgard, TV's TRUE BLOOD) seems to know that she suffers from bouts of depression, but he doesn't understand the extents... or doesn't want to admit it. Her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg, ANTICHRIST) is putting on the lavish event for her, but tells her that she hates her sometimes for how she acts to ruin things. Claire has the added pressure of being constantly reminded how much the wedding is costing by her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland, TV's 24). When you meet Justine and Claire's divorced parents Gaby (Charlotte Rampling, SWIMMING POOL) and Dexter (John Hurt, THE ELEPHANT MAN) you might understand why Justine is depressed.

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Despite having the superhero in the title, this animated feature seems less like the Dark Knight’s story and more like that of James Gordon, who at this time is new to the Gotham police department. Based on what is hailed as a seminal comic series from writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli, the transition from the page to the screen is faithful, but also highlights the differences between mediums.

Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie, TV’s SOUTHLAND) was returned to Gotham from training abroad. He has begun the preparation for becoming the vigilante, but hasn’t found his identity yet. Jim Gordon (Bryan Cranston, TV’s BREAKING BAD) is the new lieutenant in town, having been exiled to the most corrupt city after smoking out police corruption in his last post. His wife Barbara (Grey DeLisle, TV’s THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS) is pregnant and he is guilty to bring a new child into this dirty, grim world.

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This film is not based on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Now that we got that out of the way, we can find out what this film is really about. One could claim though that this film is based on a dozen previous boxing movies such as ROCKY and THE CHAMP.

Set in a future where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring because people like the carnage more. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) is a former boxer who has become involved in the low-rung world of robot boxing. He gets a shock one day when he discovers that the mother of his son Max (Dakota Goyo, THOR) has died and that he needs to work out who will take the child. The 11-year-old's aunt Debra (Hope Davis, AMERICAN SPLENDOR) wants to take him and Charlie sees her rich husband as a chance to make some money out of the situation.

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This reboot of the venerable sci-fi franchise doesn't try to remake the original classic like the Tim Burton film tried. It takes a page from CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and starts the story with the rebellion of the apes against man, only without the time paradox element. The last part of that statement is for fans of the series, who will find great joy in this new installment. Like the original this is a film based around characters and ideas.

The film is the story of two characters -- one human and one ape. Will Rodman (James Franco, 127 HOURS) is a scientist working on a gene therapy that could cure scores of brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's. It's a personal cause for him because his father Charles (John Lithgow, TV's 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN) is suffering from senility disease. As part of his work, Will tests on chimps. After a disaster at the lab, he smuggles an infant chimp home. The young ape quickly shows signs of increased intelligence as a result of the drug his mother was given. Charles names him Caesar (Andy Serkis, KING KONG).

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In all honesty it's surprising this wasn't been done sooner. Beginning with STAR WARS, the sci-fi genre has been borrowing Western motifs. Jon Favreau's comic book adaptation puts sci-fi smack dab into a Western. Even the sci-fi has a Western tingle to it. The heart of this film is in the Wild West and most importantly with its characters.

Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig, CASINO ROYALE) wakes up in the Arizona desert without a memory of who he is or how he got there. A strange metal bracket is locked on his wrist. Outlaws stumble upon him and with the violent way he handles them, we know that the black hat he puts on suits him well. He comes to a small town to take care of the wound in his side. Due to a wanted poster and a band of deputies, he discovers he is a man on the run. He is arrested and handed over to the marshal, but he doesn't get taken very far because aliens attack and lasso citizens, taking them hostage. Turns out, Jake's mysterious bracelet has the power to blast an alien spaceship out of the sky.

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Joe Cornish's film begins with a group of teens, predominately black, mugging a white woman. Then they witness something fall from the sky and when they go to investigate are attacked by a horrible alien creature. In a lesser film like this one, those black kids would be dead before the title card popped up. But that's not what happens in Cornish's spitfire horror sci-fi comedy. You know right from the start that this film is working on a different level.

Moses (John Boyega) is the de facto leader of this gang. An intimidating looking 15-year-old who looks a lot older than he is. The woman they rob is Sam (Jodie Whittaker, VENUS), a nurse who lives in the same poor neighborhood as the boys. During this fateful night, it will not be the only time their paths cross. More aliens are coming and the teens decide they need to defend their block.