Four years worth of effort has finally come to this. Ever since Samuel L. Jackson illicited a large-scale "WTF?" from the world by popping up after the credits of Iron Man, Marvel Studios have been patiently, methodically paving the way for cinema's first-ever multi-film epic crossover. Sure, there've been a couple of stumbles - not a lot of people saw The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 2 was average at best - but with last year's one-two punch of Thor and Captain America, it seemed like Marvel's grand plan could actually work. Throw in exalted nerd king Joss Whedon, and the ingredients were finally all in place for what could be the greatest superhero movie ever made.

So, is it?

Short answer: No. It's not. But it's sooooo freakin' close, it hurts.

The Avengers is very definitely the greatest film to come out under the Marvel Studios banner, and easily one of the most epic superhero movies to ever grace the screen. It probably has one of the best line-ups of awesome characters played by equally-awesome actors, and one of the best handlings of an ensemble you'll see outside of 12 Angry Men.

So what's the problem? Well, let's be realistic here. The hype surrounding this, the four years and five films' worth of build-up, the hiring of Whedon, a comic writer of note, and a budget equivalent to the GDP of many third world countries, have all produced expectations so enormously inflated, it seems impossible that a mere 'film' would be able to match them. No matter what, practically every film has its imperfections, and the bigger the hype, often, the bigger the disappointment. Whilst The Avengers doesn't match its hype, and has its fair share of flaws, all of the points listed above still stand, and it is still very much one of the greater epics to come our way in a long time.

The set-up is established very quickly: Loki (Tom Hiddleston), brother of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), comes to Earth to steal the Tesseract, a relic capable of opening a portal between worlds (some of you may remember it as the cube thingy Hugo Weaving was jonesing on in Captain America). After he's successful, SHIELD head honcho Nick Fury (Jackson, finally getting to do something other than set up the next movie) initiates a plan to retrieve it, pulling the help of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a.k.a. Iron Man; Steve "Captain America" Rogers (Chris Evans), still trying to adjust to the modern world after 70 years on ice; Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), hiding out in India to contain the rampaging Hulk; and Natascha "Black Widow" Romanoff (Scarlett Johannson), one of SHIELD's leading agents, who's also trying to rescue fellow agent Clint "Hawkeye" Barton (Jeremy Renner) from Loki's control. It's not long before Thor himself shows up and joins the effort, and Loki very swiftly declares war on the Earth.

One of Whedon's greatest strengths is characterisation and banter, and this easily became the major element of the film I enjoyed the most. Although there was the expected slightly-more-focus on the popular Downey as Stark, everyone else was nicely fleshed-out and well-rounded (even if they didn't have a great deal to do), and no one character was really portrayed stronger than anyone else. Everyone also got their own action moment to shine, and there were some truly spectacular set pieces to showcase everyone's various abilities, leading up to the much-publicized siege of New York shown in all of the trailers.

That siege, nearly a half hour long, is one of the greatest things Marvel has put to screen, and reinforces the fact that, unlike every previous Marvel film, this time there's as much emphasis on action as character. Those worried Whedon's relative inexperience with a large-scale production would work against him, fear not: not only has he produced the most action-heavy film of the stable so far, much of that action is pure comic book inventiveness that, at its best, is just exhilarating to behold.

The only major problem is that the film doesn't really focus on the characters as 'people' - I know that's an odd criticism to make regarding a film about superheroes, but most of the characters have fairly tragic elements to their personal lives that are only mildly touched upon. Whilst the cast do a great job bringing the required amount of pathos needed to demonstrate their inner pain and turmoil, adding some scenes which actually addressed these elements would've been nice, as well as humanizing. This leads on to the other, smaller complaint that the element of danger seems fairly small when you're watching these guys get thrown through buildings and cars without a scratch - there's no doubt in your mind they're coming out on top, unlike in the previous films, where they each faced a very tangible, physical threat to their personal safety.

Complaints aside, though, this is exactly what you want it to be in perhaps the most important respect: 140 minutes of pure, unadulterated fun. The Avengers is a ride, fast, loud, brash and colourful, and like all great rides, when you get to the end, you do just want to get back on and go again. From the fantastic cast dynamic to the gob-smacking set pieces (which just get bigger, and bigger... and bigger), to Tom Hiddleston's gleefully-unhinged Loki, this is popcorn at its best, dumb as a post, utterly unapologetic, and truly glorious.

Bring on the sequels, Marvel; the plan's working like a charm.

Rating: 4.5/5

Everyone's pretty familiar with the good ol' fashioned "cabin in the woods" formula, one of the most tried and true set-ups known to horror cinema. Mainly because, from a film-making point of view, it's one of the easiest formulas you could use: Dark, dingy cabin. Dumb, partied-up young people. Unspeakable bloodthirsty terror. Cue much carnage. From the seventies onwards, it's a formula that's been served up time and again, sometimes with a dash of variation, but usually the same gory outcome that we all know.

Co-writers Joss Whedon and Matt Goddard know that we know that, and have decided to mess with us for all it's worth. The result is one of the most gleefully-fiendish, elaborately-constructed horror films to come along in years. Oh, and it's also bitchingly funny.

Revered Buffy, Firefly and Dollhouse creator Whedon - currently cresting the wave by adding "esteemed director of The Avengers" to that handle - and Cloverfield writer Goddard (here making his directorial debut) have created a film that both subverts the genre it's in, whilst also being an effective, visceral addition to it as well. There is a knowing wink, yes, but it's also swiftly followed by a fear-inducing "boo!" straight afterward.

Many reviews for this film - which saw its Stateside release a couple of weeks ago, but which we in Oz won't get until June - have all stated that it's best going into Cabin knowing as little as possible, and just allowing the action to unfold. I agree with this, up to a point; the much-vaunted 'twist' on the genre that's been spoken of, isn't a big spoiler twist, but a fundamental part of the storyline right from the get-go. It's okay to know about this going in, and I would actually highly advise it, in light of reports about audiences in the U.S. not responding to the film purely because they didn't know and simply assumed it did exactly what it said on the tin. People bemoan the lack of originality all of the time, but if they're surprised with it, they're often equally hostile.

So, in the interest of trying to give you an informed opinion about The Cabin in the Woods, I will talk about the so-called 'twist' - if you truly don't want to know anymore, stop reading NOW.

...

Everyone else's gone? Good. Then let's get on with it.

So we have the standard set-up for your basic 'cabin' movie: there's a cast of beautiful young things (and one dweeb), a decrepit cabin, and a rapidly-unfolding bloodbath. What's different? Every element - from the creepy old guy warning them away, to the circumstances forcing them into making certain choices, to the faceless horrors coming for them in the night - are carefully being controlled and engineered by a team in a high-tech facility, running a psuedo-Truman Show scenario. Like I said, it isn't a spoiler to know this, as we're shown right from the start. Why are they doing it? Well, for that, you will have to watch and find out for yourself.

The main cast are fairly solid, playing archetypes that also start out fairly against type. There's the brainy heroine, Dana (Kristen Connolly), nursing a wounded heart; her best friend, Jules (Anna Hutchison); Jules's hunky boyfriend, Curt (future Avenger Chris Hemsworth, pre-Thor); Curt's old friend Holden (Jesse Williams); and conspiracy-spouting stoner Marty (Fran Kranz). Despite their standard typing, there's some nice realistic nuances - for example, Curt's actually really smart, whilst the somewhat bookish Holden is also a football whizz - that marks them out differently. The group take a trip to Curt's cousin's lakeside cabin, and play right into the scenario created by a shadowy organization, represented through two controllers, Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford), simply two white-collar workers with a job to do, which in this case, involves orchestrating the deaths of the newly-arrived group.

The film does a great back and forth between the two sets of characters, giving us ringside seats to the macabre show, and things really get exciting once characters start figuring things out, and roadblocks are introduced to the grand plan. The sense of humour - and it's a really strong one, coming from Whedon - helps drive the quieter moments, until the horror elements are allowed to overtake and turn things violently upside-down. Despite the deliberate formulaic-ness of the horror scenes, there's still some highly creepy and effective stuff, and a great sense of tension throughout, that manages to wonderfully spread to the control room. Whedon and Goddard take the greatest delight in throwing up many established horror tropes, just so they can tear them down, resulting in a real feast for hardcore horror buffs and enough for casual fans to appreciate too.

The third act does manage to get a bit ridiculous and gloriously over the top, but the sense of breathless, terrifying energy that keeps it moving also kicks up a notch, leaving us at a point of needing to know just where they're going with this. And whilst it could have gone somewhere truly brilliant, the film-makers opt instead for an ending that's satisfying, whilst also being ultimately straight-forward and basic, prompting a slight twinge of disappointment (although not so much that it undoes all the good work that came before it).

In spite of the slight problems, The Cabin in the Woods manages to easily be one of the best, most effective horror films of recent years, although many people will likely regard it as more of an interesting experiment than anything else. It's greatest strength - sheer 'WTF?' originality - will also be it's biggest weakness to many audiences, but for those who love a great, different ride, strap in - this one's definitely worth it.

Much has been made of the fact that American Reunion - or American Pie: Reunion as it was released in countries where Hollywood marketing execs think you're an idiot - is one big nostalgia trip for a certain generation, the last of the early Gen Y, pre-iPhone mob, those of us who remember the days when the internet was used only as a tool for connecting with porn instead of friends, when musical artists were signed and released based on artistic merit, as opposed to being spat-out a hundredfold from TV shows, and when raunchy teen comedies were a rare novelty from the late eighties until, well, 1999, when they suddenly started being cranked out at an alarming rate.

I was thirteen when the original American Pie was released, and managed to see it, and its subsequent sequels, in cinema. I liked the film a great deal, a fairly-glorious throwback to films such as Porky's and Bachelor Party, which managed to combine both gross-out humour and a sense of genuine heart. As time went on, and the franchise began to fade under the weight of a thousand miserable direct-to-DVD spinoffs, it seemed like American Pie and its ilk would be consigned to the footnotes of history as a once-memorable series that had its day in the sun, and quietly died.

Which is why nobody really saw this coming, an attempt at revisiting a relic of a bygone era (okay, the nineties weren't that long ago, but with the rate time passes nowadays, it feels like it). This had already been attempted last year with another nineties trend-setter when Scream 4 was released, but despite positive buzz and reviews, that film was ultimately a financial misfire that seemed to signal the death knell for nostalgic rehashes. Perhaps producers Chris and Paul Weitz thought they could pluck their nostalgia strings a little more carefully, and produce a winner in the end. Ultimately, they are less than successful, and that's actually a little sad.

As obviously implied by the title, the new installment sees Jim (Jason Biggs), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Oz (Chris Klein) and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) return to their hometown of East Great Falls for their thirteen year (yes, the oddity of that number is noted) high school reunion. The four friends have all gone on to 'adult lives', Jim now a parent with wife Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and stuck in a corporate job, Oz a semi-successful sports broadcaster, Kevin a hackled house-husband, and Finch a globe-trotting adventurer.

The catch is, of course, that none of them are really happy, facing the usual man-child grievances: Jim and Michelle are stuck in a sexual rut, Oz is dealing with a superficial, air-headed girlfriend, Kevin despises his house-husband position and is resentful of his controlling wife, and Finch is finding himself lacking in life fulfillment. They're common problems that many adults endure, but the film goes to great lengths to show these problems consuming the lives of our boys, and making them all neurotic messes. More mature minds would either persevere or do something about it - to quote Clerks, "shit or get off the pot" - but these are the American Pie guys, unable to handle the most mundane and basic of life's difficulties. It's a little frustrating to think that, after thirteen years, they haven't really aged all that much (despite the film's constant attempts at showing otherwise).

Once they arrive in town, they accidentally end up bumping into Stifler (Seann William Scott), who really hasn't aged at all, still the same obnoxious party animal that he was at school. Whilst he has at least attempted to live like an adult, at heart he's still the Stifmeister, and wastes no time dragging his old buddies back into the usual downward spiral of parties, pranks and sexual misadventures.

This is, naturally, everything we know and love about the franchise, but the problem is this: we've seen it all before, and we've seen it done better. What's disappointing is that Reunion doesn't even try to better the comedy landmarks set by the series all those years ago; like the characters, the series just hasn't grown up, despite being older. And in the wake of the "New Wave" of raunchy, R-rated comedy, films like The Hangover and Horrible Bosses, and, of course, most everything from the Judd Apatow stable, Reunion's rehashing of everything already tried seems especially dated and tired. You know a comedy is in trouble when you actually start actively predicting which joke or embarrassing situation is going to come next. Comedy today may have been inspired by the likes of American Pie, but it has since grown more sophisticated on many levels, and evolved into quite a different beast entirely. Gone are the days when relying solely on dick and fart jokes could carry an entire film; nowadays, the audience wants a modicum of intelligence with their onscreen stupidity.

What's especially baffling is that this point seems to have eluded writers/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, creators of the consistently-funny Harold and Kumar series. Whilst those films aren't necessarily comedic classics, they do frequently manage to hold their own in the modern-day arena, adding that afore-mentioned layer of sophistication to their dick and fart jokes, sophistication that Reunion doesn't even come close to having. It's almost as though they - like the cast - simply saw a chance to make a quick paycheck playing on people's nostalgia.

Audiences will, of course, enjoy the film on its most basic levels, but there's none of the memorable aspects that shaped the original, or even new films such as The Hangover. It's easy to imagine people forgetting this film even exists in a year's time. Nostalgia can carry a film only so far, but in the end, it has to stand on its own comedic merits, and Reunion has so very little of those. Sure, there's some mildly amusing gags, and Eugene Levy is always a joy to watch as Jim's dad, but it's far too little far too late. What could have been both a nice trip down memory lane and a demonstration of the evolution of modern comedy will instead be relegated to the "It was alright" pile, and considering the prestige once afforded to the American Pie brand, that's possibly one of the cruelest blows of all.

Then again, I guess, it's just yet another example of one of those emotions we all need to master in order to grow up: disappointment.

Rating: 2/5