Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...

New York CityWe have a few outliers here and there—a jaunt to Germany, some scenes over the ocean and the farthest reaches of outer space—but most of the key action takes place in the city that...

Third-Person OmniscientNot much to note here, since third-person omniscient is the go-to method for movie narrative. It's smooth, it doesn't ruffle any feathers and it gets us the information we ne...

Superheroes, Science Fiction, Action"Superheroes" didn't used to constitute its own genre. There were the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, the Tim Burton Batman movies, a few stinky outliers like...

There's not a lot of hidden meaning in the name. It's called The Avengers because that's the name of the 1963 comic book on which it's based. Why was that called The Avengers? Probably because…St...

It's a happy one, in case you were worried. Sure, Manhattan has been junked and there's going to be a staggering clean-up bill (check out Marvel's TV shows Daredevil and the upcoming Damage Control...

PG-13The MPAA got it right when it comes to The Avengers. There's not much in the way of sexuality (though Hemsworth is looking beef-ilicious and we love the way Johansson wears that jumpsuit). And...