Friday Flicks: The Avengers Marks the Start of Blockbuster Season

Grab some popcorn! Check out the movies you should see (or avoid) this weekend.

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The Avengers

You can’t say you weren’t warned. We’ve been building up to The Avengers for what seems like an eternity, with previous Marvel movies such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and The Hulk all teasing this eventual super-group collaboration. Now those characters have been joined by a couple more who never quite got movies of their own: Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). It all takes place under the watchful guise of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, the man all actors should aspire to be (if you believe the New York Times).

Fury has every reason to be furious: Thor’s pesky brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston, upping his game considerably) is threatening Earth’s very existence by harnessing the power of the Tesseract (which might as well been called a Macguffin — such is the level of plot we’re dealing with here). Loki is a piece of work, leading Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to dryly note that “he’s adopted.”

And that zinger actually gives away the dirty secret to The Avengers, which director Joss Whedon and studio Walt Disney might not want you to figure out: the movie is at its best when the interplay between the characters dominates the frame, rather than the largely cumbersome action sequences. The standout performer, naturally, is Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man) who is so charming, it’s as if he’s channeling Humphrey Bogart as scripted by Aaron Sorkin. But also surprising is Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner — The Hulk — with credit due to whomever worked out that less is more when it comes to the “enormous green rage monster” (another Stark line).

Most critics are falling over themselves to praise Avengers. “It’s an enjoyably absurd and absurdly enjoyable extravaganza, both delirious and surrealist,” notes the Guardian. “Yes, Hulk will smash, but he’ll also feel. Don’t struggle if you do too,” concludes Time Out New York, while our very own superhero Richard Corliss concurring: “The movie guarantees fast-paced fun without forcing anyone to think about what it all means, which is nothing.”

BOX OFFICE: An Early Summer Heat Wave: The Avengers Sizzles Abroad

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Adapted from the book, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel focuses on a group of British retirees who decide to “outsource” their retirement to India. Enticed by ads for the newly restored and bargain-priced Marigold Hotel, they arrive to find their destination a sad shell of its former self. This might be the end of the line for some elderly Brits but when they’re played by Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, as well as Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy, you can bet that determination, cameraderie and love will conquer all — even hotel walls in desperate need of a lick of paint.

The Village Voice seems to sum it up pretty successfully: “The plot twists are about as venerable as the cast and predictably affecting when performed with such old-hand proficiency.” The New Yorker notes that the cast turns “an obvious idea into an emotional adventure guided by superb craftsmanship. Judi Dench delivers one of her most wide-ranging and moving performances.” But Time Out New York isn’t as impressed: “Mostly, we’re stuck watching U.K. cinema bright lights … navigating sub-sitcom scenarios that touch perfunctorily, sometimes borderline offensively, on issues of sexuality, soulmates and culture clash.” As hotel owners around the world know too well, you can’t please all the people all the time.

LIST: Judi Dench in TIME’s Top 10 Bad Teachers

A Little Bit of Heaven

Tagline: Hold on to love.

Meet Marley Corbett (Kate Hudson). She’s young, beautiful, and funny, but afraid to open herself up to true love and commitment. Where have we seen this before?

Sounds like she needs to meet Mr. Right. If we were to say doctor, the only correct response could be, “Sure! How about a guy named Julian Goldstein, so we can make some hilarious Jewish-Mexican doctor jokes? And ideally, he should be played by Gael Garcia Bernal, so that he can be equally easy on the eye, yet super sensitive.” If that thought was on the tip of your tongue, A Little Bit of Heaven is for you.

Sadly, you might be the only person who’s planning to see it. The words on the tips of critics’ tongues are less than charitable. “A Little Bit of Heaven is not a film that I would ever commend to the ill, the well or to anyone in that grey area between,” slams the Observer. “A Little Bit Of Heaven makes you ask some really big questions. The biggest is why anyone involved in this film thought any of it was a good idea,” remarks Film4 (note to the studio: the Brits really disliked your movie). The only review that offered a lukewarm response (and we had to look longer than we’d expected) was Screen International, with “There are certainly moments to enjoy here, and there is no denying Kate Hudson’s charm and enthusiasm, but just quite how the film best sells itself to audiences is still not really clear.” The answer may present itself at the end of the weekend: by going straight to DVD.

LIST: TIME’s Top 10 Films of 2011

NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: At 142 minutes, it’s far too long, but The Avengers still manages to tick most of the requisite boxes for a summer blockbuster.

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