Movie goers looking for a sentimental and heartwarming movie to see this weekend will want to get a front row seat to watch as a man who thinks he has it all gets a second chance at HEA. When the rockstar world collides with small town lives and loves a rocker discovers all he left behind and all that he wants in an unforgettable tale. Readers first fell in love with the book Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin in 2014 and now they can experience it in a whole new way as it hits the big screen on January 19th. Keep reading to get a tantalizing taste of this romantic movie then make plans to see it with friends!
GET MORE MOVIE INFO AT: FACEBOOK | WEBSITE THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE MOVIE...
I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.
I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.
And now I’m going back.
After ten years.
I hope I can explain that after all this time.
I still want her to be my forever girl.
AUTHOR INFO:
Heidi McLaughlin is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of The Beaumont Series, The Boys of Summer, and The Archers.
Originally, from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL and her brother, Racicot.
When she's isn't writing one of the many stories planned for release, you'll find her sitting court-side during either daughter's basketball games.
Heidi's first novel, Forever My Girl, has been adapted into a motion picture with LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Roth, in theaters January 19, 2018.
One of my favorite Romance reads from 2016 is getting one step closer to hitting screens with the exciting news of who’s been named to play the two unforgettable leads. Keep reading to learn this exciting information, then start counting down the days until this project is complete...
Wingman rule number one: don’t fall for a client.
PassionFlix is thrilled to announce the lead roles for Rachel Van Dyken's THE MATCHMAKER’S PLAYBOOK have been cast. We’re excited to share Ian Hunter will be played by the alluring Nick Bateman, and the beautiful and talented Caitlin Carver will star as Blake Olson!
The Matchmaker’s Playbook will begin shooting next week, so stay tuned for more exciting news and updates from the set!
You know you wanna watch…
SUBSCRIBE here FOR MORE UPCOMING INFORMATION ON THIS MOVIE AND OTHERS.
On a regular basis I introduce you to those romance books that call to me for their appealing themes or unique characters. Today I'm giving you even greater insight into the world of romance books with a new documentary that features some of today's brightest stars as well as some of the pioneers who changed the types of books offered. Keep reading to get a glimpse of Love Between the Covers by Laurie Kahn, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more by visiting the other sites hosting this tour. You'll also learn ten surprising things Ms. Kahn learned while filming this documentary. In honor of this loving homage to the genre make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win 2 movie viewing popcorn bucket prize packs too!
10 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT ROMANCE NOVELS COURTESY OF MS. KAHN...
Four years ago, when I began making my documentary film Love Between the Covers, I stepped into a community I knew nothing about: the global network of women who write, read, and love romance novels. What I found surprised me. Here are ten things I learned:
1. Romance fiction is a billion-dollar industry Romance novel sales total more than a billion dollars a year. They sell as much as sci-fi, mystery, and fantasy combined.
2. The romance readership is HUGE and global More than 70 million people in the USA alone read at least one romance novel per year, and most of them read many more. The work of popular American romance writer Nora Roberts is translated into 33 languages and distributed on 6 continents.
3. There is a surprisingly wide range of romance novels
Like romance blogger Sarah Wendell says, "Whatever your cup of tea is, someone's pouring it."
Romance novels are often equated with "bodice-rippers," but the steamy historicals with Fabio on the cover were published back in the 1970s and 1980s. Since that time, the spectrum of romance novels has exploded. On one end of that spectrum, there are chaste evangelical romances. On the other end, there are BDSM romances (yes, likethat one). In between, you'll find paranormal romance with vampires and shapeshifters, time-travel romance, historical romance, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. There are growing romance subgenres for LGBT love stories, a large community of writers who specialize in African-American romance, and there's even a popular Amish romance subgenre.
4. Everybody's writing romance Women of every description (and a small number of men) are the engine of this industry. Contrary to expectations, romance authors come from every economic class, every racial group, every sexual preference, and every level of education.
When I asked the pioneering African-American romance author Beverly Jenkinsabout her peers, she told me, "Women from all walks of life do this. We're not sitting in the proverbial trailer park in ratty nightgowns, eating jelly beans and watching soap operas. There are some pretty powerful women doing this! Geneticists, astrophysicists, lawyers, doctors..." The list goes on.
Len Barot (pen name Radclyffe), one of the main characters in Love Between the Covers, began writing lesbian romances during her surgical residency. Mary Bly (pen name Eloisa James), another main character in the film, is a Shakespeare scholar by day and an author of historical romances by night.
I interviewed PhDs, lawyers, and insurance executives. I also interviewed romance authors who worked in factories. There's an open door for anyone who wants to give it a try. Nora Roberts, the rock star of the romance industry, never went to college.
5. Women in the romance community are more likely than the general population to be currently married or living with a partner. We've all seen depictions of the lonely, lovesick romance writer, who pens titillating novels while eating bonbons and sobbing over her keyboard. Don't believe the stereotype. While romance does offer women a place to escape daily life and live out their fantasies, this community of readers and writers are statistically more likely than most to be in happy relationships.
6. Romance authors become personal friends with their readers, and readers find one another. In the romance community friendships that begin online - based on a shared love of books-- often become real and enduring friendships. Beverly Jenkins and her readers are in constant contact at Beverly's Facebook page, talking about books, football, music, and the ups and downs of their everyday lives. Every other year, Beverly takes a trip with her readers to places where her novels are set. Radclyffe invites beginning authors to her farm in upstate New York, where she leads workshops on romance writing, and several of Eloisa James's loyal readers told us they found their closest friends, with whom they communicate every day, through Eloisa's blog.
7. Romance writers get tremendous support from one another. Why are these women so happy to pull a less experienced writer up the ranks? I asked many authors this question, and almost all of them told me stories of their early romance mentors--and their desire to pay it forward.
At a Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference, unpublished writers are always welcome (something that does not happen at other writer conferences), and there are dozens of workshops taught by established writers about everything from plot structure and writing knife-fights, to social networking and negotiating contracts. You will see bestselling novelists sitting down for coffee with unpublished newbies, critiquing their work and giving them business advice.
8. Romance authors are on the cutting edge, pioneering new technologies. Romance writers and readers were the first to enthusiastically adopt e-books, a service which works well for anyone who buys hundreds of books, and romance writers have always been mavericks of social media, using it effectively to build fan communities. Romance has been at the forefront of the biggest change to take place in publishing in the last 200 years: self publishing. Together, romance authors have figured out how to succeed in self-publishing. Instead of being secretive, these one-person indie publishing houses share their knowhow and numbers (not a common practice in publishing).
9. You can take courses about romance fiction at Princeton, Harvard, DePaul and dozens of other universities
You might think writing romance novels is more of a breezy pastime than a professional venture, but the deadlines that romance novelists face are incredibly rigorous. Susan Donovan described the feeling of being on-deadline saying, "There's always a flame behind your ass." Some women publish three or four books a year. On top of this, most novelists handle their own promotion, and self-published authors also handle their novels' distribution. When you're a romance novelist, you are a one-woman business.
I had a blast exploring the romance community over the last four years. In creating Love Between the Covers, I discovered one of the few places where women are always center stage, where female characters always win, where justice prevails in every book, and where the broad spectrum of desires of women from all backgrounds are not feared, but explored unapologetically.
Love stories are universal. Love stories are powerful. And so are the women who write them.
Love Between the Covers is the fascinating story of the vast, funny, and savvy female community that has built a powerhouse industry sharing love stories. Romance fiction is sold in 34 languages on six continents, and the genre grosses more than a billion dollars a year -- outselling mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy combined. Yet the millions of voracious women (and sometimes men) who read, write, and love romance novels have remained oddly invisible. Until now.
For three years, we follow the lives of five very diverse published romance authors and one unpublished newbie as they build their businesses, find and lose loved ones, cope with a tsunami of change in publishing, and earn a living doing what they love—while empowering others to do the same. Romance authors have built a fandom unlike all others, a global sisterhood where authors know their readers personally and help them become writers themselves. During the three years we’ve been shooting Love Between the Covers, we have witnessed the biggest power shift that has taken place in the publishing industry over the last 200 years. And it’s the romance authors who are on the front lines, pioneering new ways to survive and build communities in this rapidly changing environment.
WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY TRAILER here. BELOW IS BELLA ANDRE DISCUSSING SELF PUBLISHING & HER FIRST $250.....
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS DOCUMENTARY:
Fans of romance novels have known for years why the genre is so popular, and now with the release of this new documentary, the whole world will know. Filmed over three years the film spends time with every facet of the industry from writers to bloggers to fans. Hard hitting issues regarding pay and contracts are balanced with sentimental stories showing the camaraderie and support of the community to keep viewers intrigued as well as entertained. Ms. Kahn showed the industry in a positive light overall, never mocking it, but acknowledging the naysayers. She touched on every sub-genre and showed the progression of love and romance throughout history. The stars of the romance community shared their knowledge along with mid-range and up and coming authors whose stories were empowering while admitting certain truths regarding making writing your career. To round out the players of this well-oiled machine Ms. Kahn spent time with bloggers, fans, and assistants too with their love of the genre very apparent and shown with respect. From start to finish this is a loving homage to an industry that is more powerful than the outside world thinks, a community where everyone is welcome and represented, and I recommend it to romance fans as well as those who love great storytelling!
My rating for this is an A.
*I received a copy of this documentary from the creator in exchange for my honest opinion.
ABOUT MS. KAHN:
Director/Producer LAURIE KAHN’s films have won major awards, been shown on PBS primetime, broadcast around the world, and used widely in university classrooms and community groups. Her first film, A Midwife’s Tale, was based on the 18th century diary of midwife Martha Ballard and Laurel Ulrich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Midwife’s Tale. It won film festival awards and a national Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction. Her film TUPPERWARE! was broadcast in more than 20 countries, won the George Foster Peabody Award and was nominated for a national Best Nonfiction Director Emmy. Kahn previously worked on Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, The American Experience, FRONTLINE’S Crisis in Central America, All Things Considered, and Time Out. She’s a resident scholar at Brandeis’s Women’s Studies Research Center.
Star Trek: Into Darkness is a more than worthy successor to the 2009 JJ Abrams reboot with its exciting and heart-pounding storyline, eye-popping special effects, much-welcomed humor, and a jelling of the characters. Using source material from earlier Trek movies, this installment ends up being a Trek fan's delight as they pick out well-known quotes, new yet familiar characters, and in an ultimate nod to sci-fi geeks everywhere......borrowing an actor from the Doctor Who universe for a pivotal opening role.
Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is still trying to fit the mold of what other's think makes a good Captain and struggling mightily. When the chips are down and he's thrust into doing what others can't do is when his true understanding of what a Captain must do becomes clear in a few unexpectedly emotional scenes. Emotional scenes show up at the most unexpected times in fact as Spock (Zachary Quinto) struggles with his human side in his dealings of friendship with Kirk and his continuing romance with Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Quinto is quickly making the role his own as he seamlessly blends his Vulcan logic with the human emotions of fear, anger, and love and had me focusing on him every time he came on screen. Scotty (Simon Pegg) too left his mark in this film through some perfectly timed humor and subtle way of reminding everyone the true vision of Star Trek is to explore. Talk and acts of war put a modern spin on the tale and creates extra tension and philosophical issues to ponder long after the movie is over.
Benedict Cumberbatch makes for a compelling villain, at once violent and untrustworthy and yet sympathetic too. His real identity isn't revealed until the latter part of the movie but true Trek fans have known all along who he was. He and Kirk make a formidable team when forced into working together and even scarier enemies when staring each other down. His storyline is wrapped up but definitely leaves room for a return appearance. Female moviegoers hoping for some kick ass heroines will be somewhat satisfied as Uhura gets to be more than Spock's girlfriend in this film showing a few fight skills of her own. I wish the other new female character of Carol Marcus (who Trek fans know from the mythology) had fared as well. She's a runaway daughter who tries to use tears to end a battle when not coyly flirting with Kirk. I both dread seeing her again but know it's inevitable so I hope for someone much stronger next time around.
JJ Abrams' script had one or two obvious moments, but on a whole kept me on the edge of my seat. The special effects were truly impressive and weren't done merely for show. The cast/crew really meshed in this movie as you could sense their closeness, their sense of friends and family. The dialogue was fast-paced with flashes of humor and intense emotions and I would love to see this film again as I feel I might have missed some of the nuances keeping up with the dialogue. Abrams has created another loving tribute to the Star Trek universe and we fans are the ones being rewarded in this immensely satisfying, sure to be a summer blockbuster, film.
After the events in The Avengers it's a more uncertain and weakened Tony Stark that we see in Iron Man 3. The arrogance is still there but it's tempered with fear of the future and what the great unknown might bring back to Earth. His fear of keeping his lady love Pepper Potts safe has him up nights making The Suit even better. Needless to say, sleepless nights equals a Tony showing some serious moments of anxiety which make him all the more human and demonstrates that he IS NOT Iron Man, at least not entirely.
After its explosive opening salvo we're given a flashback montage of Tony's earlier wilder days (with a recognizable face or two that made me go aaawwwwwww) and his knowledge of some important medical research which brings us back to the now and a madman named The Mandarin, who's holding the world hostage through random bombings and overall fear. His actions are a smokescreen to something even bigger and it's up to Tony to figure out what it is. With The Suit out of the picture for a period of time Tony must rely on his mind and the creativeness that made him a millionaire. Being stuck in small town America he enlists the help of a young boy named Harley, who he sees a lot of himself in, and together they gain even more vital information into the military's part in the bombings and who's really behind it all. The interactions between these two was delightfully playful and had me thinking how great a father Tony would be. I'm usually annoyed by children but found him an admirable sidekick.
In the previous movies, Pepper was the damsel in distress, but I'm happy to report she kicked some serious butt in this movie. I liked seeing the duality of businesswoman Pepper and the woman who saves Tony. There's a newfound respect from her in regards to the necessity of putting your life on the line and I think it brings them closer together. After an uneasy transition to Don Cheadle portraying Rhodes in the previous film, I found him to be much more comfortable in the part. He and Tony had enjoyable verbal bantering and he had a more commanding presence in the War Machine armor.
The Mandarin seems a formidable villain and, played by Ben Kingsley, he brings unexpected humor to his villainous persona. As the movie progresses though we find out that there's a bigger, more scarier, player behind the scenes. He's using medical technology to change people and make them invincible and he's a worthy opponent in a battle against Iron Man. This final battle unleashes some very intense special effects. It's like 4th of July has been unleashed on the screen and it only gets more exciting as a surprising army comes to aid Tony in his fight to save Pepper, the President, and the world.
After a disappointing second movie, I found this one a return to form. The humor was back, the villain was a worthy adversary who had a cleverly nefarious plan, and Tony again showed emotional character growth. He was brought low in this movie and rose heroically from the ashes. I see that for true comic book afficonados this movie was a disappointment, but as a person unfamiliar with the comic book origins I found this an intriguing twisting and turning story with delightful verbal sparring and edge of your seat action. The acting was well-done all around with a special shout out to Ben Kingsley who really isn't what you expect him to be. Guy Pearce, who plays Killian, also shows a dramatically different side as he starts the film in full geek mode and transforms into cover model handsome while showing a deceptively malicious side. The returning main couple of Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. have their characters down pat. There's a connection between the two that can't be broken no matter what befalls them. With Tony making a surprising choice at the end it will be interesting to see where he and Iron Man go next. As usual with Marvel movies, make sure to stay until after the credits for a hilarious scene between Tony and Dr. David Banner!
We're doing something a bit different today at my blog. Jennifer Brown-Thomas is here today talking about her book, Blissful Lies, that was made into a movie. So let's learn a bit about both by reading on and visiting the other blogs hosting this tour, as well as getting all my readers signed up for the giveaway at the bottom of the post. So let's welcome Jennifer and learn about the book to movie process......
"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Such an inspiring quote. I’ve learned in my limited experience that it takes an exceeding amount of effort and perseverance to become successful in this life—no matter the task or chosen career field. When I set out to first, make a movie, and then later to write the novel, Blissful Lies, no one told me how challenging it would be running from one medium of storytelling, to another. But it was. Very challenging. Retraining my brain to think outside of itself in order to switch gears and go from creating the screenplay to having to re-create the entire story with a broadened horizon of understanding for the reader was harder than I expected.
The two worlds aren’t really interchangeable. A screenplay is an outline, telling the actors the story and giving them the freedom to implement the verbiage in a way they see fit.With a novel, however, the writer is executing everything from start to finish and hoping to relay the storyline effectively, while creating characters the readers can love, root for and relate to, while also trying to leave the audience with a sense of satisfaction when the story comes to an end.
Once I sat down and started to recreate the story from scratch, essentially, it allowed me to be more creative. I got a chance to give the characters more of a story, a sense of who they are as people, and that’s something you miss out on when creating a screenplay. When asked if I enjoy writing the book or the screenplays more, I always call it a draw. I enjoy writing the screenplays in the sense that I enjoy creating shots in my head that will transcribe well onto film. But when it comes to working on the novel, I enjoy having no limits or restraints when it comes to page or word count and that’s always a struggle for me when writing in a screenplay format. I’m longwinded! I’ve been told on multiple occasions I should write for television.
Everyone is born with gifts and talent—mine just happens to be descriptive verbiage and I love creating make believe worlds for my readers in any medium—whether it’s on film or in novels, they’re both challenging and fulfilling in their own ways.
Thank you so much for having me! I look forward to reading more on your blog and chatting with your readers.
Things are often not what they seem in the decadent lifestyles of the rich and famous. Life can be messy and at times people do what feels wrong, because in the end it may turn out to be the best decision ever made. A close bond between 5 lifelong friends, now of college age, find the limits of their relationships are tested when multiple secrets and lies begin to surface, which ultimately leave them wondering if it is all too much to move forward as the family they once were. Forbidden love, drug dealing, date rape, betrayal, cheating, and more begin to unravel the strong ties between friends. Can they overcome secrets which warrant a very difficult life altering response?
At just 25 years old, Jennifer Brown-Thomas is a celebrated book author and movie director. Her first novel, Blissful Lies, combines both of her passions.
At the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, she presented Blissful Lies (the movie) starring Emmy award winning actress, Leann Hunley. YTINIFNI Pictures is working to bring the film to DVD and on-demand television this spring. Jennifer is a married, Texas Christian University graduate and mother of one. Her newest venture, LBT Enterprises, is set to launch a fragrance, a children's clothing line and more.
Watch for more novels from Jennifer - the next on its way is Vindictive Grounds. In February, Jennifer will begin directing the film version of this novel. She says, "It definitely has more of the explicit sexual contact comparable to Fifty Shades of Grey."
As we reach the end of Summer 2012 it's apparent that superheroes ruled the movie world. And as entertaining as each of the big three superhero movies (The Dark Knight Rises, Marvel's The Avengers, and The Amazing Spider-Man) were, in my opinion one clearly stood out.
The Dark Knight Rises pulled off the three-peat to perfection. As billionaire Bruce Wayne forged a path from uncertain young boy to an older and wiser introspective man, Christian Bale came to fully embody the heart and soul of someone put through the wringer trying to do what's right and knowing it will never quite be enough. There's always going to be evil in the world, even from the most unexpected places. Bale fully embraced the suit in this finale, wore his heart on his sleeve, and proved again why he's an Oscar winning actor.
With such a pitch perfect hero it's important to have an equally formidable villain and while not as iconic as Heath Ledger's Joker, Tom Hardy's Bane certainly packed a punch and literally brought Batman to his knees. Even with a breathing mask obscuring most of his face he was able to convey so much through a mere look or a slight body movement. I didn't expect much from him going in but he completely won me over by the end. My only disappointment was with the overly quick resolution to his character. He should've gone out with a bang not a whimper.
As the big two fought it out, there were a slew of impressive secondary characters. Anne Hathaway's Catwoman brought a bit of sexy playfulness to her role and became a worthy ally to Batman telling him some heartfelt truths about himself and his future. I can easily see her reprising her role to carry her own superhero movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as endearingly heroic policeman John Blake, whose background of being an orphan and wanting to do what's right no matter what, clearly can be seen as an unjaded younger version of Bruce Wayne. The final glimpse we get of him have me giddy for future possibilities. And a final shout-out goes to Michael Caine's Alfred, who like no time before has clearly embraced his role of father figure to Bruce Wayne and brought tears to my eyes with his words of love and hope for his young master's future.
While The Avengers has won the Summer box office race, it never came close to the emotional and political impact made by The Dark Knight Rises. With its amazing visuals, action-packed chase scenes, and cool new toys courtesy of Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox, this movie is a feast for the eyes. As the final movie there's a definite feeling of satisfaction and completion for director Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise. From start to finish it showed how an average man can make a difference and inspire others to action as well. This franchise has set the bar for making money while conveying deeply emotional messages and is Christopher Nolan's crowning achievement.
As a big fan of the original Dark Shadows with all its cheesy goodness and homemade feel, it was with much excitement and a bit of trepidation that I finally ventured out to see this reboot on the big screen. I'm happy to say it wasn't a complete disaster, but it was a bit disappointing.
Let me start out by saying that this movie was made by people who enjoyed the original, there was a sense of fun and energy revolving around the scenes with the two main protagonists acting with gleeful abandon. Johnny Depp as the new Barnabas Collins did an admirable job of bringing the emotions of lost love and disillusionment with the changes of time to this complicated character and his presence overshadowed every other actor in the film with the exception of Barnabas' nemesis, Angelique Bouchard (played with wildly sexy abandon by Eva Green). The chemistry was crackling between these two every time they shared a scene. It's too bad they weren't together more often.
As to the rest of the cast, they were rather bland (with the minor exception of Helena Bonham Carter playing Dr. Julia Hoffman, who can always be counted on to go over the top and leave a lasting impression). The excitement that Depp and Green brought to the screen was definitely lacking from most of the remaining cast which caused things to drag whenever Depp wasn't onscreen. The actress playing Barnabas' long lost love Victoria (Bella Heathcote) was my biggest disappointment in the cast considering her importance to Barnabas. There was absolutely no chemistry between Heathcote and Depp, so their love story fizzled and caused the emotional impact of the film's ending to be diminished. The cameos from some of the original cast members was a wonderfully
sentimental sight to see, particularly knowing that Jonathan Frid the
original Barnabas died shortly after filming his scenes. Having Alice
Cooper show up as a musical guest was also wonderfully inspired and
elicited one of many funny jokes.
The gothic atmosphere of the story really drew me in, and while I enjoyed the humorous moments they disrupted the overall flow and feel of the original. This movie needed to either go all in on the gothic aspect or go totally campy/humorous, this back and forth felt a bit schizophrenic and diminished my overall enjoyment. The ending of the movie was where I had the biggest issues though. It was drawn out way to long and one or two hidden traits about the Collins children came way out of left field to affect the outcome of the story in an unbelievable way.
Overall this movie was entertaining, even with the quibbles I had with it. I had hoped for better, but am grateful it wasn't worse. As a sentimental ode to the original Dark Shadows and Jonathan Frid's Barnabas Collins it succeeds and should bring a smile to all those who first stepped into the original Dark Shadows world.
After many weeks of waiting for the crowds to die down, I finally went to see The Avengers and what a rip roaring, action packed, fast paced, cinematic extravaganza it was! Under the masterful directing hand of Joss Whedon, the coming together of each superhero is nicely and quickly handled with each character getting time to show their personality as well as their powers. With so many larger than life superheroes battling for top dog status, there were many moments of humor amongst the testosterone, mostly courtesy of Iron Man/Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.). He's just as snarky working with a team as he is on his own. I enjoyed seeing a romantic side to him though in his scenes with Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) and their playfulness with her standing up to him and hope to see their relationship expanded.
Captain America (the eternally boyish Chris Evans) still represents the triumph of the underdog in America and definitely acts as cheerleader throughout the movie. Thor (that sexy Adonis Chris Hemsworth) is still arrogant with his god-like nature and seemed to be the one having the hardest time being a team player. His showdown with Iron Man not only showed off some cool special effects but some exciting action sequences as well. The Hulk (the surprisingly good choice of Mark Ruffalo) finally lives up to the hype after his two previously disappointing movie incarnations. I enjoyed his take on it being a totally separate entity within him that even he is somewhat afraid of. Once the Hulk actually emerges it's to very human-like facial expressions and actions. His fight with the villain Loki is both humorous and to the point. The two new additions to the Marvel movie world, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (the ruggedly sexy Jeremy Renner) are intriguing and easily meshed with the rest of the team. They have a history just hinted at in this movie, and as a newbie to the comic world, I'm dying to know more about each of them. Black Widow makes for a worthy heroine, and without a Wonder Woman movie on the horizon, I admired her battle scenes and her ability to keep up with the boys.
Amongst so many worthy heroes, it's imperative that there be a worthy villain. Once again Loki (played with unapologetic glee by Tom Hiddleston) brings the bad as he tries to subjugate Earth using a massive alien army. His scenes are over the top fun and there's true enjoyment radiating off him as he chews through each of his scenes. I definitely hope this isn't the last we've seen of him as I'd like to dig deeper into the complicated brotherly relationship between him and Thor.
From start to finish this movie gives viewers everything they'd hope for in a summer movie. Great action sequences and special effects, likable characters worth rooting for, and a tantalizing teaser to keep people talking for months until the next installment from the marvelous Marvel superhero movie franchise! This is one geeky gal who cheered, laughed, and squealed with joy throughout the movie and isn't ashamed to admit it!
For those who still haven't seen the flick, or those wanting to relive the joy, here are some clips......
