Here are some new stills from Hitchcock, the movie starring Anthony Hopkins in the titular role and revolves around the director’s relationship with his wife, Alma Reville, during the making of Psycho. Scarlett Johansson will star as Janet Leigh, and it’s difficult to get a handle on how Scarlett will play this role because we’re only seeing a still. Certainly, ScarJo can’t be any worse than that time Jessica Alba tried to channel Janet Leigh in a Latina photoshoot. However, the first trailer (which shall certainly feature Scarlett in a prominent fashion) for the movie is expected to appear online sometime today, and if it does, I’ll update this post. In the meantime, here’s the the new poster for Hitchcock, and Jessica Biel looks absolutely ridiculous as Vera Miles. Also, here are some details on the film from Entertainment Weekly:

It might feel creepy to call a movie about the making of Psycho a “love story,” but that’s how Fox Searchlight and director Sacha Gervasi are pushing Hitchcock, which stars Anthony Hopkins as the iconic director and bevy of beauties as his leading ladies. Scarlett Johansson plays Janet Leigh, whose character Marion Crane has a date with the shower; Jessica Biel portrays Vera Miles, the level-headed heroine; and Helen Mirren is Hitch’s wife, Alma, his behind-the-scenes creative partner in every way. But the title of the film is not My Weekend With Janet or Hitchcock in Love. It’s simply Hitchcock, and for good reason. “Hitchcock’s so enigmatic in one sense,” says Gervasi, whose only previous feature was the 2008 documentary Anvil. “Someone who portrays zero emotion. We didn’t really know emotionally that much about Hitchcock, and suddenly you have this whole world that opens up when Anthony Hopkins plays the role. It’s extraordinary. And he really enjoyed tiptoeing up to people who had just arrived on the set and going, ‘Good evening.’ Making people jump. I think he really found the role quite delicious.”

The “love story” that might surprise — and hopefully enchant audiences — is Hitchcock’s relationship with his wife of 53 years. Of course, the director was notorious for obsessing over his much younger leading ladies, molding them to a certain degree. But according to the film, which is based on Stephen Rebello’s 1990 book, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Alma was his rock. “I think Alma accepts Hitch for exactly who he is and knows his idiosyncrasies and his crazy predilections,” says Gervasi. “She allows him to have his obsessions and I think our movie is about a point where they sort of escalate. Their marriage is absolutely touched off by his increasing obsessions with these women, but they were ultimately fantasy relationships. Hitch lived in this world of fantasy; to him it was more real than real life. And I think Alma was able to kind of, in this film at least, smash it down a little bit.”

Revisiting the classic genre-defining thriller was a total pinch-me experience for Gervasi, especially when he got to shoot the film-within-the-film scenes that are such a part of movie history. “The original script supervisor from Psycho named Marshall Schlom walked on to the set and he saw Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock directing the scene, and he got incredibly emotional,” says Gervasi. “He’s getting on in years and said, ‘Thank you for giving me my memories back.’ To see that was the ultimate satisfaction. I think that was when all of us, Tony included, started to think, ‘My God, this is something potentially very special.’”

[From EW.com]

I appreciate that they’re putting a different spin on the movie besides just a straight-up, behind-the-scenes view of Psycho‘s production. Helen Mirren will certainly bring the fire as Alma, and Hopkins loves playing deliciously weird roles like this one. Even Jessica Biel hasn’t dampened my interest in this film … yet.

Here are some more stills, including one of James D’Arcy as Anthony Perkins.

Update: The trailer has materialized online! Mirren is absolutely great and moves through a wide range of cheeky emotion. Scarlett looks good, but she sounds exactly like herself when she speaks.

Photos courtesy of EW.com and Fox Searchlight

Scarlett Johansson attended a Tod’s handbag launch at Paris Fashion Week, and she wore a semi-clingy, white Dior cocktail dress with Roger Vivier shoes. I would question why she didn’t wear Tod’s shoes, but I dig those heels so much that I’ve included a larger photo of them below. As for the dress, she looks pretty spectacular, don’t you think? It hugs in all the right places without thrusting her rack out for the whole world to see. Not that cleavage is a bad thing, but Scarlett is clearly trying to project a more serious image these days. Her simple hair and makeup are quite fitting for the overall look as well.

The event took place at the Italian Embassy, and Scarlett apparently made the jaunt on a break from rehearsing for Broadway’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She gave an interview to WWD, in which she talks about her personal style:

On preparing for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: “That’s pretty all-encompassing, and it’s pretty much taken all my brain space,” the actress said of her rehearsals. Other than two new films coming out later this year, she also acted in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directing debut film, which has yet to be titled.

On Tod’s: “I’ve loved Tod’s for a long time, they’ve always been very generous, and I’ve worn their stuff for a long time. It’s wearable, comfortable and classic.”

On dressing for her bod: “I think every girl has their difficult part of their body that’s difficult to dress. For me it’s always been about being petite and curvy. There are certain styles I’d love to wear, but I just have to come to terms with the fact that I just don’t look good in like a sack dress, it’s just not going to happen….As you get older you learn more about your body and what looks good on you. It’s weird for me, because I’’e been photographed for so long…and sometimes you look back at those red-carpet pictures, and you’re like, ‘What was I thinking?’ I think everyone has that, maybe not on that scale…but everybody has their shameful red-carpet moment.”

[From WWD]

Scarlett seems quite comfortable in her skin these days, and I appreciate that (for once) she didn’t manage to slip a little remark about how tough it is to be considered so sexy in Hollywood. Oh, and that JGL movie that ScarJo will appear within is actually the one where he looks like Ronnie from “Jersey Shore.” I didn’t know he was directing it too! Oh JGL, you’re breaking my heart.

I like these Roger Vivier shoes a lot — they are really cute and very comfy looking too on ScarJo’s pigeon-footed stance. The bag is okay, but I can’t seem to ever get past that horrible arm tattoo.

After the Tod’s event, Scarlett split and headed to the Barack Obama fundraiser held by Anna Wintour. She didn’t have time to change outfits, but one should never mess with (close to) perfection.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

I really, really hope this post brings out some wailing Avengers fan-girls. First, let me ask you: does Scarlett Johansson seem like the kind of woman who would be overly friendly with your husband? Yes. I think she would. I’m not saying she would actually bone a married dude (Am I? I don’t even know), but I do think she would be one of those women who just flirts with every dude, regardless of his single-or-married status, regardless of whether you’re shooting dagger-eyes at her as she leans in and bats her eyes at your husband. Anyway, this Enquirer story definitely plays into that image that some of us have of Scarlett. According to sources, the “wives” of some of the Avengers are not happy with their husbands’ close friendships with ScarJo. I guess Black Widow’s special power is jiggling AND flirting.

Scarlett Johansson loves driving men mad as much as any girl, but she’s also a babe who likes to pal around with guys, just like one of the boys – which makes the wives of her “Avengers” co-stars CRAZY!

“ScarJo’s buddy-buddy friendships with their husbands has really rubbed some wives the wrong way – especially Chris Hemsworth’s wife, Elsa, and Robert Downey Jr.’s wife, Susan,” said the insider. “Their husbands text back and forth with Scarlett, call her and giggle on the phone – and when they rave that Scarlett is ‘like one of the guys,’ it really grinds the girls’ gears! They think it borders on being flirty. And there’s an ‘Avengers’ sequel in the works, so the problem’s ongoing.”

But “Innocent” ScarJo, happily settled in with ad exec Nate Naylor, “doesn’t see herself as a femme fatale – she’s never broken up a marriage or anything. She just likes being one of the boys!”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

From what I know of Susan Downey, she really doesn’t seem like the jealous type. She has RDJ’s heart, and she knows it. She probably thinks it’s cute that Robert flirts, but I also buy the idea that Robert knows his limits, and he would never do anything to harm his marriage, you know? As for the Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky stuff… hahahaha. I can’t wait to read the comments on that one. Oh, and ScarJo better not try anything with Mark Ruffalo!! She can have Tom Hiddleston, though. I think he’s single. Shhh…. Do you hear that? That was the sound of all of the Hiddlestoners screaming “NOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOO!!”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Over the past decade or so, Kate Hudson’s acting career has progressed from promising, Oscar-nominated darling to a chick who starred in far too many terrible romcoms. Her last movie, A Little Bit of Heaven (which honestly should have been named Hot Lovin’ & Colonoscopies) even went went straight to video-on-demand. According to a story in this week’s issue of Star, Kate hasn’t been blaming her career downfall on poor film choices. Instead, she’s focusing her ill will on “longtime frenemy” Scarlett Johansson, and Kate is allegedly furious that Scarlett has suddenly made it so big as a result of her Black Widow role in both Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. Here’s the story:

Nothing can decimate a star’s ego like watching a rival’s stunning career success. Ever since Scarlett Johansson’s movie The Avengers exploded at the box office — rewarding ScarJo with a $20 million paycheck for the sequel — longtime frenemy Kate Hudson has been seething with jealousy.

Scarlett and Kate’s rivalry began years ago, when they were competing for Justin Timberlake. Now that Scarlett’s career has skyrocketed while Kate’s has stalled, the Something Borrowed actress has been plotting a jealousy-fueled comeback that she hopes will dethrone ScarJo as the queen of Hollywood.

Says a source: “It’s incredibly petty, but she still bitches about Scarlett to this day. Every time Kate gets an endorsement deal she Googles to see Scarlett’s deal so she can compare. Kate hasn’t had a major hit in ages, but she’s letting it be known that she’s ready to break out of her mold and become the It Girl in Hollywood again.” We’ll see…

[From Star, print edition, August 8, 2012]

Honestly, I think the biggest surprise in this story is that Scarlett will be pulling down $20 million for an Avengers sequel. That figure can’t be accurate, but I’m sure she received a substantial raise from the first movie. Actually, scratch that — Movieline has confirmed the salary rumor, but I still think it’s an overstatement.

Here’s the thing though: Scarlett has played her cards quite well with Black Widow, and she reportedly got her foothold with this character by accepting a lowball salary to play the role in Iron Man 2. It was a risk that paid off in spades (plus, she was great in The Avengers), and there’s no way in hell that Kate Hudson could ever pull off that kind of career move.

In any event, it’s not like Scarlett really has to look over her shoulder or anything because Kate’s not going to be catching up with her anytime soon.

Photos courtesy of WENN

These photos are cracking me up for several different reasons. First of all, Scarlett Johansson is on another glorious beach vacation – she’s like the new Jennifer Aniston, I guess. ScarJo’s last vacay was in February, and she spent most of the time wandering around Mexico in bikini while her boyfriend Nate “The Most Beautiful Man” Naylor looked boring and curmudgeon-y. So what’s so funny about these pics of ScarJo on vacation on a yacht in the Taormina Sea (off the Italian coast)? Well, for one thing, ScarJo isn’t with Nate Naylor. Did she finally have enough of that hipster famewhore? Perhaps. Radar still claims that Scarlett and Nate were over in late February, and that’s when Scarlett went on a “date” with Bradley Cooper…? But the dude in these photos isn’t B-Coop. It’s some unknown beefcake who doesn’t even have the media training to A) NOT point at the paparazzi like an eager beaver and B) NOT look like he won some kind of boob-lottery by getting to spend this much time in close proximity to ScarJo’s rack. So… I guess Scarlett has a new boyfriend. This one doesn’t look like a keeper, though. We’ll see.

Also: Scarlett’s lost weight, right? When she’s all stretched out, she looks really small.

In other ScarJo news, you know how they’re making a sequel to the wildly successful Avengers? It’s a franchise now! And Scarlett is apparently asking for the BIG paycheck to do the next film. The New York Post reports that Scarlett might get $20 million to play Black Widow in the sequel. Of course, this mess originates in the British tabloids, I think – which means it’s probably not all true. I would imagine Scarlett is looking for a big payday for the sequel, but I don’t know if she or her people think she’s worth $20 million for what amounts to a supporting part with extra jiggle.

UPDATE: ScarJo’s rep says this dude is her bodyguard. Sure. I don’t know why that’s supposed to be read as some kind of denial, though. It’s possible he’s her bodyguard AND her lover.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Does anyone remember when Scarlett Johansson and Jared Leto dated way back when? I think it was the early 2000s, and a story in this week’s Star pinpoints the fleeting romance as going down in 2004. Well it’s been several romances later for both of them, and now Scarlett is dating Nate Naylor, the most beautiful man in the universe. There’s a bit of trouble brewing, however, for Jared Leto has allegedly been texting up a storm in the direction of Scarlett, who is (also allegedly) the only girl who ever dumped him. He supposedly wants a second chance, and Scarlett isn’t exactly discouraging his advances.

Of course, this is all happening over the phone, and Scarlett and Jared haven’t seen each other in years. All the same, Morrissey Jr. is reportedly steaming over the situation. Because any red-blooded guy would be totally jealous of a guy who dresses like the hipster Pete Doherty while attending Coachella, right? Here’s Star’s take on the matter:

Scarlett Johansson’s boyfriend, Nate Naylor, may be the envy of men everywhere, but when you’re dating an A-list girl, every man’s a rival. And, according to a source, Nate’s biggest nemesis is none other than pretty-boy Jared Leto.

“Nate is especially threatened by Jared,” says a friend. “He jokes that the only girl he knows who is prettier than Jared Leto is Scarlett.

“Nate’s jealousy is firmly rooted in the wild fling Jared and ScarJo had back in 2004. Since then, Jared has torn through a bevy of beauties, but he never got over Scarlett.

“Jared still holds out hope that they might get back together again,” says the source. “She was the only girl to ever break his heart, and he still talks about her all the time.”

Scarlett, 27, is reportedly “flattered” by Jared’s enduring affection, and it’s become a source of tension. “One time she even took a caled from Jared during one of their romantic dinners,” says the friend. “It turned into a big fight.” At press time, an even bigger confrontation was looming.

Sparks were about to fly on June 29, when Scarlett — who hasn’t seen her old amour in years — was scheduled to attend a star-studded fund-raiser for President Obama that Jared, 40, was throwing at Chateau Marmont in L.A. “She’s all stressed out about what she’s going to wear, which is so not like her,” a friend said before the event. “This was a red flag to Nate.”

Nate, of course, was planning toa ttend and keep “a close eye on things” — and he’s ripe for a showdown. “Nate is ready to explode,” said the friend. “There’s only so much a man can take.

[From Star, print edition, July 15, 2012]

Ha. I certainly doubt that Nate is “ready to explode” after he failed to even react when some dude harrassed ScarJo at a nightclub. More like Nate is just ready to crack open a beer and pretend like nothing is happening. Perhaps he’s mildly annoyed, but Nate’s probably safe with ScarJo staying with him for the time being. She seems like she’s tired of dating famous douchebags and is enjoying dating a non-famous douchebag for once. A lower maintenance douchebag, if you will.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

On Friday, Bedhead discussed a tabloid story claiming that Scarlett Johansson’s “most beautiful man in the world” boyfriend Nate Naylor is something of a wimp. ScarJo and Nate were apparently in some club, and some club douche was trying to grind on ScarJo, and Nate did nothing about it. I’m not saying he should have started a club brawl or anything, but “keeping your seat and not saying anything” isn’t a great option either.

Which brings me to an important question: is it possible that ScarJo is tiring of her most beautiful man in the world? Perhaps. I’ve always pegged Scarlett as the kind of girl who easily loses interest in a man, and she and Nate have been seeing each other for some-odd seven or eight months. Perhaps the end is nigh. But would Scarlett dump Nate without a jumpoff in the wings? And is that jumpoff… Bradley Cooper?

They were rumored to be dating back in 2011 after playing love interests in He’s Just Not that Into You, and from the looks of things, Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper may be giving it another go, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

The Avengers beauty,27,and Hangover stud, 37, had a fun, flirty dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant at the Bel Air Hotel on the night of Monday, June 11. There was candlelight, wine, (well, Scarlett had wine) and what appeared to be witty banter, based on the steady stream of giggles coming from their table.

“They seemed very comfortable together and it was pretty obvious they are into each other,” an eyewitness tells RadarOnline.com “Bradley seemed almost distracted by Scarlett’s beauty, especially since she was wearing a very low cut dress, and Scarlett was totally working her charms. She kept flipping her hair when she laughed at his jokes.

“The chemistry between them VERY evident and they looked totally wrapped up in each other — very cute! They were definitely having more than a “friends” dinner, it seemed pretty obvious they totally have the hots for each other.”

Ever the gent, Bradley stood up when Scarlett excused herself for the ladies room, and upon her return.

The handsome actor, who once dated Renee Zellweger and most recently has been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Zoe Saldana, picked up the tab and the impossibly attractive blonde duo relocated to the piano bar for drinks and a change of scenery.

[From Radar]

Did anyone just feel a little bit sorry for B-Coop there? I did. Poor Bradley didn’t know where to look! Anyway, I remember hearing some stuff about Scarlett and Bradley when they worked on He’s Just Not That Into You, and I vaguely remember something last year too. I suspect that they’re friends. And I’ve always suspected that Bradley’s type isn’t really a Scarlett-esque bombshell, nor a Saldana-esque, ballerina-type. But if we’re playing along, I think there’s a better chance that Bradley will end up going back to Zoe Saldana.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Here’s a reminder of how Scarlett Johansson looked on a Hawaiian vacation in February while she showed off her bikini bod and her new (at the time) man, Nate Naylor (the most beautiful man in the universe), rubbed suntan lotion on his back. Since then and despite a glowing People profile, Nate has failed to win over many fans due to some alleged violent tendencies and possible juvenile behavior, and it turns out he may not be very good at doing much for his girlfriend beyond protecting her from a sunburn. According to a story in this week’s Star, Nate failed to step up for Scarlett when she needed his help fending off advances from some idiot in a nightclub. What a chump:

Scarlett Johansson’s new man, Nate Naylor, is no superhero! The Avengers star and her boyfriend recently attempted to enjoy an evening at hip New York nightclub The Electric Room, but an out-of-control male fan upset the A-list actress. “He just kept throwing his body toward her, dancing wildly, trying to talk to her and get her attention,” an onlooker told Star. “He was relentless!”

The 27-year-old actress was “visibly frustrated,” but Nate, 38, “watched like a deer in healights,” the source revealed. Finally, Scarlett, in true Avenger form, “jumped up and alerted security, who built a wall of buff bouncers between the sexy movie actress and the threatening fan.”

[From Star, print edition, June 25, 2012]

It sounds like Nate might not be such a fantastic catch after all, right? I can see why Scarlett would want to date a relative civilian after exclusively being with famous dudes for many years, but she might want to give this guy up and find one who will actually defend her honor instead of sitting there like a lump while some random idiot gets all up in her personal space.

In other ScarJo news, she’s pulling the “deluded actress” card by not only whining about her desire for “anonymity” but also claiming that all that really matters to her is acting, not the other fame-associated stuff that goes along with the profession of appearing in blockbuster movies:

Scarlett Johansson “sometimes” think[s] she is amazing.

The actress has grown tired of being referred to as a sex bomb and wants to be known for her acting rather than her appearance. That said she is proud of the way she looks and hopes to be a role model to other women because of her career success.

“Sometimes yes, sometimes no!” she laughed, when Grazia Italia asked if she ever thinks she is amazing. “I also think there are so many wonderful women out there, and they aren’t even actresses! I don’t like being labelled as ‘the sexiest woman alive’. As an actress I prefer to maintain the anonymity.”

The star is divorced from Ryan Reynolds and is now dating again. Although she understands her love life is of interest to some people, Scarlett longs for the day when all that matters is her job.

“I don’t talk about my private relationships anymore? I often read many things and don’t even recognise myself in what was written. I dream that people stay far away from my private life, but I bet that it will be always a dream?” she said.

The 27-year-old loves everything about her job, explaining there is no better feeling than when she gets a scene just right.

“I can’t imagine having a job that makes me happier than acting. I adore my job, especially when you hear the director shouting, ‘OK! We have the scene!’ This is so satisfying!” she gushed.

[From Belfast Telegraph]

I hear what Scarlett is saying, but she’s not articulating her position very well. It must suck to go through a (necessarily painful) divorce and have the public weigh in on what could have happened within the marriage. Still, it’s kind of annoying when a multi-millionaire repeatedly discusses how she’s just all about the acting when, if that was the case, she could have decided to just do theater for a career instead of showing off her jiggly rack on the big screen.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

Last week, Kaiser hit it on the nose with a theory that Scarlett Johansson has (intentionally or not) been systematically killing off her sexiness in regards to her post-Ryan Reynolds (as well as concurrent and post-Sean Penn) red carpet looks. Then Scarlett changed course by bringing it in Preen for her Walk of Fame ceremony. Now I’m fully seeing a glimpse of the old Scarlett; that is, the sexy bombshell who wore red at the 2006 Golden Globes. Remember how even Ryan Seacrest couldn’t resist groping her at that event? That was so gross.

Last night, Scarlett wore a fantastic Dolce & Gabbana gown to the Met Gala and is doing the slightly messy (dare I say “bedhead”) locks once again. It’s my favorite hair look on her, and she wears it well. Now it’s fully expected that Scarlett would wear Dolce & Gabbana to the Met Gala since she’s still the face of their cosmetics line. Here the custom-made gown is almost princess-like (but still brings a lot of old-school glamour) with a champagne-colored, tulle skirt and a gold-embellished bodice that perfectly compliments her figure.

Like I’ve already said, Scarlett’s piece-y hair is perfectly mussed up for this dress as an updo would’ve been too severe for the overall look. Her makeup also looks beautiful as well with coral-colored lips and understated eyes.

Scarlett gives great back view in this dress too. Maybe she’s finally shaken off all of the Sean Penn. One can only hope.

Photos courtesy of WENN and Pacific Coast News

As expected, The Avengers ruled the weekend at the box office, which was the only natural result for the most-anticipated film of the summer. What wasn’t expected, however, is that this movie would break the record for the all-time domestic opening weekend of all time with an estimated $200.3 three-day take. Considering that the movie’s worldwide total has now reached $641.8 million, the movie’s $220 million budget (plus all of its advertising expenses) has already easily been recouped. Part of this massive success has been due to word-of-mouth by those who saw advanced previews, for director Joss Whedon honed in on his own inner fanboy to make the film that comic junkies truly wanted to see. Whedon knows the hell out of these characters and used all of their respectives strengths, weaknesses, and neuroses to the greatest advantage. It also comes as no surprise that putting so many superheroes into one movie would best the individual efforts of Thor’s abs and Captain America’s waxed nips (plus those of Iron Man, The Hulk, Loki, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury). In this instance, the sum is greater than the whole of the parts because Avengers has not only smashed sales records but also achieved quality:

It’s been clear for a while that The Avengers would be a box office success, though few people could have foreseen this opening. The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented $200.3 million start this weekend, which obliterates the previous all-time weekend record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer ($169.2 million).

While it fell short of setting a new opening day record (that still belongs to Potter), The Avengers was responsible for new high marks in most other major categories. It was the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million, and it set new records for Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million) grosses. It also had the highest per-theater average ever for a nationwide release with $46,057.

Through its first three days, The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor ($181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million). It’s still behind Iron Man and Iron Man 2 ($318.4 million and $312.4 million, respectively), though it should pass those movies next weekend.

The incredible opening weekend gross for The Avengers is mostly the result of a lengthy, extremely effective marketing effort which began all the way back in 2008 when Nick Fury made his first appearance after the credits in the original Iron Man. By the time Thor and Captain America opened last year, it became clear that these movies existed in equal parts to make money and to serve as advertisements for The Avengers.

The movie went on to receive strong reviews (94 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), which made anticipation reach even higher levels. It also helped that April’s releases were anemic, so The Avengers was able to play on more screens than it would have if another major movie was in the market (like when Thor had to face Fast Five last year).

The big question now is how high The Avengers can go–it will obviously hit $400 million, and with exceptional word-of-mouth (rare “A+” CinemaScore) the movie could even be in line for a $500 million total.

[From Box Office Mojo]

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!

Even though I tried to avoid seeing this movie until next weekend weekend, I ended up braving the crowds and catching a Sunday matinee showing that was (inevitably) filled with a vast geek squad who were probably already on their 2nd or 3rd viewings of the movie. Overall though, The Avengers was a really great time. The dialogue was snappy (both in regard to one-liners and monologues), the plot was well thought out and contained no visible holes, and the special effects weren’t cheesy or overdone. While I wasn’t blown away by the action and didn’t enjoy the infighting (particularly the encounter between Iron Man and Thor over Loki) nearly as much as I expected to, the smart script made up for these slight shortcomings.

Now let’s talk about how well the abundant eye candy fared because, ultimately, this is a summer blockbuster and, action aside, the movie was intentionally filled to the brim with a large number of attractive, strapping actors. Between Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, I was personally well sated, and Robert Downey Jr. pulled off his usual charming a-hole in Tony Stark quite well. If one adds in Jeremy Renner’s effortless tough-guy aura as Hawkeye and the mesmerizing performance of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, then it comes as no surprise to learn that this movie pulled in an impressive 40% female audience, which is pretty amazing for a superhero movie. Even more boastworthy is that Scarlett Johansson’s contributions went well past her famous jiggle. Don’t get me wrong though, for those boobs jiggled plenty, but Scarlett also held her own (far better than she did in Iron Man 2) and didn’t embarrass herself at all.

Character development, which is a rare entity to behold in the blockbuster world, was also a major strength of The Avengers. Thor and Iron Man both had to do away with their own respective bits of snobbery (fighting alongside mortals and getting along with others, respectively) for the united cause, and the Hulk also learned to cope with his (for lack of a better descriptor) dual personality. Oddly enough, I think that last aspect was the most thrilling part of the movie for me even though I went in thinking that this incarnation of the Hulk was “fluffier” than usual and nearly as brawny as he’s previously been. I now stand corrected, for both Ruffalo and the CGI department won me over — not enough to throw away my allegance to Thor, but close. Indeed, I enjoyed this movie like I love The Dirty Dozen, and Whedon did an amazing job of integrating a bunch of mismatched parts into one impressive superhero tapestry.

Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto