Jumper Lands With a Thud

Joss Whedon directs Robert Downey Jr. in superhero blowout

(NEWSER) - Sure, it's an effective moneymaking scheme: release movies about individual superheroes, then one about all of them. But with Joss Whedon at the helm, The Avengers really works. What critics are saying:

• "Even if you don't particularly like comic-book adaptations, this film just might make a believer of you," writes Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times . "Whedon is the key reason why this $220 million behemoth of a movie is smartly thought out and executed with verve and precision."

Bruce Willis, in weird wig, tops 'smart' sci-fi flick

(NEWSER) - Critics are lukewarm about Surrogates, the new sci-fi flick starring a surprisingly hirsute Bruce Willis, in which humans command tricked-out robots who do their work and play for them.

• It's a "preposterous movie that luxuriates in its own silliness," says Stephanie Zacharek of Salon. There's a "heavy-duty moral," but the film is redeemed by "not taking itself too seriously."

Wired declares Klingon the king of sci-fi slang

(NEWSER) - Creators of true geek art follow JRR Tolkien’s example and craft fictional languages to populate their worlds. Wired lists the best examples:

1. Klingon. The Star Trek creation is the king of all sci-fi languages, with fully realized grammar and vocabulary.
2. City Speak. Blade Runner’s vision of earth as a mishmash of Western and Eastern cultures was greatly enriched by this language, described as a “mixture of Japanese, Spanish, German, what have you.”

Abrams' bold reinvention of franchise will please both longtime fans and newbies

(NEWSER) - JJ Abrams has boldly pulled off the almost impossible with his stellar reinvention of Star Trek and made a movie that will wow both newcomers and hardcore Trekkies, critics say.

• Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: The prequel "is more exciting than the last four ST pictures put together, more fun than a barrel of Tribbles, and the most satisfying action-adventure since last year's Iron Man."

Spy film gets wide, warm reception

(NEWSER) - Critics aren’t hiding their love for the twists and turns of Duplicity, a combination “caper movie,” “love story,” and “extra-dry corporate satire,” AO Scott notes in the New York Times. The buzz on the Julia Roberts-Clive Owen flick:

• "Attempts—and to a surprising degree, succeeds—to pour a classic vintage into a 21st century bottle," writes Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune.