Those going into Prometheus expecting a direct prequel to Alien will be disappointed, but there’s still plenty to tantalize fans of the franchise. The movie begins eighty years in the future, when a pair of archeologists discover evidence that humanity may have been visited by aliens who left their calling card with directions to a distant planetary system. Flash forward a few years and we find ourselves aboard the starship Prometheus as it approaches the planet in question. The expedition team soon finds traces of an advanced civilization and they begin investigating. But, this being a movie that shares DNA with Alien, things go horribly wrong before you can say “space jockey!”

As several reviewers have noted, the movie is a sumptuous visual feast. I watched the IMAX 3D version and some of the aerial and space scenery is truly breathtaking. The ship itself is one of the film’s central characters and director Ridley Scott lets us explore its sleek interior at some length. The plot itself lacks the same polish. Supposedly intelligent characters do some incredibly stupid or inexplicable things that distract from the sense of dread that Scott is trying to build. And David the android (Michael Fassbender) is the only character who seems like more than a quick sketch. But while its failings are certainly evident, Prometheus never becomes tedious or predictable. Indeed, it offers several moments that are genuinely scary or disturbing. Prometheus is smart science fiction that could have been even smarter.

Yes, The Avengers can be a dizzying, frenetic maelstrom of quick cuts and superhero-y one-upmanship, but the movie never stops being fun. The elaborate action set-pieces that the comic book nerds will be deconstructing all summer long don’t seem bloated or disconnected from the rest of the film. And the characters are interesting, troubled people who bicker and argue like a dysfunctional team of co-workers. Perhaps The Avengers is best viewed as a modern workplace dramedy, except that the office drones have been replaced with demi-gods, mutants, and assassins. But it’s the subversively funny moments that give The Avengers its broad appeal. I’m still chuckling over a certain scene containing a perfectly timed sucker punch.

The fact that Joss Whedon’s name is now associated with astronomical box office numbers can only be a good thing for the future of pop culture. It’s probably unreasonable to expect Disney to bankroll a Serenity sequel, but a geek can dream.

The Cabin in the Woods is, among other things, a love letter to the conventions of the horror movie genre: conventions that are so persistent and firmly established in the minds of moviegoers that they have become cliches. But director Drew Goddard and producer Joss Whedon also have plenty to say about why these conventions are so persistent. Why do horror movies force characters to conform to broad stereotypes like The Fool, The Whore, and The Jock. Why do the characters in horror movies make such stupid decisions (“Hey, you guys, there’s a slobbering supernatural horror chasing us. Let’s split up!”)? Why do horror movies demand a display of T&A and then punish any character that obliges? Cabin answers these with both snark and insight.

For all its clever meta shenanigans, Cabin isn’t a movie targeted solely at film school grads. It’s genuinely scary and chock full of the snappy, biting dialogue that made Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly such great television. It’s difficult to discuss specific plot points with divulging spoilers, but the last quarter of the film is a big, bloody bowl of awesome; one of the most frenetically and gleefully nihilistic climaxes in the annals of horror movie history.  I’ll likely purchase Cabin on Blu-ray because it’s one of those movies that rewards multiple viewings, both in terms of theme and eye candy.