That has got to be the best scene since Raiders of the lost Ark, where the swordsman prepares for a huge fight scene and then Indy just shoots the guy.

this isn't highbrow cinema, which most of us also enjoy.

How many Luis Buñuel flicks has everyone here seen?

I was following the making of The Gift very closely, as I was already a fan of Raimi and really enjoyed A Simple Plan. I was right there when Raimi's assistant (who was also Kate Blanchett's assistant — Raimi didn't even have his own assistant) received the call. He then gave his American Express to the assistant and told him to buy every Spider-Man comic in the store. Later I read an interview with Raimi who said he was not even on Sony's short list of directors in consideration for Spider-Man (since Cameron had turned them down) and it was as much a surprise to him as it was to everyone else that he had been selected.

Except that RotLA scene was adlibbed because Ford had diarrhea and didn't want to do a longer scene.

Except that RotLA scene was adlibbed because Ford had diarrhea and didn't want to do a longer scene. The Hulk-Loki ragdoll scene (although probably the highlight of the Avengers movie) took months of retarded CGI "artists" clicking away at their video game terminals to make happen.

And how does ANY of that make you qualified to comment about how or why Joss Whedon got picked to write and direct The Avengers? There are fast food clerks who can claim to have virtually the same resume.

And how does ANY of that make you qualified to comment about how or why Joss Whedon got picked to write and direct The Avengers?

Jean Epstein's early work was obviously an influence on Buñuel, but Epstein went on to become a short-format documentarian, whereas Buñuel (a Spanish surrealist, not an French impressionist) went on to greatness, for well over 20 years after Epstein was dead.