Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth had the esteemed honor in The Avengers world to have their individual films debut in the same year (2011). Does that connect them forever? We think so, plus it’s fun to say “The Chrises” when referring to the fantastic choices made to cast Thor and Captain America. Movie Fanatic is getting the pair’s thoughts on their unification-of-superheroes picture that hits theaters May 4 (check out our The Avengers review) and they share some pretty funny moments from filming with director Joss Whedon and co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo.

Movie Fanatic: Take us back to the beginning. What did you like most about your characters, Thor and Captain America, when you first tackled your roles in your individual movies?

Chris Evans: His heart and his selflessness. He wasn’t born a superhero. This didn’t happen to him by accident. He was chosen for those reasons -- his values and morals. He puts other people and other causes ahead of himself. It’s something to aspire to.
 
Chris Hemsworth: I like the visceral gut instinct that Thor has. There’s a bit of a childlike quality, in the sense that, if he believes something and wants to do something, he does it and says it. Kids own their environment. There are no opinions that they really care about. With Thor, it’s there. It’s surrounded by bravado and strength, and all that, but at the end of the day, he’s pretty true to who he is and what he wants to do, and that was fun to play with.

Movie Fanatic: In Thor, you seemed like a fish out of water walking the streets of small town America. Yet, in Avengers, Thor appears to still be a bit of the same way. Would you agree?

Chris Hemsworth: All the Avengers fall into that category. Joss [Whedon] said it early on that we’re a dysfunctional family that belongs because they don’t belong anywhere else. Thor is from another planet and his motivation through the conflict and the villain was far more personal than the rest of them because it’s his brother. It was nice to have already shot that film and to have had that relationship with Tom [Hiddleston]. That was my focus. But, we all didn’t get along, at the beginning. Certainly, when you’re from some other planet or some other world, it’s fun to play that dynamic.

Movie Fanatic: Reading The Avengers script that Joss wrote, what scene got you most excited to film?

Chris Hemsworth: The section where Hulk and Thor are finally on the same team and fighting the aliens. They end and are both standing there out of breath, and Hulk just backhands Thor. That was something I looked forward to. That had me on a wire, just getting yanked out of the shot. That was good.

The Avengers Trailer 3

Movie Fanatic: Now that filming The Avengers is in the rear view mirror, what stands out as the most memorable scene?

Chris Evans: Mine was the scene where Thor and Iron Man are fighting. I had just seen Thor, the day prior, and I had yet to see Hemsworth or Downey in their full suit. I showed up that night, and it was the first time I saw them both geared up, and I just got really excited. I felt like a little kid. It was just an honor to be a part of it.

Chris Hemsworth: That was our first day on set, too, with the whole ensemble, which was a pretty exciting and nerve-wracking experience. That was amazing!

Movie Fanatic: Now Mr. Evans, how nice was it to play the straight man in a group of jokesters?

Chris Evans: Yeah, it’s tough not getting any jokes [laughs]. That’s the role. It’s necessary. That’s why I like it. I’m used to leaning on cracking jokes and being the smart ass, so it’s nice to play it straight a little bit. I think with this film, even more than the first Captain America, Steve Rogers has some issues, some conflicts and some trouble with the fact that he is a man out of time. But, given who he is as a man, his nature is that he puts that second and the mission first. He’s selfless. It’s a fun character to play.
 
Movie Fanatic: Speaking of humor, the script Joss Whedon wrote is filled with it. Was it ever hard to keep a straight face with Robert doing his thing?

Chris Evans: Anytime you do a scene with Robert Downey Jr., he’s so good with improv and working off-the-cuff, it can be a challenge. He’s never going to do the same thing twice, so you’ve just gotta be on your toes. He’s just funny. He’s always funny. He brings a certain life to the scene. Even if you’re not the one making jokes, you can appreciate what he brings to any scene, in terms of comedy.

Movie Fanatic: Thor has a great moment of hilarity too…

Chris Hemsworth: Yeah! The line where I say, “He’s adopted.” I had no idea that would be funny [laughs]. When we shot that, I went, “Is this really funny?” But, that’s the thing. Joss is hilarious. The whole film, I was surprised how the comedy in it played so well.

Movie Fanatic: Did anyone get injured during filming?

Chris Hemsworth: I had one! The scene where Thor takes Loki off the ship and lands. I was on a wire because I hadn’t learned to fly yet, and I had to come down and land on the cliff, step and have the conversation. For the first couple of takes -- and it’s going to turn up on the DVD extras somewhere -- I just face-planted into the dirt. It was incredibly ungraceful and unsuperhero-like.

Abi Morgan has the esteemed honor of writing the screenplay that won Meryl Streep her first Oscar in 29 years. Morgan crafted The Iron Lady script and made the most interesting of choices in how to tell the story of Margaret Thatcher. The British screenwriter tells us in our exclusive interview that she chose to tell the story of her country’s first and only female Prime Minister through flashbacks of an elderly woman battling dementia. 

“I realized I couldn't look at Mrs. Thatcher’s past without examining her present,” Morgan said. “Then I read an old article on Margaret Thatcher in her later years and in it Carol Thatcher, her daughter, speaks very movingly about the moment she realized her mother's mind was deteriorating -- the notion of living with someone with dementia and them living in 'another world.’ This became the inspiration for The Iron Lady.”

There were numerous routes she could have gone and certain moments in the stateswoman’s career that would have been ripe for exposition. “When I was approached by Damian Jones, the film’s producer, I was offered a script, a very good script, which focused on the Falklands. However at that time, there were many different takes on Margaret Thatcher's life rapidly appearing on the TV screen in the UK,” she recalled.

“We went back and forth for some months trying to find a period which hadn't already been plundered, from her relationship to Reagan to focusing on one particular political event. What I kept coming back to was where is she now and her condition.”

Having her prose emitted to the world by the uncanny talent possessed by Streep was a career-best moment not lost on the screenwriter. “Casting Meryl was always in mind but when she actually agreed then it was like winning the lottery! I have watched her and admired her in so many films that she brings the breadth of that experience to the part. She is such a finely tuned brilliant actress and has such warmth and integrity as a person -- it was a very lucky break,” Morgan said.

It was a difficult task writing the life of Thatcher, as the leader was equally thought of as respected and revolting by the population. Sounds like a character ripe for film!

“Margaret Thatcher is an enigma. She is, was, both reviled and revered as a Prime Minister and yet the more I examined her life the more I realized that this was an important study of power and the loss of power which is universal,” Morgan said.

The Iron Lady Trailer 2

“She is compelling simply because of the breadth of her journey from Grantham school girl to iconic global leader. But more than that, her conviction, her certainty -- at times monstrous and at times for many brilliant -- is compelling. A certain sector of the country I am sure still longs for that certainty. Yet such conviction without consensus or regard for the views of those closest to you, is what ultimately led to her downfall.”

When approaching penning the script, Morgan did not shy away from the controversies that followed Thatcher during her tenure as PM. “The critical chorus has always been strong around Thatcher,” she said. The writer chose to center on something completely different. “The Iron Lady focuses less on the political and more on the challenges of being a woman in power and how that power can change one. The film is bigger than the script. It was always going to be controversial, she had a provocative career and so it was important not to ignore that.”

In the end, Morgan feels her film is about much more than the life story of Margaret Thatcher. “The Iron Lady is as much about the fragility of life, any life... be it political or otherwise and that power is transitory whether one is a world leader or not.”

Men In Black 3 really pulled off an excellent feat of casting by grabbing Josh Brolin to play a young Tommy Lee Jones. As you can see from these newly-released Men In Black 3 clips, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, Huffington Post, and Metacafe, Brolin has Jones down pat.

Men In Black 3 Clip: A Confusing Time

Men In Black 3 Clip: You Have These In The Future?

Men In Black 3 Clip: Who Are You?

The film opens in 3D, IMAX 3D, and 2D on May 25, coming almost ten years after the second installment in this sci-fi comedy franchise. If the plethora of alien ass-kicking in the first two films wasn't cool enough for you, Men in Black 3 also features time travel! Yes, Agent J goes back in time to convince a young K to help him save the world.

Yes, save the world. Again. For the third time. What have you ever done? Check out the Men in Black 3 trailer to get inspired!

If Robert Pattinson seems too pretty to hunt down and interrogate Saddam Hussein, you're wrong. According to Deadline.com, that's exactly what he'll be doing in the new film Mission: Blacklist.

The film, adapted from the true story of the search for Hussein penned by actual Hussein interrogator Eric Maddox, will star Pattinson as Maddox himself (but let's not all start writing memoirs in the hopes that Pattinson will plays us in the film).

Take a breath before you start declaring yourself on "Team Maddox."

Pattinson, best known for his role in Twilight, might be trying to grow a bit from his teeny-bopper image with his newest projects. Before he hunts down actual, recent enemies of the state, he can be seen in the upcoming Cronenberg film Cosmopolis (watch the Cosmopolis trailer here).

The first clip from the upcoming David Cronenberg film Cosmopolis was released today, and (surprise!) it's a tad impenetrable, but in a good way--In an "I need to see the entire film" kind of way.

The clip shows Pattinson, whose new film Mission: Blacklist was just announced, and costar Sarah Gadon in a diner, talking in short cryptic sentences, before a pair of rat-wielding protestors interrupt.

Cosmopolis Clip

It's fair to say that nobody expected a straightforward narrative from a Cronenberg adaptation of a Don DeLillo novel, and this clip suggests the film may indeed challenge its viewers.

Check out the Cosmopolis trailer for another look at the highly-anticipated film before it premiers at Cannes in May.

Sony may have missed a great opportunity to release an Amazing Spider-Man "web" app, but they decided to forgo the pun and release a phone app instead.

The free app, available from the App Store or Google Play, allows users to activate interactive 3D animations by scanning specially-marked Amazing Spider-Man images. Fans can even take a real-world picture with virtual Spider-Man.

Maybe you can take a picture of you watching The Amazing Spider-Man trailer with Spider-Man! No, don't, it's too meta! It'll tear apart the fabric of space-time! Nooooooo!

Francis Lawrence, director of I Am Legend and Water For Elephants, has been signed today to direct the upcoming Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, according to Lionsgate.

Adapted from the second book in author Suzanne Collins' series, Catching Fire figures to continue the immense success of the Hunger Games franchise.

Lawrence stated that he "fell in love with the characters, the themes and the world" of Catching Fire, and that he "can't wait to dive right in."

For more on this highly-anticipated sequel, set to release on November 22, 2013, take a look at what Catching Fire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy has to say about writing the film.

After yesterday's Expendables 2 teaser gave action fans a taste of the goods, IGN finally dropped the totally real, totally explosive The Expendables 2 trailer.

Expendables 2 Trailer

The trailer highlights a few choice explosions, car flips, and gunfights, as well as such amazing action lines as "I now pronounce you man and knife." I'm hoping the full version includes the line, "You may kiss the blade." If not, I expect a writing credit on The Expendables 3.

With a short forward from Sylvester Stalone, the trailer shows off scenes featuring Stalone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the rest of the action-packed Expendables 2 cast.

The Expendables 2 hits theaters August 17, 2012.

It was announced today that Zombieland and The Rum Diary star Amber Heard will join Savages actor Demian Bichir (check out the Savages trailer here), as the two newest confirmed members of the Machete Kills cast.

The film, the first of two planned sequels to 2010 action film Machete, is also set to star Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson, and of course, Danny Trejo in the titular role. Robert Rodriguez, who is currently working on Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, will return as director.

For a first taste of the sequel, have a gander at the Machete Kills poster.

Mark Ruffalo is clearly marveling at his good fortune sitting at The Avengers press junket in Beverly Hills. He’s new to the Marvel world, but is playing a character that has had two previous film incarnations that were considered less than savory by fans of the green monster. After meeting with director Joss Whedon, Ruffalo was able to zero in on where he should channel his inner Bruce Banner/the Hulk.

“Joss said he really liked The Incredible Hulk TV show and what Bill Bixby did with him, so I rented those with my 10-year-old son,” Ruffalo recalled. It was, of all things, the actor’s son that provided him the spark to make his Hulk an unforgettable one. “After the third episode, my son turned to me and said, ‘Papa, he’s so misunderstood!’ I basically based my character entirely on my 10-year-old boy, who has all of the force of nature screaming out of his body while at the same time having everyone around him telling him to (expletive) control himself.”

As we state in our The Avengers review, Ruffalo is a shining light in an already brilliant movie. His Hulk has us wanting more… sooner rather than later. It wasn’t easy for the revered actor to tackle the role. He knew the stakes. “It was terrifying. I knew what my responsibility was. I felt it just by making the mistake of going online and reading some of the fanboy responses to the announcement that I was playing the next version of Bruce Banner. I will never do that again,” Ruffalo said and laughed. “I’ve never had a role be more scrutinized and criticized, even before I’d shot a single frame.”

Then his nerves hit him again once he neared the time to shoot the movie. “Coming onto the set with all of those guys was pretty daunting. Many of my heroes in life are in this cast. So, I knew that I had big shoes to fill, so to speak. It was tough, and I wish that I had a cool costume to wear the entire time, instead of a leotard that was painted like a Chinese checkerboard,” Ruffalo said of his motion capture suit.

The Avengers Trailer: Hulk Smashes

Sure, he got the character better than anyone has in decades. But, what struck us meeting Ruffalo in person was how much it seemed he developed an affinity for the Hulk. “We’re all told to be so well-behaved. Sometimes we’re all bursting at the seams to let it rip. Bruce Banner gets that moment. Part of the joy for people is to actually see that happen,” he said. “That’s exciting for us. It’s a nice way for us to blow off steam -- in watching movies -- especially me.”

The new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man is here! In addition to an excellently ominous shot of an unmasked Spidey, fans get a much closer look at The Lizard, the film's villain.

The Amazing Spider-Man Trailer 3

The trailer is set to debut before tonight's midnight screening of The Avengers, super comic book fans will get a double-dose of awesome in the wee hours of the night.

The reboot of the Spiderman franchise stars Andrew Garfield as the web-slinging superhero, with Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, and Martin Sheen rounding out The Amazing Spider-Man cast. Really dedicated fans might want to go see The Avengers tonight, and then immediately get in line for The Amazing Spider-Man's July 3 release!

The trailer for End of Watch, a new cop drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, dropped today, courtesy of ComingSoon.net.

The trailer confirms reports that the film will be seen entirely through in-movie handheld video cameras and surveillance footage in the style of found-footage films such as Chernobyl Diaries (watch a Chernobyl Diaries clip to get a sense of the style). Good thing they didn't stick to the original idea of showing the entire film through a single stationary camera in the break room.

End of Watch Trailer

End of Watch tells the tale of two inseparable partners in the LAPD as they patrol South Central Los Angeles. From the looks of the trailer, they will eventually have to subvert orders to take down a major criminal kingpin.

The film will premier on September 28 2012.

The Amazing Spider-Man's brand new trailer is premiering before The Avengers' midnight showings tonight. However, it was shown to Movie Fanatic yesterday and afterwards, we spoke with director Marc Webb.

The Amazing Spider-Man Trailer 3

A trailer must have spectacle, and this latest one does in droves. But, what it also does is sets up the emotional pull that the entire film experience will provide. Webb found that a challenge, but a welcome one. “That's the thing for me, the access point,” Webb said. By having a clip of his parents, and a bit with Aunt May as well as the strong presence of Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy and their romance, Webb has dropped just enough emotional power to have it connect to the entire film.

“I wish you were in the edit room! I could show you scenes that would describe it,” Webb said and laughed. “It's just something that I love in movies, that particularly romantic dimension. It's something that I'm very familiar with -- girls and being made nervous by women. The interpersonal relationships that Peter Parker has are so simple and so domestic that it's a very fun dichotomy to play that big, massive spectacle alongside those very small moments.”

One of the things that pop out from the new Amazing Spider-Man trailer is the character design of the Lizard, which we see more of than ever before. What Webb wanted from his villain is certainly clear from the new visuals. “I wanted to make him stronger than Spider-Man, that was a really important part,” Webb added.

As embodied by actor Rhys Ifans, Webb wanted to make sure he didn’t lose any of the actor’s brilliance to special effects. “The performance capture stuff done with Rhys, I did to get his facial composure. I wanted to keep Rhys’ performance in that creature. Rhys’ performance is giving that nuance, getting the eyebrow tics and the looks. Creating an armature that can actually speak and lips that make sounds, it’s a very detailed and tedious, frankly tedious process,” Webb said. He admitted he’s still working on it to make it even more lifelike than we see in the third trailer. “I actually just came from trying to incorporate his performance into the Lizard itself. That takes an enormous amount of time.”

What also screams out of the new teaser, and was representative in the earlier ones as well, is this is clearly a wildly different vision than the Sam Raimi trilogy. For obvious reasons, Webb wanted to go in a drastic direction and also focus on things that were omitted from the Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man films.

“There are certain iconic elements of Spider-Man that I felt obligated to honor. But, I wanted to build something with a different tone and a different attitude and do things in a little more of a practical way, especially at the beginning of the movie,” Webb said.

One aspect that Webb felt was needed in his film was that we already know Spider-Man’s story, what is Peter Parker’s? “If we've seen the origin of Spider-Man, maybe we haven't seen the origin of Peter Parker. I was always a Spider-Man fan, but I was a bigger Peter Parker fan than a Spider-Man fan,” the director said. “There is an incredibly innocent and tender quality to Peter Parker. He's not a billionaire. He's not an alien. He's a kid and he doesn't have money. He has trouble with the people that raise him and he has trouble talking to girls. There's that intense relatability that's all throughout the movie.”

The storyline of having Parker search for his parents was an aspect Webb insisted on showcasing in his The Amazing Spider-Man. “That’s the first domino in the story are the parents. He goes out looking for his father and finds himself. That’s my tagline,” Webb said and laughed.

The filmmaker still stuck to the framework that has made the character a pop culture sensation for decades. “There are elements that Marvel was very protective of and I think are very important parts of the Spider-Man origins story. Uncle Ben’s death transforms him and has a huge impact on him. That’s an incredibly important part of the mythology. I would never subvert that.”

There’s also the humor of Parker that was missing in Raimi’s flicks, but is ever present in the iconic comics. “That's something from the comics that I've always been really a fan of. Humor's a tricky thing because it's always very subjective. But, Peter getting left behind by his parents… I thought to myself, ‘What does that do to somebody? How does that change your view of the world?’ To me, that creates a little bit of a level of distrust. Then there's a sarcasm that comes from that. You have seen some of the car thief scene where that attitude comes out. He's a little bit mean. He's a little bit snarky. But that’s an attitude that we can all understand and relate to. That was fun to explore the humor but my point is that the humor comes from a very human real emotional place. It’s not just slapped on.”

The last time John Madden directed Judi Dench, the actress won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love. The helmer and the Dame are re-teaming in the charismatic The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Dench isn’t alone in the British royalty cast. Madden has gotten Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel for an equally funny look at growing old in 2012 and love letter to India.

Studios generally stay away from films that center on the subject that is like Voldemort: He who shall not be named. Growing older is not a sin, honestly, and in Madden’s film, he celebrates the wisdom, clarity and also scary approaching future that is aging.

Dench’s Evelyn has recently lost her husband and is doing fine, but having trouble wrangling her own life from the ashes. Even a call to the internet provider proves complicated when she doesn’t have her husband to validate her access. Wilkinson’s Graham has put in a lifetime at a law firm and is the guy who no one expects will ever retire. During someone else’s retirement party, he announces he’s leaving.

Then, there’s Bill Nighy’s Douglas and his wife Jean (Penelope Wilton). Their daughter’s tech company has not taken off as she promised when she borrowed their money. Therefore, they have a serious problem finding a place to live to enjoy their golden years. Then there’s Smith’s Muriel. The only place she can afford a hip replacement surgery is India.

Such is the case with the cast of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. All independently find their way to the Indian “luxury hostel for people of a certain age” as not only the place they need at this moment, but also a locale where they know their next chapter of life will write itself out. Running the establishment is Patel. His Sonny has inherited his father’s run-down hotel and dreams of making it a destination for retirees who still seek adventure.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Trailer

The film is all about dreams and their place in our lives, whether we six or sixty. Life is a continual ball of change and given their circumstances, each of our cast of characters manages to adapt to life in India with varying levels of success and ease. That is what makes the film so heartwarming. As it is not afraid to shy away from the taboo subject of birthdays passing, it should not come as a surprise that some pretty serious subjects are dealt with, but as the book by Deborah Moggach did, there is a plethora of humor.

Madden’s work is that rare film that combines a group of talents at the height of their mettle. An entire cast answers the challenge set forth by a director who above all else, is a gifted storyteller. As fantastic as we found The Avengers, might we suggest also checking in to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as summer dawns.

The latest installment of the Skyfall videoblog on 007.com shares an insight into the amazing feat of creating a world for the upcoming James Bond film.

Skyfall, marking Daniel Craig's third performance as Bond, requires an entire design and construction team to bring the world to life. The team is headed by Production Designer Dennis Gassner, who explains exactly what it takes to pull off such a tremendous task.

Skyfall Production Designer Video Blog

The newest Bond film will center around the secret past of M, played by Dame Judi Dench. Dench is also set to appear in the upcoming British comedy-drama, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (check out our The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel review)

Skyfall opens October 26, 2012. Until then, check out this Skyfall behind the scenes video for insights from Daniel Craig.

Deadline announced today that Brad Buecker, director of Glee and American Horror Story, will helm a new musical set in the 1980's, Time After Time.

The musical figures to take a little of Glee, and mix in a bit of Back to the Future, and just a dash of Freaky Friday. Penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Brian Yorkey, Time After Time will tell the story of a teenage girl who finds herself stuck in the 1980's with her mom as her best friend.

Like Glee, Time After Time will most likely feature covers of pop songs--of course, from the '80s (and most likely, the Cyndi Lauper song from which the film borrows its name will make an appearance).

Buecker isn't the only one from Glee getting film work this year. Jane Lynch, who plays Sue Sylvester on the show, will be part of the Wreck-It Ralph cast for the upcoming Disney animated feature.

The 1981 cult horror classic that launched the career of Sam Raimi, director of Spider-Man 1 through 3 (see the new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man here) is getting a remake! The Evil Dead starts principal photography today in Aukland, New Zealand.

The cast of the new film features mostly unknowns as the original did, but includes Suburgatory actress Jane Levy. The film was written and will be directed by Uruguayan independent filmmaker Fede Alvarez, with a rewrite done by Diablo Cody.

The Evil Dead will feature the plot devices of the cabin in the woods (not that Cabin in the Woods) and the Book of the Dead from the first film, but will apparently diverge from the original plot after that. Look for the film to drop in 2013.

With the arrival of The Avengers at theaters, the summer movie season has officially started. Over 100 films will be coming at us in the next four months, highlighted by what could be called the most anticipated movie slate for any summer in memory. Between a Spider-Man reboot, the final Dark Knight film, Pixar’s first female heroine debuting in Brave and the Men in Black returning for the first time in over a decade, it should be a summer for the ages.

There are so many to choose from, but Movie Fanatic managed to come up with our Top 10 Movies of Summer 2012 to highlight which films need to be on your radar.

10. The Campaign
We have to wait until August 10, but from what we saw at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last week, this is the comedy to beat this summer. Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell star as opposing candidates running for congress. The sizzle reel we witnessed had the entire house falling off their chairs laughing. The two comic actors are impeccably cast and the premise has humor written all over it.

9. The Bourne Legacy
The casting of Jeremy Renner to take over the Bourne franchise has us not missing Matt Damon so much. After seeing Renner in action in The Avengers, we believe The Bourne Legacy has the power to be one of the best action movies of the summer.

The Bourne Legacy Trailer

8. Men in Black 3
It’s been over a decade since Agent J and Agent K kept the Earth safe from aliens who wish to do us harm. Director Barry Sonnenfeld returns to his franchise to direct the third installment that feels a whole lot more like the first film than the second. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are masterful together once again, but the actor who steals the show is Josh Brolin. He doesn’t do an imitation of Jones (he plays the younger Agent K as Smith’s Agent J goes back in time in the film), he becomes Jones as Agent K. It is stunning.

Men in Black 3 Trailer 2

7. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Seth Grahame-Smith told us in our exclusive interview that the inspiration for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was his vision of our greatest president as an action hero. There’s an incredible origins story for Lincoln as he overcame so much to become president. Then, as president, he had to be almost super-human to keep the Union together. Toss in a raging army of vampires and the prez’s lifelong passion for offing them and we have ourselves a wildly unique film premise.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Trailer 2

6. The Amazing Spider-Man
Do we need a reboot of Spider-Man so quickly after Tobey Maguire headed into the sunset? From the Amazing Spider-Man trailer that just debuted, we believe that answer is an absolute yes. Andrew Garfield will be a fantastic Peter Parker. Emma Stone will kill it as Gwen Stacy and director Marc Webb has a passion for the mythology that will take the story of the webbed wonder to new heights.

The Amazing Spider-Man Trailer 3

5. Brave
We’ve seen over 30 minutes of footage from the first Pixar film to feature a female heroine and it is astonishing. Merida is a Scottish princess who would rather ride her horse Angus while shooting her bow and arrow, than be gussied up to meet her future husband. The film focuses on fate and how much control of our own we have, or don’t have. Pixar is known for its rich history, and Brave could very well be one of their best.

Brave Trailer 3

4. Snow White and the Huntsman
This is no Snow White as anyone remembers. Kristen Stewart’s titular character fights and is hardly a damsel in distress. If anything, she causes the distress! Toss in Charlize Theron’s Evil Queen and Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman, and this classic fairy tale becomes a period piece action movie for the ages.

Snow White and the Huntsman Trailer 3

3. The Avengers
As we stated in our The Avengers review, Joss Whedon has crafted Marvel perfection. Combining Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye could not have been an easy task. Yet, Whedon makes it look easy and the victor in the Avengers sweepstakes is the audience. It already has a spot on our Top 10 of 2012.

The Avengers Trailer: Suit Up

2. The Dark Knight
If it weren’t for what sits at number one, the final foray into the world of The Dark Knight would be tops for summer 2012. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale tackle their last Batman film and with Bane as the baddie, what we’ve seen so far is epic and masterful.

Dark Knight Rises Trailer

1. Prometheus
It’s been decades since director Ridley Scott helmed a sci-fi adventure. After his genre-defining work on Blade Runner and Alien, the simple fact that he was tackling sci-fi again had us at go. But, Prometheus promises to be so much more. Is it a story about the origins of humanity? Is it a prequel to Alien? What if we told you the answer to all of the above was yes? Whatever it is, every Prometheus still, trailer, clip and viral video has us completely enthralled.

Prometheus International Trailer: Launch

Honorable mentions: GI Joe: Retaliation, Rock of Ages, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, The Watch and Total Recall.

The trailer for The Watch, previously titled Neighborhood Watch, was released today via IGN. The new comedy stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill (watch our exclusive Jonah Hill interview for last year's Moneyball), and Richard Ayoade as a group of guys who uncover an alien conspiracy. 

In addition to the hilarious cast, The Watch, which premiers July 27, has a winning comedy formula in writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and director Akiva Schaffer (member of The Lonely Island and writer for SNL).

The Watch Red Band Trailer

The Watch marks the second alien-busting film coming out this summer, premiering about a month after the May release of Men In Black 3. To compare Will Smith and Vince Vaughn's Earth-saving skills, check out these three new Men in Black 3 clips.

The film's title was changed from Neighborhood Watch to avoid any unintentional connection with the recent Trayvon Martin tragedy. Unfortunately, "The Watch" is a pretty hard film to search for. It'd be like publishing a book called Read.

May 4, 2012 is the date that has been circled on every Marvel fanboy and girl's calendar: It is the day that The Avengers finally assembled. Since that juggernaut that is Joss Whedon’s film is likely to dominate the box office, there are very few other options for filmgoers this first weekend of May. In a smart move of counter programming, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel goes after more mature audiences while Kate Hudson’s A Little Bit of Heaven is out there for those who are craving a little more romance.

The Avengers: Whedon has crafted a masterwork. Capitalizing on the momentum set forth by Marvel Studios’ Iron Man, Iron Man 2, two Hulk films, Captain America and Thor, Whedon’s film achieves success on every level. As we state in our The Avengers review, this is a movie for all audiences, not simply those enamored by superheroes.

The Avengers: We are at War Trailer

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) reunites with Judi Dench and brings along Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson in a labor of love about a group of older Brits who head to India to stay at the titular hotel. Check out our The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel review for more on this delightful flick.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Trailer

A Little Bit of Heaven: Kate Hudson returns to cinema as a single woman who discovers she has a life-threatening illness. She finds romance in the most unlikely of places: Her doctor! Gael Garcia Bernal plays the love interest and the film is sure to attract legions who desire more from their weekend movie than explosions and Marvel mastery.

A Little Bit of Heaven Trailer