We’ve been having a debate around The Flickcast water cooler for the last few months about if we feel Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming Thor film will be any good. At first, when info started to surface we were pretty sure the film was in good hands and would be another great superhero film in the same vein as Iron Man.

Then, more recently, we saw more pics, including one of Anthony Hopkins seemingly doing his best 40 Year Old Virgin imitation, and our faith wavered. Fortunately, things seem back on track now with this brand new pic of Chris Hemsworth as Thor that has just dropped over at USA Today.

In it we finally see what all the fuss is about and get our first real look at the God of Thunder at his muscled best. If this is an indication of how Hemsworth is going to look as Thor and how the film will portray the character, Mr. Branagh we are sorry we doubted you.

Let’s just hope our faith is rewarded. For a bigger look at the pic, click through. As if you didn’t already know, Thor hits theaters on May 6th, 2011.

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Remember a little while ago when the first image of Chris Hemsworth as Thor was released and I actually thought the movie looked pretty good? Then, even more pics and video came out and that optimism continued? Remember how I thought director Kenneth Branagh and his team seemed to be taking the movie seriously and I was excited to see it?

Well, remember that time fondly friends because now I’m so sure — especially after seeing this latest image from the film released by Hero Complex. In it we’re treated to a better view of golden eyepatch wearing Anthony Hopkins as Odin and some rather plastic-looking costumes which go a long way to spoiling my mood. I know you shouldn’t judge from a single image but compared to the previous ones, this one looks like it scores much higher on the cheese-o-meter.

Even though that might be the case, at least to me, the pic does have some redeeming qualities. It does offer us our first look at Tom Hiddleston as the evil Loki. He does look pretty good as a villain. Also, we can get a better look at Hemsworth’s Thor, complete with his weapon of choice: the mighty Mjohnir.

Okay, so this picture doesn’t exactly thrill me, for the most part. I will sincerely try not to make a mistake and judge too harshly without more to go on. Of course, hearing the news that both Thor and The Avengers will be in 3D doesn’t help matters.

It’s not easy staying optimistic, but I’ll do it. At least until next week’s inevitable Comic-Con unveiling of actual footage from the film. Once I’ve seen that I, along with thousands of others like me, can then decide the film is going to suck.

Click through for a lager version of the new photo. Thor hits theaters on May 10, 2011. Okay, what say you about this new photo? Thumbs up or down?

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We’ve already seen preliminary designs from the film and its new logo this week and now ET has dropped the first behind the scenes video taken on the set of Kenneth Branagh’s highly anticipated adaptation of the Thor comic. Also, the folks at Sci-Fi Wire have taken it upon themselves to grab some screen caps from the video to highlight some of the cool things from the video.

In these pics and video we get our first glimpse at what appears to be Anthony Hopkins in full Odin mode as well as Thor himself (Chris Hemsworth) in various scenes from the film. He’s in a tunnel, he runs with co-star Natalie Portman, he stands looking impressive. In short, Thor does it all. Let’s hope the movie lives up to the video and pics.

Check out the video and some other stills after the jump. What do we think? Do we like these images or . . .

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While there has been plenty of buzz about casting and costuming for the upcoming Marvel Studios films Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, it’s nice to see that even the new logos inspire some excitement for the film.

Taken at this year’s International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Marvel Studios showed off two of the newest logos for the upcoming films. The first, for Captain America: The First Avenger, is pretty standard, but proves that we won’t be getting a new, updated style for Cap’s shield. The poster for Thor, however, shows off some of the mystic element that director Brannagh will be bringing to the project.

Thor, which will hit theaters first on May 6th of 2011, stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, alongside Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, and Kat Dennings. Two months later, Captain America will hit on July 11th, and stars Chris Evans as Cap, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull.

Check out the new posters after the jump, courtesy of our pals at ComicBookMovie.com and keep it here for all your up to date info on the new Marvel films.

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This week’s pick is Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977) which was based on the Cornelius Ryan novel about the Allied airborne invasion of Holland in September 1944. A Bridge Too Far is a sprawling Hollywood epic, filmed in the same tradition as Ryan’s earlier adaptation The Longest Day (1962) which was based on the D-Day invasion in France. A Bridge Too Far has over thirty of the most acclaimed international stars of the seventies, and even today, as the military and civilian individuals involved in what was known as “Operation Market Garden.”

By September 1944, the German army was in full retreat from France and the low countries (Belgium & The Netherlands) as the allied push from Normandy and Belgium began advancing East towards the German frontier. Due to supply shortages having to be driven from the Normandy beach head, to over five hundred miles away, made the advances come to a screeching halt due to Patton and British General Montgomery needing supplies for both their armies in order for the assault into Germany.

Montgomery proposed an idea to American General Eisenhower (Supreme Commander of the allied expeditionary force in Europe) to invade Holland with over 35,000 paratroopers, and seize a series of bridges over the Rhine, and then advance into Germany to capture industrial factories in the Ruhr, which was the industrial heart of Germany, and where most of their war manufacturing plants were located. Like all battles in the middle of long wars, it was hoped that this bold plan was to end the fighting by Christmas. General Browning (Bogarde) was quoted in a meeting with General Montgomery that they might be going “A bridge too far” with such a plan.

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I had some major reservations going into the screening of The Wolfman. For those of us who followed the film’s production, there were frequent rumors of strife on the set, and then there was an ominous release date switch at the last moment. However, once the film began, those reservations were put to rest. I had a blast seeing this new vision of the classic movie monster brought to life.

Director Joe Johnston manages to deliver an atmospheric Gothic thriller, full of foggy London moors, mythical beasts, and buckets and buckets of blood and gore. When all was said and done, I was willing to forgive some story flaws, because this was just so much fun for the horror fan in me. The film is a nice throwback to the monster movies of the 40′s, and has a distinctly nostalgic feel.

A perfectly cast Benicio Del Torro (who has a very feral look in real life) plays Lawrence, who has been living in America, but has been summoned to return to London because his brother has gone missing.  By the time Lawrence reaches his family’s dilapidated mansion, his brother’s mutilated body has been found in a ditch.  Lawrence’s father (a diabolical Anthony Hopkins) seems curiously nonplussed by the whole ordeal, and clearly harbors a deep-rooted dislike of his remaining son.

Lawrence makes a promise to his brother’s grieving fiancé Gwen (Emily Blunt) that he will solve the mystery of what happened to his brother.  His quest takes him to a nearby gypsy camp that has fallen under the suspician of the townspeople. While he is talking to some of the gypsies, a creature attacks the camp with undiscriminating zeal.  Sheer mayhem occurs as decapitations, amputations, and slashed throats lay in the wake of the beast’s assault.

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When I first saw The Punisher: War Zone I pretty much hated it.  Yet another Punisher reboot that simply didn’t work.  However, upon further reflection over subsequent months I realized War Zone wasn’t bad. Actually, it was Ray Stevenson’s performance as Frank Castle that single-handedly saved the film.

Stevenson continued to flesh out his bad ass resume as Titus Pullo in the mini-series Rome. While Titus was a more benign individual at times it didn’t take much to bring out the Punisher-esque tendencies when he reverted to his soldier role.  In fact, Rome had some of the best action sequences ever and Stevenson again was brilliant in this capacity.

So, what happens when you combine The Punisher and Titus Pullo? How about one of  Thor’s Warriors Three: Volstagg? Of course, the most obvious question was how Stevenson would fill out Volstagg’s large, um…physique:

“…a solution is at hand, in the shape of a fat suit. “It’s fantastic,” said a beaming Stevenson. “I’ve tried the suit on, and what they’ve done is kind of sex him up: he’s sort of slimmer but rounder.”

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It shouldn’t be completely surprising that an actor of Anthony Hopkins stature has decided to take the role of Odin, the father of Thor and Loki, in Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming big screen adaptation of the comic Thor. After all, famous actors playing parts such as this in big budget fantasy or genre movies is not completely unheard of.

As an example, take a look at the original Clash of the Titans, which featured the great Laurence Olivier as Zeus. Or, how about a little movie called Star Wars, which cast the great Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi. Plus, Hopkins himself has been in a few genre movies previously, including Dracula and The Silence of the Lambs.

In case you’re not familiar with Thor, the film, which is scripted by Mark Protosevich and Zack Stentz, centers on partly disabled med student Dr. Donald Blake’s discovery of his Norse god alter ego, the hammer-wielding Thor. Once he discovers his secret identity, watch out for all hel to break loose.

Thor, featuring Hopkins as well as Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman, hits theaters on May 11, 2011.

It looks like today is Trailer Day, after Fox released the first teaser trailer for Avatar earlier. Now Universal has released the first trailer for their Wolf Man reboot starring Benicio Del Toro. The film, which finished it’s production a few months ago, looks to be a pretty fair reinterpretation of the original Universal Monster movie.

Company favorite Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park 3) took the helm for this film, which is the last project he is doing before taking the director’s seat over at Marvel Studios for The First Avenger: Captain America. The writing team consisted of David Self (Road to Perdition) and Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en).

The film also stars Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Anthony Hopkins, along with Benicio Del Toro, who is doing an American accent for the first time. Check out the brand new trailer, courtesy of Yahoo Movies,  after the jump.

Universal’s The Wolf Man hits theaters February 12 of next year.

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