Everyone is awaiting the upcoming May 4th release of Marvel’s The Avengers. With Joss Whedon at the helm and years of building a fan base through the individual movies, hype about the upcoming culmination is pretty strong.

This trailer comes in time to grab the attention of action flick enthusiasts looking forward to a summer of great cinematic experiences, Amazing Spider-man andThe Dark Night Rises also being unleashed this summer.

The culmination of the incredible heroes working together to save the planet from the forces of evil is just as exciting in German as I’m sure the English language trailer release will be very soon. Though the German trailer is not as cohesive as I expect the English one will be, a few blips of the action scenes are shown as well as one or three great shots of Scarlett Johansson to get everyone’s interest piqued.

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It is quite possible The Avengers is the most important superhero film of all time. It could singlehandedly set a bar for audience acceptance in multi-film, continuity heavy, comic book franchise.

Not to mention the fact that this is essentially the sequel to four different individual franchises. So yeah, people pay attention when things like two new banners are unveiled.

Yahoo! Movies and Moviefone both debuted one of the two new character banners for The Avengers. The first depicting the main four heroes from previous franchises, and the other showcasing supporting characters and the villain of the movie.

These are very standard looking character posters, but there are a few interesting things we are seeing here. For one, this is the first time I have seen Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and I see the character more so than the actor. Also, Captain America is the only one in mask and not showcasing a star of the film.

This might be some extreme over analyzation, but I think it really fits the character of Cap to stay in his mask, as opposed to the nigh celebrity in Tony Stark, who is on the poster sans helmet.

Compared to the Comic-Con connected character posters, these banners seem almost lazy. It is almost like they had a series of cool character posters and chained them together for the sake of creating something banner sized. It would have been much more exciting to see the comic style painted posters as a banner and these cut up into individual pieces.

Take a look at the full spread of posters after the jump.

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There has already been two high profile takes on the incredible Hulk, both with their own sets of problems, and neither quite getting it right. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers hopes that the third time will be the charm, as yet another skilled actor takes on the role of Bruce Banner.

Of course, all of this change leads to some very natural questions about what will set this Hulk apart, and luckily the chaps at LA Times Hero Complex talked to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to find out.

It will be as different as ”The Incredible Hulk” was from Ang Lee’s “Hulk” in terms of its look and design, but it is Hulk.” said Feige when asked how different the two Hulks will be. “Hulk is Hulk. We’re not going to reinvent the wheel.

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With Comic-Con set to start tomorrow, Marvel has taken this opportunity to release the barebones first teaser poster for their upcoming Avengers film. With not much to go on except a giant “A’ the poster is minimalism at its best.

Of course, the “A” stands for Avengers and we also have the obligatory tagline (or tag word as the case may be) “Assemble.” If you’re not a fan of this poster and were expecting a lot more, don’t worry – you’ll get more soon enough.

Until then, you can always hit the Marvel booth for the signings by Joss Whedon, Chris Evans and Clark Gregg. That is, if you happen to be at Comic-Con this week.

Either way, you can expect a lot of new marketing stuff to come out soon enough. Count on it.

The Avengers, which opens May 4, 2012, also stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. Check out the full sized poster after the jump.

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As we rapidly approach the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, which is the final Marvel film leading up to next year’s The Avengers, we expect to be getting a lot more coverage and peeks at images and stills from the new film while it shoots in New Mexico and Ohio.

While we haven’t gotten there just yet, a correspondent over at ESQ. magazine managed to snap a shot of the brand new promo poster that Marvel is using to sell the film at the recent International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

Definitely digitally rendered, it’s not an exact depiction as to what we’re going to get from the film itself, but it gives a good idea at what we can look forward to when Joss Whedon brings everyone together for what will likely be an epic film.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, and Stellan Skarsgård and hits theaters May 4, 2012.

Check out the first poster after the jump and let us know what you think!

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This may be the biggest year for the Academy Awards, as some major Hollywood players are going up against some fresh newcomers. Eyeballs everywhere will be glued to ABC on Sunday, February 27th at 8PM E/5PM P when the awards show goes live. But before that, we decided to do some picking of our own with the staff’s predictions for each award.

For a full list of the nominees, check out our previous article on the subject. Now, on to the predictions.

Best Picture

Shannon Hood-The Social Network. It had early and consistent momentum all year, and the Academy appears to be trying to shake up their stodgy image. This would be the perfect film to put their money where their mouth is.

Matt Raub – True Grit. Not only are the Coens a regular in the “I Have an Oscar” club, but this testament to classic western films is definitely one for record books, between its all-star cast and gritty (no pun intended) visual style, this one definitely deserves the golden statue.

Chris Ullrich – True Grit. Even though this was a pretty great year for movies and there are many excellent choices in this category, True Grit stands on its own as my pick. As an example of pure movie storytelling, this Coen Brothers masterpiece excels on every level and delivers a pure entertainment experience you will want to revisit many more times in the future.

Cortney Zamm – The Social Network. There’s a lot of great films in this category, some of them from my favorite directors and starring my favorite people. But the one that combined all of the essential elements of filmmaking into a truly gorgeous, compelling, and memorable film was The Social Network.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the  nominees for the 83rd annual award ceremony this morning. The King’s Speech was the front-runner with 12 nominations. Overall, there weren’t too many surprises.

Many were disappointed  that Christopher Nolan did not receive a best director nod, but as a consolation prize, Inception was nominated as a contender for best picture.
True Grit did quite well, with Hailee Steinfeld nabbing a best supporting actress nod, and nominations for best picture, best director(s), best actor, and best adapted screenplay. Winter’s Bone was recognized for best actress, best picture, and best adapted screenplay. Dogtooth, Jackie Weaver, and Javier Bardem were nice surprises.

Here are the nominees in the order that they were announced.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale The Fighter
John Hawkes Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right
Jeffrey Rush The King’s Speech

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So yesterday, we ran part one of this post.  In case you missed it, here were my picks:

• Waiting for Superman
• Winter’s Bone
• The Company Men
• Rabbit Hole/Blue Valentine (tie)
• The Fighter

Now, without further ado, are the rest of my picks for best movies of the year.

5. The Kids Are All Right

This quirky drama won me over in no time. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a lesbian couple raising two children who were the product of an anonymous sperm donor. When the kids are old enough, they seek out and find their donor, who is played by Mark Ruffalo.

His character Paul is a perpetually laid-back restaurateur who drives a motorcycle and lives a bohemian lifestyle. The kids are instantly captivated, and develop a relationship with the guy, much to the chagrin of their uptight mom Nic (Bening).

I admire writer/director Lisa Cholodenko for her sensitive handling of the subject matter. A lesser director could have turned this into a slapstick farce, but ultimately the film is funny, touching, and wholly original.  It is also universally relatable.  Bening is a standout in the film for her performance.

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I was surprised at how much trouble I had narrowing down my top ten movies this year.  My top 20 were all very close, but here are the movies that I ultimately enjoyed the most. I readily admit that I did not see near as many foreign films as I would have liked, but by the time I cover most of the mainstream fare, there is simply no time left.

Honorable Mentions: Fair Game, Tiny Furniture, Greenberg, Cyrus, The Tillman Story, The American, Mother and Child, Scott Pilgrim.

10. Waiting for Superman
This Documentary was equal parts frustrating, inspirational, and heartbreaking. Director Davis Guggenheim (No End in Sight) sheds light on the dismal state of our public school system. He follows the plight of several children who live in various geographic regions who are placing all of their hope for an decent education into lottery systems for charter or private schools. Guggenheim relies on their compelling stories for a narrative, while interspersing lots of graphics and cartoons illuminating some pretty harrowing statistics.

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In a lot of cases I wouldn’t bother with something like this. It doesn’t really show anything nor does it give us any clues to the story, villains or much of anything else about the movie. So why show it at all? Well, because it’s for Marvel’s upcoming Avengers movie and I think it will be awesome. Also, why not?

In this very early teaser made especially for Comic-Con, we get Samuel L. Jackson narrating and telling us that on a certain day earth’s mightiest heroes decided to team up, form the Mother F***ing Avengers and kick some considerable ass. Obviously, if you know anything about comics you probably already know that. Plus, as we’ve been following this story for quite some time, you also know most of the actors in the film as well as the writers and director.

Still, the idea of  Joss Whedon directed Avengers movie featuring Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo is just too great an idea to pass up on any information, no matter how slight.

So, enjoy the teaser after the jump for what it is and expect a heck of a lot more info from this movie, and all the Marvel properties, as soon as it becomes available.

The Avengers assemble in theaters on May 4, 2012.

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The Kids Are All Right opens with shots of 18-year-old Joni (a wonderful Mia Wasikowska) playing scrabble with friends and 15-year-old Laser (Josh Hutcherson) sniffing a crushed Sudafed with his skateboarding buddy Clay, all to Vampire Weekend’s “Cousins.” Joni and Laser are gorgeous, smart and nice. Despite the minor drug use and usual teenager angsts, they are, for the most part, very much all right.

But this movie is really about their parents—their mother Nic, a perfectionist, workaholic OB-Gyn (played by Annette Bening, who has made a career specialty out of wound-tight women), and their other mother, easy-going, nurturing earth girl Jules (a very fine Julianne Moore), who has maybe let her life slide past her. A long-married couple, Nic and Jules have, as parents do, put their kids first for so long that they have lost touch with themselves and each other.

And yet they remain very self-aware and caring people. When they question Clay’s rightness as a friend, it comes couched in a language of earnest self-actualization and higher consciousness that is both insightful and ridiculous: “It’s just that he seems… untended.” And “Is he the kind of friend who will help you grow?”

Untended Joni and Laser certainly are not. Nic and Jules are extremely conscientious parents, and a great deal of the humor in the early part of this film comes from the overmothering Joni and Laser endure. Nevertheless, Laser feels the lack of a male role model and it is at his urging that Joni, having recently turned eighteen, the age at which she can legally request contact, learns the identity of their sperm donor and gets in touch with him.

The sperm donor is Paul, played by the miraculous Mark Ruffalo, who can shade a dozen layers of feeling and thought into a single moment. I’ve sometimes found that his extraordinary openness can come off as ambivalence, but his characterization of Paul is founded on a bedrock of emotion. Paul is not only open to contact with Joni and Laser, he welcomes it.

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We sat on this news yesterday (and even speculated about it previously), because it did not appear to be confirmed, but several outlets are now reporting that Mark Ruffalo is confirmed as the new Hulk.  The beloved Marvel character experienced a setback when it was announced that Edward Norton would no longer be playing the character.

This week has been filled with lots of conjecture over who would reprise the role. Late yesterday, it was announced that Mark Ruffalo would take over the role. Ruffalo has been a strong character actor in Shutter Island, You Can Count On Me, Blindness, and Zodiac.

He will  be playing the role for the upcoming Avengers movie, featuring Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and Don Cheadle as War Machine.

The Avengers is scheduled for May 2012.