We’re three and a half months away from the third instalment in the Men in Black series, and things couldn’t be looking better! The first trailer for Men In Black III landed towards the end of last year, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you rectify that, because it looks so good. Every bit as good as the first two films, with the addition of a decade’s progression in special effects.

We’ve now got an absolutely fantastic new image from the film, courtesy of IMDb, in which we see Will Smith riding what has to be one of the coolest and most futuristic vehicles I’ve ever seen. We can also see Josh Brolin in the background as the Young Agent K, which means that this ridiculously cool futuristic vehicle is presumably actually from the 1960s in the film, so I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in the present day!

“In Men in Black III, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.”

Barry Sonnenfeld returns behind the camera once more, with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones of course reprising their roles and a host of new faces, including Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Bill Hader, Nicole Scherzinger, and Jemaine Clement as the main villain, who we got a good look at last month.

Men in Black III will be with us in 3D on 25^th May, which should be a fantastic way to end the spring and get the summer box office off to a good start. For now, here’s the excellent new image of Smith and Brolin. It surfaced last month in small scanned form, but now we’re getting it in brilliant hi-res, and it looks so cool. And as usual, you can click to enlarge. This is going to be good.

The road to Cooper’s Dell is almost as interesting and eventful a journey as Red State itself with director Kevin Smith taking matters of distribution into his own hands and releasing the film through his own Smodcast Pictures company, something he announced in typical understated fashion at Sundance last year.

Eschewing the studio system (with which he brought us Cop Out) the freedom he enjoys bears juicy fruit as this deliberate move into new territory results in a fine horror film from the director, one which makes his promised retirement all the more disappointing. It also shows that as a director Smith knows how to let his actors lead the film, though occasionally they run too far and risk running the show into the ground, but the powerful central performance from Michael Parks anchors the film.

This is not a straight up horror film, and the film shifts gears between your typical horny teen-infused cautionary tale to a Wacoesque siege movie with the (Westboro in all but name) Five Points Trinity Church taking their unholy orders to a grisly extreme and it’s one of the few films of last year which keeps you guessing.

As head of the church Michael Parks is magnificent, spitting his hateful rhetoric and curling his venomous words with distinct glee to his small congregation who watch as the Church take the word of God, twist it, and get biblical on those unfortunate  enough to get caught in their trap. There’s fine support from Melissa Leo and John Goodman, who seems to relish the opportunity to pay things straight, but Parks is the dark heart of the film, the black hole around which the other members of the church orbit, teetering close to the inevitable.

A couple of moments stand out from the film, one problematic and the other inspired. It’s better, if you’ve not seen the film, that you go in knowing only the bare bones of the story (horny teens, psycho church, guns) as there’s great stock in the unexpected here. These two plot elements which tell the story of the film point to what’s good and not so good about the film but make no mistake – this is a director finding his feet on new ground and the film is absolutely worth a watch.

Here’s where the two sides of the film fall. When we meet Michael Parks’ FredPhelpsalike he is delivering a sermon to the congregation and there’s an unhealthy line in fire and brimstone, death by stoning, centered around the eroding moral centre of America and most of the blame is laid firmly at the feet of the gay community, and it goes on and on and on – almost too far. We’re meant to hate this man, and we do, but his grounding in reality is his power in terms of being the villain of the piece and Smith’s love of dialogue threatens the scene, the crux of the film.

The second moment comes towards the end of the film and I’ll not spoil things but there’s an important sign, one that is unexpected and for a moment you think that Smith has done something truly extraordinary. He hasn’t, as it turns out, but the fact that for a moment you believe is testament to the power of the film.

This is a brutal and effective horror film, with some moments of extreme violence and real terror (Kerry Bishe deserves a lot of the credit here – her performance as the one member of the church with any sense at all is a real eye-opener for the actress up until now best now as the lead in the death rattle of the sitcom Scrubs) and Smith has his moment of dark comedy pitched perfectly. A genuine surprise, and a welcome one.

****~ (4/5)

Extras

What you need to watch is the making of documentary which charts the film’s progress from the Sundance auctionnouncment to the release and it has Kevin Smith in fine, and candid, form. In amongst the usual praise for the cast and crew there’s another story being told here. Smith is a filmmaker who infuriates and inspires in equal measure, with a legion of hardcore fans and a line of haters a mile long and yet there’s a genuine sense of gratitude which comes across, of a man who gets to tell story in many mediums (and some stories are better than others), but the fact that his life would have turned out very differently if Clerks hadn’t been picked up all those years ago never seems far from his mind.

It’s been a bumpy road and if Red State is to be the penultimate stop on Kevin Smith’s filmmaking journey then it’s a fine road to take before heading home and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for his big finish.

To mark the release of Rolling Thunder on Blu-ray Double play 30th January, Studio Canal have given us three copies of the classic movie to give away. The film is directed by John Flynn and stars William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Haynes.

A revered revenge classic co-written by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) and starring William Devane in a stoic performance as Major Charles Rane, a man who has been pushed beyond his limits during an eight year incarceration in the Hanoi Hilton. He returns to his Texas hometown with his friend Sergeant Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), just a vague shadow of the man he used to be. Finding himself a local celebrity and awarded with a briefcase of silver dollars- one for every day he was a POW, he tries to adapt to civilian life with his wife (Linda Haynes), who is now engaged to another man, and his son, who doesn’t remember him. But any chance at healing is destroyed when a gang of thugs show up at his house to steal the silver. Tragedy thus descends on Major Rane a second time, stealing whatever shred of humanity was in him, and sending him on a one-way mission: vengeance at any cost.

Extras

Audio Commentary with Co-Writer Heywood Gould, Moderated by Roy Frumkes / Theatrical Trailer with Eli Roth Introduction and Commentary / Exclusive Interview with Linda Haynes / Original TV Spot.

To be in with a chance of winning the competition, click next to go to the question and entry form.

Agents J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back taking charge of the aliens running loose in New York City and wiping the memories of those they run into in a new image for Men In Black 3 this week.

For this latest instalment, released a whole decade later than its predecessor, Agent J must travel back in time to the 1960s to change history and stop an alien from assassinating a much younger version of his partner.

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Men In Black 3 also stars Josh Brolin, Alice Eve, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson and Bill Hader, and is set to be released on 25th May.

You can view a list of 100 more films of 2012 at LA Times online.

Just a few days ago, we got our first look at Jemaine Clement, the main villain in the upcoming sci-fi action comedy, Men in Black III, which revealed the nasty-looking alien we can look forward to seeing on the big screen this year. If the first trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to be so much fun.

The first film was released way back in 1997, and was followed five years later by the sequel in 2002. This time around, a decade has passed since the last film, but the excitement and anticipation for it hasn’t diminished whatsoever.

A new image for the film has now surfaced, courtesy of USA Today via Collider, showing Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith looking as awesome and as suited and booted as ever.

“In Men in Black III, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.”

Along with Smith, Jones, Brolin, and Clement, the film has a fantastic cast that includes Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Bill Hader, and Nicole Scherzinger, with Barry Sonnenfeld returning to direct. The first film took more than $500m. and the sequel took in more than $400m. Here’s to hoping that the third in the trilogy will outperform its predecessors and do even better business for the franchise.

Men in Black III will be released here in the UK in 3D on 25^th May this year. For now, here’s the great new image to enjoy. It’s a little grainy, but hopefully we’ll have a nice hi-res image to replace it with for you soon.

We got a brilliant look at this year’s upcoming Men in Black III just under a month ago when the film’s first trailer hit, and it was every bit as awesome as you’d expect, taking us right back to the genius that we loved so much from the first two films.

One of the most unexpected things about the production is that the lead villain’s role is being played by Jemaine Clement, one half of the Flight of the Conchords duo. If you’ve seen the show, or listened to any of their stuff, you’ll know that he’s not really the first person you think of when you say ‘alien villain’. I can’t wait to see it happen though.

Clement was noticeably absent from the trailer, and we’ve now got our first look at him looking all evil as a bearded biker, courtesy of the New Zealand Herald, via The Playlist. The image in fact seems to reveal that whilst we thought Clement wasn’t in the trailer, we did actually get a look at him transformed by visual effects in it last month. If you go back and watch (I’ve embedded it for you below), I dare you to try and tell me that that isn’t him at the 0:18/0:19-mark; the beard is too damn similar. I think that’s the alien villain we can look forward to seeing on screen, and man, are those teeth and eyes are creepy! They really do know how to make their aliens look interesting.

The film is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who brought us the first two films, and of course sees the return of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the leads. Josh Brolin will be playing the Young Agent K, with the rest of the cast including Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Bill Hader, Nicole Scherzinger, and Rip Torn reprising his role as Zed.

Men in Black III will be hitting the big screen in 3D on 25^th May this year, and it looks like it’s going to be an awesome affair. Until then, enjoy this great first image of Clement without make-up/special effects, rockin’ the bearded look, and compare it with the alien in the trailer beneath it. Let us know if you think it’s the same guy; I feel like I need someone else to confirm my suspicions, just to be sure. This is going to be so much fun.

As if by magic, Sony have released the first trailer for the third installment of Men in Black and I have to admit, I am very much looking forward to seeing it. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are both back and this time are joined by Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Rip Torn, Nicole Scherzinger and Bill Hader and is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.

It’ll be with us 25th May 2012 and in 3d.

Here it is people! The trailer for Men in Black 3! See all our Men in Black coverage right here.

Let us know what you think of the trailer in the comments section below.

Thanks to Digital Spy for the heads up.

You know the drill by now. We have loads of great stuff on the latest Men In Black film and you can get yourself bang up to speed right here.

Today’s addition to the wealth of material out there is this poster, which takes the MIBIII logo (or MIB³ as now seems to be Sony’s wont) and makes your head ache by making it look a bit like Tommy Lee Jones’ / Josh Brolin’s Agent K. If you’re susceptible to migraines, this poster may not suit you, though if nothing else you can say it is a vaguely interesting concept.

The long litany of production problems for MIB³ have been well documented already and are not worth reiterating here. Whether Sony can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, either critically or commercially, will be decided in a few months time. But going up against a massive swell of big hitters next summer (Spiderman, Avengers, Dark Knight, Battleship) makes it all the more likely that at least one big production is going to struggle in a crowded market place.

Enjoy the poster below, if that’s the right word and watch this space for more as Sony’s marketing machinery works up through the gears over the next few months.

Source: Collider.

UPDATE – another poster has been spotted over at Filmofilia, though there’s no source for where this new one came from. It’s Will Smith making this thing look good.

]]> http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/11/29/first-mib3-posters-make-your-eyes-go-funny/feed/ 2 http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/09/28/kevin-smith-video-interview-red-state/ http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2011/09/28/kevin-smith-video-interview-red-state/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:27:28 +0000 David Sztypuljak http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/?p=108865

Red State is out in UK cinemas this Friday and our friends from Upbeat got the chance to chat with Writer / Director Kevin Smith about the movie, what we can expect and why we should go and see it. He also goes into detail about how many of the actors were paid very little to be in the movie but did it for the love of the script, or the characters in which they got to play. If you missed our review of Red State, you can click here to check it out and we also have the chance for you to win merchandise from the film.

Red State stars John Goodman​, Kyle Gallner​, Michael Angarano​, Melissa Leo​, Stephen Root​ and Kevin Pollak​.

The 10th film from writer/director Kevin Smith (“Clerks”, “Chasing Amy”, “Dogma”, “Clerks 2″, “Zack & Miri Make a Porno”), RED STATE unfolds in a small town dominated by a fundamentalist preacher, Abin Cooper. It tells the story of three high school boys who, on their way to an internet arranged meeting with a woman, end up crossing paths with Cooper. The encounter sets into motion a series of events that causes all hell to break loose. A horror thriller that could only come from the imagination of Smith, RED STATE stars Tarantino and Rodriguez favorite Michael Parks (“From Dusk Till Dawn”, “Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2″), Oscar Nominee for Best Actress Melissa Leo (“The Fighter,” “Frozen River”) and John Goodman, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner and Nicholas Braun.

Seemingly lost in a foggy haze of a mid-life crisis love affair with the chronic (often blurring his decisions on how to deal with fans and critics alike), former prodigal Weinstein son and self-confessed purveyor of the “dick and fart” school of comedy (which has now fully infiltrated the Hollywood mainstream), Kevin Smith, returns from the Cop Out creative wilderness with an entirely new bag of directorial tricks up his sleeve.

Three horny teenagers make plans to meet and have their wicked way with a middle-aged woman they meet via an on-line personal sex ad. Lured to a single trailer park in the woods, the supposed night of a dirty, mini-orgy is nothing but a ruse concocted by a fundamentalist religious group (clearly modelled on the real-life, controversy-baiting, Westboro Baptist Church) and the trio are instead drugged and taken to the nearby compound run by the sect, with the intent of being offered up as sacrificial offering during the epic sermons by the deranged leader of this equally warped collective, Paster Abin Cooper (Michael Parks).

By a strange quirk of events, a team of ATF officers show up outside the pastor’s residence, which sets in motion a chain of messy actions and violence, leading to a decidedly leftfield turn of events.

Foregoing any noticeable middle act, Red State exists as a strange, if intriguing, two-act structural set-up. The first half definitely has a whiff of a Hostel-type set-up, and this is also where the only trace of Smith’s trademark style is apparent, namely in the vulgar back and forth banter between the youths as they swap insults in preparation for their trip. Despite some scenes which point towards the film heading into torture porn territory, thankfully, this never comes to fruition, and we’re presently which something else entirely.

This is a very different Smith to the crude, knockabout frolics of the Jay and Silent Bob, View Askew universe, and the earnest, pop-cultural, hipster indie philosophising. In shedding all of that, Smith has brought a leaner, more exciting cinematic style to his work. Shot on digital (using the Red camera) the film looks fantastic, and there’s a pleasingly visceral energy and fluidity to the hand-held work on display.

The film also acts as a reminder that Smith is fully capable of eliciting fine performances from his cast. You may have already heard the superlatives being directed towards Michael Parks for his role as the seriously twisted pastor, and these are completely justifiable. The 15 minute barnstorming sermon he delivers midway through may have smacked of overindulgence on Smith’s behalf if Parks wasn’t so mesmerising, and similar to his turns in Kill Bill Vol.2 (and the opening to From Dawn Till Dawn, for that matter), it’s impossible to tear your gaze away from the actor (which is further enhanced by Smith’s use of big close-ups throughout). Mellissa Leo delivers a solid turn as Cooper’s daughter and ostensive right-hand woman, and another real surprise here is John Goodman as the beleaguered ATF leader whose ill-conceived actions yield disastrous consequences for both sides.

Unfortunately, Goodman’s introduction is also where the film loses it a little, and turns proceedings into an all-out botched war zone (à la Waco), where the actions of some characters don’t ring true at all as Smith tries too hard to hammer his points across. The climax may prove a little hard to swallow for some (although the strength of Parks’ performance brings a feasibility to what’s happens) but the film has trouble wrapping up things, and sometimes requires too much of a leap in imagination to really get behind Smith’s theories, and suffers from some abrupt shifts in tone (which may be attributed, in part, to a filmmaker working outside of his normal boundaries). Goodman’s last comment on the whole debacle, which strives for a Tommy Lee Jones-esque No Country for Old Men gravitas, is a little ham-fisted and fails to satisfyingly pin down what Smith is reaching for.

Nevertheless, this change of direction is exciting to witness. It may prove to be a tough sell for Smith’s legion of fans (it’s easy to see why, from a commercial point of view, the Weinstein’s passed on it) but it’s still a film which has much to offer, and may even benefit from repeat viewing. The director seems intent on slowly winding down his filmmaking career, and instead focus his creativity towards his burgeoning series of podcasts and a specialist radio network, but on the strength of this flawed, yet fascinating attempt at addressing the misconceptions of extremist behaviour in the US, he should perhaps think twice about folding away that director’s chair.

There seems to be life left in Smith when challenged to deliver something fresh and altogether more grown-up, and even if the end result is uneven, its nice to see a filmmaker jettison the style he’s arguably coasted on for a good decade or so, and attempt to make a genuinely absorbing (semi) real-world thriller, with a delicious streak of dark humour running throughout.

***½~ (3.5/5)

It seems to be famine or feast with Spielberg. Having kept himself away from director duties for a few years, he now has a rush on. Tintin and War Horse are both due out by the end of the year, with Spielberg going once again for what served him well in 1993, namely working on a big adventure spectacle movie in parallel with a more serious historical piece. As if that wasn’t enough, he is also moving forward with his Abraham Lincoln biopic, Lincoln and has been talking a little about what everyone can expect.

Lincoln was shot on the evening of 14th April 1865 and died the following day and Spielberg intends to focus on the four months leading up to then. Although that feels like a tiny fraction of so eventful and significant a life, it was a pretty busy few months. During that approximate time-frame, he was re-elected, abolished slavery and the civil war ended. Although it is not going to be a Civil War film per se, there will be battlefield scenes, which seems inevitable given the subject matter. Spielberg wants to emphasize the massive accomplishments of the final months of Lincoln’s life, but will release the film at the tail end of 2012 in order to avoid having it fall during the US presidential elections and becoming a polarising feature of what will doubtless be another fiercely contested election.

Casting for Lincoln is almost absurdly rich, including Daniel Day Lewis (as Lincoln), Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and David Strathairn. We may have a while to wait, but this one has been fermenting with Spielberg for years and should be another richly compelling historical drama.

Source: Playlist.

Steven Spielberg has added another quality name to his already esteemed line-up of actors in his forthcoming biopic of Abraham Lincoln by casting Watchmen’s Jackie Earle Haley.

Deadline brings news that the Little Children star will play another villain of sorts in the form of Alexander Stephens, an opposer of Lincoln’s slavery reform agenda. He’ll join the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins and Daniel Day-Lewis (in the titular role) in the film, entitled Lincoln, this autumn.

Comeback king Haley is currently working with another starry ensemble in the form of Tim Burton’s next horror yarn, Dark Shadows.

To mark the release of The Company Men on DVD and Blu-ray NOW, Universal Pictures have given us five copies of the movie for you to win on DVD.

When you fall from grace, you often fall hard. Academy Award®* winners Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Kevin Costner star in this compelling  film which captures the heart breaking and emotional realities of corporate downsizing during an economic recession.

Bobby Walker (Affleck – Pearl Harbour) faces the cut-throat world of layoffs and redundancies as an executive in the midst of the 2009 economic collapse.

Bobby epitomises the typical city boy at the top of his game, complete with big house, fast car and designer suit. In an instant, the economic climate changes, and with it, Bobby’s whole life and that of his family’s are turned upside down.

Brutal cuts are made across the industry and thousands of employees take the hit, including Bobby who is left unemployed along with colleagues Gene (Tommy Lee Jones – Men in Black) and Phil (Chris Cooper – American Beauty). Each deals with this blow to the economy, and their own personal lives, in various different ways. Their speedy regression from the white collar lifestyle affects not only their pockets, but also their families, their relationships and their spirits.

Moving performances from the cast give us an insight into each character’s vulnerability, Bobby in particular becomes more human as he goes from having everything, or so he thinks, to seemingly having nothing.

To be in with a chance of winning the movie, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, The Company Men?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 22nd August at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available
• Prize is non-exchangeable and non-refundable. There is no cash alternative
• The Editor’s decision is final and binding on the entrants. No correspondence will be entered into

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Today, the 29th July finally sees the release of a movie I’ve been waiting for ages! I’ve had such good and high hopes for Captain America: The First Avenger and Ben’s review seems to back up my hopes!

Our friends from Upbeat got to speak with Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper & Joe Johnston at the US junket last week for their new movie and have kindly given us the footage to debut on HeyUGuys. During the interview we get to see what they thought of the movie, how they’d felt if they weren’t in it and what we can expect from it.

Captain America: The First Avenger is directed by Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke and Stanley Tucci.

Synopsis: Marvel Studios brings their prodigious patriot to the big screen with this action-filled outing surrounding Steve Rogers, a once meek U.S. soldier turned hero thanks to an experimental super serum, giving him the strength and agility far beyond a normal human being. This production will be followed up two months later with The Avengers, teaming the character with other Marvel screen heroes from their catalogue.

If you missed the clip I put up earlier, you can catch it here which introduces all the character for the next movie, The Avengers. If you’re looking forward to Cap Am, then you’ll definitely want to catch this! After you’ve watched it, pack up what you’re doing and get down the cinema to see Captain America!

This clip leaked a few weeks ago but now Paramount have official released the final scene of Captain America: The First Avenger to coincide with today’s release of the movie in the UK. In the scene, we get to see Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) tell Captain America (Chris Evans) that he’s been asleep for 70 years. Following that we get to see snippets of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) all inthe same room at the same time to form The Avengers! It’s all very exciting! We also get to see Evans in his new 21st Century uniform which has been talking about online a lot, especially after seeing these new concept images.

Captain America: The First Avenger which hits UK cinemas today, 29th July. It is directed by Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke and Stanley Tucci.

Synopsis: Marvel Studios brings their prodigious patriot to the big screen with this action-filled outing surrounding Steve Rogers, a once meek U.S. soldier turned hero thanks to an experimental super serum, giving him the strength and agility far beyond a normal human being. This production will be followed up two months later with The Avengers, teaming the character with other Marvel screen heroes from their catalogue.

If you missed our review of Captain America: The First Avenger, you can read it here and see all our coverage here.

Source: Yahoo

Last year Comic-Con played host to the formation of Marvel’s elite as The Avengers assembled for the first time on the stage at San Diego.

If you were following events at the time there was a great deal of speculation as to the casting of the new Hulk as Edward Norton and Marvel’s Kevin Feige voiced their differences over the actor’s future with the company and so a new Hulk was needed.

Hours before the Avengers panel Ruffalo signed on the dotted line and was flown out to San Diego to appear on stage with his new superhero co-horts.

Since that time attention has fallen on the other members of the team, most of whom have had movies of their own to push and it is only now that we’ve had the chance to see how Ruffalo’s Hulk will appear in Joss Whedon’s film next year.

This new piece of concept art is joined by new looks at Thor and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fronted by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury as well as a fancy banner with all of the artwork together.

Here’s the new pictures, and you can click here to see the previous Avengers artwork,

Marvel via ComingSoon gaveup the goods.

With a teaser trailer apparently playing after Marvel’s latest summer blockbuster Captain America, The Avengers is Marvel’s great hope for next year and with a furious momentum building from the positive buzz from Thor and now Captain America Joss Whedon’s film has a lot to live up to.

New artwork fresh from Comic-Con from the Marvel booth shows off four of the major players in the assembled superhero collective with Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow looking particularly fine and though he’s been glimpsed before this is the best look we’ve had at Renner’s character so far.

These fine creations are the handy work of Marvelmen Ryan Meinerding and Charlie Wen, here’s the gallery direct from Marvel,

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will be aware that I’ve been something of a cheerleader for Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger since the project’s inception. I’m a huge fan of the character, a Joe Johnson apologist, and I’ve been screaming from the rooftops that Chris Evans deserves to be a megastar since Sunshine proved that he could act. I also visited the set for Super Hero Hype. Consequently this isn’t exactly a distanced and objective review (we’ll have one of those up in a few days time).

Now that I’ve warned you that I have no intention of being anything other than a fanboy blogger in this review (written, by the way, whilst wearing a Captain America t-short, AND Captain America pants) I’m going to lay my cards on the table: I absolutely liked it. More than that in fact; I think I loved it. It is certainly the movie I hoped it would be.

The film captures the character of Captain America, and more importantly Steve Rogers, perfectly. He isn’t a one dimensional guy, who does good things for the sake of being good. He does things because he believes them to be right, and in the film we see him break the law, fight in the street, and even go AWOL, all in the cause of doing the right thing. This sort of intelligent and nuanced portrayal is likely to be a surprise to those who only know the character as a man with the American flag on his chest, but should be an absolute joy for fans.

Along with Steve Rogers, the film also captures perfectly the tone of the comics. When Johnson signed on to direct the film there was an assumption amongst bloggers (myself included) that The First Avenger would feel like his previous WWII action adventure, The Rocketeer. Quite surprisingly, it doesn’t. Instead, it matches the tone of previous Marvel films, with a great deal of passion for the characters and the source material, but also a sense of wit and humour that means that it isn’t overly reverential.

Being a Marvel movie, there are a number of hat-tips for fans of the comic, including The Howling Commandos, an entire scene almost straight out of The Ultimates issue one, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to one of Captain America’s teammates from the WWII super team The Invaders. We even get to see Captain America punch Hitler. What’s great about these moments is that none of them feel forced, unlike some of the references in Thor and Iron Man 2. Consequently, they’re fun for those of us who do understand them, without feeling like a plot-speed bump, and no distraction for the rest of the audience.

In spite of the respect for the source material, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely did make some changes to the mythos, most notably by their aging of Cap’s sidekick Bucky Barnes. There are hints of the Ultimate Comics version of the character, but (*PUN ALERT*) ultimately, he’s an entirely new creation for the film, and a perfectly judged one at that. His relationship with Steve, which provides much of the motivation for Steve’s drive to realise what he can do as Captain America, manages to avoid an obvious and clichéd big brother/little brother relationship, and is very much one of equals.

Similarly Peggy Carter is now a character, rather than just a girlfriend. Indeed, she’s one of the stronger female characters in all the Marvel films thus far, and certainly one of the more rounded and sympathetic. Consequently when we do see her relationship with Steve growing, it feels believable, and leads to a genuinely emotional climax.

Thus far this review has been little but praise for Captain America, and it seems a shame to ruin it with criticism. So I won’t (What? I warned you at the top this was being written by a dribbling fanboy), except to mention that the film feels very episodic. This isn’t a bad thing, and indeed it makes it feel a little like a series of comics, or a 30s style serial, it’s just slightly curious. All told, though, the film is great. Thoroughly entertaining, and without a doubt the most complete Marvel movie since Iron Man. This fanboy wasn’t disappointed, and I’m sure you won’t be either.

Roll on the Avengers.

 ****½ (4.5/5)

Last night, the US saw the world premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger. I have a feeling that it’s going to be epic and I can’t wait to see it! Our review will be on the site very soon (we’re off to see it tomorrow night) but in the meantime, Sky Movies have released this nice new featurette from the movie which gives us a look at what we can expect from the new movie directed by Joe Johnston.

Captain America: The First Avenger is directed by Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke and Stanley Tucci.

Synopsis: Marvel Studios brings their prodigious patriot to the big screen with this action-filled outing surrounding Steve Rogers, a once meek U.S. soldier turned hero thanks to an experimental super serum, giving him the strength and agility far beyond a normal human being. This production will be followed up two months later with The Avengers, teaming the character with other Marvel screen heroes from their catalogue.

Captain America: The First Avenger hits UK cinemas next Friday 29th July.

Here’s some flipping great poster art for you on this fine Tuesday morning.

Mondo have released a series of posters for the forthcoming Marvel film Captain America and the three artists have come up with some inspired designs. The work of Olly Moss, Tyler Stout and Eric Tan will be familiar to film fans over the world and any excuse to post their work is welcome.

It was confirmed today, to no-one’s particular surprise, that Captain America will play at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and these posters are part of the marketing for the film and the event.

As usual these prints will be on sale (keep eyes fixed on the Mondo twitter page) and will no doubt be snapped up in seconds.

Here’s your gallery, click to guarantee both enlargement and enjoyment,