Apple.com has the first concrete look at Joss Whedon’s Marvel ensemble, The Avengers. Fans no longer have to grasp at 30 second preview snippets or shaky phone cam location footage. The trailer hits audiences with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and finally the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in action, being led by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). The trailer also contains some serious scenes of destruction along with shots of Thor’s villainous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) wreaking havoc on New York City.

Nothing more to say about the reveal other than that I believe it justifies my anticipation. Whedon looks to have done a commendable job so far.

The Avengers hits theaters May 4, 2012.

An intense new trailer for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has hit the web courtesy of MSN Movies. The film — an adaptation of the John le Carré’s novel of the same name — is the first English-language effort from Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson. Set during the coldest days of the Cold War, semi-retired spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is enlisted by MI6 to help sniff out a Soviet double agent within their ranks.

The film also happens to have of the strongest movie casts we’ve seen in ages, featuring the likes of Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Tobey Jones, Tom Hardy and Ciarán Hinds, to name just a few. The cast alone has us eagerly anticipating this espionage thriller.

Alfredson’s film version is not the first adaptation of le Carré’s spy novel, and certainly not the first to feature a strong cast. A stellar 1979 TV mini-series produced by the BBC featured the great Alec Guinness as George Smiley and Patrick Stewart as his Soviet nemesis, Karla.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is due out November 18, 2011 and may also make an appearance at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Pun totally intended with the title, but we’ve finally got our first (legit) look at the upcoming franchise reboot of Spider-Man.

Fresh off his directorial debut, Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) takes a crack at on one of Marvel’s most popular characters. No simple feat. Webb has the burden of taking over from director Sam Raimi, whose first two Spider-Man films won critical praise and set impressive records in terms of numbers and total gross. However, this trailer looks spectacular and should wash the taste of Spider-Man 3 out of the mouths of any disappointed fans.

The trailer starts with a different vibe than what you would expect from the previous films. It’s packed with dense back-story of the hero’s history, shedding light on his parents and leading up to present day Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield). Quick shots of Spider-Man’s history: Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) along with his fateful visit to a experimental lab are covered. We get glimpses of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and Dr. Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans), plus shots of Peter discovering his abilities in the outside world as well as the fashioning of his new suit.

For me, the big payoff is the first person perspective action that concludes the trailer. It certainly gives a Mirror’s Edge vibe that is such a cool new take on action, plus a clear attempt to really take advantage of the 3-D technology. This kind of footage really separates Webb’s film from Raimi’s trilogy along with the other confirmed aspects like new costume and the web-shooters. The only drawback is that there is no sign of the villain, we wish Webb would just go on the record and say that it’s the Lizard rather than tiptoe around the question.

Despite being previously published as a “smaller-scale” take on the character, everything seems to be in line with a grand retelling.

The Amazing Spider-Man swings into theatres July 3, 2012.

The first theatrical teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises has debuted online. Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) has a great track record with very non-descript but thoroughly engaging teasers for each one of his films, usually accompanied by an equally gripping poster to build anticipation. A poster for the third installment in the Batman franchise appeared online earlier last week and we think it looks spectacular.

As for the content of the trailer, while majority of it seemed recycled from the previous films, we are presented with new footage of a bedridden Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) speaking to someone off screen (presumably Bruce Wayne). The money shot lies in the last few seconds: a battle wary Batman slowly stumbling back from Bane in what one can only hope is a semi-reenactment of the famous “Knightfall” storyline fight. I still can’t figure out the design for Bane’s mask, but have total faith in Nolan to make it work/be relevant.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Joseph-Gorden Levitt, and is set to hit theatres on July 12, 2012.

Click here to view the embedded video.

…so. There’s a whole lot going on here. Columbia is populated by various factions, including the Vox Populi, who make things terribly uncomfortable for Booker DeWitt and the super-powered Elizabeth. While characters are seen acting amongst the setting without immediately jumping on the player, when they do things get more crowded and threatening than most encounters in the first two Bioshocks ever did. The “tears” are probably the most intruiging part of the demo, appearing in one instance as a variety of options Elizabeth can help you with during a firefight, and a baffling multi-verse tease in another. Comic book nerds like us are surely speculating the hell out of that moment.

We also get to see how much vertigo we’ll experience while flying along the skylines, and some insight into the relationship between Elizabeth, Booker and the steampunk predator called the Songbird in ways that surprise even at this early stage. If this wasn’t on your radar before, it probably is now.

Bioshock Infinite is scheduled for release in 2012. For some more insight from Irrational head Ken Levine, check out the extended interview with Geoff Keighley on the Gametrailers website, and this interview with Kieron Gillen on RockPaperShotgun.

Metro 2033 had some memorable characters and situations reminiscent of Half-Life 2, and breathtaking scenery made possible by technology that brought many gaming PCs to their metaphorical knees. The gameplay also helped convey the desperate nature of the Metro in a way that most shooters don’t. Guns had a ramshackle appearance and operation – the pneumatic sniper rifle had to be pumped every couple shots – and the good-quality ammunition also doubled as currency.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now, developer 4A Games has released their first trailer of the sequel Metro: Last Light. In this early stage, it looks like we’re in for more of what made the last game fascinating: dark, oppressive environments underground and eerily peaceful wastelands outside, as well as gunplay mixed with more insight into the daily lives in the slum-towns of the Metro. 4A haven’t given Last Light a release date more specific than 2012, but consider this one to watch.

Continuing videogame trailer music watch 2011, our nightmarish glimpse of Metro: Last Light plays to the conveniently titled “Machine Gun,” by English band Portishead’s 2008 album Third.

An in-depth preview of the game can be found on Gamespot’s site, but here are the key points regarding our new character: At some points in the game’s storyline, you’ll switch over to Catwoman for a select number of missions – about ten percent of the total game. She has her own tools and abilities, as well as a progression path of her own that will let the player upgrade her skills and tools. Since she doesn’t have Batman’s cape or grappling hook, Selina will have to use her own set of skills to traverse Arkham City.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The new trailer showcased Catwoman’s skills, including some wall- and ceiling-crawling that continue to make the Arkham games the envy of a certain other wall-crawler. Her acrobatic moves pummel the guards with a bit more grace and flare than Batman’s, but are no less effective.

Other than taking advantage of the chaos of Arkham City to loot some sweet treasures, there isn’t much more explanation of just what Catwoman’s angle over the course of the game will be – including the nature of her relationship with Batman in Rocksteady’s interpretation of the mythos. However Arkham City is shaping up to more and more exciting with every sassy reveal.

Note: Music choice for these trailers continues its hot streak, this time introducing Catwoman to the tune of “Get Some” by someone named Lykke Li.

Batman: Arkham City is currently scheduled for release on October 18 2011 on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

And we have not one, but two trailers. And in keeping with the crazy spirit, both are parodies of a typical Hollywood rom-com and a recent bland sequel. I’m not exactly sure what the logic behind disguising them under names other than the film title is, but all that matters if that they’re out there. So stick with them, and I suspect if you aren’t already, you will be seduced into the wild and magical world of Kermit and his insane friends.

The film has been in works for a while, and finally we have a trailer. And it looks fantastic. With Steven Spielberg directing, Peter Jackson producing, Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat & Joe Cornish writing, and Jamie Bell, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg (among others) acting, I have high hopes for this film.

Visit the official site here, and watch the trailer below.

Electronic Arts and DICE yesterday released a spectacular 12-minute gameplay trailer for their upcoming Battlefield 3. The military first person shooter (shocking, we know!) is being touted as EA’s answer to Activision’s incredibly popular Call of Duty franchise.

The release comes in response to EA’s campaign to “recruit” over 1 million Likes for its Battlefield Facebook page. The trailer was made available after over 800,000 users became fans of the page.

Battlefield 3 is easily one of the best looking games ever made. Whether those looks hold up across the various platforms the game is being released for is another question entirely. Presently the PC version of Battlefield 3 is the most impressive, featuring the aforementioned visuals, gargantuan maps and 64 player battles. The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions on the other hand feature reined graphics, smaller map sizes and only support 24 player battles. The aging consoles simply cannot handle the sheer scale of Battlefield 3.

It’s a true return to form for the franchise. If Battlefield 3 is anything like it’s PC predacessors, then I’m in a lot of trouble.

Battlefield 3 is due out November 2, 2011.

I’ll admit, I’ve never been a great fan of the Planet of the Apes series, beyond the original film. And certainly it’s getting quite tiresome to see remakes, reboots and the like coming out of Hollywood rather than more original material. But the first trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes looks rather promising. You can watch the trailer at Apple Trailers, or embedded below from YouTube.

With strong actors such as James Franco, Brian Cox, John Lithgow and Andy Serkis (as the ape of course), and CG apes designed by the visual effects team that made Avatar almost bearable, it could be good. In our age of genetically modified food, DNA manipulation, and humans having the ability to extend their lives beyond what might be considered safe lengths, the story is rather timely.

The new season of Doctor Who begins in a little over two weeks on April 23. I don’t think I’ve quivered with this much anticipation since the new series began five or so years ago. I went into the last season with mixed feelings. I had full confidence in new head writer Stephen Moffat, but was worried about the loss of David Tennant. All I can say now is, David who (yes, pun intended)? Matt Smith brings a wry humour, energy and more delicious darkness to the Doctor, and he is more than matched by Karen Gillan as his sexy and intrepid companion Amy/Amelia. They are now by far the best pairing. And while I sometimes miss just having the two of them share the screen, the additions of extra companions Rory and River Song work very nicely. The trailer offers a few clues to upcoming episodes.

Doctor Who Season (Series) 6 begins April 23 on SPACE, BBC and BBC America