Marvel Studios has delivered some news about its upcoming slate.  Following on the heels of this year’s The Avengers, they have on deck Iron Man 3 with a  May 3, 2013 release date, as well as Thor 2 on November 15, 2013. Signs are pointing toward Captain America 2 in early 2014, but nothing’s been confirmed yet.

I know it seems like it’s been ages since we got any The Avengers goodies from Marvel, but today we have (thanks to ComicBookMovie) five hi-res official stills, including Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury, up close and personal.  (That is some vicious looking scar.)

From Marvel’s press release:

Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures “Marvel’s The Avengers”–the super hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, & directed by Joss Whedon from a screenplay by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble on May 4, 2012.

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Numbers are limited but there are a couple of heavy hitters in the lineup this week. (A couple of baseball metaphors, get it?) The biggest among them is of course, Bennett Miller’s Moneyball starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. While I wasn’t as blown away by this story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players as the critics have been, it is very entertaining. I'm a huge baseball fan and it's great fun to get a peak at the inner workings of the sport and what appear to an outsider as arbitrary decisions, especially since I remember some of the incidents portrayed in the film.  Moneyball has been nominated for 3 Golden Globes and it’s being billed as one of Brad Pitt’s greatest performances. I suppose that’s true and I will say that it is one of the few times I was able to forget I was watching Brad Pitt, world's sexiest DILF, and get into the character. I also have to say that I liked Jonah Hill’s performance because it was understated and unexpected. This is a very different Jonah Hill than you’re probably used to seeing.

I am, an unabashed Philip Seymour Hoffman fan. One of the reasons Hoffman is always so interesting to watch is that he always seems a powder keg just one spark away from blowing. One never knows whether to take his character at face value or not.

Here Hoffman is directed by his Capote director who guided him to a Best Actor Oscar. The words are by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Both pluses.

If sports films aren’t your thing, then don’t worry because the action thriller The Killer Elite (Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert DeNiro) which we told you about last week, will also be available.

I suppose I should also let you know that the romantic comedy What’s Your Number? with Anna Faris, Chris Evans, and Ed Begly, Jr. is also out today. What you do with this information is up to you.

There are some direct to video titles out this week as well. Again, watch at your own peril. I can’t be held responsible for anything. Actually, I’m exaggerating. There are a couple of titles that may not have gotten a lot of attention, but are worth your time. You decide.

 -Scorpion King: Battle for Redemption (Billy Zane, Victor Webster, and Ron Perlman) Since his rise to power, Mathayus' kingdom has fallen. Now an assassin for hire, he must defend a kingdom from an evil tyrant and his ghost warriors for the chance to regain the power and glory he once knew.

-Higher Ground (Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, and Dagmara Dominczyk ) Actually, this one I do recommend. It played a number of festivals to great acclaim and had an extremely limited run back in August. Not unusual for a small art-house film. Farmiga made her directorial debut with this story of the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir “This Dark World”, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust – in human relationships as well as in God.

-There Be Dragons (Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott, and Charlie Cox) We told you about this one last summer after it played the Cannes Film Festival and I fully expected to see this story, billed as an epic portrayal of faith, forgiveness and redemption, in theaters. The synopsis: Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life.

It’s got a great pedigree. Along with Bentley, Scott and Cox, the film stars Olga Kurylenko, Rodrigo Santoro and Geraldine Chaplin. It was written, directed and produced by Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, The Mission).

-An Idiot Abroad (Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington, and Stephen Merchant) A boxed set of the UK television series.

-Saints and Sinners (Sean Patrick Flannery and Tom Berenger) In the gritty New Orleans underbelly, beleaguered Detective Sean Riley (Johnny Strong – Black Hawk Down, The Fast and the Furious) is trying to cope with the death of his young son and his failed marriage. Facing a probable suspension from the department, Riley is teamed with a young homicide Detective, Will Ganz (Flannery), to help solve a series of brutal murders that have plunged the city into a major gang war. The two quickly realize there is something much bigger and far more sinister going on than either could have ever imagined.

There, now you have something to do over the weekend. (A long one for most of us here in the States.)

It's a very Kate Winslet week on home video. We've already told you about HBO's Mildred Pierce, but she's also got Steven Soderbergh's star-studded medical disaster flick, Contagion available on dvd, blu-ray and two disc combo pack starting today, January 3. We talked about it extensively prior to its theatrical release, but in case you missed it, Contagion is an action-thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease, apparently being spread by birds (don't we have an actual 'bird-flu'? Is this a more virulent strain? Can I get vaccinated for this? OMG, I'm already paranoid!) and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak. It stars Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne.  Fun stuff! You'll want to douse yourself in Purell and live in a bubble by the end of it!

Special Features include

 - Contagion: How A Virus Changes The World

- The Reality of Contagion

- The Contagion Detectives

This is actually a pretty good week if you've a mind to watch movies in the comfort of your home. Puncture, which we've talked about recently, starring Chris Evans, is out today as well. Puncture is a legal drama about a drug-addicted lawyer who takes on a health supply corporation while battling his own personal demons. It costars Michael Biehn, Brett Cullen, Vinessa Shaw, one of the directors, Mark Kassan and Jesse L. Martin.

The complete list of this week's releases:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (Katie Holmes, Rated R)

The Guard ( Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong Rated R) I HIGHLY recommend this one (expect to see it on my Year End Favorites LIst) You probably missed it at the theater in its very limited release. It's a black comedy about the worst policeman in Ireland, played by Gleason, who teams up with an American FBI agent (Cheadle) to thwart some drug smugglers played by Strong, Liam Cunningham and David Wilmot. 

The Greening of Whitney Brown (Brooke Shields, Rated PG)

Chateau Meroux (Barry Watson, Rated PG-13)

Removal (Billy Burke, Rated R)

Puncture, starring Chris “Captain America” Evans comes to dvd next week, one of the first of the new year. We haven’t talked about this one since August.  Despite the fact that it had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, it was only given a very limited theatrical release back in September. (The same day another festival favorite, Machine Gun Preacher was quietly snuck into theaters). Puncture, directed by Adam and Mark Kassan, two brothers best known for television work, is a legal drama with a plotline that might have been lifted from a Grisham novel, or Michael Connolly or any number of writers using the legal thriller template, about a drug-addicted lawyer who takes on a health supply corporation while battling his own personal demons. It has three writers credited, but none of them are called John Grisham.

The official synopsis from the Millennium Entertainment press release:

“Mike Weiss (Evans) is a talented young Houston lawyer and a functioning drug addict. Paul Danziger (Kassen), his longtime friend and partner, is the straightlaced and responsible yin to Mike’s yang. Their mom-and-pop personal-injury law firm is getting by, but things really get interesting when they decide to take on a case involving Vicky (Shaw), a local ER nurse, who is pricked by a contaminated needle on the job. As Weiss and Danziger dig deeper into the case, a health care and pharmaceutical conspiracy teeters on exposure and heavyweight attorneys move in on the defense. Out of their league but invested in their own principles, the mounting pressure of the case pushes the two underdog lawyers and their business to the breaking point.

This true David and Goliath story is brought to life by directors and brothers Adam Kassen and Mark Kassen, written by Chris Lopata.”

We have two new clips to entice you into buying, renting or streaming the film. The first is called “Courtroom” and sets up the fact that Evans’ character is a personal injury lawyer and apparently knows what he’s doing.

The second is called “Saving Lives” and it sets up the case that the rest of the film will revolve around.

I'm a sucker for a good legal drama so I'll probably give this a go. (I would have in a theater if I had had access to it!) Puncture costars Michael Biehn, Brett Cullen, Vinessa Shaw, one of the directors, Mark Kassan, Roxanna Hope, Tess Parker, Kate Burton and Jesse L. Martin (Jesse L. Martin! Gaah, I remember the first time he showed up on "Ally McBeal"…*thud* Where the hell was he? I didn't see him in the trailer. Sorry…fan girl moment)
 

Puncture will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digitally on January 3, 2012.

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More shiny new images of everyone's favorite gang of super heroes, The Avengers! Yay! *demented poodle dance* Joss Whedon's eagerly awaited tie-in with Marvel's Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor movies arrives in theaters next May, but in movie promotion terms, that's right around the corner. We have another new batch of character posters for Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Bruce Banner aka The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), not an actual super hero, but rather the director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D.

We also have a couple of the Russian versions of the posters as well as a few new stills.

The premise:  An unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security. Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., finds themselves in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.   (dun dun DUN!)

The Avengers hits screens everywhere in 3D and 2D on May 4, 2012. (For reasons unknown to me, the 3D is a post-conversion.) Isn’t it about time for a new trailer? A clip? A tv spot maybe? C’mon Joss, you know you want to. 

It’s been two months since we saw the first trailer for The Avengers, the eagerly anticipated film about the ultimate superhero supergroup. Today’s German trailer is  almost identical to the original with the exception of a few new shots…and the German dubbing. (I don’t understand the concept of dubbing. Why wouldn’t you want to hear the original actors voices, even if you don’t understand the language? Otherwise, doesn’t at least half of the performance you’re watching belong to the actor dubbing the dialogue?  Subtitles are NOT that difficult people! But I digress…)

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon from a script by Whedon and Zak Penn, will assemble the “superhero team of a lifetime” including Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Tony Stark), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) as they unite to battle Thor’s evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the extraterrestrial threat he unleashes upon the Earth, is in theaters 27^th April in the UK and May 4 in the US.

By the way, I have to thank Screenrant for that cap of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye above. I saw Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol yesterday and I’m kinda crushin’. Yes, I’ve heard the rumors. Trust me, that is in no way a deterrent. I’m kinda a magnet.)