Anything that I write this week will ultimately prove miniscule and severely unimportant in the wake of the Aurora, CO tragedy. While it’s an unfortunate truth that lives are senselessly lost every day for reasons that defy any and all logic, the fact that this particular incident took place in an atmosphere so many us of cherish and during an event that was so genuinely anticipated has made this all too familiar story one that really hits home. All of this said, I’ll refrain from pretending to know or understand the first thing about what the victims of the shooting are going through. Instead, I’ll just offer my sincerest condolences to all those involved.

In an impossible segue, this week’s Top 5 is headlined by The Dark Knight Rises while also shining our weekly spotlight on The Punisher‘s new short film Dirty Laundry, the first poster and new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master, Joss Whedon taking out a giant one-eyed monster in the 5-year-old inspired short film Scary Smash, and an ode to our nearly infinite supply of Comic-Con 2012 coverage. A link and brief recap for each rests after the jump.

People toss around the word “epic” far too much in describing the things they like and the failures of noobs. But the films of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy are epic, in every sense of the word. Which makes the trailer we’re about to show you really freaking epic. Imagine, if you will, that Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises were actually one big blockbuster. Now imagine they made a trailer for that blockbuster…and it was really, really, really great.

Weaving together footage from all three chapters, what lies on the other side of the jump is not just another appetizer for The Dark Knight Rises, but an illustration of the remarkable ambition and scope of this whole series. This is the first big screen comic franchise that works as one (pristinely executed) arc, with a clear beginning, middle and end. We should all look forward to the day when we can pop them in the Blu-ray one after the other and, with the final credits rolling, utter the word “Epic” as we’ve never meant it before. For now, hit jump to be blown the hell away.

With Ice Age: Continental Drift the only wide release of the weekend, any wonder it’s number one? The fourth installment in Fox’s decade-old animated franchise took in an estimated $46 million from 3,881 locations. That’s a bit below the average debut of the first three Ice Age films and noticeably lower than this year’s other animated hits; but with international numbers steering the sequel past $300 million global by Sunday, no one at Fox is sweating the small stuff.

The Dark Knight Rises has released another clip in its related series of cast appearances on late night talk shows.  We previously brought you this frank dialogue between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman, followed by these two clips focusing on Anne Hathaway and Morgan Freeman. Today’s clip once again focuses on the non-costumed version of the characters, giving a good amount of backstory to go along with the action sequences.  Snippets of it were previously seen in trailers, but now we have a little more context to go along with it.  Starring Christian Bale,  The Dark Knight Rises opens in IMAX July 20th.  Hit the jump for the new clip and a recap of all of our coverage so far.

One of the coolest things at Comic-Con 2012 we’ve seen so far is the collection of Batmobiles spanning from Adam West’s 1955 Lincoln Futura all the way up to The Dark Knight Rises’ camouflage version of the Tumbler.  It’s an impressive collection, one that billionaire Bruce Wayne was kind enough to lend for the festivities this week.  The Batmobile display is part of the Warner Bros. Extra Stage, which also features guest appearances from their television properties as well as videogame franchises like Lego’s The Lord of the Rings. Hit the jump to check out a ton of images from the Batmobile display and be sure to keep up with all of our continuing coverage here at Comic-Con.

After a new trailer, TV spot and IMAX poster for The Dark Knight Rises debuted earlier today, we now have the first clip from the movie to share with you.  While a lot of attention is spent on Batman (Christian Bale), Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), the first clip highlights a conversation between Officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman).  While some of you may be suffering from The Dark Knight Rises marketing fatigue, this clip shines a Bat-signal on a nice slow-burn of dialogue.

Director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, also starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Marion Cotillard, opens in IMAX on July 20th.  Hit the jump to check out the first clip. 

So far today, The Dark Knight Rises has blessed us with a new TV spot and trailer.  Hot on the heels of those videos comes a new IMAX poster featuring Tom Hardy’s Bane up close and personal.  The limited edition 12:01 IMAX poster will be gifted to fans who attend the midnight IMAX showing of The Dark Knight Rises on opening night.  Maybe it’s just eye strain and marketing fatigue, but do I spy a bat-symbol on the bridge of Bane’s nose and eyes?  Or has Christopher Nolan incepted my mind and is testing how successful his efforts have been via this Rorshach test? Hit the jump to decide for yourselves.

The Dark Knight Rises, starring Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman debuts in IMAX July 20^th.

The Dark Knight Rises is quickly approaching and with it comes a marketing blast that features Batman’s (Christian Bale) vulnerability, Catwoman’s (Anne Hathaway) ambiguity and Bane’s (Tom Hardy) destructive rampage.  The latest TV spot chooses to highlight the humor in the film, showing a scene between Bale’s Bruce Wayne and a doctor who rattles off the degree of damage that Mr. Wayne has done to his body.  The dialogue in the scene alone may have elicited some laughs, but the actor who gets a cameo as the doctor really sells it.

The Dark Knight Rises, also starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard, opens July 20th in IMAX.  Hit the jump to check out the new TV spot, along with a clever fan-made poster.

As much as I enjoy film, my first entertainment love will always be music. As such, this weekend finds me in Chicago in anticipation of what could be my final Warped Tour appearance. That’s right, I’m a 26 year-old man (I use the term “man” lightly, of course) who still finds immense joy in the pop-punk genre. Nevertheless, it’s becoming harder and harder for my oldness to blend in with a predominantly sub-18 crowd without looking like a total creep and, therefore, today may very well be my last Warped experience. On the bright side, I still have XBox Live to remind me that I’ve never completely grown up.

Maturity issues aside, on tap in this week’s version of the Top 5 is a slew of interviews for The Amazing Spider-Man, the first trailer and new images for Tom Cruise‘s Jack Reacher, our most anticipated movies from July to September, Savages interviews with Oliver Stone, Blake Lively, etc., and more The Dark Knight Rises coverage than most humans are capable of comprehending. Links and brief recaps for each reside after the break.

With less than three weeks to go until Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises arrives in theaters, Warner Bros. has released a new synopsis.  There’s not much there we didn’t already know, but the previous synopsis was basically a list of all the awesome actors involved without any mention of a plot.  That oversight has now been remedied and it does put a little structure in place.  So if you’ve somehow missed the ongoing barrage of The Dark Knight Rises marketing, you’ll be all caught up by checking out the new synopsis.

The Dark Knight Rises, starring Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman, opens July 20th.  Hit the jump for the new synopsis.

Now that it’s officially July, The Dark Knight Rises will be here before you know it!  In the meantime, you can check out these new Movie Masters figures.  Batman (Christian Bale), Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), Bane (Tom Hardy) and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) were previously released and a fifth figure features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Gotham City Police Officer, John Blake.  A sixth figure has been teased and we’ve got reports on who it will be, but we’ll save that spoilery info for after the jump.  There are also some new vehicles in toy form, including a Hoverjet and a Jetcruiser.  Whether these will show up in The Dark Knight Rises film or just the toybox remains to be seen.

Also starring Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Marion Cotillard, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises opens in IMAX on July 20th.  Hit the jump to check out the toy images.

In recent updates for The Dark Knight Rises, we’ve memorialized the passing of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), discussed Bruce Wayne’s (Christian Bale) strange absence from Wayne Industries and speculated on what exactly Bane (Tom Hardy) plans to do with that crazy looking weapon.  In this new TV spot for The Dark Knight Rises, we get to see glimpses of levity between Batman and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), proving that the conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy isn’t complete mope fest.  As a bonus, a new press release for the European premiere of the film on July 18th counted a particular guest in attendance that may have leaked a character appearance in the new film.

The Dark Knight Rises, also starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, opens July 20th.  Hit the jump to check out the new TV spot and find out who else may be crashing the party.

Ever since the second trailer for The Dark Knight Rises hit, fans were left wondering what insidious weapon Bane (Tom Hardy) used to level the Gotham Rogues stadium.  In a newly released image from the movie, Wayne Enterprises itself gives us the answer.  Just yesterday we brought you some viral marketing tidbits for The Dark Knight Rises that not only gave us some insight into the absence of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) from his business responsibilities, but also clued us into a mysterious R&D project that had been shut down.  This new image seems to jive nicely with that information.

The Dark Knight Rises also stars Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Marion Cotillard. Christopher Nolan’s epic trilogy conclusion opens July 20th in IMAX.  Hit the jump to check out the weapon.

If you “Do the Dew,” you might already know that Mountain Dew has a pretty involved viral site for The Dark Knight Rises. There are plenty of movie-related areas to explore, exclusive items to check out and contests to enter.  The most interesting thing to come out of the site so far is a letter from Wayne Enterprises’ head of R&D, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), addressed to a reclusive Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale).  In it, Fox expresses his concern over Wayne’s absence, the growing frustration of the board members, a mysterious project that’s sucking up an “astronomical” amount of capital and even drops a name that may be a throwback to Batman: The Animated Series. Hit the jump to read more. [Update: We've added new information to this story.]

Hot Toys has just announced the Joker 2.0 sixth scale figure from The Dark Knight.  As you can see from the pictures, they’re done an incredible job and it’s eerie how much the sculpt looks like Heath Ledger.  Like all Hot Toys figures, the head sculpt is hand-painted and it’s got over 35 points of articulation.  It also comes with a ton of cool extras.  For more on the figure, you can pre-order it on Sideshow Collectables or hit the jump.