A double-barrel of good news on the Machete Kills front, as the Robert Rodriguez-directed and Danny Trejo-starring sequel has been picked up for North American distribution in 2013 by Open Road Films and has released its first official image!  The second installment in a planned trilogy features Trejo as the former Mexican federale out to stop a madman and a billionaire arms dealer from unleashing war across the globe.

The crazy cast which crowds Trejo out of his screen time features Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson.  Hit the jump to check out the first image of Machete Kills.  Mr. Machete, what are you doing to Miss San Antonio?

In the spirit of TIFF 2012 winding down this weekend, I’m interested in hearing what some of our readers most anticipated pics coming out of the festival are. For me, I was already psyched for films such as Looper, Cloud Atlas, and The Master, but early buzz has also peaked my interest in The Place Beyond the Pines, End of Watch, Spring Breakers, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, Dredd 3D, and At Any Price among others. What about you? Where there films that showed up on your radar while following the festival? What about a film you were looking forward to that you were disappointed didn’t fare quite as well as you had hoped (for me, this was Passion)? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check out this week’s fifth spot for a link that can help you get caught up on all of our TIFF 2012 coverage.

In addition to that fifth spot, also on the docket for this week’s Top 5 is a slew of video interviews for Paul W. S. Anderson‘s Resident Evil: Retribution, the first full trailer for Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln, James Cameron talking the future of Avatar and what his take on Jurassic Park would have been like, and Steve’s video interviews with some of the major names behind Finding Nemo 3D. Brief recaps and links to each lie after the jump.

Opening this weekend is writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson‘s Resident Evil: Retribution.   In the series’ fifth installment, we find Milla Jovovich waking up in the heart of the Umbrella Corporation’s most clandestine operations facility.  She continues to hunt those responsible for the deadly T-virus outbreak with the help of both newfound allies and familiar friends.  The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, Boris Kodjoe, and Li Bingbing.  For more on RE5, here’s the trailer, 25 things to know about the movie from my set visit, some new images, and our Comic-Con panel recap.

The other day I spoke to Michelle Rodriguez.  We talked about how much fun she had playing two versions of the same character, when she first found out about the sequel, filming the action scenes, and more.  In addition, Rodriguez also talked about Robert Rodriguez‘ Machete Kills and director Justin Lin‘s Fast and the Furious 6 (which she’s filming now).  Hit the jump to watch.

In times of economic recession, what are the rich to do with all their money? Why, make rock-solid investments in mega-companies such as Resident Evil’s Umbrella Corporation, of course!  Fret not, ninety-nine-percenters, with Umbrella’s new IPO, even you can afford a piece of the Umbrella for a paltry $25.  Starting September 14th, the company behind such remarkable drugs as Adravil®, Regenerate® and Return® will begin trading on Nasdaq.

Coincidentally, Resident Evil: Retribution, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, opens in theaters that very same day!  Hit the jump to see how you can buy into the hype or even be employed by the Umbrella Corporation itself.

Less than a week ago, we posted this photo of Dwayne Johnson and Gina Cararno posing like the badasses they are on the set of Fast and Furious 6.  Not to be outdone, stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker posed for another image, along with director Justin Lin.  All we really know so far is that production has started and the plot of the film appears to center around dueling heist teams.

The movie also stars Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Joe Taslim, and Luke Evans.  The film is slated to open May 24, 2013.  Hit the jump to check out the new image.

In case you’ve missed any of the installments of the Resident Evil franchise since its feature film inception back in 2002, we’ve got a retrospective video to get you caught up before Resident Evil: Retribution debuts in theaters September 14th.  The fifth iteration, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, follows the continuing adventures of Alice (Milla Jovovich) and resistance fighters battling against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead.  Resident Evil: Retribution also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Bingbing Li and Kevin Durand.  Hit the jump to check out the video recap.

The last round of images for Resident Evil: Retribution focused on the franchise’s star, Milla Jovovich.  This time around, we have new images of some of the supporting cast, including Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Bingbing Li and Oded Fehr.  Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the fifth installment in the Resident Evil franchise also stars Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Johann Urb and Boris Kodjoe.  Look for the film to land September 14th and hit the jump to check out some new images.

Production is officially underway on director Justin Lin’s sixth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, currently referred to as Fast & Furious 6.  Lin broke the news on his Twitter page last night:

“It’s 2am & just got up for the 1st day of FF6. Always love the calm & silence of the night b4 going on set. Let’s go shoot a f@#kin’ movie!”

Filming will take place in and around Europe, where the movie is set.  The story reportedly revolves around dueling heist teams.  Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and Dwayne Johnson all return, joined by newcomers Gina Carano and Luke Evans.  Hit the jump for more, including casting news concerning a villainous role. 

While at Comic-Con for a presentation in Hall H, actress Milla Jovovich spoke with the press about the fifth installment in the popular Resident Evil franchise.  In Resident Evil: Retribution, which resurrects Michelle Rodriguez’s character from the first film, Alice (Jovovich) fights alongside a resistance movement in the continuing battle against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead.  During the interview, Rodriguez talked about how cool it is to be a part of the franchise again, that her reappearance is explained early on and in a plausible way, the film’s cool fight scenes, how she’s also returning to the Fast and Furious franchise, doing a voice for the next Modern Warfare video game, and what superhero character she’d like to play.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

The Resident Evil film franchise is still going strong, and star Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson brought the latest installment to Comic-Con’s Hall H.  This fifth entry in the series is called Resident Evil: Retribution, and Jovovich and Anderson were joined onstage by co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Li Bingbing, Oded Fehr, and Boris Kodje.  Hit the jump to read my recap of the panel.

Check out our round-up of the latest posters below:

• Resident Evil: Retribution – The fifth installment of the Resident Evil franchise from director Paul W.S. Anderson stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Johann Urb, Kevin Durand and Bingbing Li.  Resident Evil: Retribution opens September 14th.
• The Possession – From producer Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) director Ole Bornedal (Nightwatch) comes this horror film based on real life events.  The Possession, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport and Natasha Calis opens August 31st.
• The Babymakers – The heist/adventure/comedy directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers) stars Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider, Noureen DeWulf and Aisha Tyler. The Babymakers opens August 3rd.

Hit the jump to check out the new posters and synopses.

The first full trailer for director Paul W.S. Anderson’s fifth film in the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil: Retribution, debuted earlier last month, and now eight new images have surfaced online.  The story finds Milla Jovovich’s Alice waking up in the heart of the Umbrella Corporation’s most clandestine operations facility.  She continues to hunt those responsible for the deadly T-virus outbreak with the help of both newfound allies and familiar friends.  This pic features the return of characters from previous films, including Michelle Rodriguez.  There’s nothing incredibly mind blowing in this batch of images beyond blood-soaked walls, but fans of the franchise should get a kick out of them.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and if you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage click here.  The film also stars Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Johann Urb, Kevin Durand and Bingbing Li.  Resident Evil: Retribution opens on September 14th.

We posted a teaser trailer for the fifth installment of the Resident Evil franchise back in January, but now the first full trailer for Resident Evil: Retribution has landed.  I’ve only ever seen the first film in the series, so I’m all kinds of confused by this trailer for the fifth installment.  That said, action looks to be front and center here and I doubt Resident Evil fans will be disappointed by this trailer.  Moreover, this new film brings back at least a few cast members that perished earlier in the series so Retribution may act as sort of a throwback for diehard fans.  If you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage, including interviews with director Paul W.S. Anderson and the cast, click here.

Resident Evil: Retribution stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Kevin Durand, Boris Kodjoe, Shawn Roberts, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb and Li Bingbing. RE5 opens September 14th.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Movies keep trying to kill Michelle Rodriguez, but luckily she keeps finding a way to come back.  Rodriguez is set to return in two sequels: one, a true sequel in Machete Kills and one, the sixth installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise.  As for director Robert Rodriguez’s sequel, Michelle Rodriguez will reprise her role as Luz, the leader of an illegal immigrant aid movement known as the Network.  She’ll be starring alongside Mel Gibson who recently joined the cast.

The Fast and the Furious 6, which will feature the directorial return of Justin Lin (Fast Five) and, perhaps more importantly, the return of Rodriguez’s character, Letty, something that was teased at the end of the previous film.  Shooting next month, The Fast and the Furious 6 also stars Dwayne Johnson, Gina Carano, Jordana Brewster and, of course, Vin Diesel. Hit the jump for more, including details on Gibson’s role in Machete Kills.

Resident Evil: Retribution, from writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson, is the fifth installment of the wildly successful film franchise adaptation of the popular video game series, due out in theaters on September 14^th. This time around, Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens in the heart of the Umbrella Corporation’s most clandestine operations facility and continues to hunt those responsible for the deadly T-virus outbreak, with the help of both newfound allies and familiar friends. The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Kevin Durand, Johann Urb and Boris Kodjoe.

Prior to their panel presentation at WonderCon 2012, actress Milla Jovovich and filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson spoke to the press about the development of this installment, how personal this franchise is for both of them, their passion for the video game, and what the scriptwriting process is like. Check out what they had to say after the jump.