A new trailer, poster, and images are now online for Despicable Me 2.  The new trailer shows Gru (Steve Carell) being kidnapped by the “Anti-Villain League”, and being recruited in order to defeat a new super villain.  Gru seems to have softened considerably since becoming the father of Margo, Agnes, and Edith.  Unsurprisingly, the best jokes belong to the minions, and although Despicable Me 2 looks okay, I’m still more excited to see the minions’ spinoff.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer, poster, and images. The film also features the voices of Kristen Wiig, Al Pacino, Miranda Cosgrove and Russell Brand.  Despicable Me 2 opens in 3D on July 3rd. 

With the 84th Annual Academy Awards nearly one week into our past, I’d be interested in hearing from our readers what the one genuine surprise of the night was for them. For me, it was Meryl Streep’s Best Actress win. Now, don’t get me wrong, Streep is obviously an incredible actress who requires zero justification from a movie blogger. It’s just that, of all the award categories in question, I genuinely expected Viola Davis to win Best Actress. So, if you feel so inclined, sound off in the comments section below about your biggest surprise win/loss of the night. Sarcasm, including “your mom” responses, is encouraged.

In the bag of goodies that is this week’s “Top 5″ you’ll find the new trailer and a ton of new images from The Avengers, a new television spot for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, a Prometheus viral video that reassures my suspicions that Guy Pearce could indeed take over the planet if he wanted to, interviews for The Lorax with Danny Devito, Ed Helms, and more, and all of our coverage from the set of Jason Segel and Emily Blunt‘s The Five-Year Engagement. A brief recap and link to each follows after the jump.

Dr. Seuss wasn’t afraid to provide serious messages in his books.  Not everything he wrote was Green Eggs and Ham (which, in all fairness, stresses the importance of trying new things).  Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is a moving story that could be read to anyone at any age and still be meaningful.  The Lorax didn’t have the joy and humor of his other books but instead left its readers with a poignant message and dire warning.  Illumination Entertainment’s big 3D CGI-animated adaptation could care less about either.  The Lorax gives a begrudging nod towards environmentalism, a halfhearted tip of the hat to Dr. Seuss, and then pours all of its energy into being hip and funny but succeeded at neither.

From the creators of Despicable Me comes the animated feature film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, a beloved cautionary tale of environmental conservation wrapped up in a colorful children’s story.  The 3D-CG animated adaptation is an adventure that follows the journey of idealistic 12-year-old Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) while he searches for a real Truffula Tree for Audrey (voiced by Taylor Swift), in order to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find one, he must learn the story of the Lorax (voiced by Danny DeVito) from the enigmatic and bitter old hermit, known as the Once-ler (voiced by Ed Helms), who let the temptation of greed and success get the better of him.  For more on the film, here’s some images, trailers, 8 clips from the movie, and the Super Bowl spot.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I was able to speak with director Chris Renaud for our partners at Omelete.  During the interview, Renaud talked about what drew him to The Lorax, what he learned on Despicable Me that he was able to apply to this film, how much the story changed during production, his favorite movie, actor and director, and we talked a bit about Star Wars as he mentioned that was his favorite film.  In addition, with Renaud currently working on the Despicable Me sequel, we talked about what fans can expect and if we’ll hear Agnes say “It’s so fluffy” again.  Hit the jump to watch.

From the creators of Despicable Me comes the animated feature film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, a beloved cautionary tale of environmental conservation wrapped up in a colorful children’s story.  We’ve previously brought you images, trailers and even a Super Bowl ad spot for Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda’s The Lorax, which stars Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms, Betty White and Danny DeVito. Now we have eight clips from the movie, which will mark Universal’s third Dr. Seuss feature after How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat. On what would have been the author’s 108^th birthday, The Lorax will land in theaters on March 2^nd.  Hit the jump to check out the clips.

Earlier this year, we posted the first synopses for a few of Universal Pictures’ films slated for release next year. Today, we’ve got a few more synopses to share with you from some the studio’s upcoming slate. Included is Oliver Stone’s drug-smuggling drama Savages, the 3D animated feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and the Knocked Up spinoff Untitled Judd Apatow Comedy. Additionally, we have a new synopsis and a title change for Big Miracle, the Drew Barrymore-starred family film that was formerly titled Everybody Loves Whales.

Hit the jump for a rundown of the cast and synopsis for each film. Big Miracle opens February 3, 2012, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax opens March 2, 2012, Savages opens September 28, 2012, and Untitled Judd Apatow Comedy opens December 21, 2012.

In Valentine’s Day, singer Taylor Swift showed that acting was not her strong suit.  Universal is hoping that perhaps she’ll have better luck with voice acting and has cast her as one of the leads in the CGI animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.  Swift will play Audrey the dream girl of the main character, Ted (voiced by Zac Efron).  Ted is on a search to find the Lorax (Danny DeVito) and in his search comes across the enigmatic Once-ler (Ed Helms) and the greedy financial king O’Hare (Rob Riggle).  Betty White will voice Ted’s wise Grammy Norma.

Hit the jump for the full press release along with a new image from the film.  The Lorax is set to be released in 3D on March 2, 2012.