And Phase Two is off and running.  With the release of Iron Man 3 just over a week away, Disney and Marvel unveiled the first teaser trailer for this fall’s sequel Thor: The Dark World this morning.  While Marvel dipped its toe into the fantastical realm with the first Thor, it’s clear from this debut trailer that director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) follow-up is very heavy on the fantasy.  We’ve gone through the new trailer and screengrabbed a batch of images, giving us a better look at the world of Thor 2 and its characters.  Christopher Eccleston’s villain Malekith looks especially sinister, and I can’t get enough of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki reveal.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and if you somehow missed the trailer click here.  The film also stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Marvel has released the first trailer for director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World and it looks great.  Like every well cut trailer, it showcases a ton of impressive looking action, while revealing new details about the story.  I especially liked the reveal of how Loki (Tom Hiddleston) will be involved in the sequel.   If you dug the first Thor, you’re going to love this trailer.  Hit the jump to watch and let me know what you think in the comments.  

Thor: The Dark World stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston,Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

This time last week I was two movies into the triple feature I teased the last time we met. While I can’t say I was overly impressed by Gangster Squad, both Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained made their respective cases as qualified Best Picture nominees. Of the two, Zero Dark‘s unrelenting final act not only made it my top pick of the day but also provided some of the most sustained tension I can remember experiencing in a movie theater. Having now seen it for myself, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with those who have voiced their disbelief at Kathryn Bigelow‘s Best Director Oscar snub.

Zero Dark Thirty praise aside, on tap in this week’s Top 5 are The Last Stand interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, and more, a live-action remake of Toy Story, a new trailer for Primer writer/director/star/almost literally everything else Shane Carruth‘s Upstream Color, Mama interviews with Guillermo del Toro and more, and all of our Sundance 2013 coverage to date. For your reading pleasure, a recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

Jaimie Alexander kicks ass with the best of them in Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand.  Playing the Sheriff deputy Sarah Torrance, Alexander mixes it up with the boys and gets in on the gun fights and the stunts as their over-powered team attempts to prevent a ruthless drug lord and his well-armed militia from crossing the border.  In a recent video interview, Alexander talked about doing her own stunts, working with action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, revealed her favorite weapon and even teased fans about her character’s involvement in Thor: The Dark World.

Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Zack Gilford and Peter Stormare, The Last Stand opens January 18th.  Hit the jump to watch our video interview with Alexander.

Before she aids the God of Thunder later this year in Thor: The Dark World, Jaimie Alexander will back up Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand.  From director Kim Jee-woon, this old school actioner pits a small town sheriff’s department against a ruthless drug lord with a high-powered militia who are making a beeline for the border.  Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro, Eduardo Noriega, Forest Whitaker and Peter Stormare, The Last Stand opens January 18th.

In a recent interview, Alexander talked about The Last Stand and how its action compared to that of the fantasy world of Thor, as well as her favorite action sequences to film, her favorite weapon used in the movie and the benefits of working with an international cast and crew.  She also gave us an update on Thor: The Dark World and revealed a bit more about what we can expect to see from her character, Sif.  Alexander also talked about her work in David Marconi’s film, Intersection, an undisclosed action film she has coming up and her desire to star in a comedy with Will Ferrell.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

Jaimie Alexander, known for playing Lady Sif in Thor, stars as a more mortal crime-fighter alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand.  Though we’ll be running our full interview with Alexander later this week, we wanted to bring you her comments on some of her future projects, including Thor: The Dark World, writer/director David Marconi’s Intersection with Frank Grillo and an undisclosed action movie.  Alexander also revealed her wish to star in a wacky comedy with the likes of Will Ferrell.

Also starring Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzmán, Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Peter Stormare and Zach Gilford, The Last Stand opens on January 18th.  Check out what Alexander had to say about her upcoming projects after the jump. 

A new full-length trailer for director Kim Jee-Woon‘s actioner The Last Stand has been released.  The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the old sheriff of a sleepy border town who’s called to action when a drug kingpin flees an FBI prisoner convoy, and tries to make his way to Mexico.  This trailer gives us a better look at the action outside of the border town involving Forest Whitaker‘s law enforcement character and also highlights some of the lighter aspects of the pic.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, and Genesis Rodriguez.  The Last Stand opens January 18, 2013.

Though Phase One of Marvel Studios’ film slate came to an end just a few months ago with The Avengers, production on Phase Two is already well underway.  The studio is currently in the midst of filming two upcoming sequels at the same time: Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.  The Iron Man production is winding down to a close ahead of that film’s May 2013 release date, but filming on Thor: The Dark World is still going strong in London and today the first official synopsis for the Asgardian pic has been revealed.

The logline essentially tells us what we already know: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must fight against Maleketih (Christopher Eccleston) and his race of Dark Elves, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is back, the fate of the universe is in the balance, etc.  However, the synopsis does tease the film’s epic scope and the fact that Thor is forced to “sacrifice everything” in order to save us all (Thor dies?!).  Hit the jump to check out the full synopsis, which includes the full cast list.  Directed by Alan Taylor, Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013.

Filming is currently underway on Thor: The Dark World in London, and a batch of exciting new images from the set has landed online.  We previously saw some photos of a fairly massive outdoor set being built, but these images show the action that director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) has staged on the completed set.  We see Jaimie Alexander’s Sif riding around on horseback while what appears to be a large battle between two factions is taking place.  After the jump you’ll find images of some of the creatures involved, explosions, fire, and plenty of warriors.  Chris Hemsworth is nowhere to be found, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we get a look at the actor reprising his titular role as Thor.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  Possible spoilers follow, though I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be some sort of opening sequence for the film.  The pic also stars Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Zachary Levi, Idris Elba, Alice Krige, Kat Dennings, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Hopkins, Jaime Alexander, Rene Russo, and Christopher Eccleston.  Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th, 2013.

[Update: Speak of the devil.  Images of Hemsworth on set and kicking ass have now surfaced and are included after the jump.]

The first trailer for Kim Jee-Woon‘s The Last Stand has gone online.  Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the old sheriff of a sleepy border town who’s called to action when a drug kingpin flees an FBI prisoner convoy, and tries to make his way to Mexico.  It’s a good premise for nice little action-thriller, but Schwarzenegger seems totally miscast.  He’s just not really meant for small movies because he’s a big persona.  There’s nothing subdued about him.  So when a huge guy with a thick Austrian accent is wandering around a small town like it’s no big deal, he seems horribly out of place.  Maybe it will work better in context, and I really like the action on display from Kim Jee-Woon.  It’s a nice break from the shaky-cam antics other directors may have brought to the picture.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, and Genesis Rodriguez.  The Last Stand opens January 18, 2013.

You’ll see a little bit more of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Expendables 2 than you did in the first film, but once The Last Stand rolls in next January, the whole screen belongs to the former Governor.  We previously brought you the first image from the film, but now we’re happy to share an official synopsis and poster.  The actioner from director Ji-woon Kim stars Schwarzenegger as the aging sheriff of a border town, which happens to be the last hope of keeping a drug cartel leader from fleeing the country.  The Last Stand, also starring Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Genesis Rodriguez and Zach Gilford, opens January 18th.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis and poster.

The success of Marvel’s The Avengers has allowed the comic book universe to introduce its rogues gallery to theater-going audiences, bringing in such extraterrestrial villains as Thanos, the Mad Titan.  Thor was the first of the recent Marvel movies to use other-worldly magic as a power source instead of Tony Stark’s technology in Iron Man or the science behind the genesis of Captain America and the Hulk.  In a recent interview, Kevin Feige confirmed that the death-obsessed Eternal would not be making an appearance in Thor 2; another big villain would be stepping in.  We know that Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman will reprise the roles of Thor and Jane Foster respectively (not to mention the return of Idris Elba as Heimdall).  We also know that Tom Hiddleston will return as Loki, but that’s not a new big villain.  And we know Mads Mikkelsen is set to play a villain, so who could it be? Hit the jump to see what Feige had to say.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share with you today. First up, Harry Potter star Tom Felton set to join the cast of Therese Raquin. Based on the 19th century novel and play by Emile Zola, the dark thriller revolves around young Therese (Elizabeth Olsen) in 1867 Paris, whose aunt, Madame Raquin (Glenn Close), is forcing her into an arranged marriage with her rich, but sickly, first cousin. As Therese soon becomes obsessed with Laurent, a friend of her husband, a devastating affair ensues with a very heavy price. Deadline reports that Felton is in talks to play Therese’s sickly cousin whom she marries. Theater director Charlie Stratton is set to helm, and the dramatic role is a nice get for Felton. It’s a wise decision, as the “sickly cousin” plays against the nefarious type that Felton is surely wary of being typecast as.

Additionally, Thor star Jaimie Alexander has landed the female lead in the thriller Intersection. Variety reports that Alexander will play a woman who plots to murder her husband with the help of her lover. “Things go awry when the lover and husband are involved in a car accident on a remote desert road.”  Frank Grillo (The Grey) stars as the husband, and production begins next month. Alexander recently wrapped The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hit the jump to read synopsis for Therese Raquin.

New set photos have gone online for the 1940s crime drama Gangster Squad, and for Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s comeback film The Last Stand.  Back in September, we saw Gangster Squad set photos of co-stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone enjoying a lovely day in the park.  The new set photos show Stone and co-star Sean Penn sharing a scene, and Stone looks particularly glamorous.  I’m a big fan of the setting, and the costumes look terrific.

And some costumes look a little stranger.  The first set photo from Kim Ji-Woon‘s The Last Stand shows Schwarzenegger along with co-stars Luis Guzman, Johnny Knoxville, and Jaimie Alexander.  I’m not sure why Alexander and Schwarzenegger are holding tommy guns if the film is set in the present day, but I’m even more confused by Knoxville’s outfit.  It looks like a modified version of Kang-ho Song’s costume from Ji-Woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird.  While I work out my bafflement, hit the jump to check out the set photos.  Gangster Squad opens October 19, 2012.  The Last Stand opens January 18, 2013.

Filming has begun on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback film The Last Stand and the movie has added two more actors to its cast.  Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker and masochist Johnny Knoxville have signed on to Kim Jee-Woon’s crime drama.  Schwarzenegger will play sheriff of a sleepy border town who serves as the last line of defense against a drug cartel leader (Eduardo Noriega) headed for the Mexican border.  Harry Dean Stanton, Rodrigo Santoro, and Luis Guzman have also been announced to co-star.

There’s currently no word on who any of the supporting actors other than Noriega will play.  Whitaker recently signed on to star in the voodoo thriller Vipka, and Knoxville will co-star with Patton Oswalt in an untitled comedy from Todd Rohal.   The Last Stand also stars Harry Dean Stanton, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzman, Zach Gilford, and Jaimie Alexander.  Hit the jump for the press release, which includes the full synopsis.