The very first teaser trailer for Skyfall has arrived online, bright and early for the Britons in James Bond's native soil, in the middle of the night for those of us in the colonies.  The trailer's coming was announced last week when the teaser poster was unveiled, now it's here to provide our first real look at footage from the twenty-third cinematic outing of Ian Fleming's world-class spy and lover of ladies the world over.

The moviegoers of planet Earth are currently in the midst of a very enthusiastic makeout session with The Avengers, one that includes heavy petting, blockbusting, and some unnecessary 3D.  As you're doubtless aware, the world has Avengers-fever, as reflected by the movie's global gross of $1.18 billion in under a month and the fact that Joss Whedon's superhero team-up is basically on track to be the third-biggest movie ever (not adjusted for inflation). 

But let's think about the future, a future filled with The Avengers DVDs and Blu-rays packed with special features, all of them arriving on September 25th.

Though he's best known as the author who created mega-lothario and hyper-capable spy James Bond, the subject of the longest-running film franchise in history, Ian Fleming also lived quite a fascinating life.  The journalist and novelist whose most famous creation lives on in this year's Skyfall could ably support his own movie, particularly one involving his exploits during World War II.  And it seems the late Ian Fleming will finally be getting that movie, with a terrific director to boot.

Prepare for many, many headlines making terrible puns about sinking, as this weekend's new releases couldn't manage to compete with Marvel and Disney's superhero team-up.  The Avengers continues to dominate the domestic box office, according to the estimated grosses, while wide releases Battleship, The Dictator, and What to Expect When You're Expecting all basically had to settle for also-ran status.

David R. Brooks and Zev Brooks are the sibling filmmakers behind The Yankles, a film about an Orthodox Jewish baseball team with a very unorthodox coach. Though both brothers co-write the script, David helmed the direction of the film while Zev acted as Producer. The Yankles is a comedy about a hapless Orthodox Yeshiva baseball team that earns a ticket to compete in the college world series. The team hires Charlie Jones, played by Brian Wimmer (Footloose, Flipper) to coach. Charlie is a washed-up, ex-major league center fielder on parole for multiple DUI convictions and desperate to fulfill his community service. While The Yankles strive for success on the field, Charlie works to rebuild his reputation and relationships. The film, which has garnered numerous awards at domestic and international film festivals, is a hilarious and touching story about redemption. The Yankles opens in theatres today, Friday, May 18th.

I recently had the chance to speak with David and Zev Brooks about The Yankles. The filmmakers discussed their long, arduous seven-year journey to make a film with no prior track record and independent from any Hollywood or studio help. The brothers also discussed working with real-life husband and wife actors, tricks for shooting on such a tight budget, the stunts involved in shooting a sports movie, the themes in their film, and their influences.

It's a good year for fans of Bill Murray, by which I mean to say, "It's a good year for humans."  Murray's playing a supporting role in frequent collaborator Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom this summer, and later this year, he's starring as the 32nd U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the period drama Hyde Park on Hudson.  The first trailer for the latter has debuted online, and it promises not just solid Murray, but a potentially great little movie, too.

Lawless, the Prohibition-Era Southern drama from director John Hillcoat, is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, which is currently monopolizing the Croisette.  With the film finally getting ready for its debutante ball, The Weinstein Company has unveiled seven character posters from movie formerly titled The Wettest Country in the World and the more concise Wettest Country.

These character posters answer a few questions.  First is the question, "How do we let audiences know that our movie stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce, Jason Clarke, and Mia Wasikowska?"  Answer: character posters.  The second question is, "How do we let audiences know it's a period movie with action?"  Answer: Give most of the cast revolvers and make sure there's a tommy gun in there too.  The third question is, "How awkwardly can we insert Gary Oldman's face onto a poster?"  Answer: Photoshop.

Novelist James Patterson's signature character is getting a cinematic reboot based upon the novel I, Alex Cross and titled, appropriately enough, Alex Cross.  Previously played by Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, the detective will this time be portrayed by Tyler Perry, stepping out of his Madea outfit and into a thriller.  A batch of images from Alex Cross provide our first looks at Perry in character.

A new international trailer for Magic Mike is now online, and it gives us a better idea of just what's at the heart of Steven Soderbergh's sweaty, humorous drama loosely based on the real-life experiences of erstwhile male stripper/current movie star Channing Tatum.