If you thought you'd have to wait until your butt was in a seat at The Avengers to see the new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, you were mistaken.  The third trailer for Christopher Nolan's final installment in his Batman trilogy is online in full right here, right now.

Things have been pretty quiet on the Dark Knight Rises front as of late.  With Marvel and Disney's orgiastic superhero crossover The Avengers monopolizing our superhero hype attentions, Warner Bros has wisely opted to let Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor have their time.  The second full theatrical trailer for The Dark Knight Rises is set to debut with The Avengers this Friday, though, so Batman's about to start getting his hype on all over again.

The very first theatrical trailer for Lawless finally, mercifully, hit the interwebs.  And it was worth the wait.  The film, formerly titled The Wettest Country in the World and Wettest Country, has everything going for it, from an incredible cast to a proven director, a screenwriter with cult bona-fides, and fascinating source material.  And now it has a stellar trailer, too.

While we've been happily inundated with hype-building material from a certain Marvel and Disney joint, the promotional juggernaut for a big, bat-loving DC Comics hero has been quietly getting ready to bombard audiences.  The Dark Knight Rises is arguably the most anticipated movie of the summer, and it's appropriate that a new trailer will precede the other most anticipated movie, The Avengers.  When the final Christopher Nolan-directed Batman adventure arrives, it will boast more than a full hour of footage shot on IMAX cameras.

A month ago, Arthur & Lancelot was thought to be dead, but then we learned quite suddenly that not only had Warner Bros. not given up on the medieval action-adventure, but was in talks with one of two leading men.  About two weeks ago, word emerged that Colin Farrell was in talks with the studio to star in the film as one of the two title characters, but it looks like those discussions have proven fruitless, as Farrell will not be appearing in the film.

Okay, let's make this clear right out the gate: this whole post exists in spoiler territory.  It's been quite some time since we've heard anything about The Dark Knight Rises.  Long past are the days of consistently spoilerific set photos and what have you, as Christopher Nolan is deep in post-production on the finale to his Bat-trilogy, but today Warner Bros. has confirmed a certain long-rumored character appearance in the film.  Again, if you're not down with a spoiler just stop reading right now.  Like right at this moment.  Read no more.

Unlike the seasons that pass annually in nature thanks to the tilt of Earth's axis and its course through the solar system, awards season culminates in a climactic event that epitomizes nearly everything associated with the yearly handing out of statuettes and accolades.  The 84th annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place this Sunday at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, where Billy Crystal will host the proceedings for the ninth time in a telecast produced by Brian Grazer.

With its famous traffic, ubiquitous smog, and abhorrent city planning, Los Angeles tends be a bit of a punching bag for the rest of the country, from the Midwest to New York City.  While one could argue the cultural and aesthetic value of the city all day, it is without a doubt the premiere city in America for moviegoing.  There are, of course upscale theaters like the Arclight or the Landmark, and there are unparalleled revival houses such as the New Beverly, the Aero, and the the Silent Movie Theater. 

In addition to this embarrassment of riches, there's the cinematic programming at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wilshire Boulevard.  Film Independent, the very same non-profit organization that puts on the annual Independent Spirit Awards celebrating the best in independent film, has a year-round weekly film series curated by critical luminary and KCRW's The Treatment host Elvis Mitchell.

This morning you may have seen some images of an Incredible Hulk action figure or two from The Avengers.  Those pictures came from the floor of Toy Fair in London, and now, the collectible expo has revealed some promotional artwork for products tying in to this summer's other superhero epic, The Dark Knight Rises.

The products in question are from DC Direct, which creates not missile-fired action figures for tots, but higher-end busts and the like for collectors.  For the finale installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, DC Direct is manufacturing some new figures and busts based on Batman, Bane, and Catwoman, played respectively by Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway.

"Hello, everyone.  I'm Batman.  You're probably familiar with my work brutalizing criminals as the subject of the very successful movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  As you no doubt guessed, I'm a pretty busy guy; between fighting the ever-rising tide of wrongdoing in Gotham City, running a bajillion-dollar company, and brooding over the murder of my parents, I hardly ever get a minute to relax with some bath salts, wine, and a good book.  But I'm here today to tell you that I'm on the cover of a magazine!  Also, my buddies at Warner Bros have released three new official stills from The Dark Knight Rises, the forthcoming sequel where some dude in a muzzle beats the hell out of me.  Take a look, because you know you're jonesing for The Dark Knight Rises.  My movies are just so damn good."