Almost two weeks ago we brought you the news that Oscar-winner Sir Ben Kingsley had been cast as the yet-to-be-named villain in next summer’s mighty Marvel superhero sequel Iron Man 3. Today another high-caliber acting talent has joined the movie’s increasingly impressive cast as Guy Pearce, most recently seen kicking interstellar ass in the sci-fi action flick Lockout, has signed on to play geneticist Dr. Aldrich Killian.

Killian was an integral character in “Extremis,” the six-issue Iron Man comic arc penned by Warren Ellis that is said to be the inspiration for Iron Man 3.

The digital movie rental deal of the day over at Amazon today is Contagion, starring Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, for only $.99.

This deal is valid through today, Thursday, April 19, 2012, until 11:59pm PST. Once you activate the rental through Amazon’s Instant Video on demand service, you’ll have access to the movie for 48 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $14.99.

Also, if you’d like to own a physical copy of Contagion, the Blu-ray Edition is available for $19.49 while the DVD is $18.99. Both editions are part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program “” you get the film as a FREE digital rental you can watch immediately when your purchase the physical copy.

I have a feeling The Avengers is going to be one of the most entertaining movies we see this year. Last night the film was screened for critics and the overall reaction was extremely positive. Make no mistake, the expectations for this movie are higher than any comic book-based blockbuster made to date with the possible exception of the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises. At least we can take some comfort in knowing that it delivers where it counts, and then some.

Now, Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios have released a brand new image of the Hulk as rendered by FX artisans Industrial Light and Magic. You can check it out here below.

In less than two months The Avengers will assemble on thousands of movie theater screens around the world. It will have been nearly five decades since the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought together Earth’s mightiest heroes in the pages of the Avengers comic book series, and five summers since the groundwork was laid for the greatest superheroes in the Marvel Universe to team up on the big screen in the first Iron Man movie. What is the recurring theme of this paragraph? The Avengers has been a long time in the making, longer than anyone ever thought possible. In fact there was a time not long ago when the mere mention of an Avengers cinematic epic adventure was met with stifled laughter and rolling eyeballs.

No longer my friends, because The Avengers is almost here and is in fact the first of the major tentpole blockbusters out of the gate this summer. The trailers, posters, and stills have been coming hard and fast in recent months. Now there’s a new trailer for the movie made to promote it in Japan and it features even more footage than seen in previously released previews.

You can watch the trailer here below.

Contagion
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Elliott Gould, Jennifer Ehle, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Chin Han, Griffin Kane, Sanjay Gupta
Release Date: September 9, 2011

Contagion is a movie that showed much promise with its previews and its advertised premise, but in reality it turns into 100 minutes of wasted production opportunities used instead to push stereotypical propaganda at the viewer. With its notable ensemble cast, and a plot device that is not new but has been proven to be popular over the years, the Steven Soderbergh film had huge potential that will do nothing but disappoint the thriller/horror fans expecting an epidemic epic.

I have been quite a big fan of medical thrillers over the years, particularly those that focus on diseases and outbreaks. From stories of crazy Ebola-like viruses to weaponized disease, I’ve been fascinated with the concept both in its reality, and in its use as a plot device in thrillers. I have no rationalization for this attraction: perhaps it was the wonderful conclusion H.G. Wells brought us to in War of the Worlds, or perhaps it is the disease-based plot devices of some of my favorite zombie flicks. Either way, when word came out Soderbergh was taking up the subject; I was thrilled at the prospect.