Last summer was a good (not great) movie season. Granted, there were some notorious duds with Robin Hood, Jonah Hex, Avatar: The Last Whatever-It’s-Called, the one where Jake Gyllenhaal talked real funny and had his shirt off a lot, and many, many others. And, of course, there were some rather disappointing missed opportunities (*COUGH* Iron Man 2 *COUGH*). But overall, it was a solid time for both big event films and the smaller ones. There were two excellent high profile films (Toy Story 3, Inception) and a handful of great little-seen ones (Animal Kingdom, Cyrus, Solitary Man, etc.). And who could forget about Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? This summer will most likely be no different. There are a few films not to get too excited about, but there are plenty of other films to get tingly about. There are two Marvel films, a new frickin’ Terrence Malick epic, a great looking new X-Men…the list goes on and on. In fact, the list goes on right now with the 15 Must See Movies of Summer 2011:

Joe Johnston worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed The Rocketeer, and I have no idea if he’s connected at all to Saving Private Ryan, but it looks like he’ll be bringing that signature style to Captain America.

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have announced new release dates for their upcoming projects, culminating with The Avengers in 2012.

Marvel Studios has rounded out their directorial team for their next three movies this evening, signing Joe Johnston to direct the ‘period piece’ known as The First Avenger: Captain America.

“Yes, please!” say the writers of Iron Man and the director of The Incredible Hulk

Over on IGN, you can read the news that Marvel has signed an agreement to shoot its next immediate series of superhero flicks at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, CA. But the big news is not where they’re shooting, but what they’re shooting.

Kate Winslet and Keira Knightley probably won’t be showing up, but that won’t prevent the Captain America movie from sticking to its roots in World War II.

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today that they will be teaming up once again, and again, and again on a slew of upcoming flicks, all in the hopes of recapturing the magic of this past summer’s success.

Thanks to the internet and the infinite rate at which casting rumors seem to travel, it has now become quite easy for a fledgling celebrity to drum up interest in their good name.

In the latest rumors to come out of the Marvel rumor mill (which has, by the way, been working overtime this week), we now think we know that Leonardo DiCaprio is very high on the list for the lead role in Captain America. Interesting…

Can I get a warranty before Hulk smashes my Blu-Ray player with over an hour of extra footage? Maybe Captain America can just lend me some of his signing bonus to buy a new one.

This is the spring of comic book heroes, not only as stars of their own movies but in cameo appearances.

I have heard some doozies in my day, but this one might just take the cake. Our friends over at Cinema Blend have it on high that Matthew McConaughey, king of bedding hot babes, not bathing and surviving with little to no acting talent, may be on the top of Marvel’s short-list of candidates to step into the role of Captain America.

As expected, Marvel came flying out of Iron Man’s $100 million dollar weekend with a high energy, optimistic outlook on their upcoming film slate.