In these supposedly progressive times, gender equality is one of those touchy issues relegated to the last paragraph of a trend piece nobody reads. When Katherine Heigl suggested to Vanity Fair that Judd Apatow's movies were sexist, the assertion came across like an after-the-fact shrug of acceptance. Ever the galvanizing provocateur, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis confronts the issue head-on with a thorough analysis of the gender bias in this year's summer blockbusters.

With "Iron Man, Batman, Big Angry Green Man" and other massive expressions of virility invading the box office, female roles appear to be relegated to the back of the multiplex. Dargis touches on the rumors that Warner Bros head Jeff Robinov believes no woman has been able to sell a movie since Julia Roberts (a point that Natalie Portman might contest, but not Paris Hilton) before sizing up numerous upcoming studio releases, with particular attention paid to Anna Faris, "who could be the next Judy Holliday but without the right material will, alas, probably end up the next Brittany Murphy." It's the kind of pronouncement that hits you in gut.

"Dude, I told you I don't kiss on the first date!"

A whole bunch of new Iron Man photos have popped up over at MySpace; most of which show Iron Man fighting Iron Monger. Man, am I loving the way this film looks -- so much so that part of me feels like, when it's all said and done, Iron Man will go down as this summer's best blockbuster. The effects look ridiculous, the cast is everything you'd ever want from a comic book flick and, well, the story ain't too bad either. What else is there to say that hasn't already been said? Only thing I'm not so crazy about is the amount of photos and junk that have hit the net for this film in the past month. Don't get me wrong, I dig them and we HAVE to show them to you -- but it'd be nice if things quieted down a bit now so we can go in as fresh as can be. Check out our gallery of the newly-released photos below.

Iron Man arrives in theaters on May 2.

Wanna know how to score ladies like the ones featured above? Easy -- just become a billionaire who builds a kickass superhero suit. Yes, some new images from the film Iron Man have arrived online; one of which shows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) talking up two girls in skimpy bathing suits. Of course, what good are two random babes when you can have Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) all to yourself. Hence the image below, which shows Stark and Potts talking on what appears to be a balcony. But what are they talking about? Care to take a guess? After the jump, you can check out two more photos -- one which shows Stark with his mentor (and future nemesis) Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), and one of Stark all bruised and beaten to a pulp. A new made-for-TV trailer is supposed to hit soon as well, so be on the look out for it. Iron Man hits theaters on May 2.

[via JoBlo]

A whole crop full of new photos from Iron Man have arrived online (via Gizmodo); two of which clearly show director Jon Favreau in full suit, as a bodyguard of some sort for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). The photo above shows Stark at a casino table with Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) and Favreau, while the photo below shows Favreau carrying Stark's clothing. (Is it just me, or does Favreau look as if he's auditioning for Men in Black 3?) Among the other photos, there's a pretty cool one of Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), and then more of Stark in various Iron Man suits. Check out a bunch more after the jump; Iron Man arrives in theaters on May 2.

As much as I'd like to tell you that the above image is from an upcoming episode of MTV's Cribs (featuring Tony Stark), it's actually a screen grab from the new Iron Man Superbowl commercial, set to air this Sunday during the big game. The image comes to us from Marvel.com, and it does indeed feature Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) testing an early version of his suit to make sure it, ya know, does cool stuff. Me? I just want to go for a ride in one of those nifty cars displayed in the background. That's it. Take me for a ride past my old high school so I can be all like, "What's up now, punks! Davis is hanging with Tony F**king Stark!" Directed by Jon Favreau (and I truly think this film is going to rock hard), Iron Man arrives in theaters on May 2.

For the current trailer, head over to Moviefone to watch it in glorious HD.

"Little did they know, but Iron Man actually used a suped-up version of the Nintendo Wii to defeat his enemies."

Yes, two new Iron Man images have arrived online, courtesy of Marvel.com, and we don't get to see much more of what we've already seen in previous pics. The photo above looks to be an extended version of the one that was released recently, but the photo below gives us a nice look at Robert Downey Jr. (as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man) chatting with director Jon Favreau around a table full of all sorts of gadgets. Iron Man arrives in theaters on May 2. And, in the spirit of writing captions, here's mine for the photo below:

"Downey, you don't get it man -- you're so f**king money. Can't you see it? Your name, in lights - Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Don't concern yourself with all this sh*t on the table. You're money, baby. Go with that. I want to see a PG-13 version of Iron Man. Ya know, the guy who's allowed to curse once or twice throughout the film, but you don't know when he's gonna do it or what he's gonna say. That's you. F**king Iron Man. Sooo money."