Human beings are notoriously curious creatures, constantly striving to find out more about the universe. However, if we send a signal into outer space in the hopes of receiving a friendly alien response, the response of the little green men might not be as kindly as we’d hoped. An alien ship does indeed come to visit Earth, unfortunately its occupants are not in the mood for a friendly cup of tea and a catch-up. One of the alien ships crash lands in Tokyo, not the way to make a good first-impressions with humanity. The rest crash into the Pacific Ocean, near an international naval fleet that just so happens to have numerous weapons at the ready.

From the start it is clear that the aliens have far more advanced weaponry than the humans, especially their flying wheels that destroy anything in their path. However what the humans have is tactics, and this is where the Battleship board-game element comes in.

Battleship is Barbadian singer Rihanna‘s first venture onto the big-screen and, for us at least, she has succeeded in making the transition. She plays weapons officer Raikes with just the right amount of bad-ass bravery and powerful one-liners. Taylor Kitsch, star of John Carter, plays Alex Hopper who starts out as a long-haired down-and-out who will do anything for love. He is brought into the US Navy by his brother, played by Alexander Skarsgard, and aside from the alien invasion, his character transformation is the focus of the film. His performance is credible enough, and he has the bonus of having perfected a particularly intense and mysterious pout.

Brooklyn Decker, who will be appearing in the upcoming rom-com What to Expect When You’re Expecting, plays his love-interest. Throughout the film she proves that she is not just another pretty face but is willing to get down-and-dirty in order to try and save the world from the aliens. She stars alongside real-life war hero Gregory D. Gatson, who plays Lieutenant Colonel Mick Canales. The changing dynamics of their relationship is interesting to watch, as we see their differing personalities find a way to work well together. Her father in the film is played by Liam Neeson, whose Irish lilt shines through the American accents like an Emerald Isle in a true blue sea. However, that is not a problem as he plays Admiral Shane with the perfect mix of gentle comedy and fierce father-in-law protectiveness that terrifies Kitsch’s Hopper to his very soul.

One place that Battleship succeeds, without a doubt, is having a banging soundtrack. Whether it’s the naval officers playing an intense football game or some elderly war heroes bravely stepping up to fight, the music definitely makes you feel ready to rock.

While the storyline appears to have everything packed in, from romance to warfare, it does not delve deep enough into details to make it really worth paying much attention to. The aliens are a bit too similar to humans (if humans dressed up like transformers) to make their journey from a completely different world justifyable, and it would have been nice to see a little more imagination put into their creation. It is a weakness of the film that we don’t learn anything about them, apart from the fact that their weapons are terrifyingly awesome and they are not completely devoid of compassion. If you are expecting a film in which we meet other-worlders, learn more about their world and find out what they want, then you will be disappointed. However, if you watch the film for its special effects alone, and endless action sequences, then you will love it. Battleship is out in the UK now.

Also in attendance were stars Taylor Kitsch and Brooklyn Decker, and director Peter Berg. Let’s delve a little deeper into the mighty action-blockbuster that is hurtling towards our screens at an alarming rate.

Where did the idea for the aliens come from?

Battleship is inspired by the tactical board-game where two players take turns to try and destroy their opponent’s ships without being able to see their targets. Presumably the film will follow the same premise, however there is one detail has been added. Instead of fighting other humans, the ships will be fighting nasty aliens. Where did the inspiration for these extra nasty Extra Terrestrials come from?

Director Peter Berg: “I’ve wanted to make an alien film for a long time, my dad was a Marine and an amateur Navy historian and I was brought up studying the great World War II naval battles…I had a real appreciation and respect for the men and women who fought in those battles and I wanted to make a navy film, but I also wanted to make a big summer popcorn fun, bad-ass movie”

Sounds good to us. While for the film’s nemesis, Berg said that he watched a documentary by Steven Hawking, who talks about ‘Goldilocks’ planets which have the right conditions for life to exist. We are currently sending out signals to those planets, which is a really bad idea according to Hawking. “If they’re out there and they come, the chances of it going well are virtually non-existent…that kind of seemed to me to be a creditable way of getting into the alien component of the film,” said Berg. This idea is scary and should make for a great film.

How did the casting come about?

Each of the principal actors was cast for a different reason. Taylor Kitsch, who recently battled aliens in John Carter, and Berg had been in touch ever since they worked together on the TV series Friday Night Lights. The transition to Battleship came naturally and actor and director were even able to collaborate on Kitsch’s character, Alex Hopper.

Brooklyn Decker (What To Expect When You’re Expecting), lept at the opportunity to work with Berg: “the biggest trigger for me wanting to do this movie was the fact that Peter Berg was directing. I’m a big fan of his work, and in particular what he does with women…If you look at Rihanna and I’s characters in the movie, they’re really strong, independent, dynamic characters.”

This is singer Rihanna’s first film role, and it is something she has been wanting to do for a while. When she met with Berg, he had her read some lines and knew she was perfect, immediately. The Talk That Talk singer plays Raikes, a weapon’s officer and a bad-ass. To really get to grips with this role, the singer-turned-actress was trained by a real weapon’s officer from the navy, whom she describes as “the real life Raikes”. She also got even more into the role, with personal training from a real soldier, and it looks like Rihanna is looking forward to doing more films.

As always, when a singer makes the transition to acting, she was asked how the two compare. Her answer: “I cannot even compare the two. I’m way more familiar with going on stage. I still get nervous every time, but the fear of the unknown is indescribable. I had no idea…what to expect.”

Also taking the plunge in Battleship are Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård, two veteran actors. Kitsch described Neeson as a great, supportive guy who was a lot of fun to work with. With a fiery relationship on-screen, some off-screen fun was probably a necessity.

Do you now believe in aliens?

You may be wondering whether appearing in a film focusing so heavily on aliens made the actors think there may indeed be something out there. When asked this question, the three stars seemed surprisingly open-minded. According to Kitsch, the idea is certainly fun to believe in, and Decker voiced her opinion that it seems a little “ignorant” for us “to think we’re the only thing out there.” Even feisty singer Rihanna was won over, saying that while she hadn’t really thought about it before, she now definitely wants “to go into some more research”.

What should we be excited for?

When asked what they are most excited for the audience to see, Kitsch said he is pleased with the humour, and that he has “one of the best character openings [he] could have ever asked for.” So look out for an awesome entrance from him.

How was working with the Navy?

While filming Battleship the real-life Navy plays a big role. It is unusual for a film to delve so deeply into this world, and according to Kitsch, what we see on-screen is pretty close to how they actually fight. In the role of her character Samantha, Decker got to work with real-life war hero Gregory D. Gatson, who plays Lieutenant Colonel Mick Canales. “Greg Gatson is an active colonel in the army now. He lost both of his legs in Iraq in 2007 and he plays that character in the movie…He could bring an experience to the film that no-one else could…he’s tough and he’s scary and he was really fun to work with. We got to work with troops, and I think that was one of the most rewarding parts of this experience.”

It seemed like everyone enjoyed working with the US Navy. They filmed on real ships, which Berg described as “technologically ferocious creatures”. They also had 90-year-old veterans who acted in the film, so the whole thing should feel pretty authentic.

Tell us about the soundtrack:

An essential part of any film is its soundtrack and Battleship is due to seriously rock out. Berg wanted a real guitar player involved and got Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine to lay down some chops. So be prepared for plenty of powerful rock tunes to accompany a banging CGI, alien-action-fest.

From Pearl Harbour to the mountains of Hawaii, Battleship takes us on a journey like never before, so look out for it in cinemas now. If you head to iTunes, you can view all the trailers, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, and check out our review here.

He has racked-up a mighty list of successful performances and has more lined up for the future. Neeson has appeared in big-name films such as Schindler’s List, Taken and lent his voice to the much-loved Aslan the lion in The Chronicles Of Narnia. He will be appearing as one of Batman’s greatest enemies, Ra’s al Ghul in the upcoming thrill-fest, The Dark Knight Rises and is all set to fight aliens as an admiral in Battleship.

He must be doing something right as he has managed to win over the British and Irish public to clinch 19.9% of the votes. Perhaps it was his powerful performance as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, or maybe he tugged at enough heart-strings with his tender-yet-comic performance as widower Daniel in loveable rom-com Love Actually. 

This poll was commissioned as part of the season of St Patrick’s Day weekend films, as a way of celebrating the day (Saturday 17th March, 2012), and all things Irish. However, there were some surprising omissions to the top ten list, with high profile actors such as the gloriously funny Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) and the handsomely talented star of Shame and X-Men: First Class, Michael Fassbender being among the high profile stars to miss out on the recognition.

Check out the full list below, do you agree with it?

The Top 10 Irish Actors are:

1. Liam Neeson – 19.9%
2. Peter O’Toole – 9.1%
3. Colin Farrell – 7.6%
4. Pierce Brosnan – 7.5%
5. James Nesbitt – 6.9% = Richard Harris – 6.9%
6. Michael Gambon – 4.7%
7. Brenda Fricker – 4.6%
8. Gabriel Byrne – 3.5% = Kenneth Branagh – 3.5%
9. Brendan Gleeson – 2.7%
10. Maureen O’Hara – 2.5%

(Others = 20.6%)

At the start of February, we brought you a collection of trailers shown at the Superbowl, including one for Battleship. Packed full of action and suspense, it exploded onto our screens with lots of fire and some aliens that look rather like they escaped from the Transformers films.

Now, we can have a good look at the characters at the heart of the film, complete with guns and determined expressions – Taylor Kitsch (fresh from fighting aliens on Mars as John Carter), The Grey star Liam Neeson, True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgård and feisty singer Rihanna. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge and get up close and personal. Battleship will be released in the UK on 11th April.

Orange have released the first in a series of behind-the-scenes videos from the Battleship set. Check it out here.

******Update******

“Incoming!” Here’s the booming new trailer:

There amongst the sporting action (which saw the New York Giants clinch victory over the New England Patriots) was a new extended advertisement for John Carter, the film that sees Taylor Kitsch play a former American Confederate captain who is transported to Mars and finds himself in the middle of a war. He must get involved as it looks as though he is the planet’s only hope. From this new trailer (below), it looks as though there will be plenty of drama and motivational talking, not to mention various aliens and a beautiful princess played by Lynn Collins. John Carter will be released in the UK on 9th March.

Battleship, out in the UK 11th April, also had a new trailer broadcast during the Super Bowl, and it was one that suggests it will be about more than just the board game. This film sees Taylor Kitsch make the jump from battling aliens on Mars (above), to battling aliens on his own planet alongside Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Rihanna. After watching the trailer, “fire everything” rings in your mind and you know the film is going to feature a perilous journey. Of course, you would also be very likely to “fire everything” if you are on the only ship in the world that is inside the protective force-field of an alien vessel, a vessel that seems intent on destroying the human race. (*UPDATE* The breathtaking first poster for Battleship has now also been released – you can check it out here. 10/02/12)

Lightening the mood quite a bit, we also have The Lorax, which had its own exclusive spot for a new trailer. Featuring the voices of Danny DeVito, Taylor Swift and Zac Efron and based on the zany Dr. Seuss creation, this animated film updates the story significantly and features a fantastic-looking dose of comedy. If you want a film with an environmental message lit up with bright colours, imagination and down-right weird scenes, then look out for this creation that comes out on 27th July.

The Super Bowl television also played host to others including a new Avengers offering which you can see here, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Dictator.

The supernatural film, starring Dane DeHaan (The Front) and Alex Russell (Wasted on the Young) scooped the top spot, earning a staggering $22m during its opening weekend.

However, the spine tingling chiller The Woman in Black, starring Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe, took in an impressive $21m during its three-day opening, from Friday to Sunday.
The film, based on Susan Hills’ classic novel, was shown in 2855 screens and topped the record for the highest earning opening film in Hammer history.
Radcliffe’s period ghost story even beat the likes of Paranormal Activity, which grossed $19,617,650 in 2009, and The Grudge 2, which earned $20,825,300 three years before.
The CEO of Hammer was pleased with the record breaking result and was reported saying; “The fact that a gothic horror has attracted such a large audience on opening weekend shows the demand for elevated and intelligent genre films which Hammer aims to produce.”

Ghosts aside, in third place came Liam Neeson’s latest thriller, The Grey, which earned $9.5, dropping just one place from last week. Pulling in $8.5m, was the heart-warming, family fun film, Big Miracle, featuring John Krasinski (It’s Complicated , Leatherheads).
But a league behind Big Miracle came Underworld: Awakening, which earned just over $5m – a quarter of The Woman in Black’s intake.

One For The Money – starring Knocked Up’s Katherine Heigl – slid from third to sixth place earning $5.5 million, while Red Tails ranked seventh. George Clooney’s, The Descendants, remained in eighth place, making just $4.6 million. The Man On A Ledge has plummeted from fifth to ninth place making $4.5 million, and scraping in at number ten was Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close raking $3.9m last weekend.

Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson are mooted as highly likely, and they have previously starred together in The Next Three Days, a 2010 film about a married couple who must deal with life when the wife is accused of murder. They are not quite confirmed for Noah yet, however it does look likely that Russell Crowe will be cast in the lead role, as the man whom God deems righteous enough to build the Ark.

This rumour has stemmed from reports that the Black Swan director himself has been eyeing up Crowe for the part, which would see him play the man who builds the ark that can survive the flood. This is all still speculation, as the role of Noah has looked like it would fall to other actors before Crowe. Both Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender have previously been linked to the role of Noah, however Crowe is now the most likely man for the job.

Who will Liam Neeson play? While it seems unlikely that he will take on the part of Noah’s wife, there are not many other options available in a story that is mostly about one man and lots of animals. Perhaps he will play the voice of God? One of the animals? A baddie? We will have to wait and see what the final decisions are, but we think that Crowe is a good choice for Noah and think it would be awesome if he played it Gladiator style…

Last year it was announced that George Lucas has been a busy man, digitally enhancing all six films in the franchise, ready to bring them back to theatres next month.

The move is yet another example of Hollywood’s attempt to make more money out of former releases. The Lion King 3D and Beauty and the Beast 3D have already been released, while James Cameron’s Titanic is coming to the big screen again in April.

The trouble with Lucas releasing all six films is, he’s releasing them in order. And I don’t mean the order of their original releases. If only that were true.

First up are the prequels, beginning with 1999′s Episode One: The Phantom Menace, which so happens to be the least popular of the entire franchise.

Yes, we have to sit through the first three in order, before we can enjoy the original classics in even greater glory. And while yes, Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith was a decent film, The Phantom Menace and Episode Two: Attack of the Clones, were not.

Despite the prequels being widely agreed to be inferior to the originals, Star Wars fans will no doubt flock in their thousands.

At the very least we can admire the posters, which are admittedly rather cool. The Phantom Menace promotion has placed emphasis on the best moments in the film: Darth Maul, the big race and the characters we know and love.

Perhaps they hope we will forget the existence of Jar Jar (who is noticeably absent from all advertising) and the slow moving plot?

The Phantom Menace opens 10th February 2012. The release dates of the other five films are yet to be announced.

So which release are you most looking forward to? Let us know!

Here is one of the posters! Click to view full size:

It has also been announced that a prologue for The Dark Knight Rises will be shown before Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in IMAX. Christopher Nolan has confirmed that this will basically show the first six or seven minutes of the film, including an introduction to the villain, Bane. Also, a full-length trailer will be shown before the new Sherlock Holmes film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.

When the final film in the trilogy comes out on July 20th 2012, we will rejoin an older Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who is no longer at the top of his game. It is likely that this will leave numerous questions for viewers, such as what has Bruce Wayne been doing since we last saw him? What state will Gotham City be in and who will be the new villains that Batman will have to face?

Well, at least we can answer the latter of these questions as Tom Hardy will play Bane, who you may recognise as the huge, muscly brute that we saw in the 1997 film Batman and Robin. Hardy has said that Bane will test Batman’s physical as well as mental strength and that this will be a new kind of challenge for him.

The Dark Knight Rises will see Michael Caine return as Alfred, Liam Neeson as Ra’s Al Ghul and Cillian Murphy as the creepy scarecrow man, Dr Jonathan Crane. Gary Oldman also keeps his old character of Jim Gordon and Morgan Freeman is Lucius Fox again. New additions to the cast include Anne Hathaway who will be slipping into the skin-tight costume of Catwoman and will no-doubt do something bad-ass,  Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Gotham cop, John Blake and Marion Cotillard will play Wayne Enterprises board member Miranda Tate.

This film is supposed to be the closing of the Batman story and with it being set eight years on, this may well work. It will be interesting to see how it all ends, as the writers are keeping the details close to their chests. Will Batman be able to defeat the villains once again? Will he even be able to fight well after eight years? And how will the new characters of Catwoman and Bane fare? We will have to wait until next year to find out the answers to some of these questions, but we will keep you posted if we hear anything. Until then, take a look at the teaser trailer to whet your appetite:

If you’ve not seen Batman Begins (what is wrong with you? Go and watch it now), then don’t read the rest of this article, because the character who’s just appeared in Rises as a much younger version of themselves is going to somewhat spoil the ending.

So, all the people worried about Begins spoilers are gone. Don’t want any potential Dark Knight Rises spoilers, either? You head off too.

Gone? Brilliant. It’s Ra’s Al Ghul. Yeah, the man who trained Bruce Wayne in the art of combat, who is very much dead, in Christopher Nolan’s version of the Batman universe at least. But a younger version means either flashbacks, a successor, or even a clone – anything’s possible, but a clone would be a little too out-of-bounds for Nolan’s realism-focused take on Gotham’s hero and its many villains.

There’s not much else to say, bar that Liam Neeson’s been spotted potentially acting in Rises, and that Josh Pence, the face of the Winklevoss Twins in The Social Network has been cast as the young Ras. Interesting stuff, and I look forward to figuring out how Ras Al Ghul, Bane and Catwoman are somehow going to fit into one film. Sadly, they’ll never come close to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker, but it could be a climactic finish to Nolan’s ties to the Batman franchise nonetheless.