The promotion for Captain America: The First Avenger has thus far been quite light, with a few images being the extent of what's been put out. However, on the eve of the film's Superbowl trailer debut, the first poster for the movie has emerged, and we've got it for you below.

It follows the golden rule of the modern superhero: look moody, and be on the quest for vengeance. Boxes suitably ticked, then.

Hopefully, we'll have our first footage of the film by the time the weekend is over, too. For now, feast your eyes on Chris Evans in a bit of a bad mood...

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Appreciating that there’s been no shortage of incorrect character rumours where upcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, is concerned, there’s still apparently room for another.

And it’s this: Robin may yet appear in Christopher Nolan’s swansong to Gotham City.

It’s a very long shot, and rightly so (we have the same fond memories of Robin in Joel Schumacher's Bat-movies as you), but there’s still talk that it may happen. The rumour surfaced via Wilx, which reported that a place called Grand Ledge was being scouted for the shoot of the new Batman film. The crucial part of the article, however, was the bit that read “Sources say the area is being considered as a hideout for Batman sidekick Robin”.

Now, let’s state the obvious: we don’t know who the sources are, and if every ‘source’ had been proven correct on this particular Batman project, then The Riddler would be on his way to Gotham right now. That said, many would have laughed out loud at the thought that Bane would be a villain in the movie, too. Just saying.

So, if you fancy a game of rumour mill join-the-dots, then let’s not forget that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was officially added to The Dark Knight Rises cast last week, in an unnamed role. Could that be Robin? We’d be amazed, but we’d write nothing off. That’s appreciating, too, that Christian Bale has, in the past, declared that he’d refuse to work in a Batman movie with Robin in it.

Again, take a liberal dose of salt with this one. But check out the source of the rumour right here.

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This review contains spoilers.

3.3 Type 4

Last year, the eight-episode second season of Being Human suffered from one or two lacklustre, throwaway outings that offered nothing of significance to the wider series universe. It would have benefited from being a six-parter in my eyes, weeding out the duff and concentrating on the core, fruitful plotlines.

On the evidence of tonight’s effort, this third season is in danger of repeating the same mistake.

Last time round, it was the fake psychic storyline that was offered up as a naff attempt to give Annie something to do. It was the weakest of that series by some distance, and seemed out of step with the rest of the show.

This year, the writers have decided on the appearance of an annoying, and frankly rather stupid, zombie, intended to let Annie appreciate what she’s got and encourage her to ‘live’ a little. Despite a few well-timed gags here and there, the storyline as a whole was eminently forgettable. Crucially, it served as a lengthy means to getting the Mitchell and Annie romance on the road – something which could have been handled far quicker, and far better.

Problems with the zombie plotline are manifold. Does anyone really believe that she Sasha was quite so thick as to not accept the fact that she was indeed dead? Can any viewer tell me, honestly, that they felt any emotional connection with her whatsoever? Unlikely, given that she was such an utterly pathetic, unlikeable character. Sure, she was quite amusing but given that the writers were asking us – and Annie, for that matter – to connect with her on an emotional level, she needed to have a much greater story than the one she had. She'spoiled by her boyfriend, and a bit of a party girl. These were the two things we gleaned about her. Beyond that, very little, other than she wished she had done more with her life. 

Cue Annie throwing herself into Mitchell’s welcoming arms and furrowed brow.

Which leads me nicely onto the romance I touched upon in last week’s review. I stated then that I was very nervous about where this was going, and I remain so. Problem is, I don’t want to see Mitchell chatting with George about how best to go about the whole love thing. Equally, I have little interest in watching Lenora Critchlow play the ditzy, kooky one. If I wanted to watch such things, I’d tune into endless repeats of Friends on E4.  

Unfortunately, it seems to me that the writers have given up on Annie’s character, relegating her to playing Mitchell’s squeeze. As I stated last week, I have little doubt that she’ll be handed a cracking episode later in the series. Until then, we’re stuck with this sub-standard plotting.

In truth, I could have handled Annie’s kooky shtick a little easier if George and Mitchell had been given juicy plots themselves, but alas that’s not the case. Instead, George finds out he’s going to be a dad to a little furry monster, and Mitchell finds himself the victim of a stalker.

George and Nina first. Why, oh why did Nina have to be given what feels like an afterthought of a back story? No suggestion of it until now, but we learned that she used to be beaten up by her dad and that this was the real reason she was scared to have a baby of her own, rather than the things that would freak all of us out (will he have big pointy ears and be the hairiest baby in the ward)?

I don’t really mind the fact that George and Nina’s romance is developing, although I wonder if a pregnancy was really the way forward for what was a very rushed, rather unbelievable relationship in the first place. It does mean that anyone bored of Russell Tovey’s squealing was going to be disappointed, however, for he did it in spades, here. Whether trying to go to the toilet, deal with the zombie putrefaction, or handle the thought of having a baby of his own, he squealed like never before. Me, I don’t mind it too much, but it does seem that he has little else to do these days beyond playing the fool.

Then, to Mitchell. Having a stalker had the potential to be an interesting diversion to what else was happening around him, but bringing that to a swift, neat resolution in the space of an hour felt like a cheat to me. Far more interesting to see some copycat train killings occurring, surely, rather than stopping the chap before he had a chance. And I presume that there will be no more copycats around?

As with other self-contained episodes last series, by failing to move things along, and by concentrating on the mundane side of the daily lives of a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost, rather than throwing in the odd darker side of things too, we were handed a dull, occasionally funny, but ultimately disappointing episode.

In a word, pointless. Hopefully, the show will be back on form next week...

Read our review of episode 2, Adam's Family, here.

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The Roommate is a movie whose story is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever seen another movie of this genre, the 'perfect (blank) who turns out to be more than meets the eye'. You've literally seen this movie a dozen times if you've ever watched a movie before.

Have you seen Single White Female? Then you've seen a better version of The Roommate. Have you seen Fatal Attraction? Then you've seen a better version of The Roommate. This movie is basically a mash-up of those two films, except without the terror, suspense, horror, gore, violence, intrigue, or sexiness of those two films.

Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly) is your classic small town girl off to the big city. She's the most fashionable girl in Des Moines, Iowa, so, naturally, she knows she's going to take her sense of style and breeze into LA and become a huge fashion star once she graduates college. She's already somehow got friends at college, and knows a friend in the fashion business in Irene (Danneel Harris), so perhaps she can make her dreams come true. There's just one little problem, and that's her roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester).

As it turns out, Rebecca is just a little bit, ahem, different. One by one, Sara's friends stop coming around, her ex-boyfriend from Des Moines stops calling, and she finds herself spending more and more time with Rebecca, who is becoming less and less a roommate and more like a possessive girlfriend, except without the make-out sessions. No, that'd be entirely too entertaining or controversial for this movie.

Aside from one set of kisses and some drinking from our 30-something cast, The Roommate takes great pains to avoid being particularly memorable, shocking, or disturbing. It doesn't even muster up some unintentional comedy as it slogs through its plot, piece by piece, while director Christian E. Christiansen (his real name, and not some Alan Smithee credit) manages to rip off Black Swan's shaky camera work without evoking that film's visceral impact. Probably because he shoots the thing exactly like a television show, including mammoth full-face close-ups of characters in conversation, rather than actually shooting The Roommate like a legitimate movie.

The last ten minutes of the film are unwatchable, unless you like the absolute worst tendencies of Paul Greengrass mixed with the editing prowess of Michael Bay on amphetamines. But that's okay. By covering your eyes you miss absolutely nothing. In fact, I found staring at my palm to avoid throwing up to be a richly rewarding experience compared to whatever was happening on screen.

From the moment characters appear on screen, you know exactly what's going to happen to them, how it's going to happen, and who is going to do it to them. There are no surprises in this movie whatsoever. This is basically TV Tropes: The Movie.

There's a reason screenwriter Sonny Mallhi has absolutely no screen writing credits to his name. (That reason? He sucks.) It's a predictable, poorly written, follow-the-numbers flick, with absolutely no redeeming value. It's not even entertaining in a bad way. It's just kind of there. It's the unflavored oatmeal of movies.

The only noteworthy change between The Roommate and any other standard roommate from hell suspense picture? Only one person dies in The Roommate. It's as spineless and as gutless as a PG-13 movie could possibly be. You've heard of the hard-R flick? Well, this is the limp PG-13 flick.

While every other character is straight out of the slasher template and displays the same sleazy behavior that your standard one-dimensional stereotype in this kind of film indulges in, they don't actually die for their transgressions.

Also, every actor in this movie, aside from Aly Michalka, is either over 30 (Minka Kelly), pushing 30 (Cam Gigandet), or is well out of college age (Leighton Meester). I'm usually kind to actors put in this situation, and I usually try to suspend my disbelief. But poor Cam Gigandet looks like he's making this movie because he's got alimony payments to multiple ex-wives. The less said about poor Billy Zane and his 15 minutes of screen time, the better. At least he's appeared in a movie that makes Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight look like Cape Fear. So, he's got that going for him.

The Roommate represents the very worst of the abysmal genre that is the PG-13 horror film. Somehow, it manages to be even less effective than your average teen horror, which is saying something. It's not saying something good, mind you, but it is a feat in and of itself.

US Correspondent Ron Hogan hasn't seen a remake this poor since Bewitched starring Will Ferrell. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.

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The obvious, first. If you're no fan of Adam Sandler, then you're not going to warm to Just Go With It. The film reunites him with director Dennis Dugan for the sixth time, and their working union has thus far resulted in movies such as Grown Ups, You Don't Mess With The Zohan and Big Daddy. And while Just Go With It isn't quite in the same boat as some of those, the comedy very much is.

This time, the pair have put together a sort-of-romantic comedy, one that sees Sandler as a plastic surgeon who, in his earlier days, was about to get married until he heard his wife-to-be making disparaging remarks. Sander's character, Danny, keeps the ring, though, and finds it's an effective way to get lots of women into bed.

Sandler co-produced the movie, incidentally.

Fast forward, then, to his successful plastic surgery practice, which just happens to employ Jennifer Aniston's Katherine. She's a divorced single mother with two young children, and as soon as Sandler enlists her help in hooking him up with Palmer (played by swimsuit model, Brooklyn Decker. Sandler co-produced the... ah, mentioned that already), the necessary ingredients of the narrative arrange themselves in wholly predictable order.

To get through a near two hour running time, though, the film deploys two further tactics. The first is a collection of increasingly irritating contrivances, with characters doing things that human beings in real life simply wouldn't. The second strategy, however, is far more effective, and that's to recruit a collection of supporting players who can keep the comedy bubbling along.

This works more often than it doesn't. Nick Swardson, for reasons it's best not to explain, ends up having to pretend to be a fake boyfriend to Katherine, by the name of Dolph Lundgren. And with very slight material, he generates more than it's reasonable to expect. Furthermore, young Bailee Madison, as Katherine's young daughter, manages to earn chuckles by throwing herself into a series of accents that work far better than they should (even if the film relies on them too much by the end).

The surprising casting choice is Nicole Kidman, however, rediscovering her touch for comedy. At first, her character lends little to the film, but come a terrific set piece near the end of the movie, it had me wishing she'd find a darker comedy role, akin to her magnificent turn in Gus Van Sant's To Die For, all those years ago.

The two leads, meanwhile, can do this kind of material in their sleep, and in Sandler's case, he sort of does. He's perfectly fine and playing very much to his fans. The charm of his lead in The Wedding Singer is lacking, though.

Aniston, though, gives it her all. Over the past years, she's had an unerring eye for some truly shitty scripts, but you can't fault her gusto. There are reasons why she's one of the best comedy actresses currently working in feature films, and you'll find plenty of them in Just Go With It.

Still, it's a desperately uneven film, suffering from basic direction (you'll soon tire of the quick establishing shots of Hawaii), and a bloated running time. Yet,by the time the credits roll, you've had a decent amount of entertainment and a fair few laughs for your money.

In the stable of Sandler romantic comedies, it's way below The Wedding Singer, but better than something like 50 First Dates. And for an unambitious Valentine's date movie, which the film is being marketed as, it'll just about do.

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2.14 Advanced Dungeons And Dragons

After having a few weeks off from the movie pastiches, Community once again returned to its tongue in cheek roots with Advanced Dungeons And Dragons, and it was everything you hoped it could be. Using the game to give fantasy movies and, more specifically, Lord Of The Rings the Harmon treatment, our favourite study group immerse themselves in a D&D spectacular, all in the hope of righting one of Jeff's many, many wrongs.

Opening with a voiceover that would make Cate Blanchett think twice about ever speaking again, this week's tale of college shenanigans, also known as the Ballad of Fat Neil, sees the gang join forces to help said weight-challenged fellow student and D&D fanatic overcome his soul-destroying depression, all kicked off by Jeff's unusual interest in a fellow human being he doesn't want to see naked.

The night of fantasy role play with the added spice of a hidden agenda is set, but for reasons that are obvious to all but Pierce, the OAP is left out of the discussion and subsequent game. He, however, insists on joining in, destroying the carefully set up lets-keep-Neil-alive structure of the game.

As with all things Pierce, in order to feel better about his pathetic existence, the lonely millionaire cheats his way through and, during one particularly heated spell casting session, brings Neil to tears by revealing that Jeff is the cause of his nickname-themed misery. He also steals his prized sword.

This being Community and a fantasy spoof, everything is, of course, all right by the end, with Pierce's unfathomably obnoxious depths being the means by which Neil realises that being known as Fat Neil is infinitely better than being Pierce. Teen suicide averted, and the cantankerous retiree is none the wiser.

As fantasy spoofs go, using D&D as a catch-all representative is a superb way of, not only keeping the budget down (it doesn't get any more lo-fi than a group of people sitting round a table describing how they walk), it also allows the writers to take the show anywhere they want, limited only by time and the need to make sure Neil happy by the end.

It's a beautifully worked episode, and actually quite brave for a prime time show. There's little to no ‘action' and it's ninety-nine percent dialogue, the other one percent being Chang's visual gag, and the use of an interesting array of wipes and dissolves as punctuation. It's the sort of episode that would be considered TV suicide for many big shows, but in Team Community's hands, it's genius.

It's also the perfect vehicle for the not inconsiderable talents of one Danny Pudi, who, as Abed the Dungeon Master is once again able to spend 20 minutes playing everyone from a dying gnome to an elf maiden deflowered by Annie's well endowed warrior. (This scene, while told through the magic of lip reading and mime is probably the funniest in the episode.) How they got that past the censors will forever remain a mystery.

As has been said many times in these reviews, Abed is a fantastic creation, and any excuse to show his multiple personality-like penchant for slipping in and out of reality is welcomed.

Despite the movie ripping, Community is at its heart a comedy, and thankfully, the gags are still there. From the Middle Earth-style monikers, in particular, Troy the Obtuse, and Shirley the Cloying, to Britta the Needlessly Defiant's insistence on PCing up the D&D-verse, Advanced Dungeons And Dragons isn't short of a laugh or two. It does, after all, contain ex-Senor Chang.

But, what's most striking about this episode is that, while poking fun at D&D, which could be considered something of a soft target, the fun-making doesn't really extend to the game itself. Jeff's one sly comment aside, Dungeons and Dragons is treated with affection and an unusual amount of respect. It's pretty safe to assume that somewhere in the Community writer's room lurks a committed D&Der.

With Advanced Dungeons And Dragons, Community has once again shown the big boys how it's done. From the literally fantastic script, to the spot-on score, where at least one of the tracks contains lyrics that are deliberately (please, TV god) nonsense, and the utterly enjoyable performances, it's an instant Top Five Classic episode.

An affectionate spoof, a love letter to role playing and a master class in the art of the sitcom all rolled into one, this is TV you should not be missing.

Read our review of episode 13, Celebrity Pharmacology, here.

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This review may contain spoilers.

3. 12 Concentrate And Ask Again

Concentrate And Ask Again is, for the most part, a rather basic and simple standalone story about stopping an act of bioterrorism. And if that was all it contained, I'd be giving Fringe a roasting for not upping its game in response to being shunted to Friday night.

But, between the bone melting blue dust, there is an interesting and strong subtext about the children that Walter experimented on, and their legacy.

For one of his lab rats, the consequences of his exposure have condemned him to a hermit-like lifestyle, as he can't stop the thoughts of others echoing in his own mind. The relationship that Olivia forms with him, because he can't hear her thoughts, was both gently crafted and sensitively portrayed. They put so much in here between Simon Phillips and Olivia that, for a short while, I wondered if the Fringe team was about to get a new addition, creating a new dynamic to the Peter/Olivia tryst.

But, in the end, it was more about him using his ability to solve the case they're working, but also to give Olivia the answers that she so baldy craves. His message is that you shouldn't know what people are thinking, as it has a very negative impact on how you react to them. She doesn't accept or understand, until it's possibly too late.

I accept now that I've been ignoring the hints the Fringe writers have introduced for some time. The ones that they put in to keep selling the idea that the relationship between Olivia and Peter is more important than just character interaction.

But with this episode they gave up with the pretence and spelled it out implicitly: if Peter doesn't love Olivia, or loves Altivia more, then our dimension is shafted, short and simple.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this in the greater context, because given the general fragility of romantic relationships, especially the one they have, it seems perverse to hang the whole destiny of existence on it. All I can say is that Olivia needs to work hard on that smile, or we're all toast.

While I'm still coming to terms with the implications this has for the rest of the season, what I did really like about this story was that it had plenty of Nina in it, and revealed subtle glimpses of her relationship with William Bell. Although, (and I'd like some talkback on this point), isn't one of her arms bionic? Wasn't that why she normally wore gloves? But we saw both her arms clearly in one scene here and they appeared entirely normal.

Maybe this is a clue to an alternate Nina, and even an alternative William Bell, a concept that's supported by some tweets that Leonard Nimoy made recently.

Even if I need a little convincing about Peter's universal love triangle, I still enjoy this show and so far it's maintained its viewing audience despite what Fox did. Every other occupier of the Friday death slot has succumbed eventually, but I'm hoping that Fringe can buck that trend and defy Fox's cruel intentions.

Fringe is back next Friday in what I'm told is an 'over there' story, which is the first we've had for some time from that perspective. I'll be tuning in for Immortality, and I hope you will too.

Read our review of episode 11, Reciprocity, here.

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This review contains spoilers.

6.12 Like A Virgin

After the mid-season break, the Winchester brothers are back. Properly. Sam has had his soul re-instated and things should be back to normal. Of course, this being Supernatural, normal is kind of a relative concept.

Let's do the recap first.

Sam is in a coma-like state after his soul was returned by Death, while Dean, unsure how long Sam will be out for, is set to investigate a disappearance of a young woman from a light aircraft. Before he leaves, Sam wakes up. Thanks to the wall placed in his mind by Death, he has no knowledge of the past year and a half, including attempting to kill Bobby.

Appearing fit and well, Sam joins Dean in investigating the disappearance, where they discover that several young women have vanished, and that they were all virgins. When they question a victim who was attacked but not taken, she describes the attacker as a giant bat.

Further investigation leads to the idea that dragons are behind the attacks, and, after talking with Bobby, Dean seeks advice from an expert. Sam continues his research, but when he contacts Bobby, he notices how uncomfortable Bobby is talking to him. Sam calls down Castiel, who he gets to reveal the truth about what has happened to him.

Dean returns with a weapon that will kill dragons and he and Sam search a likely possibility for the dragon's lair, so to speak. They discover the abducted women and set about freeing them. They are interrupted by the return of the dragons, which are in human form. Sam kills one of the dragons, but the other escapes.

Back at Bobby's, Sam apologizes to Dean and tells him that he knows the truth. Bobby has been translating a book they found in the dragon's lair. The book reveals how to open a doorway to Purgatory and how to let something out. Something called the ‘Mother of All'.

Unknown to the Winchesters, the dragon that escaped them has met with another dragon who still has his victims, one of which they sacrifice to open the doorway. The sacrifice returns, obviously possessed by something who states, "We have so much to do. Let's get started."

So, was all of this any good?

Well, I liked this episode. But there is something I found distractingly annoying in it, and with that in mind, this is a big spoiler for this episode.

There are no dragons in it. None. I suppose you could count the blur in the beginning of the episode, but that is it. Now, I fully appreciate television shows do not have the budget of major motion pictures, but considering how well Primeval manages, and more years ago than I care to work out, Angel had a dragon pop up, I don't think a dragon scene would have been too much to ask.

The show had the perfect opportunity with the one dragon guy fleeing. It could easily have been show as a quick transmogrification and a rapid exit of flapping wings and a tail. I just felt a bit duped that we never really got to see the monster of the episode.

That said, the idea of the dragon men was very nicely done. It may have been a way to cut down on the budget, but it worked well and the logical step of fire breath to burning hands was very well realised, and as a means to an end to move the Purgatory plot onward, so be it.

Considering we are now over halfway through the season and I don't know if a seventh season has been considered or not yet, I thought that Sam finding out the truth sooner rather than later was a very positive idea, as it allows the dynamic to move back to the two brothers working well together. Yes, all hell may break loose if Sam's mind wall comes tumbling down, possibly quite literally. But I was worried it was going to be dragged out until the end of the season. Now it's out of the way, we can move on.

After six years it would be easy to take for granted Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles portrayal of the brothers, but this episode, after all the mistrust and soulless Sam, show how well the two actors produce a believable relationship of siblings in the subtle changes that really show the characters are brothers.

Describing something as nice always seems to be doing that something a disservice, but this is a nice episode. I can't honestly see it being on anybody's favourite episode list, but it works very well at what the episode set out to do. Sam and Dean are back together and the villain of the piece has been revealed.

When Bobby said the name Mother of All, my brain automatically added ‘monsters' to the end, which I knew from another series, but didn't remember. One quick Google search later confirmed it was Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which can only mean one thing. Kevin Sorbo is bound to be guest starring soon. Either him or Bruce Campbell.

Read our review of episode 11, Appointment In Samarra, here.

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This review may contain spoilers.

3. Paterfamilias

In television series and sitcoms, whenever a character's parent visits the storyline, it's always the same. Our beloved character is forced to face up to the fact that they have never been able to live up to their parent's expectations/hopes/dreams and are generally a failure in their eyes. Normally, the show ends with a lovely resolution, but not before both child and parent confront their own personal inadequacies.

Rarely, though, does the parent walk in on their child engaging in a threesome and drinking wine poured over a woman's breasts. Still, this is Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena.

If there is one thing this show does not do, it is follow normal TV conventions. As such, when Batiatus' father, Titus, comes home to see how his son is treating his beloved ludos, the stage is set for some serious father/son clashes.

Titus is, of course, dismayed at how his son has been treating his institution, not to mention his underhanded dealings at securing Qixus' primus. However, rather than side with his son, Titus makes the decision that business is business and strives to repair relations with Tullius and Vettius, namely, by giving up the primus. Instead, four of Batiatus' gladiators will be put forward for combat, including Barca, his lover, Auctus, and Crixus, who is still a recruit.

Like previous episodes of Spartacus, this crams a hell of a lot into 50 minutes. Not only is Batiatus clashing with daddy, but Lucretia and Gia have to deal with the return of Qixus, and a friend who enjoys wearing a lot of guyliner.

After enjoying his last visit to the ludos, Qixus is keen for a repeat performance. The only problem is his friend is even more of a sexual deviant than he is. Not only does he want to watch a slave girl be deflowered by a gladiator, but he wants to join in. Yes, this episode features gang rape, something that no-one particularly wants to see. However, the filmmakers create a very powerful scene that is played out mainly on the character's expressions, not only that of the slave girl, but of  Naevia, whose relief is evident in the aftermath.

However, this episode is all about John Hannah, who, despite his character's demise in the last season's finale, is truly one of the best things in the show. If he's not bellowing dialogue such as "Once again the Gods stuff cock in arse" or engaging in threesomes, his passion and the fact he is clearly enjoying everything about the role is a joy to behold. That is why, when Titus announces he is staying (and that the illness which you assumed was the result of poisoning amounted to nothing), you know things are going to get interesting.

This episode also sees Gannicus put into the background, providing council to Crixus as opposed to drinking/fighting/whoring. Gannicus (and Oenomaus) have been playing mentor to the Gaul, whose potential they all see.

When I first started watching Spartacus, I honestly dismissed Manu Bennett as a well chiselled meat head. However, over the course of the series, he really impressed me with his emotional intensity and this episode was no different.

Picked to fight in the arena, without being a member of the Brother, Crixus is both honoured and determined to establish himself as a gladiator. As he's paired against Auctus, the result is never in doubt, but like everything in this series, it is all about the journey. And this journey has plenty of twists and turns.

That is one of the great things about this show. The writers set things up that you assume will go one way, and then pull a complete about-turn. It keeps things interesting for a prequel show where you think you know everything that is going to happen, and then it turns out nothing is what it seems.

Read our review of episode 2, Missio, here.

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This review contains spoilers.

3.16 Altar Of Mortis

Although last week's episode may have seemed like a standalone story, it was just the start of another trilogy that delves deep into Star Wars, creating waves in its lore and ripples in the Force.

Altar Of Mortis sees Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi just leaving the planet Mortis after the eventful time there witnessed in the previous instalment, when the gang are pulled back to the planet by last week's bad boy, the simply named "Son", an amalgamation of Jedi and Sith (Jith? Sidi?), but far more powerful than either.

He's haunting the mind of Anakin and plants himself there posing as his double (in a knowing nod to the Dagobah cave scene in The Empire Strikes Back) in an eerie couple of minutes that betray the child-friendly facade of The Clone Wars. The adult tone continues as Son kidnaps Ahsoka, leaving her Master and Obi Wan no choice but to return to Mortis.

Anakin's Padawan is in for a rough time, as Son uses her to trap the 'Chosen One' and thereby help him destroy the Jedi and Sith. And he's not afraid to kill to get his way. Death hangs over her here and one wonders if some of the youngsters watching this (and I assume there are some) will get pretty upset at the unfolding events.

Son is menacingly played by Star Wars videogames voice artist, Sam Witwer (currently ghouling it up in the US version of Being Human). The actor brings a malevolence to the role that isn't simply 'evil', but full of childlike petulance, as he takes on his own family ("Father" and "Daughter") in pursuit of power. A memorable performance.

The style of the episode is very much a tribute to Lord Of The Rings with swords, buildings and beasts to match. The more fantastical nature of the story, primarily the power of the Force, is also in keeping with the magical themes of the Tolkien trilogy. It's a very different feel to the more 'grounded' world of Star Wars and Obi Wan's unease at being in this world is apposite, realising that this is a different kind of galaxy that has ramifications for the entire universe.

Altar Of Mortis also continues with some wonderfully directed set pieces, notably the chase between the Jedi's craft and Son (transformed as a flying beast) and the final lightsaber battle between the three Jedi.

Yup, you read right. Just the three Jedi.

The possession of Ahsoka takes a deeply disturbing turn as she takes on the two chums, and I shan't spoil the outcome for you.

In tone, The Clone Wars is certainly getting bleaker week by week, whilst still keeping its spirit and life in the form of the Jedi. Altar Of Mortis does suffer from featuring a rather fairy tale ending mixed in the midst of the Dark Side engulfing all, but as this story arc has one more episode to go, it'll be most interesting to see if it has further repercussions for the Star Wars story.

Read our review of episode 15, Overlords, here.

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2.4 Unholy Alliance

I hate what seems to be happening to V. First, the first season gets bumped for the Winter Olympics and the ratings never recovered to the first heights. Then, this season, the order gets cut and a week gets bumped for the State of the Union Address.

And of course, this week, America gets smothered by a massive blizzard that disrupts cable and satellite transmissions (even in my area, I lost picture for 10 minutes, and I'm a few hundred miles from the blizzard section!). This just might be the unluckiest show on television, at least from a broadcast interruption standpoint.

So: episode four, then.

The Fifth Column is getting very popular these days. For example, there's the group of Fifth Column that we know, and there's Eli Cohn and his radical group of Fifth Column who undertake suicide bombings, throat-slitting, and all kinds of other underhanded, dangerous methods of fighting. This is where Cohen and Erica's group differ. This Fifth Column talks about the war, the other Fifth Column is actively fighting it in a very public way. Not only are they bombing V ships, they're also killing Peace Ambassadors.

Meanwhile, at the Vatican, religious figures around the world are increasingly following in the wake of Father Jack Action Priest and viewing the Visitors with skepticism. Apparently, Jack's viral video sermons are getting around.

Also inspired by Father Jack? Tyler, except he's inspired to get a little smashy-smashy on some sacred objects d'art with the help of some Peace Ambassador friends, while poor Lisa is left to try and talk some sense into her blinded-by-hate boyfriend.

Erica's got herself a brand new partner. Given the demise of her partner in the first season and her partner in the second season, the FBI is sticking her with someone she knows well and someone she should hopefully protect from death and/or lizardification, Chris Bolling (Jay Karnes).

Apparently, the two are old friends from the academy days, but how Bolling became a Washington hotshot and Erica a generic street agent remains a mystery. It might have something to do with the fact that he's significantly smarter than Anna's last two partners, probably because he's a real human who actually has FBI training and the others were lizards wearing Edgar suits. He just might be the first human partner of Erica's to be 'disappeared' by the Fifth Column before all is said and done. 

Interestingly, Anna is paying a visit to the Vatican as well, for a meeting with, well, not the pope, but certainly one of the higher-up cardinals. She's connected Father Jack Action Priest back to his church, and now she's going to use that church against him while still trying to get the church to sign off on Visitors as acceptable.

This week's episode of V is a particularly special treat for sci-fi television fans. This week's episode of V is written by someone with a track record when it comes to that thorny area where science fiction meets human morals and values. This week's episode was written by Rockne S. O'Bannon.

Rockne S. O'Bannon was the creator of some of the best science fiction shows of all time: Farscape, Alien Nation, and one of my personal favorites, Seaquest 2032. If anyone can land the delicate balance needed to pull off an episode in which aliens try to intimidate the Catholic Church into accepting their presence on earth, it's someone who made an entire TV series about the culture clash between aliens and humans in 1980s Los Angeles.

The interchange between Diana and her long-time Catholic spy, Father Piers Moreau (Jonathan Walker), in Diana's underground chamber is very good. It encapsulates what separates the Visitors, the good Visitors, and the humans all in one fell swoop. It's meaningful and emotional, without being sappy or too emotive.

It's difficult, at times, for this show to convey bigger ideas and bigger emotions, but the dialog and the acting between Badler, Baccarin, and Walker is very good. The expression on Anna's face when Diana gives her loyal servant one last gift is priceless.

That said? While the writing of this week's episode is very good, and the plot itself is very interesting (Erica makes a proverbial deal with the devil and Anna literally learns about the devil), the miracle that Anna performs to prove to the church that her aliens are a legitimate threat to the hearts and minds of people everywhere? Not so good. In fact, I've watched it several times and I'm not quite sure what she's supposed to have accomplished by throwing some blue energy beams around and making a statue glow, or whatever she did.

If you're going to have Anna perform a miracle, why isn't it a mouth-droppingly awesome miracle, or just awesome looking, like Father Jack's 'present' from Eli Cohn. I know that might blow the effects budget, but seriously, I need to be impressed and I need to see just what wowed the College of Cardinals so much they rolled over for the queen of the lizards. If that was it, I'd hate to see how lame the Vatican's fireworks shows are.

US Correspondent Ron Hogan is going to the dentist this week, and boy would he love to be able to stretch his mouth open and scare the crap out of the dental hygienist! Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.

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This review contains spoilers.

Has it really only been six weeks since this new series of Primeval started? Frankly, it seems like only yesterday I was packing away the Christmas tree and doing double duty on writing up the first two episodes.

While it does seem that January has passed us in a blink of a eye, it really has been that long since Connor, Abby and the Primeval crew got dusted off, and once again appeared as part of our Saturday night line-up. And now it seems that once again they are off, after what can only be described as a whimper rather than a bang.

I do not know whether we are so used to the slow build of American television, but to me, having only seven episodes really did feel like things were rushed and finished too quickly, and the longer, interesting lingering plots were wrapped up and dealt with as an afterthought, ruining any momentum the show built up.

It's as though the series had the creative plug pulled on it, with the producers worried that another few episodes would not get commissioned (odd, given that the next series of the show is already in the can). And the notion of good storytelling and rewarding the viewer were thrown out the window, and the intelligence or intrigue this season was attempting to provide was just nixed for budget or fear of being canned again. Blimey, even six episodes of Misfits or Red Dwarf provided more of a pay-off than this.

A climax to a season should resolve matters, leaving the opportunity to explore new areas and new ideas. A pay-off, if you will, for your commitment to following the more intricate plot and spending all those hours waiting and wondering. Think about Lost, a good pay-off? Debatable, but at least it was a good talking point. But here, seven episodes into a series that is just hotting up, things are wrapped up and put away without any sense of enjoyment or fulfilment.

For those who have followed the series, things were really one big disappointment after another, and all those tasty morsels of plot were tossed away in a contrived and, at times, ludicrous plot.

Here is another suggestion: do not insult your audience at every opportunity. This episode was rushed and wasted, every interesting concept thrown away in a out of hand fashion, and all the elements that made the show just that little bit deeper than just a monster of the week were all just tossed aside.   

For starters, the main big-bad of the season, Ethan, is neither the serial killer from the past nor a person trapped within our time, with the skills and knowledge required to build evil cunning plans. He is (and here is the big reveal, folks) Danny's lost brother! Yup, the kid who got 'taken' last series by the invisible bat thingies is Ethan.

But wait. He isn't even called Ethan. He is called Patrick. Yes, it's that rubbish, and to add just that little extra waste of story, Danny comes back to conveniently be reunited and to find that all the 'evil' Ethan/Patrick was doing was just a way to get back at Danny for not finding him.

Now, while I don't write television shows, even I can see that this was a cobbled together piece of crap, an editorially dictated pay-off by somebody who really has no regard or interest in the ability to write drama. A manager somewhere, perhaps, who sees stats and viewing figures as a indicator of what is good and bad. A person far removed from the concept or narrative or storytelling techniques, for whom a good read is a telephone directory.

There are, across the UK, twelve-year-old kids sitting in creative writing classes chuckling behind their push-pens and Pokemon pencil cases, giggling at the utter stupidity of the writing being shown here.

Please ITV, I am cheap, available and can string a sentence together. I can write better than this. Go on, employ me.

The concept of the show is fine, but good grief, whoever you are paying to write this really does need to read a book or two or (gasp) actually watch some other television shows. My suggestion is anything HBO is producing right now. Because this episode has thrown away an otherwise decent series run.

To the episode itself, then. An anomaly (you know, a big wobbly time-y wime-y thing) opens in a prison. It's wonky and is unlike any we have seen before, but it has giant monster birds in it that eat people.

The team of cool ARC people come and see it and all the buttons and guns and lasers and stuff do not work on it. And then Danny comes out with a bad wig on and a stick and he hits the birds, and then the baddy man, Ethan, comes to see them with a clockwork radio. But he is not Ethan, but Patrick, and he is Danny's brother, but he is a baddie.

Then Connor finds that there are two anomalies, one with birds in it, and another going back to the olden days of Lark Rise To Candleford, where Emily comes from. And then she goes back and Ethan/Patrick go back too, but he goes where the giant birds go and Danny follows him (because he can only be in one episode, because he is playing Nightcrawler's dad in the new X-Men film).

Oh, but before Emily goes, she has a talk with Matt and we find he is from the future and is here to stop something happening to the ARC and the world, and it might have something to do with Connor and Philip, who might be a baddie too. The end.

Yup, that's it.  What an absolute waste, and a horribly dumbed-down way to end the show.

Ah, you might say it's for kids. Really? Seeing people torn to shreds or being eaten all series is not a series aimed for kids, and anyway, most kids are far more intelligent than you give them credit for. Have you read Harry Potter?

I really like Primeval. I like that fact that it's punched above its weight and given us some fun teatime telly. But this final episode? It's terrible.

Here's hoping that series 5, due on our screens later this year, can turn this mess around.

Read our review of episode 6 here.

See all the Primeval series 4 reviews here.

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Ever get the feeling you've been lied to?

About two weeks ago, a strange, scarred man with a hook for a hand offered me a packet of Opal Fruits to follow him down an alley. Hungry and excited, I accepted his offer and followed his lead down a dark, shadowy walkway.

Within seconds, I found myself being physically beaten by six men who proceeded to steal my mobile telephone and my wallet. As they made away, I lay in a crumpled heap, in pain but still in high spirits, awaiting the fruity treats that would, no doubt, be coming my way. I waited for three hours before I had to accept that the Opal Fruits were not coming. I had been tricked.

When I sat down to watch giallo-inspired French thriller, Amer, I had a similar feeling. I had been tricked again!

Amer is a film made up of three individual segments. The first segment sees a young girl experience a night of terror and confusion at home after seeing the body of her recently deceased grandfather. The second segment finds her in her teens, distracted on a trip into town with her mother by a mob of hyper-masculine bikers. The third segment finds the same character as an adult, returning to her childhood home. Once there, she is haunted by visions of violence and starts to lose her grip on reality and identity.

The first section of Amer is the best. In this section, the filmmakers employ visual tricks to create an imposing, tense atmosphere. The dialogue is sparse, as it remains through the entire film, which, combined with a barely present soundtrack, results in every noise heightening the tension.

Many visual elements of the giallo genre this film is paying homage to are present. There's peeking through keyholes, a shadowy witch-like figure and some otherworldly colours filling the screen. It's a strong viewing experience, but one which the rest of the film fails to live to live up.

If some films lag in the middle, Amer stops what it's doing entirely at its midpoint and starts aggressively punching itself in the crotch. What's most frustrating is that it does it with all of the subtlety of a crotch punching, too.

In this section we get a barrage of sexual imagery thrown into our unsuspecting faces. It's a complete shift in tone for the film and, for me, it doesn't work at all. None of the elements that made the first section so enjoyable are present and the continued plodding pace becomes boring in the absence of tension. There are still some interesting visuals and sounds, but not enough. 

By the time the film moved on to the final segment, it had a job on its hands to win me back. A car journey-turned dream sequence seemed an ominous start, but upon seeing the main character return to her childhood home, I hoped that the film would recapture the atmosphere of the opening section. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

This section does feature some nasty violence and some cat-and-mouse killer-stalks-victim shenanigans, but it's just not enough for a film that's become so stagnant. Even with a runtime under ninety minutes, by the time the end credits roll Amer has long outstayed its welcome.

A quick note should be made that, where music does feature, it's pretty terrific, and sounds exactly like something out of an old Italian horror movie.

The problem I have with Amer is that, rather than being the giallo film the trailer promised, it's an art project with giallo as its theme. The giallo elements are visual and aural. The story elements are entirely missing, as the film features no real narrative at all.

While I can see what some people enjoyed in the film, it certainly wasn't for me and I would advise giallo enthusiasts and casual viewers alike to approach the film with caution.

Extras

Before I get into the extra features, I'll make a quick note about the menus on the disc. I'm not sure if this is something that has been fixed since I got my review copy, but navigating around the disc is more frustrating than trying to find Opal Fruits in a dark alley when your eyes are flooded with blood and the Opal Fruits aren't even there.

The disc features a full and a teaser trailer for the film. They're good trailers, but they don't really give an accurate account of the film. Also included are four short films by the directors of Amer. These are actually a really good inclusion. In smaller segments, just having interesting visuals works better. It's also interesting to see them develop the techniques they eventually used in their feature.

Film:
Disc:

Amer is out now and available from the Den Of Geek Store.

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While The Roommate wasn't very good, it was good enough. The $16-million flick rose to the top of a mediocre Super Bowl weekend box office to claim the top spot, with $15.6 million on its opening weekend. It didn't have a 3D gimmick or any real big stars, but it somehow managed to rise above itself and best second-place Sanctum by $6 million.

Sanctum, billed as a 3D extravaganza and playing hard on the name of producer, James Cameron, has ended up being not so good, either. While it did take in $9.2 million, that's a low for the modern 3D action film. That's even less than Piranha 3D (but more than My Soul To Take). Either the bloom has gone off the 3D rose, or Sanctum's muted earth tones and claustrophobia didn't appeal to viewers. Maybe people are just getting smart about 3D conversion and are only interested in seeing movies shot in 3D.

Interestingly, among the holdovers, No Strings Attached and The King's Speech weathered the storms a bit better than most. No Strings Attached dropped a single spot to third from last week's second, picking up $8.4 million, while The King's Speech swaps places with The Green Hornet (fifth place, $6.1 million) and brings in fourth place with 8.31 million bucks. Not a bad performance for either of those flicks, really, especially when compared to last week's top movie.

The Rite debuted at number one last weekend, but finds itself out of the top five for weekend number two. The Rite picked up only $5.565 million this weekend, with business plunging sixty-two percent. Even when you compare that to the weekend's other huge sinking stinker, that's pretty bad.

The Mechanic also dropped out of the top five, from third to seventh, but lost only fifty-three percent of its business in the meantime. It still brought in $5.37 million over the weekend, which means the gap between the performance of the two films is a hair's breadth in box office terms.

Surprisingly, True Grit is still around at the box office. The big holiday release crowds showed up, and apparently they keep coming back. Grit finds itself in eighth place this weekend, thanks to the strength of $4.75 million this weekend. So far, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon as cowboys have picked up $155 million in the US alone. That's a great haul for the cowboy genre, the Coen brothers, and Jeff Bridges himself. True Grit has turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the movie year.

The Dilemma, however, has not been much of a surprise. In fact, it's been pretty anticlimactic. While it does have star power behind it, that star power hasn't translated to success. In its fourth week of release, The Dilemma is in ninth place at the box office and has picked up only $3.448 million this weekend (and only about $45 million overall).

Rounding out the top ten this weekend is Black Swan, which took in $3.4 million this weekend, edging it ever closer to that $100 million mark. Right now Black Swan sits at $95.888 million and counting. Odds are it is going to make it by this time next week.

There's a staggering amount of movies coming out next weekend. It's as if they decided that, now that the major sports are over for America, they can safely release movies again. For the young ladies, there's a little panacea for your Bieber fever as Justin Bieber's 3D concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, gets released just in time for Valentine's Day.

Also coming out is the $100 million comedy man, Adam Sandler, teaming up with box office poison Jennifer Aniston for the vaguely repulsive Just Go With It.

Buena Vista is trying their hand at the computer animation game again, with Gnomeo And Juliet. Will it finally be the first Disney success in the computer age?

Also out (whew!) is period action piece, The Eagle, about Iron Age Britain versus a single Roman legionnaire.

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The first trailer for Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon was really quite good, taking a bit of time to build up to the revelation of what the film actually was, before eventually pulling back the curtain.

With a Superbowl commercial? You don't get that luxury. You get 30-odd seconds to put across your product and that's your lot. Hence, the Superbowl trailer for Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon features shit being blown up. And Shia looking a bit worried. The usual ingredients, then.

The film arrives on 1st July, and this promo, to be fair, tells you nothing you weren't expecting...

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It's been a while coming, with still no sign of an official trailer for the movie, but the first footage from Marvel's upcoming Captain America movie has appeared.

It's turned up in the form of a Superbowl commercial, and we get to see Chris Evans both before and after his transformation into the title character.

You can see the trailer below, and the movie itself arrives this July. We might get a full trailer soon, too...

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Most of the Superbowl trailers come in at around 30 seconds. That's hardly surprising, given the cost involved in securing a spot. Yet, Disney has released an extended slot for its upcoming Pirates Of The Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides.

It's still primarily Johnny Depp-focused, but the more we see of Ian McShane as Blackbeard, the greater our interest in the movie.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will be arriving in the UK on 18th May. And here's that trailer...

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A sizeable number of movies all staked their claim for your cash via the traditional Superbowl ad break battle, and we've talked about some of the biggies elsewhere on the site.

But here are some of the others, including one or two more biggies, to be fair, so that you can catch up on the fuller selection of what the Superbowl ad breaks had to offer...

Thor

One of the tougher sells of the summer, Kenneth Branagh's movie of Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth, is kicking the summer season off this year. Early signs haven't been bad, and this spot is happy to throw a few more special effects our way. It looks really good, too.

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It seems some time now since the best role that Sylvester Stallone could get was the villain in Spy Kids 3-D. Since then, he's pumped life back into his career, firstly by going back to his two most popular characters, Rocky and Rambo, and secondly by striking gold with his action extravaganza, The Expendables.

Stallone is hard at work putting the sequel to The Expendables together, but before that, he's slotting another role in, too. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that he's going to start as a hitman in the upcoming movie, Headshot.

Headshot is being directed by The Cooler's Wayne Kramer, and will see Stallone teaming up with a young New York cop. The shoot for the film begins this May, and there's an off-chance that it may sneak into cinemas before the year is out. Failing that, expect it in the first half of 2012.

After that? Expect Expendables 2...

The Hollywood Reporter

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Last week, we reported that three actresses were on the shortlist for a leading role in Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, and that the role in question wasn't Lois Lane. The actresses in question - Alice Eve, Diane Kruger and Rosamund Pike - apparently weren't being lined up for a different love interest role, either.

In fact, if you believe the story coming out of Latino Review, then what the new Superman movie may be bringing is the return of Ursa to the screen.

You remember Ursa? She was played memorably by Sarah Douglas in Superman: The Movie and particularly Superman II, where she was one of the three big villains whom Christopher Reeve's Man Of Steel did battle with in the movie.

Latino Review quotes "a most trusted reliable source" in coming up with the story, and if it's true, it inevitably reopens the casket of rumours that suggested General Zod would be turning up in the film, too.

The site is also adamant that we will be getting to see Lois Lane in the new movie, too.

It's all rumour at this stage, of course, but you can see the story at Latino Review right here.

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