Pictures Of Marines

"Battle: Los Angeles" (Sony Pictures)

"Battle: Los Angeles" (Sony Pictures)

The aliens hit hard and fast in filmmaker Jonathan Liebesman's "Battle: Los Angeles," but they're not nearly as destructible as the cliches and corny antics that hurt this invasion blockbuster. Consider films such 1998's "Armageddon" or 1996's "Independence Day," toss in a spaceship full of boiler plate turns and assorted moments of loose storytelling, and "Battle: Los Angeles" emerges. The only thing going for this one is some moments of crisp action, but underneath the explosions and heavy doses of CGI, viewers are stuck with a generally lousy picture. The picture's a prototypical alien attack film, and it eyes a Marine unit sent in to save a handful of civilians in Los Angeles. The backdrop is a world trying to stave off a scary invasion from aliens using Earth as a fueling station. Unlike M. Night Shyamalan's aliens in "Signs," these invaders are here for the water. Liebesman's movie sets the table for the attack, then throws the Marines, lead by Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), into the fray. The unit finds itself battling a superior enemy on its way through L.A. Together, the soldiers come to the rescue of the citizens they're assigned to save and work to find a weak spot in the alien armor. When Nantz and his crew find the weakness of the alien attackers, it provides a lot of help to the rest of the world in taking the planet back. Because of the special effects and documentary-style filming, the picture is best seen in Blu-ray. It provides a crisper picture and does make a difference here. The Blu-ray package isn't much different than standard in special features, though. Both sets offer four good featurettes that explore settings, characters, the alien attackers and, most importantly, the action scenes. Though, Get Blu-ray for the better picture. PG-13; 2011. 1.5 Stars.

"Kill the Irishman" (Anchor Bay Entertainment)

Few moviegoers were able to catch up with this independent gangster flick when it flew through a few theaters earlier this year. Based on Rick Porello's 1998 book "To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia," director Jonathan Hensleigh's film checks out some of the highs and lows of the Mafia in Cleveland. The pic's somewhat disjointed in its storyline, and not as clear as the book, but it gets close. After all, Porello's book is incredibly researched, and including everything from print would've equaled a film that lands somewhere in the 10 to 12 hour neighborhood. So, there are some loose ends, but that's about the only weakness in a film that houses some great performances Vincent D'Onofrio, Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken are good in leading roles and an interesting storyline about a fellow who stood up to the mob. The man's name is Danny Green (Stevenson), an Irishman who carved out his own criminal success on the streets of Cleveland. To make his way, Green had to cut the Mafia out of the mix, and he survived numerous murder attempts to only stretch his rep. The film is basically a biopic on Green, and he's the focus. However, Hensleigh's camera allows the viewer to a few other characters, including Kilmer's straight-arrow cop and D'Onofrio's gritty gangster figure. "Kill the Irishman" is a fun gangster film that stands as a surprisingly entertaining addition to the 2011 landscape. Extras are limited, but an in-depth doc on Green's life is available. The documentary helps to fill in some holes from the film. R; 2011. 2.5 Stars.

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