Battle: Los Angeles Read Reviews
In theaters Friday

It can’t be as bad as Skyline, right? Right? Friday sees the release of the latest Los Angeles alien invasion movie, but where Skyline was about a group of Ed Hardy-wearing mouth-breathers evading extraterrestrials, Battle: Los Angeles looks more like a Black Hawk Down-esque militaristic take on the genre. Aaron Eckhart stars, along with Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, and singer Ne-Yo. The atmospheric trailers (containing little to no dialogue) leading up its release have looked promising, but we’ve been fooled before.

Watch the skies at the film’s website.

Dragon Age II PS3 Reviews 360 Reviews PC Reviews
In stores Tuesday

The eagerly anticipated sequel to 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins comes out Tuesday. Dragon Age II is set in the Free Marches and is centered around lead character Hawke, a survivor from the village of Lothering from the first game. This being a BioWare-produced RPG (much like Mass Effect), the choices you make in the original game will carry over into the sequel. If the new game isn’t enough for you, The Guild star Felicia Day is participating in an official live-action web spin-off called Dragon Age: Redemption that will debut this summer.

Check your dragon breath at the official game website.

Collapse Into Now by R.E.M. Read Reviews
In stores Tuesday

The legendary Athens, Georgia band R.E.M. release their 15th album Collapse Into Now on Tuesday. Already largely met with acclaim, the album was recorded in Berlin, Portland, New Orleans, and Nashville, and its diversity is said to reflect the various locations. Band members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills are joined by an eclectic group of guests, including Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Peaches, and Patti Smith (who previously collaborated with the band on standout single “E-Bow the Letter”). Each of the album’s 12 songs are being made into short films, and the first three, directed by Tom Gilroy, Dominic DeJoseph, and Sam Taylor-Wood, are available now.

Bells are ringing through the town again at the band’s official website.

Red Riding Hood Read Reviews
In theaters Friday

Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke returns to supernatural romance Friday with a werewolf-y take on the classic dark fairy tale. Amanda Seyfried (Veronica Mars) plays medieval maiden Valerie, who’s supposed to marry villager Henry (Max Irons), but is really in love with loner Peter (Shiloh Fernandez). Once people start getting killed and Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) is brought in to hunt the beast, things get significantly spookier. The horror-romance flick has a promising soundtrack, featuring Fever Ray, M83, and composers Brian Reitzell (30 Days of Night) and Alex Heffes (Inside Job).

Sharpen your big teeth at the official website.

The Real World XXV: Las Vegas
Season premiere Wednesday at 10p on MTV

Can you believe that The Real World is about to start its 25th season? The buzzy days of the series’’90s dominance -- when there weren’t reality shows on every channel -- have long ended, giving way to the likes of the debaucherous Jersey Shore. This season of the seminal reality series returns to Las Vegas on Wednesday; the show’s twelfth season took place there in 2002. The new cast resides in a suite at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and includes a sorority sister, a porn star, and a conservative. What could go wrong?

It’s time to get real at MTV's Real World website.

Mars Needs Moms Read Reviews
In theaters Friday

Milo (Seth Robert Dusky) must save his mom (Joan Cusack) from aliens with a little help from a goofy tech whiz named Gribble (Dan Fogler) in the latest movie from filmmaker Robert Zemeckis’ now defunct ImageMovers studio (which previously made The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol). Opening Friday, Mars Needs Moms is based on Berkeley Breathed’s book of the same name and is directed by Simon Wells (Balto, The Time Machine). The film uses state of the art motion-capture animation and is also in 3D. We hope the script received the same amount of attention as the visuals.

Visit the red planet at the family-friendly official website.

Closing the book on last week ...

	Weekend Box Office Champion (Estimated, U.S. only; source: Boxofficemojo.com)
	Rango 75	$38.0 million; 1st week at #1
	#1 Album on Billboard 200 (Source: Billboard.com/Nielsen SoundScan)
	Adele: 21 76	1st week at #1
	Top-Rated Primetime Broadcast Show (Source: Nielsen)
	83rd Annual Academy Awards (ABC)	37.9 million viewers; week of 2/21-2/27