New 'Battle: Los Angeles' Feature Trailer Impresses

Who doesn't love a good alien flick? Sure, Skyline and the bastardized remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still haven't been helping out the genre's appeal in recent years but 2008's District 9 was a surprise hit and was even nominated for a Best Picture award from the Oscars.

Well now it looks like aliens are getting even closer to Hollywood--literally.

Much like District 9 commented on the South African Apartheid, Battle: Los Angeles is also using our own history to set the stage for a big action blockbuster. The film is set in modern day, but the film's premise stems from the 1942 Battle of Los Angeles incident in which U.S. anti-aircraft artillery were targeting an alleged Japanese enemy combatant shortly after the end of World War II, but the government claimed it was a 'false alarm'. Of course, since that incident occurred there have been several UFO and alien related theories but over time nothing has panned out. Well if you look carefully at one of the Battle: Los Angeles posters and compare it to a similar photograph of the anti-aircraft artillery firing into the sky, it looks like there's a small disc-shaped object on the right side that narrowly missed the fire.

None of the previous trailers have directly stated the film is using the same incident as a precursor to the plot, but the newest trailer embedded below does shed some more light on the Normandy-esque bombing on the Santa Monica coastline. Along with Inception-like booms (click here and push the button) and the same moody autotune song from the first trailer, we see new shots of what looks to be shots of Los Angeles torn apart and big action set pieces on crushed freeways. Battle: Los Angeles is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the Spring and it sure looks like it's not going to disappoint. In theaters March 11, 2011.

Missed the first trailer? Watch it on Trailer-Addict.

Rick Ross - Teflon Don (Review)

As much fun as it is to tease THE BOSS about his early work, the imposing  rapper has come a long way. 2008's Deeper Than Rap showed that Ross was a fascinating anomaly from the rap genre as he actually got better over time thanks to the stellar production values, variety of sounds, and notably improved lyricism. Rick Ross returns in 2010 with Teflon Don and the album is a guaranteed Summer blockbuster. But has Ross continued his ascent in quality or are things starting to slow down? Click on for the three point review!

Quick Word: Apple and the iPhone 4 Have Failed

Apple had a perfect storm of hype: a beautiful hardware redesign that left previous iterations in the dust, killer new software features brought together in a dead-simple package, and the same price tag as last year's model. This on top of Apple's sterling reputation since their snowballing ascent in consumer electronics and it is nearly impossible for anyone to halt that raging storm.

Anyone except for Apple itself, that is, and that is exactly what has happened.

Upon the launch of Cupertino's latest and greatest, a massive flaw was brought to light--if you touch the bottom left corner of the phone with the palm of your hand, the already mediocre cell reception drops even more until there is none. Apple claims that this is a software issue and that the phone is incorrectly displaying the signal drops, but one of the key features to the new design for the iPhone 4 is the metal band around the body which is actually two pieces of an antenna put together. There has been scientific studies proving that an external antenna system is hampered when in contact with human skin.

So this is a big issue and a company as large as Apple should take responsibility for its error, right? Well apparently, the company's CEO, Steve Jobs, didn't get that memo. In a reply to a customer's email complaining about the antenna, Jobs said, "Just avoid holding it that way". The media has twisted those words into the message, "You're holding it the wrong way", and to be honest they aren't too far off. Naturally this hate is spreading quickly, yet Apple has only made an insignificant press statement citing that all cell phones have antenna issues when held in certain ways.

Apple had a perfect storm, but now it has become a horrifying PR nightmare. It is hard to tell if this will have any kind of long term effect on the company, but six months from now I wouldn't be surprised if people thought twice before going after the big fruit's newest goodies.

Quick Word is a special editorial where current events are discussed. The contents of this article are pure opinion, except when stated as otherwise.

The A-Team [Movie Review]

Who doesn't love The A-Team? The 80s cult-classic show featured over-the-top violence, totally corny dialogue, and a bad-but-weirdly-likable cast...on a weekly basis. That's impressive no matter how you look at it. Plus it had quite possibly the greatest opening for a TV show ever. People loved The A-Team, but by its fourth season ratings were falling and by the fifth and final season no one cared anymore. Pop culture was maturing for the dull 90s and it left The A-Team behind.

But through network repeats and loads of pop culture references, the show managed to stay relevant long past its expiration date. 20th Century Fox thinks it's time for The A-Team to receive an overdue reboot. What did I think of their results? Read on to find out!

Kid Cudi's "REVOFEV" Is More Of The Same

For better or worse, Kid Cudi will probably never change.

There are a lot of great qualities to the Cleveland rapper's music and his single best characteristic is featured prominently on his newest single "REVOFEV": his charm. Cudi oozes hipster charisma while gleefully mixing together pseudo-spoken word verses with a simplistic but catchy hook. Cudi's mellow but gruff voice is very appealing to the ears and the fact that he can sing is icing on the cake. In addition to that, Cudi also brings along another one of Plain Pat's unique beats featuring funk electric guitar riffs, thunderous drum claps, epic string work, and a creepy organ among other sounds. Kid Cudi is all about style and here it is unrelenting.

Yet despite any innovative designs for Cudi's songs, that same spark for creativity is missing in his lyrics and songs like "REVOFEV" almost always come across as superficial distractions. Some praise this simplicity and it makes Cudi's music very accessible, but his entire debut album succumbed to this same issue and only a few songs proved to be memorable. If this single is indicative of the direction for his second Man On The Moon chapter, Cudder's charm will only take him so far.

For better or worse, Kid Cudi will probably never change.