UK Music Charts: February 15-21

Adele is going down a hit both here and in the US, represented by her dominance of the UK singles chart with not one but two award-winning songs making the Top 10 this week. Here's the full line-up:
10. HIGHER (TAIO CRUZ)
9. YEAH 3X (CHRIS BROWN)
8. EYES WIDE SHUT (JLS)
7. GRENADE (BRUNO MARS)
6. S&M: COME ON (RIHANNA)
5. CHAMPION (CHIPMUNK)
4. ROLLING IN THE DEEP (ADELE)
3. BORN THIS WAY (LADY GAGA)
2. PRICE TAG (JESSIE J)
1. SOMEONE LIKE YOU (ADELE)

UK Film Charts: February 15-21

Quite predictably, Paul has done well in the UK charts for box office movies this week, seeing as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are both back in their comedy roles once more along with Seth Rogen as the titular alien in a hilarious science-fiction romp (from what I've heard, I will be reviewing the DVD). But what else has made it into the charts this week? Take a look below to find out:
10. BLACK SWAN
9. JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER
8. JUST GO WITH IT
7. TANGLED
6. YOGI BEAR
5. BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
4. TRUE GRIT
3. THE KING'S SPEECH
2. GNOMEO & JULIET
1. PAUL

UK Gaming Charts: February 22-28

This week has been the first in a few months now where some seriously big 2011 releases have made their way to stores, so let's take a quick look at which ones came out top:
10. ASSASSIN'S CREED BROTHERHOOD
9. WII PARTY
8. NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT
7. MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3
6. DEAD SPACE 2
5. JUST DANCE 2
4. FIFA 11
3. CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS
2. BULLETSTORM
1. KILLZONE 3
It strikes me as a surprise that Marvel VS Capcom 3 and Dead Space 2 are below the FIFA and Just Dance sequels, but in all honesty that's how gaming seems to work nowadays- only the big names get the glory, and lesser known releases suffer as a result. Anyway, from now on I'll be keeping you updated on the weekly UK charts for games, films and music, so check back at On-Screen every Monday!

The Heroes Live On...

And you thought it was over...in a not-so-shocking move, Activision announced that neither the Guitar Hero or DJ Hero franchises would get any more sequels in the foreseeable future due to them becoming stale and not selling well anymore (I'd argue the latter series needs to be allowed more time to shine, but still). Less predictable is that the developer has now decided to reverse what it has said somewhat, announcing some more downloadable content packs for release after millions of fans have complained. The news came today on the official Facebook pages of both franchises, as a representative said "Thank you for being a part of this community and all 3 MILLION of you rock! We've decided to celebrate by releasing more DLC- details coming soon..." No details as of yet what songs we can expect to see, but let's hope that age has not wearied these Heroes so both series can go off a bang and more importantly so that we will remember them!

Nintendo 3DS Débuts In Japan

There's another month before we get the Nintendo 3DS here in the UK (fans, mark your calendars for March 25th), but the incredible handheld console has already had its début in Japan. The 3DS launched over there with great titles including Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles, Ace Combat and Pilotwings. The latest instalment in the Layton franchise seems to have gone down well with critics, scoring 32/40 in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu as "investigating a puzzle with a screen that has depth feels good", even though "the puzzle solving doesn't use 3D much" (the score falls in line with what its predecessors The Diabolical Box and The Lost Future received from Famitsu). Nintendogs also became a 3DS launch release, gaining 38/40 from Famitsu as "it can be enjoyed by anyone". Other ratings by the magazine included 34 for Super Street Fighter IV and 32 for both Ridge Racer and Super Monkey Ball, and we'll bring you the first UK reviews from the Official Nintendo Magazine when it releases on the 17th of March. The Nintendo 3DS releases in the UK on March 25th at a hefty RRP of £229.99, but once I've had some playtime with one I'll bring you a full review of the console in April!

Academy Awards 2011 Winners

As ever, last night was a huge event for the United States with the Oscar ceremony in LA. The King's Speech and Inception were by far the evening's biggest hits, but The Social Network, The Fighter, Black Swan and Toy Story 3 also earned prizes too. Here's the full list of winners:

BEST PICTURE: The King's Speech
BEST DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
BEST ACTOR: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
BEST NEW SCREENPLAY: The King's Speech
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Social Network
BEST ANIMATED FILM: Toy Story 3
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC: The Social Network
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "We Belong Together" (Toy Story 3)
BEST SOUND EDITING/MIXING: Inception
BEST ART/COSTUME DESIGN: Alice In Wonderland
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Inception
BEST CAMERA EDITING: The Social Network
Most of these I certainly could have guessed, but there were some surprises such as the Original Song and Best Art (not Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part One- really?). Let me know what you think!

Smallville: Masquerade Review (3/5)

Even more plot developments are on their way in Masquerade, the fourteenth episode of Smallville Season 10 as Clark becomes a little more mild mannered and dons a certain pair of glasses in order to not draw as much attention to himself. Meanwhile, Darkseid is back to try and corrupt some of Superman's friends before he can fully enter this world, and he even manages with one unbeknownst to the rest of Watchtower (just wait and find out who!). This would all be great if the show didn't feel obliged to indulge in some more emotional scenes as Clark struggles to choose whether he should don a disguise or reveal himself to the world as a journalist from the Daily Planet. Fans of the comics will probably know how that's going to turn out, but in case you don't I won't reveal the conclusion of that arc. Overall, Masquerade is another solid episode, even if many elements of the story could easily have fitted into other flagship outings for the Man of Steel and there's the sense that nothing's really moved forward.

Coming Up For On-Screen In March

As I've mentioned in previous posts, March is a relatively bleak month for entertainment releases, so I'll be focusing more on what's coming up in April, May and the Summer rather than what is out in the impending 31 days. Here's just some of the articles you can expect very soon...

GAME REVIEWS- Homefront; Nintendo 3DS; LEGO Star Wars III; Crysis 2; Dragon Age II; Okamiden; Shift 2 Unleashed and more
FILM REVIEWS- Rango; Battle Los Angeles; Burke & Hare plus loads of other 2010 retrospectives and classic flicks
BOOK REVIEWS- Birth of a Killer; Alex Rider: Scorpia Rising; System Wipe/The Good, The Bad & The Alien, and that's not all!
PREVIEWS- Batman Arkham City; Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2; Elder Scrolls Skyrim; Battlefield 3; Pirates of the Caribbean 4; The Hangover Part II and tons more great upcoming releases.
NEWS- Game Developers Conference Announcements; Doctor Who Series 6 Air Date; The Future Of Two & A Half Men; Oscar Winners; The Next Call Of Duty; Kinect Wave Two and tons of stuff I don't even know about yet; On-Screen is the best place for entertainment next month!

Smallville: Beacon Review (4.5/5)

Martha Kent, Lionel Luthor and the Alexander clone all make returns in Beacon, the latter played superbly by High School Musical co-star Lucas Grabeel as he twists from a young boy trying to find his way to Lex, a tyrannical villain who will one day be the arch-nemesis of Superman. The whole concept of clones and parallels is one that Smallville has not dared to delve into until now, and when I had first heard about it I thought it was risky territory for a show trying to come to a successful close and emphasise how the Man of Steel's destiny finally unfolds, but now the writers seem to be effortlessly seguing the side plot into the main strands of the series really well, and now we know that Grabeel's character actually is Superboy and that Michael Rosenbaum's original Lex will be coming back things seem to be taking a step in the right direction with regards to comic continuity. Annette O'Toole is just as comfortable as before as Martha, clearly loving be a key part in Clark's rise to become a hero, while John Glover is giving us a much more well-rounded Lionel than he ever did with the oft-melodramatic father we saw in the opening seasons. Hopefully, the ending that finally leaves the show on a positive note for the week is a sign that things can get a bit less gritty in episodes to come, especially since Series 9 got way too dark even for Smallville. Although the impact of the cliff-hanger with LX-15 is lessened somewhat by our knowledge of his coming alter-ego, Beacon is a great step up from its predecessors.

Smallville: Collateral Review (3.5/5)

Collateral is another relatively strong Smallville episode, bringing Allison Mack for her second episode of the five she is returning in (although the actress may also be in talks for the finale) as Chloe Sullivan, and providing a strange Matrix twist on proceedings when the VRA- I won't spoil who they are and what they stand for- capture many of Clark's heroic friends, Lois and himself included inside a virtual reality. Enter Chloe, who must get her oldest friend to trust her again after she departed for a few stories (wait and see why) with the help of the love of his life. There are definitely a few quite memorable scenes in Collateral including Oliver's apparent insanity and Chloe disrupting the virtual world with her mind. That said, it still doesn't do anything previous episodes haven't, and doesn't expand on the main plot arc at all, and this being such precious time the show is now living on, that's as annoying as ever. You'll want to watch Collateral, sure, and there's nothing too much wrong with it, but the plot blatantly steals from The Matrix and bears very little relevance to Clark's destiny, so in that sense it's a bit of a let down.