Messages from Mars

Hanna - B

Surprisingly effective and simple little action thriller. Saoirse Ronan plays a girl trained by her CIA assassin father (Eric Bana) who joins the modern world after years in hiding, eventually playing a hunter/hunted game with rogue agent Cate Blanchett. The film has a European feel (at times I was strongly reminded of Run Lola Run) and a slick Chemical Brothers soundtrack.

Torchwood (BBC America/Starz)- A-

I haven't been keeping up with the modern Doctor Who series, but if they are half as cool as this spin-off, I look forward to doing so. The Torchwood team is an outside-the-government force tasked with protecting the planet from otherworldly threats, led by the immortal Captain Jack Harkness. Early episodes were occasionally hokey, but the show quickly found a solid tone that's sometimes quite dark. The pinnacle thus far was the third season/miniseries "Children of Earth," a tense and exciting tale of alien contact through the medium of the world's innocents. The story accomplishes a true sense of apocalyptic foreboding. A new season is scheduled for this summer in conjunction with Starz.

MLB The Show '11 (PS3) - A-

Still the best baseball game on the market, The Show gives fans of the sport or gaming in general superb graphics, intuitive control and numerous gameplay options. The pure analog option makes pitching feel like a true game of inches and challenges you to have a sharp eye for batting. In-game commentary is less obnoxious now, too, with the inclusion of Eric Karros for color calls.

The Killing (AMC) - B+

AMC's knack for excellent dramas continues (only Rubicon failed to impress). I'm always a little scared of "season-long" murder mysteries, but AMC's short seasons and the superb acting and multi-faceted story structure should keep this one interesting.