You’re probably wondering why I’m reviewing the same movie twice. But no, I’m just reviewing a movie with a remarkably similar title, and you’ve probably guessed that, indeed, it comes from The Asylum. Today we’re tackling Battle of Los Angeles, a copy of which the folks out at The Asylum sent over for us to review.

Battle of Los Angeles follows, basically, what it says on the box. A race of alien beings have come to earth and they are, not surprisingly, not here for our Reese’s Pieces. And this isn’t the first time they were here, either–we first met these boys back in 1942. Now, we’re facing them a second time, and this time, they’re ready for us. But we’ve got a bit of help from some boys who’ve seen this before…and more recently than they think.

You might think that a movie called “Battle of Los Angeles” would owe a lot to “Battle Los Angeles”. Well, not near so much as you might think. In fact, I don’t know why they even called it that, because this movie has about as much to do with the other as a fish has to do with a duck. What this actually is is a weird combination of Independence Day (right down to the building-blasting mothership and even a bit of the fighter design) and a time-travel movie.

And yet, there’s a problem here–Battle of Los Angeles is almost a little too ambitious for its own good. They’ve got a lot of ideas going on in here, and frankly, a couple of them together would have made a fine movie. But there’s a little too much density of plot elements in this one; it’s actually trying just a bit too hard. And I can’t fault–too hard–any movie that tries hard, especially from The Asylum who all too often has made a career out of phoning in Asylumized knockoffs of most anything that wandered into a theater, this time, the ambition just got a little out of hand.

Still though, it’s a surprisingly complex experience, and you’ll have to pay pretty close attention to make sure you’re getting everything. A few things will happen in an almost unexplainable fashion, requiring you to fill in the blanks. But still, this is a refreshing change of pace from normal Asylum fare, and though it’s somewhat hit or miss, I give them plenty of credit for taking a run at something new.

The Screenhead Ten Scale loves to reward effort, and thus forks over a seven out of ten for Battle of Los Angeles. It may not have succeeded every time, but it hit some good notes, and it definitely put on a worthwhile, if somewhat confused, show.

A bit of entertainment trivia for you to kick off today, folks–you know what a “clip show” is? That’s where they take bits and pieces of a long-running sitcom or other show and cobble them together, with a little bit of new footage to bridge the gaps, into a new episode. That’s kind of what Battle Los Angeles actually is, except in this case, it’s a clip movie.

Battle Los Angeles puts us right into a hellacious firefight that’s raging all over the world. Aliens have landed, and they’re definitely not the “to serve man” crowd. As countries and cities all over the world find themselves getting their hats handed to them by the alien horde, one platoon of marines, in the midst of a mission, finds itself in the unique position of being able to save the world by the most improbable of maneuvers.

Sometimes I get to thinking that summer movie season–with its big, loud, brainless action movies and the like–starts a little sooner every year, and I think they’ve pushed the season clear back to early March if Battle Los Angeles is any indication. And like I said, you’ve seen substantial portions of this movie before, from the grizzled old staff sergeant who gruffly proclaims that he’ll get his men out alive, to the green first lieutenant willing to take one for the team, to the even greener private who’s sufficiently green that he’s–and yes, this is mentioned in the film–a full-on virgin who joined up at seventeen. There are bits of Heartbreak Ridge, Black Hawk Down, a whole lot of Independence Day (right down to the burning wreckage-littered airfield and the vaguely similar alien ship designs!) and I’m sure if you watch this thing, you’ll likely spot bits of your favorite old war movie in here.

The script has so many holes in the plot it looks like it was shot through with the Bushmaster chain gun that they mention but never actually fire in the film (at least not that I saw, and frankly, I was looking forward to seeing that puppy go!), the explanation for the alien invasion is weak at best, and the whole thing feels rushed and poorly put together.

But still, for the action diehard out there, there will be more than enough gunplay and plenty of explosions and a few good tense moments. It’s nothing particularly original, but sometimes, you’re not looking for original, you’re looking for a new twist on an old favorite and if that’s what you want you’ll get it right here, and then some.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Battle Los Angeles a six out of ten, because it does just what it sets out to do, even if that particular goal isn’t anything particularly ambitious.

I am excited about this movie. It just keeps looking better and better.

I love the surfer dudes with the UFOs attacking overhead.  It’s kind of creepy while the surfer dudes rest on their boards watching.

Battle: Los Angeles 2011 revolves around a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon’s battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles.

In 1942 Los Angeles had a UFO air craft visit them. It was even reported in the LA Times.  You can check out the story here.

There have been sightings of UFOs all over the world, and now, they are taking action. The platoon takes them on in the Battle: LA. It’s a battle they have never fought before and probably will never fight again.

A flash in the pan, you don’t want to blink because you’ll miss the clip. No worries, you can click replay, again and again.

Aaron Eckhart looks tough and rugged. I think I like him this way, although he does look like he has a lot on his mind, like a battling aliens.

Battle: Los Angeles revolves around a Marine staff sergeant (Eckhart) and his new platoon’s battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles.

If you do a google search on “Battle of Los Angeles,” you will find out that in 1942 Los Angeles had a UFO air craft visit them. It was even reported in the LA Times.  You can check out the story here.

Here’s a nifty item for you about the newest Aaron Eckhart project.

Apparently he’s getting back into science fiction, after his interesting go-round in Paycheck, by bringing us Battle: Los Angeles.  Battle: Los Angeles features Eckhart as a marine staff sergeant bringing a platoon into battle against alien forces that landed there.

Now, this isn’t supposed to hit theaters until sometime in 2011, so the pictures we’re getting are VERY early. But there’s a particular upside to this one–like I said before, Eckhart’s got science fiction credibility, and when it comes to something like this, you’ve got to have it.  Trying to do science fiction with the uninitiated tends to end poorly, so bringing in a guy with some street cred is very much a good move.

And yes, that picture you’re looking at IS of a mushroom cloud of fire.

Someone–or something–blew up a school bus.

Yeah, I know–I’m looking forward to it too.

It appears the studio did not like Chris Bertolini’s original screenplay for Battle: Los Angeles as Sony Pictures have hired Scott Silver (8 Mile) to rewrite the script.

The film will see Aaron Eckhart star as a Marine platoon commander fighting off an alien invasion making its way across LA.

Jonathan Liebesman is attached to direct.

Aaron Eckhart decided to take the starring role in Battle: Los Angeles, a sci-fi action film that Jonathan Liebesman is directing for Columbia.

Although this is Eckhart’s first time to be front and center on an action movie, he did play Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight and held his own in Black Dahlia and Erin Brockovich. Battle: Los Angeles is being touted as Eckhart’s vehicle to go mainstream.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Chris Bertolini wrote the story that centers on a Marine platoon’s encounter in the battle on the streets of Los Angeles against an alien invasion. Eckhart will play the platoon leader in the film, which has yet to set a start date.

Director of horror movies such as Darkness Falls and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Jonathan Liebesman, according to the trades, is in negotiations to direct sci-fi thriller Battle: Los Angeles for Sony Pictures and Original Films.

The story follows the struggle of one Marine platoon’s encounter in the battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles.

The script has been penned by Chris Bertolini, with producer Neal Moritz pushing forward quickly on getting it into production.