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"I Am Number Four" could have been so much better

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "I Am Number Four" follows the Twilight series' playbook in casting a high school outsider as an otherworldly character.

In this case, he's an alien from outer space who changes schools the way normal kids change T-shirts because other aliens are out to destroy him.

The movie is a mixed bag, with many of the elements fun and intriguing, but since this is also a Michael Bay production, CG monsters and cartoon bad guys gum up a third act that cries out for a more sophisticated climax rather than another tedious battle royal taking place mostly in the digital realm. The Disney release opens Friday.

Young English actor Alex Pettyfer, the hunk of the moment for teen girls, stars as the misunderstood alien (chalk one up for savvy casting). Pettyfer has two more youth-targeted movies on tap this year, "Beastly" and "Now," but in this performance he fails to justify the female shrieks he elicits. Yes, his body is well chiseled, but his acting -- moodiness relieved only by flashes of anger -- leaves a hole in the movie. The rest of the cast is more eye-catching in the drama department, especially Glee's Dianna Agron as a teen absorbed in photography, Callan McAuliffe as a geeky guy into UFO lore, and fellow Australian Teresa Palmer, who adds plenty of sex appeal and athleticism to the role of another, much more self-confident alien.

A brief action sequence that opens the movie establishes the fact that a handful of good aliens from the doomed planet of Lorien are being hunted on Earth by villainous ones called Mogadorians. These baddies are eliminating nine good Loriens in numerical order; Number Three meets his fate in the opening, thus letting the target fall to Number Four (Pettyfer). The film gives no clue as to who or what established this pecking order.

Number Four and his protector (Timothy Olyphant), masquerading as his father, flee their identities in the Florida Keys for brand-new ones in the small town of Paradise, Ohio. (The movie was actually filmed in and around Pittsburgh.) As "John Smith," Number Four enters a high school that even one character is forced to admit consists of cliches run amok: A male clique surrounding the school's star quarterback (Jake Abel) bullies a geek who believes in UFOs; and a beautiful cheerleader only wants to escape the gravitational pull of these thick-headed jocks.

Number Four is ordered to keep a low profile by his protector, which is hard to do when your hands glow like lightbulbs and you can toss around football players and police cars like matchsticks. So Number Four has a very hard time staying off YouTube, which is why the Mogadorians, lead by a hammy Kevin Durand, are hot on his trail.

Number Four falls for Sarah (Agron), former girlfriend to the star quarterback, which creates all sorts of conflicts. He also befriends the geek (McAuliffe) with an interest in "ancient astronauts" and often comes between him and his bullies.

So the stage is well set in Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Marti Noxon's screenplay (based on the novel by Pittacus Lore) for a high school story with a twist. But Bay and his handpicked director, D.J. Caruso, fall back on their own geekdom by turning the movie over to CGI and VFX mavens rather than taking advantage of a considerable investment in character and story.

Shape-shifting, X-ray gun battles and telekinetic high jinks turn the school into rubble, which violates the spirit of this close encounter grounded in a kind of reality. The villains and their monster, kept in a trailer they lug around the country while feeding it frozen turkeys, are poorly designed, coming off as something out of the lame comic books the head villain has the temerity to mock.

Even the ending as it relates to the teenagers in love feels weird. Perhaps the filmmakers are setting up a sequel, but this film's final note is most unsatisfying.

"I Am Number Four" is mostly a missed opportunity. The film plugs into some genuine teen angst and identity confusion that might have dovetailed nicely with its sci-fi elements. Instead these two realities, a high school with its many melodramas and aliens chasing each other around the country, operate on parallel tracks. At times it feels like the reels from two very different movies got mixed up in the projection booth. The idea here is nifty; the execution mostly pedestrian.

Pack gets two quick TDs for 14-3 lead in 2nd qtr.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Green Bay Packers scored twice in a 24-second span and had a 14-3 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers midway through the second quarter of the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh, going for its seventh Super Bowl championship, got on the board on Shaun Suisham's 33-yard field goal.

The field goal came with a 12-play drive that took more than 7 minutes off the clock after the Packers had jumped out to a 14-0 lead with two quick touchdowns.

Aaron Rodgers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson with 3:44 left in the first quarter. The nine-play, 80-yard drive ended with a perfectly placed pass to Nelson, who had defender William Gay running with him down the right sideline near the end zone.

The Packers then kicked off and the Steelers started at their own 7 after a holding penalty on the return. On the first snap after that, Ben Roethlisberger was under pressure when he threw. The ball floated and Nick Collins intercepted it and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

The championship game Sunday put the focus back on the field after a long, cold week in North Texas that included two wintry storms with snow and ice. There were no weather woes inside $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, and it wasn't bad outside either on game day.

The game comes 3 1/2 weeks before the current collective bargain agreement expires. If the NFL and the players' union can't reach a new labor pact, there could be a lockout.

The 45th Super Bowl, the NFL's signature event, pitted two of its storied franchises and capped a season that saw the league reach new heights of popularity despite a string of off-field incidents and that potential lockout with the current CBA expiring next month.

Green Bay has won the Vince Lombardi Trophy three times. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls under the guidance of the trophy's namesake, and won another title in 1997.

UK banks 'to pay out 6 bln in bonuses'

LONDON (AFP) – Britain?s biggest banks are poised to pay out a combined 6 billion in bonuses despite government demands for restraint on City pay, the Sunday Times reported, without identifying its sources.

The size of the payout will embarrass George Osborne, the chancellor, who is hoping to announce a peace deal with the City this week that will include targets for lending to small businesses and curbs on pay.

Those talks, codenamed Project Merlin, could still founder, the newspaper cited senior sources as saying. They will not be helped by the disclosure that Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered are lining up big paydays for their traders and investment bankers, the report said.

Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, is likely to be one of the big winners in spite of flat profits at the bank, the Sunday Times said, adding that the bank?s board meets this week to sign off on a bonus worth up to 9.5m.

Diamond, who is worth an estimated 95 million and was once described by Lord Mandelson as the unacceptable face of banking, recently told a Treasury Select Committee of MPs: "There was a period of remorse and apology for banks and I think that period needs to be over."

Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, is estimated to be in line for a payout of as much as 10m ? although a decision on the bonus is still three weeks away, according to the report..

Stephen Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, is expected to receive a bonus of about 2m, paid in shares, the newspaper added..

All the bank bosses are predicted to take their bonuses after two years in which they have waived the payments or given them to charity. Diamond in particular is said to see no point in making such gestures. His proposed bonus is believed to be about half of what he is entitled to receive under the terms of his contract,the Sunday Times said.

The Project Merlin talks are forecast to conclude this week. The banks are expected to pledge to lend between 160 billion and 190 billion this year. Price Waterhouse Coopers, the accountancy firm, is likely to be asked to make sure the banks stick to their promises, the report predicted.

HSBC said its remuneration committee has not met, so Gulliver's bonus has yet to be decided.

The bank said more than 90% of its profits are made outside the UK, it has paid out more than $24 bln (14.9 bln) in dividends since the financial crisis began and has paid over 5 bln in tax over the past five years.

Go Super Saiyan, Dragonball Z-Style With Kinect Hack

Thanks to a new Kinect hack you too can now re-enact scenes from Dragonball Z--all from the comfort of your very own home. Dubbed the Kinect-Kamehameha, the new hack makes use of the , enabling you to get youron in style -complete with oversized hair and energy balls.

The hack took only two days to create, and it's , in case you want to give it a try. The mod is now at version 0.1b, which naturally features hair with a more golden shade. Take a look:

If you want to give the Super Saiyan lifestyle a try, you can . Be sure to let us know in the comments if you give it a shot.

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Jackson Hewitt sues H&R Block over "false" ads

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc sued H&R Block Inc to stop a new advertising campaign that it said misleads customers about tax refund loans and disparages Jackson Hewitt's competence.

Monday's lawsuit comes on the eve of the main U.S. tax filing season, a crucial period for the largest U.S. tax preparation companies because the February-to-April quarter accounts for roughly three-fifths of annual revenue and much of their profit.

Kate O'Neill Rauber, an H&R Block spokeswoman, in an email said: "This lawsuit was filed without any requests for substantiation. H&R Block stands behind our advertisements and will vigorously defend our claims."

Jackson Hewitt's lawsuit relates to "refund anticipation loans" -- short-term loans secured by taxpayers' expected tax refunds. Such loans carry fees and are popular among lower-income taxpayers.

Last month, H&R Block suffered a setback when the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ordered a partner, HSBC Holdings Plc, to stop making tax refund loans to H&R Block customers.

Jackson Hewitt said that unlike its larger rival, it also offers taxpayers access to as much as $1,500 within one day.

According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, H&R Block falsely claimed that its "Second Look Review" program, which reviews past tax returns prepared by rivals, found that two-thirds of returns prepared by Jackson Hewitt contained mistakes.

"H&R Block's 2 out of 3 claim necessarily implies the false claim that two out of three Jackson Hewitt customers who are entitled to refunds have been short-changed due to Jackson Hewitt errors or incompetence," the complaint said.

Jackson Hewitt also said H&R Block gives its agents a script designed to deceive them about its loan service.

Saying the campaign is causing "irreparable harm," Jackson Hewitt is seeking to halt the alleged improper advertising. It is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

H&R Block's advertisements "are designed to undermine trust in Jackson Hewitt," Jackson Hewitt Chief Executive Philip Sanford said in a statement.

Jackson Hewitt, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, said it prepared 2.53 million U.S. tax returns in 2010. H&R Block, based in Kansas City, Missouri. prepared 20.1 million U.S. returns in its 2010 fiscal year.

In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Jackson Hewitt shares rose 1 cent to $1.58nd H&R Block shares fell 7 cents to $12.43.

The lawsuit is Jackson Hewitt Inc v. H&R Block Tax Services LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-00641.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Tim Dobbyn and John Wallace)