New TV Shows Fall 2012, 666 PARK AVENUE, REVOLUTION, LAST RESORT, VEGAS and ARROW, What Will I be Reviewing?

Did you catch the post yesterday relating to all the returning shows that I will be watching and reviewing this year? No, well be sure to go check that out, if you didn’t and can’t be bothered then you should know that Dexter and Person of Interest will be the main two shows that I will be reviewing weekly, whilst also dipping in and out of Homeland and The Walking Dead. In this post I want to talk about all the new shows which will be coming our way this fall, which ones I will be watching and what will be added to my review list, your comments and suggestions are welcome as always and please let me know if there is anything I’ve missed which should be included here. I will review all the “Pilot” episodes of the shows which are mentioned below.

Revolution (NBC, Monday’s @10pm) – Premiere September 17^th

I put out the trailer for NBC’s Revolution some time ago now and I have to say that out of everything that is new this season this is the show that I’m most looking forward to. The reasons? Well, firstly it’s brought to us by J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot, responsible for shows like Lost and Person of Interest, however there names can also be seen alongside some of TV’s lesser shows, like Alcatraz for example. Revolution looks to be in a different league all together from Alcatraz though and seems like it could truly be the next Lost, although if like me you watch Person of Interest that is brilliant also. Revolution picks up its story fifteen years after the loss of all electrical power and energy, having mysteriously disappeared we follow a group of survivors (including Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito) on their mission to survive the world they find themselves in. It looks really good and I can’t wait to see how it works out, let’s just hope it fares better than Alcatraz and does miles better than NBC’s last drama effort Awake.

666 Park Avenue (ABC, Sunday’s @10pm) – Premiere September 30^th

^I’m not really sure what to make of this show right now, it does look really good but I fear for me that there may be a few hide behind the pillow moments, no only kidding I will watch this show but I’m unsure as to weather or not I will be reviewing it every week. The show has a supernatural edge but is billed as a drama, it follows the new managers of a hotel named 666 Park Avenue (of course), the new managers come to learn that there esteemed guests may not be all that they seem. I will probably watch the first few episodes and see how it goes from there.

Last Resort (ABC, Thursday’s @8pm) – Premiere September 27^th

Last Resort is another show which I’m not really that sure on, the reason I say that is because of its scheduling. The premise here looks pretty good and we are set to follow a US Submarine crew who are out on exercise when they refuse to obey a direct order of firing missiles at Pakistan, their refusal makes them become the enemy and the US fire on them causing them to take refuge on a fictional island named Sainte Marina, knowing that they are now enemies of their own country they declare themselves a sovereign state with nuclear capabilities whilst also trying to find out who set them up. What puts me off? Well… Terra Nova came with an interesting premise which had a lot of people excited, but the scheduling was similar to this show in that it aired at 8pm, meaning family TV. I hope Last Resort turns out a little better but I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

Vegas (CBS, Tuesday’s @10pm) – Premiere September 25^th

Set in the 1960’s I’m not so sure that Vegas will get my full attention, I let Magic City go by without watching the Pilot after all. Vegas does come with a strong cast and a mobster storyline through so you never know, maybe I’ll surprise myself. The show is the true life story of Sheriff Ralf Lamb (played by Dennis Quaid) who formerly worked as a rancher, he was the Sheriff in Clark County from 1961 to 1979 and this charts his battle against mobster Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis). The show also stars Terra Nova’s Jason O’Mara, so I will watch the Pilot and then see how it goes from there I think.

 

Arrow (The CW, Wednesday’s @8pm) – Premiere October 10^th

I know very little about this show other than its based on a DC comic book hero named Green Arrow who is clearly not famous enough to get a movie deal. Comic book adaptations are not really my thing if I’m honest, I don’t mind the movies but I attempted to watch The Cape a while back and that was terrible so I will treat the arrow as a back up in case all of the above fails to impress me.

 

So, that’s it for the new shows coming this year, Revolution is by far and away the favourite for me and we will just see how the rest get on, there will of course be British TV to review including The X Factor which features Nicole Scherzinger, BBC's Good Cop and Luther is also set to return which this year, then there is always movies and box sets, I'm currently a couple of episodes into season one of Sons Of Anarchy courtesey of LOVEFiLM Instant which I will be reviewing soon. Any thoughts?

Returning TV Shows Fall 2012, DEXTER, HOMELAND, PERSON OF INTEREST and THE WALKING DEAD, What Will I Be Reviewing?

As you probably know there really has not been to much on TV lately, in the last three weeks that would be largely due to the Olympics, fair play but some TV would have been nice. If you read this blog often then you’ll know that I have been occupying myself with some box sets, first up was Dexter season 2, which was brilliant and then I have been watching Breaking Bad's second season, which was also brilliant. Thing is were are coming towards September now and you know what that means, good TV will be back with all of our regular favourites, here I want to give you an indication of what you can expect to see from Movies Music & Television during the Fall TV schedule of returning shows, what I will be watching and what I will be reviewing. I will review all of the returning season premieres, but from there I discuss below what I may continue with.

Dexter – Season 7 (Showtime, Sunday’s @9pm) – Premiere September 30^th

It goes without saying really that I will be covering Dexter, if you read this blog often then you know its one of my favourite shows on TV, I didn’t watch the first four seasons but I’m looking to make up for that and have already watched seasons one and two, I am thinking now that we are getting pretty close to the season 7 premiere so maybe I’ll just leave seasons three and four so I can assure my weekly Dexter fix once season seven wraps. Season 6 was not one of the best for Dexter but I still really enjoyed it, especially the ending where Debra caught her adoptive brother plunging his knife into the chest of The Doomsday Killer Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks). I will be reviewing every episode of Dexter season 7, so subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out.

Dexter season 6 reviews

6.1 – Those Kinds of Things

6.2 – Once Upon a Time

6.3 – Smokey and the Bandit

6.4 – A Horse of a Different Colour

6.5 – The Angel of Death

6.6 – Just Let Go

6.7 - Nebraska

6.8 – Sin of Omission

6.9 – Get Gellar

6.10 – Ricochet Rabbit

6.11 – Talk To the Hand

6.12  - This is the way The World Ends

Homeland – Season 2 (Showtime, Sunday’s @10pm) – Premiere September 30^th

Homeland is a show which I really enjoyed and during it’s first season I watched and reviewed most episodes, it’s hard to pick a favourite but the finale was brilliant watching protagonist Brody (Damien Lewis) come full circle ready to blow up the US President, he didn’t go through with it of course and it now looks like he is going to run for office which will see Homeland’s second season take more of a political angle, I don’t mind that but I wouldn’t say its really what I look for in a TV show, as far as Homeland goes you can be sure I will be watching every episode but I’m thinking that maybe this is going to be a season premiere review, a possible mid-season and the season finale, unless of course it is really great and I feel the need to write about it every week.

Homeland season 1 reviews

1.1 - Pilot

1.3 – Clean Skin

1.4 – Semper I

1.5 - Blindspot

1.7 – The Weekend

1.8 –Achilles Heel

1.9 - Crossfire

1.10 – Representative Brody

1.11 – The Vest

Person of Interest – Season 2 (CBS, Thursday’s @10pm) – Premiere September 27^th

Again, Person of Interest is a given, I will be watching and reviewing every single episode of this great show. Some people I heard of gave up on Mr’s Reese and Finch about three or four episodes in, all I can say to that is you should have stuck it out because is quickly became apparent that Person of Interest is not your normal weekly procedural, we now roll into the second season with questions looming large as to who Root is? And what she wants with Mr Finch, and more importantly who was on the other end of that telephone in the season finale closing scene? I’m sure POI will provide us with yet another fun thrilled ride.

1.1  – Pilot

1.2  – Ghosts

1.3  – Mission Creep

1.4   - Cura Te Ipsum

1.5  – Judgement

1.6  – The Fix

1.7  – Witness

1.9  – Get Carter

1.10          – Number Crunch

1.11          – Super

1.12          – Legacy

1.13          – Root Cause

1.14          – Wolf and Cub

1.15          – Blue Code

1.16          – Risk

1.17          – Baby Blue

1.18          – Identity Crisis

1.19          – Flesh and Blood

1.20          – Matsya Nyaya

1.21          – Many Happy Returns

1.22          – No Good Deed

1.23          – Firewall

As for episode 8 which I missed out first time around, I will watch that again when it airs in the UK, following that I will put out the review.

The Walking Dead – Season 3 (ABC, Sunday’s @9pm) – Premiere October 14th

I still have not seen season one of The Walking Dead, but I did really enjoy season two, more so towards the end and during its second stint on TV, this is one of those shows which breaks for the festive period and usually returns around February time, I reviewed a few episodes of the second season including the mightily impressive “Pretty Much Dead Already”, with season 3 I will be reviewing the premiere and then seeing where it goes from there, I will watch them all and hopefully with the introduction of all the new characters there will be something to talk about other than zombies.

The Walking Dead season 2 reviews

2.1 – What Lies Ahead

2.5 – Chupacabra

2.7 – Pretty Much Dead Already

So there is the low down on what I will be watching and reviewing in all of our favourite returning drams this year, I’ll be back tomorrow with a list of new shows coming to TV this fall and I’ll talk there on which ones I will be watching and adding to the weekly reviews, ideally there will be about two.

Movie Review: BLITZ (2011) Starring Jason Statham

Blitz is a movie which I have known about for a good while now, and to be honest I’ve never really felt the urge to watch it, mainly because it’s a British movie and typically the sort of thing I don’t care for to much. However thanks to the folks down at Lovefilm HQ this ended up being my latest Blu-ray rental. I found myself with a couple of free hours (unusually) the other day and decided to take advantage giving Jason Statham’s latest (almost) kick ass action fest a run for its money.

Starring: Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, Zawe Ashton, David Morrissey and Luke Evans

The Plot

Jason Statham plays Detective Sergeant Tom Brandt, a cop who has nothing in his life other than alcohol, currently suffering from what he describes as blackouts he is in therapy after catching three youths trying to break into his car, Brandt decides that to arrest them just isn’t enough and proceeds to beat the youths to within an inch of their life with a hockey stick. Then things get worse as there is a cop killer on the loose and he seems to be targeting the station where Brandt works, problem is they know who the perpetrator is, they just need to find the evidence to charge him.

The Verdict

If it’s realism that you are after, then in terms of violence and what London “really” looks like Blitz will serve you very well, it’s a gritty dark humoured police thriller with Jason Statham doing what he does best, putting on a gruff voice, drinking and kicking ass whilst hurling abuse at his superiors. However that’s where the realism in Blitz ends, don’t get me wrong it was a very enjoyable movie and coming from someone who doesn’t normally like British East End type flicks that’s saying something, but what Blitz didn’t get right was the scenes with the police.

Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones / The Wire) is brilliant as the psychotic villain, he comes across really well, but its just a shame that a little more of why he turned out wanting to kill cops wasn’t involved at the beginning, my guess would be that he is a no one, a loner who simply wanted to make a name for himself. Thing is Gillen is the Blitz, or at least that’s the nickname he affords himself and after he dispatches three cops he is arrested, now one killing was dead of night, no witnesses, the other through the day, loads of witness, both of those are shots to the head. His final one before arrest, bludgeoning the Chief Inspector with a hammer, he then proceeds to be sick all over him. Police complain when the Blitz is allowed to walk free, as they have no solid evidence.

Realism? I don’t think so, first off The Blitz is arrested for the murder of three cops, the clothing he is wearing would be seized from him before he is placed into a police cell, here he wears the same clothing all the way through with no hint they are going to seize it. Second, he has fifty grand cash on him, police know he does not work and therefore has no means to be carrying that sort of money, it would be seized from him under the proceeds of crime act and weather charged or not he wouldn’t be given it back. Third, the biggest mistake of all, the one which would have put him in prison, DNA, yes, the police claimed to have none, hold on, after killing the chief he was sick on him, isn’t that DNA? Crime solved.

Don’t let any of that put you off, I suppose you could say I spoke to someone in the know, or maybe not. Blitz is actually a really good cop thriller, especially for a British movie, unlike Hollywood there are no brash over the top action sequences or explosions just good old hard as nails kick arse, but even Statham shows that his acting abilities extend beyond that of a martial arts expert as his dialogue in this movie is actually pretty good, especially with his superior Detective Sergeant Porter Nash (Paddy Considine, The Bourne Ultimatum).

To cap it off if its A-List Hollywood kick ass you are after then Blitz probably won’t cut it, you’d be far better off watching Statham in The Mechanic or The Transporter, but if you care for gritty darkly humours drama thrillers then Blitz will be right up your street.

The Music

Brilliant actually, really raw and grimy garage mixed with some techno, primarily used during the chase scenes, the opening title music is particularly gripping, and sets you up well for 1 hour and 30 minutes of good old fun.

Would I watch it again?

You know what? I think I would, Blitz is something you can stick on and not have to think to vigorously about, and I enjoyed it.

This Week In Cinema's..... It's All Pretty Stupid

Well following on from last weeks disappointing experiment of the weekly cinema releases over at Hubpages I now find myself back here, from now on I think I’ll leave football to Hubpages and keep movies and TV shows exclusively here, much like last week, this weeks releases are not out on Friday, the ones I’m going to mention below actually came out yesterday 24 August 2012. So what we got? Well, there is a brilliant new comedy starring just about every funny man in Hollywood, there is also a new British comedy starring Celebrity Juice front man Keith Lemon and finally a remake of the Three Stooges.

As always I’ll start with what will be the most popular movie of the week, Keith Lemon: The Film, probably not everyone’s preferred choice for the box office topper this week but over here in the UK Keith Lemon is hugely popular thanks to his hit ITV 2 show Celebrity Juice. Also starring in the movie is just about all of Keith’s “celebrity” friends, most of who have been involved with movies and TV in some way or another. I’ll be honest it’s a pretty shitty premise which charts the rags to riches story of TV personality Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, Francis also wrote the movie where he plays his alter ego Lemon who invents a phone with a light up lemon on the back (supposedly the iPhone) that he sells for loads of money, leading him to a life of fame and fortune as well as a relationship with actress Kelly Brook. Take a look at the trailer below.

I’ll be honest I’m actually a big fan of Keith Lemon or Leigh Francis, whatever you want to call him, I loved Celebrity Juice, but for me I think Lemon has sold the alter ego thing to far down the line now, his latest reality TV show Lemon La Vida Loca is deplorable and as much as I may watch this I fear that I will be cringing and switching off after about ten minutes.

Next one to mention this week is The Watch starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughan, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade. Again like Keith Lemon above The Watch comes with a very silly premise, only this time it’s handled Hollywood style in the manner we have come to expect from all involved. The guys basically form themselves a neighbourhood watch
team in order to escape the humdrum lives they lead, however the job quickly becomes serious when they realise that the boring town they live in has actually been taken over by aliens who are posing as your typical American suburbanites. Now, “The Watch” has a job on their hands not only to save the town they live in but the entire world.

I saw the trailer for The Watch a while ago now and I have to say it looks really, really funny. It’s not one I would go to the cinema and see but you can be sure that I will be checking it out at some point.

Last one to mention this week is The Three Stooges starring Sean Hayes, Chris iamantopoulos and Will Sassso, I’m pretty sure this is a remake or re-hash although I have never actually seen the original (that I can remember), I have heard it referred to plenty times but never had the viewing experience, which I’ve heard is pretty good fun. All I can think is that this must be the week for stupid and silly movie releases as this like the other two seems to be a no brainer comedy (kind of like Dumb & Dumber, just not as funny). I don’t have to go to much into the plot here but basically Larry, Curly and Moe who work as caretakers in the orphanage where they were brought up end up embroiled in a murder plot which sees them starring in a hit reality TV show. Check out the trailer below.

Yeah, looks pretty stupid right? I don’t think I will be in a hurry to see the Stooges at the cinema or on DVD, but who knows? If it gains a big enough following then maybe I’ll be forced into taking a look.

TV Review: SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Starring Andy Whitfield

As you know there really is not much on TV right now, of late I have been filling in my time with box sets such as Dexter seasons one and two as well as the same from Breaking Bad, on a weekly basis I’m watching only Falling Skies season 2 and have decided to keep two more seasons of Dexter and Breaking Bad until they have wrapped for their upcoming seventh and fifth seasons respectively. I got home from work late to yet again nothing on TV and decided to turn to a DVD box set which I’ve had sitting for quite some time now, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, earlier in the year I watched Spartacus: Vengeance which quickly became my favorite show on TV all be it a different actor playing Spartacus. After one episode of Blood and Sand I was hooked on what turned out to be an ultra violent show with blood and gore a plenty.
 
I think too many people took this show a little too seriously, it is what it is really. Fair enough it’s not exactly historically correct (or so I’ve been told) but I didn’t really care, there was enough in storyline, acting ability, sex, and of course out and out violence to more than keep my interest. This opening season sees the rise of Spartacus a Thracian persuaded to join the Roman auxiliary to fight the Gatae by Legatos Claudius Glaber, however Glaber goes back on his word and switches his interest to the Mithridates in order to gain higher standing with the Roman Senate, it’s a move which the Thracian’s don’t take kindly and a soldier with no name is condemned to death in a Gladiator ring whilst his wife Sura is sold into slavery. The soldier refuses to be defeated and kills the four Gladiators sent to execute him becoming a favorite of the Capua crowd, he is sold to Batiatus (John Hannah) and begins life as the most famous Gladiator of them all, Spartacus.
 

I didn’t really know anything about the actors involved in Spartacus before I started watching but they very quickly get your attention here, whether that’s because of all the naked scenes or just the brilliant blood thirsty violence that’s on display I’m not sure but Spartacus himself, the late Andy Whitfield did put in a brilliant performance as the Thracian warrior and added real believability to his character, Andy actually picked Liam McIntyre to be his replacement in the latest season of the show. Also putting in the other noteworthy performance was British actor John Hannah, who plays Batiatus, the dominoes of the house, dropping F-bombs as there often called on the Internet Hannah puts Batiatus across brilliantly as the power crazy Dominoes wanting to better himself in politics and become the Magistrate with one eye firmly on Rome, his ruthlessness is brutal for such a little guy it’s often hard to believe that the physically superior Gladiator’s didn’t jump him before Spartacus encouraged them too, the reason? Before Spartacus all Gladiators in the house were fighting to take the crown of champion of Capua, a most prestigious award and one that could elevate their status in the house of Batiatus and even win them their freedom.
 
Crixus (Manu Bennett) is the champion of Capua throughout most of this season, mostly due to the fact that it’s a title that does not interest Spartacus, his only concern is that of his wife Sura and her safe return. Once given the encouragement of course Spartacus takes the mantle defeating one of Capua’s most feared Gladiators and the man who even defeated Doctore (Peter Mensah), Spartacus takes the crown and so continues the bickering between he and Crixus. I don’t want to go into to much story, obviously that will give the game away if you haven’t seen the show but its also available in history (on Wikipedia) as the show does follow the journey of Spartacus, this is the beginning and the story behind why he lead such a massive and successful slave rebellion during a time when the Romans reigned supreme.
 

I often wonder when watching shows and movies like Spartacus, Gladiator, Rome and 300 if things really were that brutal back then, they certainly lived in a very harsh environment and I suppose the shows and movies are based on real life events so it must have been as bad if not worse for people in slavery, or those who lived free lives but did not have a high standing within the Roman government, it seems if you lived in Rome you were wealthy, if you were a Dominoes you had high standing, if you were a Magistrate same goes, these people were untouchable and free to do as they pleased regardless of repercussions on those of a lesser standing.
 
Spartacus: Blood and Sand may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I certainly enjoyed it as I did with Vengeance and God’s of the Arena. For me this is a show where you can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the excitement on the screen as the back stabbing on all levels builds to one brilliant finale where Spartacus does exactly as instructed by his wife, kills them all.

TV Review: BREAKING BAD Season 2 - Walter White. Drug Trade Kingpin

Breaking Bad is a show which I wish was better televised in the UK, not only does it get rubbish scheduling, but not many people in the UK have even heard of the show which is a real shame considering how brilliant it is. I really wish I got into Breaking Bad earlier, but I suppose that would have spoilt the enjoyment of watching it back on DVD and not having to wait a week for a new episode. Season 2 picks up exactly where Season 1 left off, just as Walt (Bryan Cranston) has secured a reputation as somewhat of a hard nosed drug dealer he is forced into a situation where his life is threatened once again as psycho drug dealer Tuco (Raymond Cruz) has them in a scrap yard delivering the latest batch of quality crystal meth. It’s not long before Tuco shows his true colours beating one of his enforcers to death and tells Walt and Jesse (Aaron Paul) “Your Done”, a message which Jesse interprets as they will be next on Tuco’s list as witnesses to murder, but are they not more valuable to him as cooks of the best street meth ever?

Season 2 has the same monochrome opening every episode, a burnt teddy bear with one eye, whilst the other is being washed away down Walt’s pool filter, it’s a brilliant flash forward opener that acts as an episode almost on it’s own as the flash forward story moves on every episode eventually climaxing with two dead bodies in a car outside of Walters house, but is it all what we think? Is Tuco responsible, not likely as Walt quickly discovers during this season that his transformation from mild-mannered family man into drug trade kingpin is one where people getting hurt is inevitable, and its either him or Tuco, Walt quickly discovers that his wish in season 1 of no one else getting hurt is not going to happen should he continue to cook crystal meth, so he devises a plan to get rid of Tuco by killing him with ricin, but not before some hilarious moments of Walt and Jesse being held hostage by Tuco in the desert with his father who can’t talk.

This season really does see the rise of Walter White, or should I say Heisenberg, Walt’s alter ego and name on the street. Very quickly after dispatching Tuco Walt gets back into selling Crystal Meth, problem is it’s not going out in big enough quantities, he need to move more product and make money quicker. Walter instructs Jesse to get some foot soldiers who can do their dealing, one of them goes and sells drugs to an undercover cop, gets arrested and they try to roll him for info on Heisenberg. Cue new characters in corrupt solicitor Saul Bresnan, a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy, he gets Walt’s foot solider the best deal at the station before going into business with Walt and Jesse in an attempt to sell the seven pounds of Meth they have left to get rid of.

With the action in this season moving so quickly in the first few episodes you are at times thinking, slow down, you can’t keep this up. But hey, the hype this show receives is well worthy because they can keep it up, maybe not with action all the time but the drama moments and character development are all dealt with really well, Walter is facing a real moral dilemma as he is struggling to be the man his family want him to be, knowing that he must turn into something else in order to protect them, this doesn’t go well for his relationship with Skyler (Anna Gunn) who does eventually leave him before the season 2 conclusion. Yet, Breaking Bad still manages to make you laugh at everyday situations regarding family life, the “industrial hazards” and “risks” of being a drug dealer and the realities of the drug trade which Walt and Jesse are learning as they go, yeah Jesse has been involved in drugs but nothing to this scale. I also liked the sense of responsibility that Walt now feels for Jesse having spoke to Jane’s father in the bar, it was also great to see Aaron Paul hold his own on screen alongside Bryan Cranston, considering that Jesse’s character was originally going to be killed off at the end of the first season they made a great choice keeping him in my opinion.

The corrupt solicitor also makes a great character here, Saul acts almost as a business consultant to Walt and Jesse training them in what’s required and making sure that any mess made (usually by Jesse) is thoroughly cleaned up before police arrive on scene. It’s a relationship which I’m sure will build in season 3 but I’m sure that it won’t take Walter White long to figure that he is the guy paying the solicitor and not the other way round, he should be doing what Walt says and as his rise to the top of the drug trade continues that’s a story arch which I’m pretty sure we will see. Another brilliant acusition to the series is the arrival of drug trade kingpin Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) who is Walt's new outlet to a nation wide network of drug dealers, it would seem that eventually Walt wants to model himself on Gus, the most feard drug trade boss who to everyone else in his life is just a resturant owner and all round nice guy.

This is another brilliant season of Breaking Bad, in fact I would go as far as to say that it’s better than season 1, that’s probably helped by the fact that the third episode of this season should have actually been the season 1 finale, however this show premiered during the Hollywood writers strike, hence production of the show halted. Anyway it’s done now, and no harm has been done Breaking Bad is well and truly cemented as one of the best shows on TV right now.

A Review of "MOONRISE KINGDOM" - Guest Post

Capturing young love with the use of a camera is a tricky business. Few directors have ever been able to encapsulate the spirit of it with such grace and intelligence. To be clear, when I say young love, I don’t mean young adult. Brilliant films such as "Say Anything" and "Sixteen Candles" have not only proved to be successful, but indeed spawned an entire generation of new romantics. When I say young love, I mean during the awkward prepubescent stage of our lives we all know so well, when our interest in the opposite sex teeters between curiosity and immature taunting. Few filmmakers have been able to conjure a film so elegantly about this kind of romance without being pandering or, in some cases, kind of creepy. Then again, most filmmakers don’t possess the skills and the cinematic prowess that current hipster darling Wes Anderson has, and was able to employ for his new stunner "Moonrise Kingdom."

The director of such new millennium masterpieces as "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" has crafted one of the best films of his young, yet already storied career with this charming and deeply personal tale about two young outcasts who run far away from the families and the society that disapproves of their misanthropic manners and pursue their romance. Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) meet when he awkwardly confronts her after her performance in a school play and asks her a series of unconventional questions. Her interested is immediately piqued, and they commence a pen pal relationship for a long period of time. The two children, both of whom are products of broken homes, decide to build their own version of paradise, from which the nomenclature of the film derives. Conflict arises when the young lovers are aggressively pursued by Sam’s boy scout troop, Suzy’s well to do attorney parents and a caring and similarly tragically lovestruck police officer (Bruce Willis).

In many respects, even more so than "Tenenbaums," this feels like the picture Anderson was born to make. His idiosyncratic stylings, which sometimes can be disarming, are welcome and perfectly congruent to his themes. The quirky humor is on full display here, utilizing Anderson’s typical casting of Bill Murray (playing Suzy’s aloof father) and oddball characteristics, including Suzy’s mother’s use of a bullhorn in order to communicate with the family. As well as with other Anderson films, the visual style is reminiscent of what one would find in a children’s storybook.

If anything is different here, it’s the optimism. Anderson’s films are notorious for dwelling on themes such as manic depression, lost love and social isolation, despite how cutesy and hilarious they are. There aren’t too many directors who would be bold enough to insert an unnerving suicide scene into an ostensible comedy. Yet without the use of grand operatics and corny dialogue, Anderson has conjured a sweet tart of a romantic comedy, meant to stir the nostalgia of all who watch. There’s no love quite as your first love, consummated or not. This film is delicate and touching.

Of course, Anderson is helped out by an extraordinary ensemble. Murray is at his droll best, and the chemistry shared between him and onscreen wife (the everwonderful Frances McDormand) is so natural it’s hard to believe they have yet to be paired. Edward Norton plays the troop leader of Sam’s boy scout outfit, and he is charismatic and well-suited for an Anderson film. The real standouts here are the children and Bruce Willis. Both Gilman and Hayward are cinematic newbies, but you wouldn’t know it. They both bring an astonishing level of maturity that makes it easier for audiences to relate. And Willis, an actor that one would not so readily associate with Wes Anderson, is the emotional heavyweight of the film, and he handles this role with a finesse rarely seen in his filmography heretofore.

Ultimately, the film relies on Anderson however. The acclaimed filmmaker has long been a cult favorite, and has delivered a bevy of films adored by college undergrads pursuing degrees in the liberal arts and their professors. He has yet to achieve real mainstream success. Judging by the box office statistics, this is the closest he has come, because this time Anderson has touched on themes more universal to the human experience: Childhood innocence and love. And just like he has tackled previous themes, he does so adeptly with "Moonrise Kingdom."

Zack Mandell is a movie enthusiast, writer of movie reviews, and owner of www.movieroomreviews.com which has great information on actors such as Bill Murray. He writes extensively about the movie industry for sites such as Gossip Center, Yahoo, NowPublic, and Helium.

New DEXTER Season 7 Trailer

It's been a while since Showtime released the Dexter season 7 two minute sneak peek and now there back with this latest Dexter trailer which is by far and away the most revealing one we have seen. Check it below.

Yeah, by far the best trailer so far and are we finally going to see a different side to our favourite Miami based serial killer? It seems like Dexter is going to be living on the edge during this penultimate season and his character is going to go slightly psychotic compared to the usually cool and collected man we would usually see. The big question we had last time round was weather or not Deb would turn the man she loves into the police, it seems she won't and although we could have guessed that it still seems like its going to be a real battle for Dexter to convince her that he is just the man she has known all these years. Debra is going to be looking into the Bay Harbour Butcher files and she discovers a link, the way Dexter had Travis Marshall's body wrapped up is exactly the way The Butcher done it, the pieces are all finally falling into place for Debra as promised. Asides from that Laguerta discovers one of Dexter's blood slides at the crime scene which Dexter has now burnt out, Laguerta "who uses blood slides?" Masuka, "the only person who used blood slides was the Bay Harbour Butcher". So, not only will Debra be looking at the Butcher case but it seems like maybe the whole of Miami Metro will returning to one it's most famous cases. That would cause Masuka to become involved and in the trailer it looks like Dexter kills him, or is it just one of those sequences which Dexter runs through his head? Just like back in season 2 when he contemplated telling Debra that he was the Bay Harbour Butcher. Away from Masuka there is the new Miami Metro intern, the guy who I warned would be someone for Dexter to worry about after he posted a frozen had to Dexter from the case of The Ice Truck Killer. In the trailer Louis says he wants to see Dexter lying in his own piss, why? What does he know about Dexter? And more importantly will Dexter kill him? Here's hoping.

An image from episode 2 "The Shadow Knows"

I really can't wait for season 7 of Dexter to start, not long now September 30th at 9pm on Showtime, be there or be square, as they say.

This Week In Cinema's..... 80's Action is Back, Seth Rogan Gets Serious and A British Wedding

Hello, and welcome to the weekly UK cinema release post which this week comes with a bit of a twist. As some of you will know Movies, Music & Television.com is not the only place I write, I also have commitments elsewhere which have recently been lagging. To make up for that I'm going to start a little experiment, maybe to run for a month or so and see how it goes. From now on the Weekly UK cinema releases will be published at Hubpages, it's all the same once you get there, a bit about the movie, the trailer and what I think it will be like, and more importantly no one will be trying to sell you anything.

This week at the cinema there is not a whole lot going on, The Expendables 2 sees its cinema release and no doubt one of 2012's most anticipated movies will be drawing big audiences all weekend, you can go and check out the trailer for The Expendables 2 right here at Movies, Music & Television if you can't be bothered to jump over to hubpages. Also released in UK cinemas this week is a new Canadian comedy drama named Take This Waltz starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan and another couple of people who starred alongside them in some Canadian network TV show named Degrassi High. Last one to mention for the week is a British movie named The Wedding Video, it's a comedy which if you want my honest opinion looks utter garbage, if you know other wise then please let me know.

To keep reading then please feel free to jump right over to Hubpages and check out the full version which you are used too.

Movie Review: BATMAN FOREVER (1995) Starring Val Kilmer

Following the success of the recent Batman movies and a superhero poll I ran here over a year ago now, the other night I saw that Batman Forever was on TV, I’ll be honest it’s a movie that’s never really interested me, I may have seen the two originals starring Michael Keaton but I can’t really remember. Anyway I decided that since the Olympics is hogging so much of the schedule (rightly so) and there is very little on TV I may as well take a look at this and compare it to the more recent Dark Knight movies, turns out there is nothing to compare other than character names as Batman Forever would join my personal list of the worst movies I have ever seen.

Starring: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O’Donnell and Drew Barrymore

The Plot

Are you ready? This is all pretty cheesy, but basically Two-Face (Jones) formerly Harvey Dent believes Batman is responsible for causing a court room incident which caused a whole side of his face to become disfigured, for this Two-Face unleashes his very own reign of terror upon Gotham City, it’s not long before Two-Face is joined by The Riddler (Carrey) a former employee of Bruce Wayne and a computer genius who has created a way of extracting information form the Human brain whilst they are watching TV. The Riddler teams up with Two-Face to bring Batman down whilst he is busy getting to grips with Dr Meridian (Kidman), luckily for Batman former circus performer Robin the Boy Wonder is there to help out.

The Verdict

First off I’m wondering just how they got so many big names involved in this movie, I mean the guys and girls mentioned above are not amateurs, Val Kilmer is a great actor along with Tommy Lee Jones, it could be argued that Jim Carrey was probably still up and coming at this point and then Nicole Kidman (married to Tom Cruise around then, I think) what was she doing here, I’m pretty sure they must look back now and think what was I doing? Drew Barrymore was also in the movie, although I can’t remember seeing her and let’s be honest this would have been the big time for Chris O’Donnell.

I laughed at this a lot, not because it was funny, no, no. It was just so ridiculous. I think maybe having seen the more recent Batman Offerings before this one has really given me to much expectation to be lived up to in these prior movies, but you know what? I don't care because those more recent updates are far superior to this junk, I kept watching for two reasons. One, lets see how stupid this movie is, incredibly stupid actually and two, to write this review.

Chris O'Donnel doing martial arts whilst doing some laundry, so corny I almost switched off at this point, although his laundry skills are actually better than his martial art ones, pretending to be Batman to Dr Meridian "wait doesn't Batman ever kiss the girl?" How cheesy? Just then the real Batman turns up and he's pissed (not literally), his car has just been jacked by some Boy Wonder named Robin, "holy rusted metal batman" come on give me a break, on the next punch I was expecting "BANG" or "WALLOP" to appear on my screen in a purple speech bubble. Batman Forever is so fake and comic book like its difficult to take seriously, yeah I know the new ones are comic book like too but at least we get a degree of realism, some decent action, and actors who luckily have had a decent script penned for them.

I read that the best thing about this movie is probably Jim Carrey as The Riddler, he's the most eccentric one without doubt but his performance is nowhere near as good as Jack Nicholson's or the far superior Oscar winning Heath Ledgers, for me in Batman Forever Jim Carrey is just Jim Carrey, he does what you expect Carrey to do, it's no different from watching Ace Ventura. Don't get me wrong I like Jim Carrey, I think he's a funny guy, but I prefer it when he's a little more serious, ludicrous when I'm about to say that I enjoy him in movies like Bruce Almighty because it's not serious, it does of course have a serious message behind it but that's not the case in Batman Forever, funny voices are one thing but keep them for the right type of movie.

On the research for this movie I noticed that there is a character named Bane, I presume that is the same bad guy from the latest offering of The Dark Knight Rises, if so then in the older movies people find out who Batman is (George Clooney by that point), I’m wondering if that reveal is in the updated Nolan version.

The Music

The music score is provided by Bono and his pals from U2, who in my opinion fit right in with this movie seeing as they are completely shit.

Would I watch it Again

Just in case the 700 or so words you have just read didn’t quite get my point across then the answer is a definite NO.