MOVIES - Now that we are in a new year, lets take a peek at some of the most anticipated films coming to the screens in 2012.
Of course the top movie everyone is waiting for is The Dark Knight Rises which arrives in mid July. The reportedly final installment of the Christoper Nolan Batman series is set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight with a new terrorist named Bane arriving in Gotham City, bringing the city's police force to their limits; Batman is forced to return after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes.
Another hot flick arriving in May is the much anticipated The Avengers. Bringing together the super-heroes from The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America on the big screen, the film is one of the most planned-out strategies in Hollywood history. The Joss Whedon directed feature has Thor's brother returning to earth and bringing havoc with him. This inspires Nick Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. to bring its members together to form The Avengers, to stop Loki and his army. The Avengers is my most anticipated movie this year, thanks to Whedon who brought us such great story telling like Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
At the end of the year another familiar story is returning, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The Peter Jackson-directed feature arrives in December which is the story of a young Bilbo Baggins and a group of dwarfs trying to reclaim a treasure taken from them by a dragon named Smaug. With Jackson at the helm again, I am sure the magic that was created for the Lord of the Rings trilogy will resurface and lighten our hearts again in this two part series.
Also later this year, we will set our eyes on one of the hottest Bonds ever. Daniel Craig returns as 007 in Skyfall. The film, which has had many setbacks due to studio financial issues, will finally arrive in November. In the latest Bond adventure, Bond's loyalty to M will be tested as her past comes back to haunt her and also leads to MI6 being under attack.
Other films which deserve a mention are Underworld: Awakening, which arrives this weekend. The fourth installment in the series has Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) return. In March, Sam Worthington returns in Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to the 2010 blockbuster. This summer we will have Universal bring us a new Bourne movie, which this time will star Jeremy Renner as a new CIA operative. Prometheus, directed by Alien filmmaker Ridley Scott will be slightly linked to the movie which made Scott famous, and stars Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron. Also the remake Total Recall will arrive starring Colin Farrell, and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return in Men In Black 3. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Norris, Willis and all action stars you can think of arrive in The Expendables 2. The epic film World War Z, starring Brad Pitt as a UN representative writing a report on the great zombie war is already being planned as a trilogy, it's first installment arriving Dec 21st.
There's much more quality viewing experiences coming your way, so expect to hit the theaters a few times this year as there is plenty to see and enough variety for everyone.
MUSIC - In 2011 we saw many great album releases with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kelly Clarkson, Adele to name a few. With a new year upon us, 2012 is set to rock: some of the big albums coming out include No Doubt, Killers, Fleetwood Mac and Garbage returning to the stage. However the most anticipated album comes from the Queen herself, Madonna. Having not released any new albums since 2008's Hard Candy, Madonna will hit the charts in late March with a yet-untitled release. The first single, titled Give Me All Your Love, will be released in about a month and features Nicki Minaj and MIA, followed by her performance at the Superbowl Halftime Show. A video has already been shot for the single, and will be released around the same time. Aside from the album release we will see Madonna's second movie as director, W.E., hit theaters globally. After the album's release, Madonna will also hit a new world tour, which will have a stop in Toronto this summer. The new album will be a dance-oriented collection which will have the influences of hot French DJ Martin Solveig and William Orbit from her Ray of Light era. It will also be Madonna's first album with Live Nation released by Interscope records. Madonna is set to amaze fans around the globe in 2012 and once again bring us one of the most anticipated World Tours this year.
TELEVISION - Many TV viewers have been wondering why so many shows now only come with a handful of episodes per season. We have had shows like Walking Dead, Terra Nova, American Horror Story among others on successful short runs. Take HBO for example, which has brought us The Sopranos, True Blood, and Entourage, while Showtime bring us shows like Dexter, Homeland and Weeds. With their success, networks are taking notice and trying out the same formula. Also with network budget cuts, the new formula seems to be helping bring new shows to the masses. Other reasons why a shorter season benefits a show is due to less filler episodes which seem to bore the audience, and also the anticipation build up for the return of such a show. Being on air for only a few months in the year seems to make audiences crave the show more. This new formula seems to work for networks, who have struggled bringing new shows to TV. With the short season formula working well for many networks, expect more shows to appear with shorter episode orders in the future. Now lets just sit and wait half a year for the return of True Blood and even longer for the new season of American Horror Story.
TELEVISION - Family-friendly ABC has had a rough year. With the failures of Charlie's Angels and Pan Am, the network has had no luck with its new scripted shows. ABC cancelled most of its roster from last season, to make room for new programs but the gamble did not pay off. If they had kept No Ordinary Family or V, the network would have had more success this season; now they are struggling to reach viewers, which might mean needing to bring back some fan favorite shows from cancellation.
MOVIES - With all the remakes and sequels which have been coming from Hollywood recently, it is very obvious that new studios have a hard time finding new ideas which appeal to audiences. With this year's many sequels like Transformers, Scream 4, The Hangover Part II, Fast Five and also reboots like Fright Night, Arthur, Footloose and so many more. Studios are finding ways to bring older movies back from the dead and bring them to new audiences. However, with so many sequels and reboots, Tinsel Town has forgotten how smart their movie-goers are as the quality of some sequels like The Hangover Part II or reboots like Fright Night have been less than stellar. It goes to show that some studios are just after a quick buck, by bringing back the same formula that made the original famous. Audiences are asking for more quality and better plots than just reliving the same experience.
Some studios that have listened to their audience and are working to bring better quality movies to the big screen include FOX, which this year had enormous success with its reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes, while Paramount brought us Footloose which some believed was better than the original. With studios learning to be smarter at movie making, expect 2012 to be a great movie year with features like Total Recall and American Reunion. Also, Warner Bros. has high expectations for The Dark Knight Rises while Sony has high hopes for The Amazing Spider Man and a new Men In Black 3.
2012. 
magic that was created for the Lord of the Rings trilogy will resurface and lighten our hearts again in this two part series. 
i Rapace and Charlize Theron. Also the remake Total Recall will arrive starring Colin Farrell, and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return in Men In Black 3. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Norris, Willis and all action stars you can think of arrive in The Expendables 2. The epic film World War Z, starring Brad Pitt as a UN representative writing a report on the great zombie war is already being planned as a trilogy, it's first installment arriving Dec 21st. 
Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kelly Clarkson, Adele to name a few. With a new year upon us, 2012 is set to rock: some of the big albums coming out include No Doubt, Killers, Fleetwood Mac and Garbage returning to the stage. However the most anticipated album comes from the Queen herself, Madonna. Having not released any new albums since 2008's Hard Candy, Madonna will hit the charts in late March with a yet-untitled release. 
The first single, titled Give Me All Your Love, will be released in about a month and features Nicki Minaj and MIA, followed by her performance at the Superbowl Halftime Show. A video has already been shot for the single, and will be released around the same time. Aside from the album release we will see Madonna's second movie as director, W.E., hit theaters globally. After the album's release, Madonna will also hit a new world tour, which will have a stop in Toronto this summer. The new album will be a dance-oriented collection which will have the influences of hot French DJ Martin Solveig and William Orbit from her Ray of Light era. It will also be Madonna's first album with Live Nation released by Interscope records. Madonna is set to amaze fans around the globe in 2012 and once again bring us one of the most anticipated World Tours this year. 
per season. We have had shows like Walking Dead, Terra Nova, American Horror Story among others on successful short runs. Take HBO for example, which has brought us The Sopranos, True Blood, and Entourage, while Showtime bring us shows like Dexter, Homeland and Weeds. With their success, networks are taking notice and trying out the same formula. Also with network budget cuts, the new formula seems to be helping bring new shows to the masses. Other reasons why a shorter season benefits a show is due to less filler episodes which seem to bore the audience, and also the anticipation build up for the return of such a show. Being on air for only a few months in the year seems to make audiences crave the show more. This new formula seems to work for networks, who have struggled bringing new shows to TV. With the short season formula working well for many networks, expect more shows to appear with shorter episode orders in the future. Now lets just sit and wait half a year for the return of True Blood and even longer for the new season of American Horror Story. 
Pan Am, the network 
has had no luck with its new scripted shows. ABC cancelled most of its roster from last season, to make room for new programs but the gamble did not pay off. If they had kept No Ordinary Family or V, the network would have had more success this season; now they are struggling to reach viewers, which might mean needing to bring back some fan favorite shows from cancellation.
very obvious that new studios have a hard time finding new ideas which appeal to audiences. With this year's many sequels like Transformers, Scream 4, The Hangover Part II, Fast Five and also reboots like Fright Night, Arthur, Footloose and so many more. Studios are finding ways to bring older movies back from the dead and bring them to new audiences. However, with so many sequels and reboots, Tinsel Town has forgotten how smart their movie-goers are as the quality of some sequels like The Hangover Part II or reboots like Fright Night have been less than stellar. It goes to show that some studios are just after a quick buck, by bringing back the same formula that made the original famous. Audiences are asking for more quality and better plots than just reliving the same experience. 
