•Thundercats are ho! Or should that be hos, judging by the body on Cheetara, who's drawn to look like a slightly feline Jessica Rabbit. Yep, the Eighties cartoon about a group of anthropomorphised cats on the distant planet of Thundera is back in new form on the Cartoon Network. And it's pretty darn good. Though purists may argue nothing beats the original, the 2011 spin is more complex, more interesting and has way better music (disregarding the theme tune, which was always awesome). It's simply more cinematic. The first episode sets up a universe where Lion-o is a prince feeling trapped within Luddite palace walls, having to hear tales of a land outside full of "technology". Tigra is his older brother this time around, Panthro a general (seemingly dead in the first ep). Meanwhile Wilykat and Wikykat are street urchins and Cheetara some kind of martial artist for hire. I didn't get a chance to see Mom-Ra unleashed - though he's about for sure - but it's a pleasure to see a treasured memory from my childhood resurrected with such flair. It debuts on September 10th at 6.30pm.
•I've just been told my order for Community Series Two on Amazon has been dispatched and I can't wait. Bizarrely overlooked in this country so far (the first series garnered about eight viewers on Viva), this college-set sitcom is one of the cleverest and funniest in a long time. Do rent/buy the first series on iTunes - paintballing, movie spoofs and Chevy Chase are all given a new lease of life. Now I'm just saving up for the second run of Parenthood.
•I'm a massive Neil Diamond fan. There, I've said it. He's one of the greatest singer-songwriters in history and I'll have stern words with anyone who thinks otherwise. So, it would be remiss not to offer him congratulations for being venerated at the prestigious 34th Kennedy Center Honors. He'll get his gong alongside Meryl Streep and Yo-Yo Ma. Maybe he and Meryl can do You Don't Bring Me Flowers with Yo-Yo backing them up on cello?
•British films are on the whole maligned in their own country (a problem in itself, worthy of a separate blog). They're either critically-acclaimed and make two pence at the box office (the recent Kill List), or star Danny Dyer. Luckily writer/director Joe Cornish was the rare exception with his debut Attack The Block, giving the alien invasion genre a terrific London spin. The DVD is out on September 19th and it's highly recommended. For those of you who haven't seen the film, you can. And for those that have, the extras are great. Not only because we get to see the creature effects and how un-stage schooly the cast are (and what about Jodie Whittaker's real accent? Didn't realise it was that strong) - but also because the commentaries are done by film geeks (Cornish, exec producer Edgar Wright) who know what constitutes a bad one.
•Finally, the new Fright Night is already out in cinemas, but I was amused during a recent interview with stars Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse who told of their recent trip to the Big Brother house. They only recognised Tara Reid and as Anton explains: "I was like 'Bunny Lebowski!' and she gave me a dirty look." My question is this - why is the 'actress' so sniffy about being remembered for that classic movie? After all, apart from the first American Pie (which she was terrible in), it's the only good film she's ever done?!