The Online Reflector

While a lot of subpar entertainment managed to seep through this summer, but phenomenal albums such as Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes’ “Here;” movies such as “The Avengers,” and television shows such as “The Newsroom” did their best to carry the summer of 2012.

In addition to the popular films top which moviegoers flocked, a couple of independent films deserved an honorable mention. Released in June, director Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” chronicled a love story between two children. Anderson’s unique perspective on the seriousness of young love set this film apart from others featuring a similar storyline. Released in July, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” gave viewers insight into the decisions that a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy must make when faced with challenges such as her father’s ill health and supernatural creatures called aurochs.

As for this summer’s blockbusters, if past box office ticket sales were any indication, superhero films never fail to draw a crowd. Multiply those by about five, and you get “The Avengers.” With Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Ironman and the Hulk all in the same movie, “The Avengers” broke box office records and was estimated to have raked in $1 billion worldwide in just the first 19 days after it was released.

Movie reboots and remakes such as “The Amazing Spiderman” and “Total Recall” (an Arnold Schwarzenegger film made 22 years ago) also were released this summer, although they were not particularly necessary. Regardless, they did end up being fairly popular. But honestly, it’s not as if anyone was dying to see another 90s Schwarzenegger movie. And there was no way “Spiderman” was going to have enough substance to compete with “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Another anticipated summer film was “Prometheus,” part of the same classic series as “Alien” and “Aliens,” which were released in 1979 and 1986, respectively.

Undoubtedly, the biggest movie of the summer was undoubtedly the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Opening at $249 million, in spite of the shooting in Colorado, the movie received mixed ratings from both fans and critics. But judging from the fact that it remains No. 1 at the box office after four weeks, most people are at least going to see it, some even more than once.

In music, pop, rap and hip hop albums dominated the summer. Among these were Maroon 5’s “Overexposed” and Frank Ocean’s “Channel ORANGE.” The-Dream claimed his new album “Love IV MMXII” is the best he’s ever made; Rick Ross’ album, “God Forgives, I Don’t” takes home the gold for the best title; and Justin Bieber’s “Believe” was not that bad, astonishingly.

“No Lie,” featuring Drake, was the first single from rapper 2 Chainz’s newly released album, “Based on a TRU Story.” While 2 Chainz is not necessarily a newcomer, he has until recently been unable to break out of anonymity. But since changing his stage name last year and becoming involved in Kanye West’s label, G.O.O.D. Music, 2 Chainz has been making strides to becoming a popular figure in the rap industry.

Finally, in television, cable shows continued to earn spectacular ratings from critics. The opening season of “The Newsroom” premiered on HBO in June, and starring Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Allison Pill, John Gallagher Jr. and Olivia Munn. As indicated by the title, the show follows a cable news show. Writer Aaron Sorkin of “The West Wing” does a fabulous job of marrying political and personal (usually dysfunctional) issues, and the result is a clever depiction of the entertaining relationships between the show’s anchor and producers.

Now in its fifth and final season, AMC’s “Breaking Bad” continues to impress. In the past four seasons, viewers have watched high school chemistry teacher turned drug lord Walter White and his business partner Jesse Pinkman increase their power and influence, and this summer, they reached an all-time high.

Because this summer produced such record-breaking entertainment, audiences have high hopes for the upcoming fall. And musicians and the makers of television and films have promised not to disappoint.