HBO likes what they’re seeing in the third season of Boardwalk Empire, which just got underway recently. It’s been announced that the show has been renewed again, giving us a fourth season of the hit period drama next fall.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it’s set in 1920s Atlantic City (with visits to New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia as necessary) during Prohibition. It follows Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Steve Buscemi) as a friendly public figure by day who leads a dark second life of crime as the man to see about buying liquor.

Boardwalk Empire — The Complete Second Season
Blu-ray l DVD
CREATOR: Terence Winter
DIRECTORS: Timothy Van Patten, Allen Coulter, Jeremy Podeswa, More
WRITERS: Terence Winter, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, More
STARRING: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Jack Huston, Shea Whigham, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Anatol Yusef, Gretchen Mol, Paz de la Huerta, Michael Kenneth Williams, Dabney Coleman, William Forsythe, Anthony Laciura
HBO Studios
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2012

I’ve made my love for HBO no secret, with two of my all-time favorite shows going strong right now in Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, and a slew of others I’ve adored over the years. So instead of reviewing season 2 of Boardwalk on Blu-ray, I’ll just be swooning about it for a bit before sharing what bonus features there are to enjoy.

Where season 1 established the incredible collection of characters the show has to offer, season 2 expands on them (those who have survived, anyway), creating an intricately crafted web of often interconnecting storylines. The primary focus of the second season is again Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Steve Buscemi) and James Darmody (Michael Pitt). But instead of being the boy Nucky helped to raise, Jimmy has reunited with his estranged father, the Commodore (Dabney Coleman), and is leading the charge to take control of Atlantic City and the alcohol coming in and out of it. As you might expect, Nucky isn’t fond of anyone trying to muscle him out of his position of power, let alone the man he’s helped to make who he is, and the two go to war. The results of this power struggle trickle down, affecting anyone associated with the two parties and leading to some interesting new business partners.

HBO has announced the dates that Boardwalk Empire and Treme will return to your TVs, both entering into their third seasons, respectively.

Boardwalk Empire, which stars Steve Buscemi as corrupt politician Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, is set to begin its 12-episode season 3 on Sunday, September 16th at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. The show also stars Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Jack Huston, Stephen Graham, Michael Stuhlbarg, Vincent Piazza, Paul Sparks, Michael KennethWilliams, Gretchen Mol, and Bobby Cannavale.

London Boulevard
DIRECTED BY: William Monahan
WRITTEN BY: William Monahan
STARRING: Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone, Anna Friel, David Thewlis, Ben Chaplin, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan
IFC Films
RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2011 (on demand); November 11, 2011 (limited theatrical release)

Writer William Monahan has made quite a name for himself as a screenwriter, crafting the scripts for films such as Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies, Edge of Darkness, and The Departed, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Now Monahan is stepping behind the camera for his directorial debut, London Boulevard (which he also wrote), but can he find the same kind of success as the man in charge?

The movie follows Mitchel (Colin Farrell), a very dangerous man who’s just getting out of prison. As is the case with most who come out of prison, he’s now facing two paths: one leading right back to his old life, while the other leads to a fresh start. Mitch tries to go legit and wants nothing to do with the life of crime he once knew, but unfortunately for him that’s a difficult feat to accomplish when some of the people closest to you are trying to pull you back in.

Just yesterday we found ourselves wondering if the new Universal Pictures take on the Snow White fairy tale, titled Snow White and the Huntsman, could cast known actors in all seven dwarf roles.

The reports yesterday were that Ian McShane (Deadwood, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) had been cast as the lead dwarf, Caesar, and that Oscar nominee Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Enemy at the Gates), Eddie Izzard (Shadow of the Vampire, Cars 2), Toby Jones (Harry Potter, Captain America: The First Avenger), Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire, Snatch), and Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, V for Vendetta) were all in talks for other dwarf roles.

This left one more, which has now been filled.