So you clearly have a PC.
I would seriously suggest Adobe Premiere. It's one of the seriously great video editing softwares out there. I've heard about something called Vegas? Never used it, but I've heard that's great too.
As for visual effects, if you're wanting to get serious, Adobe After Effects is your best bet.
I use Final Cut, but that's because I've got a Mac. Final Cut is a Mac-user thing only. I seriously am thinking about getting Premiere, though.
Yeah... Windows Movie Maker seriously sucks. Of course, I haven't used it in like 8 years so it probably is a bit better now than it was then. I still preferred iMovie. iMovie HD, yo.