Sorry for snoozing a bit while the new fall TV season barrels on. There are quite a number of new and returning shows to recap, so I’ll get right to it: οΎ Smallville – The usual brand of stuff. Frankly, I have no clue where this show is going or has been for the last…
Category: Animation
wall-e – Movie Review
I’ve commented before that it’s a testament to Pixar’s animation and storytelling skills that they can make hard, inanimate things like cars or generally uncute creatures like bugs, fish, rats and monsters into adorable, fun characters. That is definitely true of wall-e, where they’ve taken a bunch of robots and made them delightful, cute, and…
Kung Fu Panda – Movie Review
Is there anything more fun than a cartoon panda who does kung fu with the slacker wit and squeezable charm of Jack Black? I totally think not! What I thought was going to be another throw-away animated feature from Dreamworks (I wish I could throw away memories of Shrek 3!) was instead an awesome movie…
The Golden Compass – Movie Review
I first picked up Philip Pullman’s novel, The Golden Compass, for the typical reason: I was looking for something to fill the void between Harry Potter books. This movie adaptation was likely made with similar motives, but I think viewers expecting a Potter-esque fun-ride might be a bit disappointed or confused by Compass’s extra complexity….
Enchanted – Movie Review
When you see how easily an animated fairy tale morphs into a contemporary romantic comedy, you’ll wonder why it’s taken so long for Disney to come up with this movie. Most romantic comedies are essentially tales of storybook love dressed in modern clothing anyway. Enchanted is just a whimsically literal take on that connection. Animated…
Beowulf – Movie Review
What can we expect from a fully-computer-animated movie without Pixar in the credits or a green ogre in the lead? With Beowulf, hit director Robert Zemekis improves upon the motion-capture techniques used in his Polar Express to bring an ancient, legendary monster-slayer to vivid, digital life. Seeing it in IMAX 3-D, I was subjected to…
Alvin’s 50 Favourite Shows
Welcome to my 100th post. To honour this auspicious milestone, I’ve decided to do what many web sites seem to be doing — come up with my top 50 TV shows of all time (I started with 100, but it was just too much — and even with 50, I hope you’ll stick with me)….
The Simpsons Movie – Movie Review
“Spider-pig, Spider-pig, does whatever a spider-pig does.” … [That song is stuck in my head.] I, like every Simpsons fan out there, had such high hopes for The Simpsons Movie (not that it was 18 years in the making — I mean, how bogus is it to “hope” that a TV show you enjoy will…
Ratatouille – Movie Review
The movie’s been out for a while now, and the verdict is already in regarding Pixar’s latest movie, Ratatouille. Critics and audience are proclaiming it a great animated masterpiece, possibly the best Pixar movie so far. For my money, that honour still goes to The Incredibles (also written and directed by Ratatouille creator Brad Bird)….
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 