I know Legion didn’t really look that good, but it had Paul Bettany as Michael the (de-winged) archangel coming to earth to kick butt and protect a pregnant waitress from Nowheresville, USA. Her baby was going to save humankind from extinction at the hands of angels carrying out the wrath of God. Somewhere in that…
Category: Fantasy
The Last Airbender – Movie Review
M. Night Shyamalan used to be one of my favourite directors. He knew just how to captivate the imagination with his storytelling; to bring a bit of wonder and fantasy to the ordinary world (even his American Express commercial capitalized on that specialty). However, his recent efforts have shown that he doesn’t really understand what…
How To Train Your Dragon – Movie Review
The idea of having a pet dragon is the dream of every fantasy fan. It’s an intelligent, powerful, strong creature that can protect you with its claws and fiery breath, and it can fly you anywhere on its back. In Dreamworks’s latest animated movie, How To Train Your Dragon, a young viking boy named Hiccup…
Alice in Wonderland – Movie Review
Tim Burton should do more adaptations. Most fans probably prefer his quirkier, original movies like Edward Scissorhands or Ed Wood, but I am fond of his fantasy adaptations such as Sleepy Hollow and now Alice in Wonderland. Director Burton has really expanded the Wonderland universe into an even more spectacular place than it had been…
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – Movie Review
There is a litany of similarities between Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and the first Harry Potter film that goes way beyond their shared director, Chris Columbus. Like Harry, Percy Jackson’s life is turned upside-down when he learns of his special background and destiny. He realizes that things around him aren’t as…
2009 Hits and Misses: Movies
I probably say the same thing every year. Despite the fact that I see 30+ movies in the theatre (which is only 2.5 movies per month, so not really that much), they continue to disappoint me. Many of the ones I intended to see got such mediocre reviews that I decided not to go (I’m…
Avatar – Movie Review
For a film with revolutionary CGI effects, such as Avatar, all eyes are definitely on the visuals. Director James Cameron (remember him from Titanic and Terminator 2?) has taken his time to produce this amazing new movie. Using the kind of computer techniques that brought to life Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series,…
The Princess and the Frog – Movie Review
I might have felt slighted that Disney’s first 2D animated movie in a while was so derivative if it did not successfully remind me of the things I’d been missing from Disney animation for so long. Unlike the recent hit Enchanted, which up-ended the conventions of the Disney fairy tale movie and squeezed it into…
New Moon – Movie Review
It’s difficult to be disappointed with a movie that gives you exactly what you expect. Going into New Moon (the second in the highly successful book, now movie, franchise known as The Twilight Saga) it was not surprising that half the movie would be spent on looks between attractive teens prone to longing and melodrama….
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 