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….
Category: Fantasy
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…
Chan, Li, and Yuen: A Martial Arts Dream Team
Empire: Movie News – First Footage From Forbidden Kingdom I didn’t know anything about Forbidden Kingdom, this new project from Jackie Chan, Jet Li and fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, until today — now it’s one of my most anticipated films of next year! I grew up listening to the Chinese folk tale of the…
New Abrams Series; Future Plans for Narnia
New Abrams series in the works – Fringe (future-Yay!) This story is being reported all over: JJ Abrams is at it again (ManiaTV) Fox scares up J.J. Abrams’ ‘Fringe’ (Variety) J.J. Abrams, the tv and movie wunderkind behind such shows as Alias, Lost, and such movies as M:I III and the new Star Trek has…
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)….
Stardust – Movie Review
The story of Stardust begins when an Englishman crosses over a wall that separates his village from the mysterious, magical kingdom of Stormhold. Years later, his son Tristran (in an attempt to win the heart of Victoria, the beautiful but indifferent object of his affection) promises to bring her the falling star that passes over…
Couldn’t those Hallows have been a bit more Deathly?
My two cents on Harry Potter’s last big adventure Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has come and gone. Despite the fact that almost all my predictions about this book from a year ago did not come true, I don’t mind being wrong. At the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry left…
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Movie Review
As a big Harry Potter fan, there was little question of whether or not I would enjoy the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. However, I have to say that I found it even better than the previous film, Goblet of Fire. This time around, Harry returns to Hogwart’s School of…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 