Recently I’ve seen a few animated movies, and while they don’t have anything in common, I thought I’d present them together in a set of capsule reviews. 9 When Elijah Wood last played a diminutive hero courageously seeking to save the world (in Lord of the Rings), it took over 10 hours to tell the…
Category: Movies
Inglourious Basterds – Movie Review
Most of us come to a Tarantino movie expecting the usual trademark elements: visceral, somewhat gratuitous violence; complicated, witty, scummy, razor-sharp dialogue; and complex, interweaving storyline featuring interestingly off-colour characters. So how does that blend against a backdrop as often-used as WW2/Nazi-occupied France? Well, let’s just say he makes it work (for the most part)….
15 Flicks for Fall 2009
On the pop-cultural calendar, the climax of the year is supposedly the summer blockbuster season. Fall is when we begin the year again with new TV and more serious cinema (leading up to the Oscars). After a lacklustre summer (where even the stalwart Harry Potter franchise left me disappointed), we could really use some fresh,…
District 9 – Movie Review
I’ve mentioned before how much I like “intelligent” sci-fi movies: in other words, ones which spend more effort on concept and story rather than just perfecting the CGI or blowing things up in cool ways. District 9 falls into the “intelligent” camp even though its concept is not the brain-twisting kind. Essentially, in the 80s…
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Movie Review
It’s been a while now since I saw the movie (I’m on vacation) but I didn’t want to let an HP milestone go by without some comment on this blog. For those of you not Potter afficienados, Half-Blood Prince is the second to last book in the Potter series and (because they are making two…
Up – Movie Review
I defy you not to be charmed by the new Pixar movie, Up (such a non-descript title for such a fun film). In a field that is rapidly filling with vapid imitators, Pixar continues to keep itself above the others by creating lovable, fresh characters and heart-warming stories, even while skimping nary a pixel on…
Terminator Salvation – Movie Review
With the recent(ly cancelled) series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, still so fresh in the pop culture atmosphere, it’s odd that they’d be going forward with the movie series as well. Granted, the franchise reboot is becoming a sub-genre of its own these days, but for this series it’s getting a bit confusing. Nevertheless, when…
Angels & Demons – Movie Review
I had been looking forward to Angels & Demons even though I really hadn’t enjoyed the Da Vinci Code movie. This time I enjoyed the book first. Unfortunately, as any Harry Potter screenwriter can tell you, you’ve really got to be careful what you include or don’t include in the adaptation from book to screenplay….
Star Trek – Movie Review
I remember when I first heard rumours that this movie was going to be about young Kirk and young Spock. The idea was as horrifying to me as one of those space insects that bad guys put into someone’s ear to get information from them (there’s one in this movie). Star Trek characters going through…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 