Did you ever wonder what amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne would have been like if he’d been a teenage girl instead? Probably not. Who would? But that’s the gist of the movie Hanna. Raised by her father Erik (played by Eric Bana) in the cold, wintery country somewhere isolated from the rest of the world, he…
Category: (3.5 out of 5)
Movie #3: In Time
Even from the previews, it was obvious that In Time was going to be another one of those movies where a cool, sci-fi premise was going to be stretched over a weak story (cast with some attractive young actors), like The Adjustment Bureau, or Source Code. The idea in this story is that everyone is…
Prometheus – Movie Review
Prometheus raises a lot of questions, starting with whether or not this is really a prequel to the Alien trilogy. Let’s call it a loose prequel because there are no direct connections between this movie and the Alien movies. There are definitely a lot of echoes (prechoes?), including the self-serving super-corporation, untrustworthy androids, deadly creatures…
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – Capsule Book Review
All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. The waiting crowd quiets as it watches this display of illumination. Someone near you gasps. A small child claps his hands with glee at the sight. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling…
The Secret World of Arrietty – Movie Review
Studio Ghibli (like its American cousin/rival, Pixar Studios) has such a flawless reputation for producing beautiful, magical, creative, and original masterpieces of feature animation that audiences are predisposed to liking any new movie that they produce. The Secret World of Arrietty is the latest from these Japanese animation masters and for me, while it is…
Oscar Schmoscar 2012
Last year’s nominees had a few pleasant surprises that I would have regretted missing out on if not for the noms. This year, nothing really compelled me and it’s unfortunate that I didn’t find the Best Picture nominees to be much of a checklist for exploration. Even the critics don’t love them all, since Hugo…
Immortals – Movie Review
As I’ve admitted before, I am one of those super-geeks who has been a fan of all kinds of mythology since I was in primary school — so I’ve been imagining how the heroes, gods, and monsters should look on the big screen for a while. If I were to choose a director, I think…
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Movie Review
Ever since I went to the gorilla habitat at the zoo and found my eyes watering from (what I thought were) allergies, I haven’t been a big fan of apes. Nevertheless, the movie trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes looked pretty good. As a prequel to the classic sci-fi series where walking,…
Green Lantern – Movie Review
What made the character of Green Lantern so interesting to fans like myself when we were growing up? Was it his ring which could materialize anything he could imagine (albeit made of emerald green)? Was it the heroic destiny bequeathed to him by his dying alien predecessor? Was it his membership in an intergalactic police…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 