What is it with sci-fi and trilogies? And why do they end so poorly? Matrix Revolutions was confusing and a bit of CGI overkill (not to mention rainy!). Aliens3 was so poorly received that they tried to compensate with Alien:Resurrection (oops!). Even Return of the Jedi was a bit over the top with its golden…
Category: (3 out of 5)
So long, farewell: Series finales 2006
Spoiler warning: Read at your own risk. As the 2005/2006 television season ends, several of my favourite shows are coming to close. Series finales are usually some of the best episodes. They might reward fans by summing up the show’s long run (like Seinfeld did by bringing back guests from throughout the series to testify…
Midseason TV Mania, Part 2 (Comedy)
As I described last post, midseason means new shows. The general perception is that it’s only the weaker shows (especially comedies) that come out as midseason replacements but that’s not necessarily the case. I believe Seinfeld premiered in midseason, but this year’s batch definitely doesn’t seem much like Seinfeld (though it does feature one of…
Night Watch: Movie Review
An ancient war between Light and Dark? Cool. Supernatural beings like vampires and shape-shifters secretly existing alongside our modern society? Way cool! A moody Russian movie with subtitles? Hang on… OK, it’s not as dreary as it sounds. This little Russian movie has gained hype over the fact that it was a mega-huge blockbuster in…
Oscar, Schmoscar 2006
I fancy myself a movie-lover, so over the last several years I’ve tried to pay more attention to the Oscar nominees. I thought, “These must be the best films of the year, so I should watch a handful of them.” People are raving about this year’s nominees, but after watching some of them, I sadly…
Munich – Movie Review
Steven Spielberg’s story of a team of Israeli assassins sent to kill 11 Palestinian terrorist leaders in retaliation for the killing of 11 hostages at the 1972 Munich Olympics seems to be equal parts drama and thriller. Already there have been rave reviews about this movie—one of the reviewers at Entertainment Weekly even chose it…
Water and Memoirs of a Geisha
I recently watched two movies with very similar stories and themes. The first was Water, directed by Deepa Mehta, and the second was Memoirs of a Geisha by Rob Marshall. Water is set in India while Memoirs is set in Japan, but both take place in a pre-WW2 time frame and tell the stories of…
Halloween Movies 2005: It’s All About The Creeps
When Halloween rings my bell each year, I like to dig out a scary movie or two to get into the spirit of things. I’m not really into serious horror, nothing with too much blood or violence; generally I enjoy stuff that’s more suspenseful, fantastical or creepy. In the past, I’ve rewatched old X-Files episodes…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 