I guess it’s not surprising, but so often with independent films with sci-fi themes, you are never quite sure what you’re going to get. Being science fiction gives them the license to go almost anywhere with story and character because the anchoring concept can be something totally out-there. The Congress is an odd blend to…
Category: (3 out of 5)
Super-fiction: Brilliance, Amped, Ex-Heroes, and Steelheart – Book Reviews
In case you have not noticed, superhumans are all the rage. Whether it’s being bitten by a spider, receiving a shiny green ring, being struck by some special lightning or meteor, or just by being born this way, people on screen are getting supernatural powers in droves. Movies like Amazing Spider-man and X-Men are obvious…
Cramming: 2013’s leftover Movie reviews
Over the course of the year, I wrote a few movie reviews on this blog (though not as many as I had hoped). However, I also watched a few other movies that I didn’t get around to reviewing. So, as 2013 closes, I still want to give my two cents on each of them (though…
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl and Richard LaGravenese – Book and Movie Review
I’m not quite sure what brought me to another supernatural, teen romance (especially after giving up on the Twilight books after only halfway through the second) but I guess I wanted to see if they were truly as similar as they seem. One of the things I noticed right away (especially since I was listening…
The Magicians by Lev Grossman – Book Review
Did you always think that there needed to be more sex, drinking, or 4-letter words in the Harry Potter books? Or that the kids in the Chronicles of Narnia weren’t as snarky, cynical, or full of ennui as the ones you knew at that age? Perhaps that upending of a beloved series of fantasy books…
Midseason TV 2013
For a couple of years, I thought that the networks were taking a genius new direction in developing a year-long TV schedule, where ultimately there would be great new shows premiering throughout the year. Instead, midseason seems to have reverted to its old ways of being a dumping ground for shows that were not good…
Movie #48: The Woman In Black
I think the biggest question on viewers’ minds was how actor Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) would continue his career after playing the young wizard for a decade. I don’t know if anything was proven by his role/performance in the gothic horror movie The Woman In Black, but I guess it’s not a bad idea…
Movie #46: The Descendants
I don’t think these kinds of serious, mundane films are really for me. I think I like my movies more for escapism, taking me to places and experiences I would probably never have in real life. While The Descendants was set in Hawaii, it clearly wasn’t meant as an escape (in fact, those false expectations…
Movie #39: Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole seems like one of those hard-to-enjoy movies while you’re watching it; one that you may or may not appreciate by the end. Nicole Kidman gives an Oscar-nominated performance as Becca, the mother of a young boy who died in a car accident. Becca and her husband Howie (played by Aaron Eckhart) go through…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 