Many times have I tried (and failed) to get into Dune, the seminal, Hugo and Nebula award-winning, science fiction classic. After watching the 1984 David Lynch film, the 2000 TV mini-series, and the listening to the 1993 audiobook, I still wasn’t there, but Denis Villeneuve’s stunning, absorbing film has finally won me. I had read…
Category: (4.5 out of 5)
Raya and the Last Dragon – Movie Review
In this strange year of movie-watching at home, it’s unfortunate that Raya and the Last Dragon didn’t get the big screen exposure that it deserved. (With cheapskates like myself, who sadly didn’t even want to shell out the $30 premium money to watch it several months ago, we’ve treated a beautiful, fun, exciting, enjoyable potential…
Mamoru Hosoda: A New Japanese Animation Master
One of the joys of the TV off-season is the opportunity to catch up on movies. Recently, I spent five evenings binge-watching the works of new Japanese master animator, Mamoru Hosoda. When it comes to Japanese animated films, most people think of Studio Ghibli, founded by master animator Hayao Miyazaki. Their kinds of movies are…
Avengers: Endgame – Movie Review
It’s no doubt a sign of the hype behind this film that I feel slow for watching it on the second weekend. Man, it has been tough to avoid spoilers! Everyone is very sensitive, asking first if you’ve seen the movie before blurting out plot details, and most internet posts contain the appropriate warnings. Nevertheless,…
Mission Impossible: Fallout – Movie Review
I know I’m late to the game, since most people have already seen Mission Impossible: Fallout and given their own great reviews of this movie. One of the best things about this movie is that it proves that a long-running action movie franchise can still impress in its sixth instalment. It’s not as if this…
Summer Movie Catch-Up 2018 part 2
Unfortunately I’m not making it through a lot of movies, but here’s the second batch of movies that I’ve watched as part of my summer catch-up exercise (including recent genre hits, and Studio Ghibli rewatch). Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Going into this one I had no illusions that it was…
Avengers: Infinity War – Movie Review
Now that I’ve finally seen it, I am happy to say that Avengers: Infinity War pays off as the climax to a decade of movies that have built up the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s been jokes made (by the actors themselves) about how bringing together so many stars and characters should render them each with…
Black Panther – Movie Review
I was never a fan of the Black Panther comics. His generic animal-based super-strength and agility didn’t really impress, and his background as a king of a technologically-advanced African nation was interesting, but less so in a comic book universe where technology can do anything a writer and artist wants to imagine. On screen, however,…
Coco – Movie Review
I know that there have been a lot of animated films lately, and anyone with kids has already gone to see Coco and moved on, but I just saw it and still want to say how great I thought the movie was. Pixar’s track record has slipped a bit from the flawless hit-factory that it…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 