Rango is weird. He has surreal dreams, wears a Hawaiian shirt, puts on little dramas in his terrarium with a windup toy fish, and has a chorus of mariachi owls singing a lament of his demise. The animated movie from Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is quirky to say the least. Nevertheless, the…
Category: Reviews
Midseason TV 2011
I confess I’ve been a bit slow on the draw this year to talk about midseason TV. I guess I’ve been too caught up with my pre-Oscar movie-watching. However, I’ve still found the time to enjoy many of the series which have debuted or returned since the start of 2011. What’s more, many if them…
Oscar, Schmoscar 2011
When I first started my “Oscar Schmoscar” posts a few years ago, I was tired of the kinds of nominees that Oscar was coming up with. I lumped together some mini-reviews to let readers know what I thought of some of the nominated movies, but it was meant to be kind of dismissive. A few…
The Green Hornet – movie review
What if Batman had been kind of inept, and Robin had all the skills? I hadn’t known much about The Green Hornet before watching Michel Gondry’s new movie adaptation, but I knew that kung-fu legend, Bruce Lee, played the Hornet’s butt-kicking side-kick Kato in the original TV series. When Seth Rogen was cast in the…
TRON: Legacy – Movie Review
Oh the humanity! How can a movie that looks so cool be such frustratingly bad sci-fi? I recently re-watched the first TRON movie. Its blue-screen effects and geometric designs were groundbreaking at the time, but definitely feel dated now (though the light-cycle scenes hold up pretty well). However, it’s the ideas about technology that truly…
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Movie Review
Since I don’t know the original stories, I think I have the same expectation for each of the Narnia movies before I see them. Some kind of fantasy conflict will lead a bunch of kids to fight alongside some magical creatures for the good of the world. That’s been the case for the first two…
The King’s Speech – Movie Review
I love the kinds of films that take us behind the curtain to glimpse the other side of the story. In the case of The King’s Speech, relatively intimate events are taking place against the backdrop of major ones. Colin Firth gives an outstanding performance as Prince Albert, the man who would be King George…
Tangled – Movie Review
Whenever Disney releases an animated movie, I wonder whether they’ve finally abandoned their classic formula. Last year’s The Princess and the Frog was probably their last foray into hand-drawn animation, but Tangled clearly suggests that they’re staying true to the kinds of movies that brought them success in the past. It’s definitely the successor of…
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1 – Movie Review
It’s definitely the beginning of the end. When the final Harry potter book came out, fans like me felt sad that this enjoyable adventure with beloved characters was coming to a close. Now, the same is happening on the big screen. It doesn’t help the melancholy that this movie opens with scenes of Hermione casting…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 