I’ve mentioned before how much I like “intelligent” sci-fi movies: in other words, ones which spend more effort on concept and story rather than just perfecting the CGI or blowing things up in cool ways. District 9 falls into the “intelligent” camp even though its concept is not the brain-twisting kind. Essentially, in the 80s…
Category: Sci-fi
Torchwood: Children of Earth – TV (P)review
Anyone who’s seen the “They’re here…” moment from Poltergeist, or seen images of the Village of the Damned kids with their glowing eyes, knows that children have long been used for both sentimental and chilling effect in sci-fi and horror. In the new Torchwood mini-series, Children of Earth (technically season/series 3 of the BBC show),…
Terminator Salvation – Movie Review
With the recent(ly cancelled) series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, still so fresh in the pop culture atmosphere, it’s odd that they’d be going forward with the movie series as well. Granted, the franchise reboot is becoming a sub-genre of its own these days, but for this series it’s getting a bit confusing. Nevertheless, when…
The Tivo Has Spoken – Alvin’s 2009 TV Scorecard
Now that the TV season is over, what did I think of all the series I watched this year? A lot of times it comes down to what I watched first (Medium, Supernatural, Lost, Privileged, Pushing Daisies) and last (Smallville, Cupid) on my Tivo. We hardly knew ye… (New shows cancelled.) Privileged – Definitely one…
Star Trek – Movie Review
I remember when I first heard rumours that this movie was going to be about young Kirk and young Spock. The idea was as horrifying to me as one of those space insects that bad guys put into someone’s ear to get information from them (there’s one in this movie). Star Trek characters going through…
Monsters vs. Aliens – Movie Review
After having seen Monsters vs. Aliens in full IMAX 3-D, probably the worst thing I could say about it is that it’s ordinary. Don’t get me wrong, the animation is top-notch. Everything looks very impressive: from the cavernous spacecraft down to the fabric and textures of the main character’s outfit, there is an amazing attention…
DRADIS goes dark: Battlestar Galactica finale
The two-hour series finale of Battlestar Galactica was going to be great. It was going to answer all our questions (but not too neatly). It was going to bring our survivors to a new home planet (but not Earth). It was going to give us a nice farewell to all our favorite characters (but not…
Knowing – Movie Review
I should have listened to the voices in my own head. I saw a clever, quasi-sci-fi premise in the movie trailer, but I told myself that like others before it (See also Number 23, or The Happening), the writers will not be able to carry the premise to an interesting conclusion. Add to that Nicolas…
Watchmen — Movie review
In the geek universe, there is no more anticipated film this year than Watchmen. The complex story is set in an alternate 1980s where someone is killing off costumed superheroes, an omnipotent nuclear man wrestles with his humanity, and the world lies at the brink of Armageddon. Adapting the widely-acclaimed graphic novel masterpiece to the…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 