Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Movie Review

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! When a new Harry Potter movie came out, it was sold-out, top of the box office for weeks, but this was the second weekend for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and I was just in a theatre with only three others in the audience! (You probably don’t even…

Oscar Schmoscar 2022

I originally started these posts to express my tongue-in-cheek disinterest in the Oscars, especially who the winners were (since I’d watched so surprisingly few). However, over the years, I’ve shifted to genuine interest in the nominees (though I still don’t care that much about who wins) and look on them as a checklist of films…

Midwinter TV 2022

Even though there are now new shows popping up at any time of the year, winter seems to be a bit like the new fall. A number of shows have debuted over the last couple of months, some good and some meh. Here’s a few that I’ve watched (many of you may have watched some…

Spider-Man: No Way Home – Catch-up Movie Review

I’m probably one of the last people to see this movie, which has been out for almost two months. But at least this way I can comment freely without fear of giving anything away about this movie because you’ve all seen it, right? Nevertheless, just in case, I’m still issuing a spoiler alert for this…

Is it still Fall TV 2021?

The fall TV season has finally died. I don’t mean there’s nothing new or good to watch, but just that the traditional period when TV networks would bring out new and returning shows has lost the last of its significance. This year, I barely noticed when the networks kicked-off new shows (a few weeks/months ago?)…

Dune – Movie Review

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…

No Time To Die – Movie Review

No Time To Die is special in a few ways: not only is it the last time Daniel Craig plays James Bond, but also this time Bond is married (I know!) and retired (which seems to happen a lot) and working for (or maybe “with”) the CIA. Those clues may seem to suggest that this…

Luca – Movie Review

What could be better on a warm summer afternoon than Pixar’s latest gelato scoop of a movie about two boys (who also happen to be sea monsters) having a little fun in the eternal Italian summer? While it’s not groundbreakingly original (compared to some past Pixar masterpieces), this enjoyable film really captures the warm, languid…

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…