Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Movie #14: Knights of Badassdom

I do love a good genre spoof. There are often a lot of inside jokes (most of which I actually get) and fun cameos. Often the plot is nothing too original, but that’s OK. In the case of Knights of Badassdom, the genre is fantasy role-play — specifically LARP (or live-action role-play) — where players…

Movie #13: Ragnarok

It is hardly surprising that people compare Norwegian director Mikkel Brænne Sandemose’s movie Ragnarok to something by Steven Spielberg (most obviously Jurassic Park). Once again we have a scientist (this time an archaelogist rather than a paleontologist) looking to prove his wildly dismissed theories about the past (in this case it’s about the site where…

Movie #12: Noah

I was pleasantly surprised by Noah, partly because director Darren Aronofsky was able to bring a new take on a story that is so familiar that it’s primal. In fact, this epic retelling of the story of Noah (played by Russell Crowe) may not be totally true to the account found in the Bible (or…

Movie #11: Muppets Most Wanted

While I was OK with the previous Muppet Movie (which was a much-needed re-energizing of the franchise), I loved this Muppets take on the spy-fi genre. Coming as kind of a direct sequel to the previous movie, the Muppets decide to keep the momentum going on their celebrity by staging a world tour. This idea…

Movie #10: The Congress

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…

Movie #9: Divergent

Riding on the dystopian, young-adult coattails of The Hunger Games, Divergent was another series to make it to the ranks of blockbuster movie adaptation. Even before reading the book, I was skeptical of the premise. In a future-Chicago, society has split everyone into factions based on individual ideals (e.g. the selfless belong to the Abnegation…

Movie #8: Kick-Ass 2

From all the negative reactions to this movie in theatres, I was expecting a very disappointing movie (especially after I loved the first one so much), but I guess that lowered my expectations enough that I actually kind of enjoyed it. While the first movie was something of a landmark, this one is a bit…

Movie #7: Before Midnight

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years of real time since Jesse and Celine first charmed us with their magical night of romance in Before Sunrise. After reuniting ten years ago in Before Sunset, we now revisit the couple on vacation in Greece, after Jesse (played as always by Ethan Hawke) drops off…

Movie #6: 300: Rise of an Empire

Another 300 movie was originally very exciting to me. 300: Rise of an Empire was not really going to be a sequel, but set around the same time and events of the first film. In fact, the movie is narrated by Queen Gorgo (played again by Lena Headey, borrowing from her own portrayal of Queen…