Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Midseason TV 2014, part 2

The midseason period this year seems to be really spread out. New series have been making their debut, and a few series returning (kind of) over the last couple of months (with more on the way). I don’t think there’s been any midseason breakout hit so far, but there’s a wide variety to choose from…

Oscar Schmoscar 2014

This year, I wasn’t sure that I’d have an “Oscar Schmoscar” post as I had hardly seen any of the major nominees. I don’t know why this year seemed to be the year of “individuals going through incredibly difficult ordeals”. From being adrift in space, to being held hostage by pirates, to being abducted and…

The Lego Movie – Movie Review

At first I thought The Lego Movie was going to be like the Lego series of video games where you’re basically watching characters from Star Wars or Harry Potter re-enact their adventures using simulated Lego pieces and minifigs instead of their normal selves and environments. The Lego Movie definitely has a big action-adventure storyline where…

Midseason TV 2014, part 1

Year over year, midseason is becoming more and more my favourite time of the TV calendar. I guess networks figure that fall is the time to hit their biggest audience with new sitcoms or dramas, they save the sci-fi and genre stuff for midseason. That’s exciting for TV geeks like myself who love shows that…

Looking forward to 2014 Movies

As the harsh winter sends us all scurrying indoors, I’m looking forward to some promising movies in the first half of 2014. Don’t be too disappointed in me if the vast majority of these are sequels, prequels, or adaptations. They’re the ones that I know more of what to expect (I’ve been well-trained by the…

Cramming: 2013’s leftover Movie reviews

Over the course of the year, I wrote a few movie reviews on this blog (though not as many as I had hoped). However, I also watched a few other movies that I didn’t get around to reviewing. So, as 2013 closes, I still want to give my two cents on each of them (though…

Downton and The Doctor: Christmas Specials 2013

For a TV fan like myself, the Brits have really given us a wonderful (long-running) tradition in the delivering of special Christmas episodes (aired on Christmas day) to both Doctor Who and Downton Abbey. (If you have been waiting for the North American airing of Downton season 4, I will tread lightly on spoilers, but…

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Movie Review

Despite a prologue scene that tries to fill in some backstory (and remind viewers about this big quest that the main characters are on), there’s no fooling anyone about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug being the middle segment of a movie trilogy. Still trying to live down comparisons to its more-epic older brother, The…

2013 TV Characters: Love and Hate

Characters I Loved I guess I’ve proven again that I just don’t watch TV for the characters, because this year I found fewer standout characters that I really loved (and the ones I did find were kind of secondary, side characters who are not fully fleshed-out). On top of that, most of you have probably…