Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

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…

Movie #5: Snowpiercer

What would the world, society become if there were only a handful of people left? That’s probably the first question to be answered by a post-apocalyptic science fiction movie like Snowpiercer. Director Joon-ho Bong (who mastered the creature-feature in his Korean-language hit, The Host) adds a bit of a high-concept twist by taking a futuristic…

Movie #4: Her

Though not entirely new (remember 80s film Electric Dreams? I didn’t think so), the concept of romance between a man and his computer is somewhat intriguing (and so clearly inspired by all those people turned-on by the voice of iPhone’s “Siri”). Writer-director Spike Jonze’s version puts Joaquin Phoenix at the heart of this boy-meets-OS tale,…

Movie #3: Ender’s Game

I’m the first to admit that I did not love Orson Scott Card’s seminal sci-fi novel on which this movie was based. It was well-written, but I didn’t enjoy the brutal bullying and could never buy into how “mature” these pre-teen characters were supposed to be. The story of Ender Wiggin begins with Earth having…

Movie #2: About Time

I may not be a fan of romantic comedy, but I make exception for the British take on the boy-meets-girl movie. The blend of dry wit with heart-warming sentimentality has made writer-director Richard Curtis a master of these movies, having been responsible for some of my faves such as Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a…

Movie #1: World War Z

Once again, the movies on my watch-list have piled up and I need to spend another summer catching up. Where to begin… well, while I love science fiction in general, there are only two subgenres of sci-fi that I don’t love: zombies and post-apocalyptic survival. So, it is either foolish or maybe gutsy that I…