Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

X-Men: First Class – Movie Review

I didn’t really know what to expect from this prequel to the X-Men movies. I had heard good things, and the director Matthew Vaughn did a great job with Kick-Ass (one of my favourite movies of last year). However, I didn’t want them to rehash old stories (though we hadn’t really seen the origins of…

Kung Fu Panda 2 – Movie Review

As much as I loved the first Kung Fu panda movie, I was always a little bothered by the fact that it wasn’t really a very Chinese story. The theme of finding one’s destiny and believing in yourself is more of a western idea. One other thing that irked me was that it made no…

Fall TV Sneak Peek 2011

I know it seems odd to be talking about fall tv already. The spring tv season (with its cliffhangers and surprises) isn’t even cold in the ground yet, and summer tv (with its fluffy lightness) is still on the way. However, because all the major US networks have their upfront presentations to advertisers in May,…

TV season 2011: So long, cancelled shows

I don’t know if things are worse this year, but there seems to be a lot of buzz around all the shows that aren’t coming back next season. I thought I’d take a few bytes to say “Good riddance” or “I’ll miss you” to the best and worst of them. (BTW, I might not mention…

Thor – Movie Review

Pulling off a movie like Thor is no easy feat. The story of a Norse-god superhero set in modern-day USA requires the convincing marriage of an epic fantasy backdrop (with its magic, battles, and dialogue full of thee’s and thou’s) and a modern superhero movie (with its high tech, explosions, and dialogue often laced with…

Scream 4 (aka Scre4m) – Movie Review

When I saw the original Scream, I was blown away. I had always been afraid of horror movies, but hype compelled me to check out this genre-buster, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way it took its “meta” so seriously. Now, three movies and 15 years later, the gang is back. Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David…

Rio – Movie Review

As you might expect from an animated movie about blue macaw parrots set in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival, this is a very colourful movie. The opening musical sequence features all kinds of jungle birds in a fun, catchy, follies-style production number, but unfortunately, the rest of the movie is kind of underwhelming by comparison….

Jane Eyre – Movie Review

I may not remember everything from when I read Jane Eyre as a young English major, but I don’t remember it being so lifeless. While I can understand that the filmmakers need to abbreviate certain parts (such as most of Jane’s early life as an orphan) in order to fit the important parts into the…

Sucker Punch – Movie Review

Why does everyone hate Sucker Punch? Was it the giant samurai robots toting artillery guns? Was it the WWI steampunk German zombies? Was it the fire-breathing dragons or the armies of orcs? Or was it the emphasis on over-the-top, stylized visuals over a bleak and irrelevant storyline? Does anyone really care about the depressing fable…