Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Movie Review

It’s been a while now since I saw the movie (I’m on vacation) but I didn’t want to let an HP milestone go by without some comment on this blog. For those of you not Potter afficienados, Half-Blood Prince is the second to last book in the Potter series and (because they are making two…

Torchwood: Children of Earth – TV (P)review

Anyone who’s seen the “They’re here…” moment from Poltergeist, or seen images of the Village of the Damned kids with their glowing eyes, knows that children have long been used for both sentimental and chilling effect in sci-fi and horror. In the new Torchwood mini-series, Children of Earth (technically season/series 3 of the BBC show),…

Up – Movie Review

I defy you not to be charmed by the new Pixar movie, Up (such a non-descript title for such a fun film). In a field that is rapidly filling with vapid imitators, Pixar continues to keep itself above the others by creating lovable, fresh characters and heart-warming stories, even while skimping nary a pixel on…

Terminator Salvation – Movie Review

With the recent(ly cancelled) series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, still so fresh in the pop culture atmosphere, it’s odd that they’d be going forward with the movie series as well. Granted, the franchise reboot is becoming a sub-genre of its own these days, but for this series it’s getting a bit confusing. Nevertheless, when…

Glee – TV (P)review

There’s a lot of singing, a lot of dancing, and a lot of teen drama on TV these days, so perhaps it shouldn’t be a big deal when a new show comes along that combines these all together. However, when I watched the preview episode of Glee on Fox last week, I was more excited…

The Tivo Has Spoken – Alvin’s 2009 TV Scorecard

Now that the TV season is over, what did I think of all the series I watched this year? A lot of times it comes down to what I watched first (Medium, Supernatural, Lost, Privileged, Pushing Daisies) and last (Smallville, Cupid) on my Tivo. We hardly knew ye… (New shows cancelled.) Privileged – Definitely one…

Angels & Demons – Movie Review

I had been looking forward to Angels & Demons even though I really hadn’t enjoyed the Da Vinci Code movie. This time I enjoyed the book first. Unfortunately, as any Harry Potter screenwriter can tell you, you’ve really got to be careful what you include or don’t include in the adaptation from book to screenplay….

Star Trek – Movie Review

I remember when I first heard rumours that this movie was going to be about young Kirk and young Spock. The idea was as horrifying to me as one of those space insects that bad guys put into someone’s ear to get information from them (there’s one in this movie). Star Trek characters going through…

State of Play – Movie Review

With a cast that boasts three Oscar winners and a director who won an Oscar himself, I would have expected more from State of Play. The movie gives us some pretty good performances and a serviceable script with some twists, but overall nothing too memorable. Oscar-winner Russell Crowe plays Cal McCaffrey, a veteran reporter at…