Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Valkyrie – Movie Review

All I wanted for Christmas was what Mr. Cruise promised. Of Valkyrie he said, “This isn’t a WW2 movie. This is a conspiracy thriller set in the War.” Like probably most of the audience, that was the hook that got me into the seat. Little did I know that based on the true story as…

2008: The Year On Screen

2008 Favourite Movies With the after-effects of the writers’ strike, and the resulting string of mediocre disappointments, 2008 was not a great year at the cinema. Hollywood continues to play it safe, even in the highly-imaginative realm of sci-fi, and we were bombarded mostly by sequels, remakes and adaptations. It was difficult to pick favourites…

The Day The Earth Stood Still – Movie Review

As I went in to see The Day The Earth Stood Still, a remake of a 1950s sci-fi classic, I was hoping that this was going to be more than a one-note environmental-message-movie with amped up special effects. The movie trailer didn’t give me much expectation of that, but I clung to my own manufactured…

Twilight – Movie Review

I may not be one of the teenaged devotees of the original vampire romance novel, but having finished the Twilight book days before watching the movie adaptation, I surprisingly have a lot of issues with the film. (Be forewarned Twilighters, if you feel that nothing Twilight-related can be bad, please put away your claws and…

Australia – Movie Review

When I think of director Baz Luhrmann’s previous work (such as Romeo + Juliet, or Moulin Rouge), words like “glittering” or “stylish” might come to mind, but not so much “saga” or “sweeping”. So going to see his take on the period epic had me expecting some surprises. While the outback cowboy romance that began…

Bolt – Movie Review

With every new animated movie, there comes the inevitable comparison to the gold standard laid down by megastudio Pixar. Bolt comes from Pixar’s parent company Disney, and while the animation quality is up there, and the kid-friendly humour and endearing characters are there as well, Bolt still just misses that Pixar mark. Perhaps there is…

“Pushing Daisies” Dead: Now ABC is on my naughty list, too

Breaking: ‘Pushing Daisies,’ ‘Eli Stone’ & ‘Dirty Sexy Money’ Axed? – KTV: Korbi TV – Zap2it Well, at least it’s not as bad as NBC keeping Knight Rider over My Own Worst Enemy, but ABC canceling Pushing Daisies after keeping it afloat for two seasons is a bit disappointing (I don’t really care about Eli…

Quantum of Solace – Movie Review

Wow! (That bit of shock is not for the latest Bond flick, but more about how long it’s been since I’ve gone to the cinema. Rhythmic thumping of feet against the back of my chair from the row behind, o how I’ve missed you. Seriously, I think it will be a meager winter for my…

TV: Flashback Fever

A recent number of TV episodes that caught my eye all seem to feature an oft-used device: the flashback. Obviously that has been an integral part of shows such as Lost and How I Met Your Mother, but there’s been a few other series that have taken peeks into their own storylines to fill in…