Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue, Book 1) by Christopher Buehlman – Book Review

The Blacktongue Thief is a classic fantasy adventure that is equal parts fun, fresh, and familiar. Christopher Buehlman’s writing is what makes this story special. He has an impressive imagination and his world-building is masterful. He doesn’t waste efforts on making everything incomprehensibly otherworldly. Nor does he create entirely new universes with crazy rules of…

Picking the Pix at the Toronto International Film Festival 2006

Each year it becomes more of a challenge to pick movies to see at the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s not that there aren’t really good movies at the fest, it’s just that I don’t really see very many, so I have to use a set of criteria to choose what to see. I don’t…

Idlewild – Movie Review

I had such high hopes for Idlewild, the movie musical from Outkast (hip-hop group responsible for 2004 overplayed-catchy-song-of-the-year, “Hey Ya!”). I expected a fresh, innovative film full of the energy and enthusiasm that you might associate with the group’s style (and videos). I was all set for a cooler version of Chicago (both movies being…

Are you watching these shows?

This year I thought I’d combine my “what I watched on my summer vacation” post with some talk about shows that you might not be familiar with that I think are great. I might have a bit of trouble describing what really makes them good, but all the following shows are worth checking out. The…

The Illusionist – Movie Review

Edward Norton stars as the movie’s namesake—Eisenheim the Illusionist—a stage magician in turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna. His amazing illusions gain him a huge audience, including the prince and his entourage. When Eisenheim asks for a volunteer, the prince puts forward his fiancée (played by Jessica Biel), who happens to be Eisenheim’s old friend. As the childhood sweethearts’…

Fifteen Flicks for Fall 2006

Exactly one year ago, I posted my previews of about 15 movies that sounded cool for fall 2005. I ended up watching all but three of them. This year, there are fewer movies that I am dying to see (no Harry Potters), but I still managed to cobble together a decent roster (there’s at least…

Monster House – Movie Review

Monster House is the animated tale of a group of kids living in a Leave It To Beaver-style neighbourhood who take on that creepy old house across the street (y’know the one: a cranky old man lives there who apparently hates children and is very strict that no one trespasses). It turns out that (surprise…

YouTube TV

What does a TV geek do for fun during summer hiatus? If you guessed watching YouTube, the internet phenomenon/web site where thousands of users post short video clips for all to view, you’d be correct, but not for the reasons you think. YouTube is definitely the hottest thing on the web since podcasting. Its freely…

Lady in the Water – Movie Review

As a kid, did you believe your bedtime stories? Did you ever think that a particular doorway, a tall old tree, or certain peculiar grown-ups might be more than what they seemed? If you didn’t transfer much magic from bedtime stories into your daily childhood that’s OK, but Lady In the Water might not be…

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Movie Review

OK, what’s wrong with me? I thought that Superman Returns was pretty mediocre, but I loved Dead Man’s Chest! All the critics seem to find it pointless and over-the-top (but they think that the Man of Steel has made a triumphant return). While I admit that Pirates took a while to get going—getting all the…