Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

Five memorable TV moments from 2006

I’m sure by now you have watched or read some kind of 2006 retrospective: maybe a top 10 list of movies or books or tv shows. I’ve seen a few, and tried to come up with a few myself. At the movies, this was another lacklustre year for me. I didn’t really see a lot…

Eragon – Movie Review

There once was a blond-haired boy living on a farm with his uncle. One day, events set into motion by a rebel princess led him to encounter a local older man known for telling stories of a war long past. At the boy’s request, he recounted stories of the legendary order of mystic knights who…

Apocalypto – Movie Review

Apocalypto was not the movie I thought it was going to be. I expected an epic set in the fabricated history of a lost culture, but Mel Gibson’s pre-Columbian tale is actually more of an action movie (with subtitles). Apocalypto has a bit of a split personality that way. Action movies typically don’t have subtitles…

The Fountain – Movie Review

If you’ve seen any of Darren Aronofsky’s other movies (i.e. Pi or Requiem for a Dream), you know that they are not going to be easy to follow. Partly that’s what fans (and I count myself in that group) like about them. An Aronofsky movie seems to be inventive and fresh. So when he decides…

Casino Royale – Movie Review

Not only are all eyes are on new Bond, Daniel Craig, to see if he will live up to 007s before him, but will this movie be a reinvigoration of the franchise? Will Casino Royale follow in the footsteps of Batman Begins and Superman Returns to bring cinematic life back to a classic hero who’d…

Happy Feet – Movie Review

I’ll bet Pixar is kicking themselves for not being the ones who made this movie. Sure, Cars made hundreds of millions and looked really good, but overall it was pretty run-of-the-mill. On the other hand, Happy Feet (produced by Animal Logic, for Warner Brothers) is not only visually incredible (both for its super cute penguins…

Borat – Capsule Movie Review

Even after tons of great press and top-notch reviews, I was hesitant to see Borat (or as it’s officially called, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan). Reviews universally praise how funny Borat is, and how star and co-writer Sacha Baron Cohen is a comic genius. However, no one tries…

Wicked – Theatre Review

Ever since I caught a couple of numbers from Wicked on the 2004 Tony Awards, I’ve been looking forward to seeing the show live in person. I missed it when it came to Toronto the first time, but I was able to catch the touring company on its return to town this fall. It definitely…

Heroes 101

One of the hottest new shows this season is the sci-fi drama Heroes, and (not being one to stay off the bandwagon) it’s one of my favourite shows. For those of you who aren’t already watching, I thought I’d give you a bit of a primer on the show so you might want to give…